Those who followed the early stages of this year’s Rolex Fastnet Race will surely have been intrigued by how well the front runners in the Class 40 fleet appeared to…
New yachts
First look: SailScow 37 – ocean racing inspired cruiser
Much of the drive towards scow bow cruising yachts is driven by top level racing sailors. Armel Tripon, who raced the then radical Sam Manuard-designed IMOCA 60 L’Occitane en Provence…
First look: Swan 108 – new maxi-era Swan
Nautor’s latest model – billed as being the first in the yard’s new Maxi Swan era – was launched in June this year and underwent sea trials in Finland’s Gulf…
First look: Skaw Paradise – mould-breaking mini scow
The Skaw Paradise is a very beamy 11.3m foiling scow bow cruiser with its roots firmly in the racing scene, but with the concepts reworked to produce an ultimate cruiser.…
First look: CNB78 and CNB88
We first saw something of the CNB 78 at the Düsseldorf boat show in January where CNB had a mock up of its new boat, a whalebone-like structure which showed…
First look: HH44 – smallest offering yet
The old adage that the many benefits of a cruising catamaran are achieved at the cost of its sailing qualities is no longer true and a growing proportion of buyers…
First look: Jack Setton’s JV60
This 60ft Judel/Vrolijk daysailer is the latest commission by French businessman and serial boatowner Jack Setton. Those familiar with Setton’s yachts over the last few decades will know he is…
First look: Rapide 41 – a new Mills Café-Racer
This graceful new Rapide 41 is the first to be built in a new series of performance café-racers drawn by Mark Mills. The in-demand Irish designer was commissioned by a…
First look: YBreeze 75ft daysailer
YYachts has unveiled a fascinating new 75ft luxury daysailer concept, the YBreeze. It’s founder Michael Schmidt, the veteran racing sailor, industry pioneer and former Hanse Yachts owner, is known for…
First look: Aeolos P45 – ultrafast carbon cruiser-racer
Following the ultra lightweight Aeolos P30 short-handed offshore race boat that weighs only 1,550kg, this Dubai-based brand led by German engineer and sailor Hans Genthe has developed a 45ft performance…
First look: Swallow Yachts BayCruiser 32
Look beyond the traditional styling of the Swallow Yachts BayCruiser 32 and you’ll find a thoroughly up-to-date trailer-sailer concept with carbon rig, water ballast and deep draught (2.7m) lifting keel.…
First look: Bavaria C46
Maurizio Cossutti’s sixth design for Bavaria, the Bavaria C46, is the first model in a second generation of the German yard’s C-series, which was originally launched six years ago. The…
First look: Tison 12m Mediterranean daysailer
The Tison 12m is a stunning ultra-light daysailer that is intended to strip sailing back to its simplest fundamentals, though with top quality materials and deck hardware being employed. The…
First look: Y Yachts’ Y Breeze – a 75ft daysailer? (sold with crew included!)
Y-Yachts has unveiled a fascinating new 75ft luxury daysailer concept, the Y Breeze. Y-Yachts founder Michael Schmidt, the veteran racing sailor, industry pioneer and former Hanse Yachts owner, is known for…
First look: ClubSwan 43 – first UK-built Swan
One design classes used to provide top-level racing for huge numbers, as anyone who raced Lightwave 395s, Sigma 38s or X-99s in the late 1980s, or J/109s and even J/111s…
First look: Grand Soleil 65 – new big cruiser from GS
The Grand Soleil 65 is offered in both LC (long cruise) and performance variants. Externally key differences are in the coachroof and the shorter coamings of the performance boat. However,…
First look: Bestevaer 36 – downsized pilothouse cruiser
In a world in which yachts are constantly becoming larger, this Dutch brand is bucking the trend, with the smallest-ever model in its 20-year history. It’s intended to offer performance…
First look: Gunboat’s GB80 and GB70
In the seven years since Grand Large Yachting purchased cult catamaran brand Gunboat and brought it to a new headquarters in the south of France, it has steadily increased its…
First look: Frers 59m – a fusion of classic looks and low freeboard
Nearly 20 years after delivering the famous Adèle, Vitters is nearing completion of a new 59m ketch – this time drawn by Germán Frers. The boat is again a fusion…
Linjett 39 review: Contemporary interpretation of a traditional design
How quickly will today’s new yachts date? A handful are surely destined to become design classics, but many will be quickly forgotten, becoming the floating equivalent of an ageing mass-market…