The Oxford Dictionary describes a “masquerade” as a festive gathering where people disguise their true identities with masks, or something that is presenting itself under false pretences.

To give this name to a perfectly built new yacht that is an exact copy of one that has been destroyed many years ago is probably a sign of modesty, but also reflects an unusual sense of creative humour in a “carpenter”. Masquerade is the brainchild of Pieter van der Aa who, at a certain moment in his life, saw a simple black and white drawing in a book and in his mind immediately transferred this into an immensely complicated 3-D rendering of it. Or even better, a lovely yacht sailing the seas with him at its helm. He then set off on a 6 year quest to build his dream. He called her Masquerade  because he felt that as it was a new yacht, built using modern construction methods, she was not a true classic yacht. We beg to differ.

Masquerade is a New York 32, a cruiser-racer designed by Olin Stephens in the 1930’s of which 20 were built. Olin Stephens was arguably the greatest naval architect of all time and this design certainly is one of his many masterpieces. He sanctioned the building of a replica by Pieter van der Aa and when shown the end result resolutely declared her a true New York 32 on which the sailnumber 21 was officially bestowed.

Many people have built boats and even yachts on their own. But at 48 feet Masquerade is relatively large if not unique. Add to this the fact that every single part of the yacht, including hull, interior, decks, hatches, mast and boom were built by Pieter singlehandedly, makes this an extraordinary achievement. If one takes a closer look and also focuses on the amazing attention to detail where every fitting in bronze or wood was designed and made especially for this yacht, then the result becomes even more mind-boggling.

As was to be expected with a perfectionist like van der Aa the maiden trip in 2010 went off without a single hitch, with every single part of the puzzle, made up of thousands of individual technical and mechanical pieces functioning perfectly. A unique and even unusual achievement for a yacht built by a “professional” boatyard, let alone one built by a first time “amateur” boatbuilder.