It takes time to really get to know an Oyster. Just having a quick look at it or holding the wheel for a few seconds is not enough: An Oyster is the result of the experience and work of dozens of people, painstaking sessions of tuning and adjustment and carefully thought out choices in design, construction and architecture.

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I meet every new day on the water with great anticipation and this day was no different. For my scheduled sail aboard Oyster's new 655, the weather was perfect, with the wind blowing in at 13 to 16 knots on a clear fall afternoon on Chesapeake Bay. I decided to share the day with a friend to get his take on the boat. Adding to my anticipation was the simple fact that I rarely write boat reviews. You see, I understand that potential buyers take reviews seriously—and so do I. A boat such as the 655 that costs over $3 million is a major commitment for any yachtsman. I am not a boat surveyor, or naval architect, just a sailor with a lot of racing and cruising miles under my keel.

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The delivery run from Newport, Rhode Island to Annapolis, Maryland as boats are moved from one boat show to the other has become a classic fall cruise for BWS as we test one or more of the boats being delivered. The passage is a bit over 300 miles and includes the shallow and often choppy waters of Rhode Island Sound and Delaware Bay, plus the deep water run from Block Island across the Bite of New York to Cape May, New Jersey. The final leg takes you through the C&D Canal and down the Chesapeake past Baltimore to Annapolis. When it comes to putting a boat through its paces in all of the conditions you are likely to meet while world cruising, this passage is a perfect test track.

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