Hanse 458

Time Out X2 is a Hanse 458, one of the standout models from the Judel/Vrolijk-designed Hanse range that has become a fixture of modern European cruiser-racer design. At 14.04 m LOA with a 4.38 m beam, she carries her volume well aft, giving a genuinely spacious cockpit and a light, airy interior without sacrificing the sailing manners the marque is known for. Fitted with the performance L-keel drawing 2.2 m rather than the shallow-draft option, she trades a little swinging-room at anchor for real upwind stability and bite — the setup of an owner who wants to sail his boat properly, not just cruise it.

The step up to the 458 came with a serious specification: 3Di racing sails alongside her cruising inventory, electric reversing winches, a Harken split-track mainsail system, twin bow and stern thrusters, and a navigation suite built around dual B&G plotters and Triton instrumentation. It’s a boat set up equally for short-handed offshore passages and club-level performance sailing, with little left to chance in either mode.

Time Out X2 was delivered from Martha’s Cove on the Mornington Peninsula around the Victorian and NSW south coast to her new home waters, a passage that included a stop at Refuge Cove on Wilsons Promontory, an overnight run past Gabo Island, and a rare close encounter with a pod of breaching whales off the NSW south coast — the kind of delivery that reminds you why the destination is only half the story. She’s now settling into her new home port of Port Stephens, ready for the next chapter of cruising and club racing under John’s ownership.