Kindness and humility define 55-year-old Yvette Kirsten, which isn’t just endearing and compelling but makes perfect sense when you meet her equally kind and humble husband, Burton. That they own a couple of marquee performance boats including Jet, a 46-foot Outerlimits catamaran and recently took delivery of Jetster, a 39-foot MTI cat, changes nothing. They treat strangers like friends and friends like family—that’s just who they are. A boat owner in her own right—like Lil’ Jet, their former MTI 340X, Jetster belonged to her— Yvette Kirsten enjoys her time on and off the water and remains grateful for every moment of it. And she’s looking forward to enjoying a lot more of that this season.

Yvette Kirsten is among the most gracious and graceful individuals in the high-performance powerboat community. Photo by Jeff Helmkamp copyright Helmkamp Photos.

WHO ARE YOU? HOW WOULD YOU DEFINE YOURSELF?

(Laughs) Wow, that’s hard. OK, I am a fun person who enjoys boating and crafts—I’m very artsy. I am fearfully and wonderfully made with a faithful soul. I am a wife, a mother and a Nana (grandmother).

BURTON INTRODUCED YOU TO HIGH- PERFORMANCE BOATING. DID YOU ENJOY BEING ON THE WATER BEFORE THAT?

Yes. I used to have 21-foot Chris Craft before I met Burton. He introduced me to performance boats and it’s been a fun run since then.

YOU’VE OWNED A LOT OF GO-FAST BOATS AS A COUPLE. ANY FAVORITES?

I love the cats we have now—I love the way catamarans ride—but I really loved Joker, our 37 Outerlimits Stiletto. We used to take trips in that boat and sleep in it. I loved sleeping in the boat. I miss that.

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