Mystic 55

S/Y Surprise is a timeless classic that will take you anywhere!
She was originally built as a luxury cruising yacht for a family with two separate areas.
An owner aft cabin and two guest cabins in front, enabling the two cabins to be converted in a few minutes to a single stateroom. Accommodates 6/7 persons in 3 cabins & saloon.
She has always been exceptionally maintained and her most recent refit has been Spring 2023.
Surprise is now offered for sale and ready for extended cruising.
 Additional pictures available upon request!
Owners Comments:
This boat is a joy to sail, particularly upwind where she performs like a Swan of her vintage. With her lightweight epoxy construction, generous but easily reefable rig, carbon mast, deep keel, and excellent sails, she is remarkably quick in all wind conditions and a fine sea boat. The sail plan and deck layout are designed for two to handle her with ease or single-handed, including reefing, while retaining excellent performance. A key design feature is the self- tacking roller Solent jib for windward sailing, or fast reaching when led to the rail; it also will furl to storm jib size. The outer furler has a 150% genoa that will drive the boat surprisingly well in light to moderate air upwind or off the wind. With this arrangement the boat can be easily handled in all sensible wind conditions - including the fun of short tacking into a harbor single-handed. All key sail-handling lines lead to electric winches in the cockpit: main halyard, first two reefs, jib sheet and both furling lines. The hull design has also been carefully thought through. She has low wetted surface in light air, increasing waterline length as she heels, and best of all for a cruiser, has balanced hull lines so she does not round up in the puffs, easing the work for helm and autopilot. SURPRIZE was beautifully built by West and Bowman, essentially as a custom build, and it shows in all her details. I have owned her since 2001 and she has carried us around the English south coast, to Spain and Menorca, and for the last 18 years has been in Croatia ranging out to the Aegean and the Tyrrhenian Sea. We have kept up our maintenance including in recent years new teak deck, new rod rigging and mast paint, Force 10 stove, windlass, anchor chain, all cabin hatches and screens, etc. Engine, generator and water maker have had major services since 2019. We love this boat and are reluctant sellers but at our age we feel a smaller boat and some other adventures should be pursued.