The Princess V58: The reason I fell in love with boats
The Princess V58 and I were love at first sight. I’d never stepped on board something so big, so luxurious and something just so cool. This is the story of how a Princess V58 made me fall in love with boating.
It was a super hot Summer day in 2014 in my home of Cape Town. My dad and I were lazily walking around the annual Cape Town International Boat Show. The show was split up across two areas. One was an indoor exhibition featuring smaller boats as well as boating accessories. The other area was a short distance away at the famous V&A Waterfront. There, all the large showboats were moored and on display.
After passing the usual sailing yachts, we came across the local Princess dealer’s section. In front of us was ‘Silk Knot‘, a 2008 Princess V58. It had a dark blue hull and off white upholstery. On the back, someone had mounted a board advertising it for sale.
I jumped at the opportunity to take a quick walkabout on board. This was the first (and still, only) time I’ve been on a boat that big, but it was enough to cement my love of this boat and of boats in general.
The first thing that hit me when I got downstairs, was the airconditioning. We went from this scorching hot day outside, and suddenly everything was cool and peaceful downstairs. It was as though I’d just walked out of the desert and into a hotel.
Silk Knot has a three cabin layout, which seems to have been a common option judging by used listings on the net. To port is a small cabin with two singles in a double bunk arrangement. To starboard, a double with the head of the bed in the aft port corner. Unusual by today’s standards, but a cosy layout that in my opinion probably worked really well.
The owner’s cabin is located in the bow and has its own ensuite bathroom as well as windows on either side. The gorgeous dark glossy timber work is carried through in two beautiful strips on either side of the bed.
This was the first time I realised what boating could really be about. The luxury of the airconditioning with the elegance of the furniture and the interior, in general, was completely out of this world. Prior to this, I’d only ever been on board small fishing craft. I had some idea that this world of luxury sports cruisers existed, but until now it had never been real to me.
For the first time, I knew what I needed to achieve in life. I knew what I wanted. I wanted to experience walking up the stairs on the stern on to my own V58. I wanted the cool rush of airconditioning inside a cabin of a boat that belongs to me.
That’s how this website and this blog was born. Out of a desire to spend more time on boats like this, and eventually to own a V58 or something similar.
Walking onboard Silk Knot made me realise just how much life can offer, and how many experiences there were to be had. I wanted all of them for myself.
I peppered the poor sales lady with questions that I cringe at now when I think about. I wanted to know who the owner is, what does he/she do for a living? Of course, she wouldn’t tell me. A fact that seems obvious now but overexcited me couldn’t think that logically, in that moment.
I think back to those few minutes onboard Silk Knot often. It drives me to get up and work my ass off every day. It’s given me a vision that is crystal clear.
When I got home that evening, I couldn’t stop thinking about the experience I just had. I immediately hopped online and started devouring every boating video that I could find.
That led me to some of the Youtube channels that I like to feature on my blog. And it took me to some great window shopping resources like boats.com and others.
Since then, my dad has gone on to purchase his dream boat: A 25 foot Magnum 25 Power catamaran. It’s not quite Silk Knot, but it’s a massively fun boat and hugely capable for what it is. I’ll be featuring it on a later post, so watch this space.
