There’s been the odd singular sailing superyacht thus far, the likes of the 44m Pendennis-built Hemisphere and Perini Navi’s recent 46m floating art gallery ArtExplorer, while JFA has quietly gone about launching a handful of 85-110ft custom sailing catamarans.

But a new pride of big cats is coming. Last year John Mountain launched his carbon bluewater sailboat Air Yacht 80 after failing to find his preferred blend of performance, space and superyacht quality.

And it’s the performance element which has triggered this new trend that we centre on in these pages. Yachting World readers will have noticed a similar movement with monohulls of late, where production yards have stepped up to cater to a semi-custom demand in the 70-90ft sector.

We dedicated these pages to them two years ago, detailing the latest launches from YYachts, Solaris, Grand Soleil, CNB, Ice and Swan. Now with an increasing number of sailors seeking that size, style and speed combination on two hulls, it’s fuelled a real surge of new, big (and mostly fast) cats.

Gunboat can arguably be credited with igniting this performance cruising cat cult and we’ve been writing about and reviewing a multitude 45-60ft fast cruising cats in YW in recent years. Now they’re growing in size, space and pace. McConaghy, Balance, Kinetic, Advanced Yachts, Black Pepper, Cure Marine and HH are all producing or have recently launched varying levels of performance cats around the 70ft region.

Typically, these involve carbon or E-GRP lightweight composite construction, ultra fine bows, and powerful rigs with booms kept low down. Where Gunboat and HH are taking it to the next level of luxurious lightweight performance, we can see the needle shifting further still, and at each end of the spectrum too.

Article continues below…

The best bluewater multihulls of all time: a complete guide

What are the best bluewater multihulls for long term cruising? The one you own, or the one you can afford…

Best Yachts of 2025: European Yacht of the Year 2025 Winners

The European Yacht of the Year 2025 winners were announced this evening, Saturday 18 January 2025 on the first night…

At its sharpest, Persico’s new foiling 72 is being tested by the American Magic team and will surely prove the most rapid ‘cruise-equipped’ multihull to date. Thrill seekers should also check out S6’s dynamic foil-equipped Infinti 72 design, and the latest images of Daedalus’ jaw-dropping D75, D100 and D165 projects.

For the large part of the market less obsessed by speed comes the real space race that multihull platforms can provide – a market cornered by production yards Sunreef, Lagoon and Fountaine Pajot over the last decade, but one also seeing some evolution.

Think flybridges like flats, drop-down balconies and freestanding designer furniture, albeit combined with innovation in greener materials, propulsion and solar technology. Scaling up further, Echo Yachts in Australia is well into the secretive build of a monster 58m catamaran superyacht, which will go straight in to claim the spot as the world’s largest sailing multihull.

Welcome to a new era of Super sailing, that of supercats, megacats, and particularly the performance-oriented maxicats.

New MaxiCats – Space & real pace

Advanced AC72

Italian boutique yacht builder Advanced Yachts has turned its attention for the first time to multihulls. Active in the 60-80ft monohull sector, Advanced offers semi-custom yachts with fine Italian styling requiring a small crew of two or three.

It has started building the moulds for a 72ft catamaran that fits the same brief, with naval architecture by the renowned Reichel/Pugh. Performance is certainly an important consideration, but this is really designed to be a comfortable offshore cruising cat for bluewater cruising – or just loafing round the Med. It’s built in E-glass with a carbon-fibreglass deck and superstructure to keep the centre of gravity down and displacement to 35.5 tonnes.

The former is important when you add in the low-profile flybridge and towering carbon rig from Lorima. It also uses 4m-deep centreboards which lift into the boat hulls. “We have a higher power-to-weight ratio than anything else in the crewed yacht cruising capability class,” said sales director Jay Nolan.

“We put Gunboat and one or two others really in a separate Grand-Prix class. We’re not as powerful as that – we’re specifically stopping short of the most frightening performance where cats are a little edgy.”

Sail handling and navigation is all brought back to the flybridge, allowing the yacht to be sailed by a couple. The electric rudder control means it would also be easy to put a helm at the nav desk in the shelter of the saloon. “We’re building-in the ability to have protected controls not just with canvas on the flybridge,” added Nolan.

This leaves the aft cockpit free for guests to relax. There’s also a forward cockpit to take advantage of the breeze at anchor. The main deck is flush, with glass doors aft sliding completely away to open up one big indoor-outdoor space.

Configuration and finish is a matter for individual owners, but the concept from Cassetta Design puts a master owner’s cabin in the port hull and three guest cabins to starboard, with space for two crew. A large hydraulic platform aft serves for bathing and watersport toys, or carries a tender up to 4.6m in length when underway.

Holld 74

This Dutch startup and Zwartsluis yard has a focus on luxury, aiming to put the super into performance cruising catamarans. The founders are using their two decades of carbon composite superyacht boatbuilding experience, combined with that of designers including Eliot Thorne, to offer full carbon semi-custom cats ‘as technically advanced as they are visually stunning’. Holld promises a bespoke build programme for each owner using hybrid-ready platforms, smart digital systems and flexible modular interiors. This first 74 is already in build.

“We didn’t set out to build another production multihull,” says founder Guido Achtelik. “We set out to re-engineer the category from the ground up, using carbon and epoxy infusion, digital build processes, and an obsessive focus on precision, longevity, and performance with a superyacht finish.” The launch of the brand will be during the Cannes show.

Gunboat 80 Agave & new model teaser

Agave has been tearing it up since she hit the water in last May, but this second version of Gunboat’s 24.65m flagship is decidedly a (swift) cruising boat. Where the red hull number one was always destined for the Highland Fling racing programme, hull number two was customised with a number of more cruising-friendly features, notably around the interior.

Make no mistake, though: in the words of Gunboat, this is still an ‘objectively epic sailing machine’! From the pre-preg carbon layup and rotating mast to retractable T-propeller rudders and daggerboards, Agave is designed in true Gunboat tradition for exhilarating performance.

The yard reports that she matches true wind speed from 5 knots and tops out at over 30 knots, while the foils on the rudders reduce pitching in oceanic swell by 30%. Grand Prix accessories include ECsix carbon rigging, titanium fittings and HydrauNautic hydraulics with pressure sensors and a quick-release system to de-power the mainsheet, Cunningham, outhaul and other key controls.

With 16 hydraulic controls, the boat is designed for short-handed sailing. There’s little detail about the cruising interior, but the standard design allows for three guest cabins and up to three crew.

Meanwhile, Gunboat is hinting at an exciting new product range to be unveiled at the Cannes Yachting Festival. The French yard is remaining tight-lipped about the details, but we know that the debut model will be an 80-footer and that it will have a flybridge.

“What we are about to reveal is not just another yacht,” said marketing director Rodolphe Cadoret, “It’s the birth of an entirely new segment in high-performance sailing – a project that fuses long-distance capability, refined onboard experience, and the unmistakable Gunboat DNA.” The veil will be lifted on 9 September, but Gunboat is likening the move to that which saw Porsche launch the Cayenne as its first luxury SUV.

Black Pepper Code C.69

French speed merchant Black Pepper is at it again – this time with a catamaran. Pitching its debut multihull at a punchy 69ft LOA, the yard has just revealed a second order – before the first has even been delivered. The two hulls have already been completed by partner Multiplast in Vannes and towed to Black Pepper’s premises in Nantes, where they dominate the build shed.

Infused in carbon fibre, the hull of the C.69 is light despite plenty of hull openings. In fact, the yacht only displaces 17.5 tonnes light – so perhaps 21-22 tonnes fully loaded – not bad for a 70-footer!

The yard says it did a lot of soul searching before launching the multihull project with designers François Pérus and Romain Scolari. The brief was ‘handsome, fast, safe and high-tech’. The result is eye-catching: reverse bows and a heavy, bevelled tumblehome with a low coachroof and a long bowsprit. There are sunbeds just ahead of the mast, while the helm stations on the quarters seem to float above the deck.

Accommodation runs to two large double cabins and a triple with a fold-down berth, supported by up to three crew. But the layout is flexible. The second boat will feature a hard bimini extending aft from the coachroof to cover part of the cockpit. Its helm stations have been simplified and brought further inboard, leaving clearer side decks.

And it will also have a hybrid diesel-electric drive. The first boat will be launched at the end of the year, the second in 2026.

Baltic 107

It was big news when performance yacht builder Baltic revealed its first multihull order last year. Berret-Racoupeau’s 33m low profile design includes a flybridge and a full-beam bathing platform aft as well as cabins for eight guests.

But the performance is what makes this boat stand out: pivoting centreboards, a huge sail area and high-tech lay-up in carbon Corecell sandwich. Since we last covered it, moulding is now complete in line with delivery in summer 2027. “With bulkheads installed, the two hulls have been released from their tooling and connected together via the wet deck midsection,” said Baltic’s Henry Hawkins.

“Further structural members will now be installed as well as the commencement of system and interior fit-out. We continue to receive enquiries regarding the boat and potential future catamaran projects.”

Kinetic K6

Kinetic Catamarans, builders of performance voyaging cats the KC54 and KC62, is launching a formidable-looking new K6 range. It will be officially announced at the Cannes Yachting Festival this September, but we have the exclusive preview after speaking with founder Bob Hayward and veteran boatbuilder Leon Scheepers.

K6 comprises a new 63 and a 67, the former is for private use, designed to fit into a 20m berth, the latter is more aimed at sailing with pro crew. This US-based brand builds semi-bespoke high-end carbon fibre cats from its yard in Kynsna, South Africa, which is currently completing an expansion and redevelopment, to help accommodate the new K6 range and more larger models to come.

Cannes will be the first time its yachts are available to view at a show in Europe, a key market having sold four KC54s here now.

Together with design partners Simonis Voogd, Kinetic specialises in clean lines and prefers not to have daggerboards sticking out through the decks. “We’re staying with centreboards as it’s a system that works very well,” Hayward explains.

Controlled by line drivers, these are contained below the floorboards. “Our yachts are world cruisers, so if you hit something like a coral head, a weak fuse allows it to automatically ride-up. Replace the fuse and you’re back sailing in 20 minutes,” he adds, having tested the theory on his own KC62 in the Pacific.

The powerful sail plans are offered with slab-reefing or in-boom furling. Opting for a push-button controlled mainsheet and traveller plus furling sails makes the 63 manageable short-handed. Note, the traveller is led to the coachroof, which takes significant structural engineering, but keeps the aft cockpit free for a leisure zone.

A luxurious forward cockpit sees sunbeds built into the deck and a retractable awning above. Kinetic won’t do a flybridge, but its forward helm stations are key for its owners, close to the sail controls. The K6 also has twin exterior wheels on distinct mezzanine levels for optimum visibility.

Superyacht vibes continue with a wide fold-down swim platform, carbon davits that fold out of the roof supports and bulwark side doors. The port hull offers a full owner’s suite, including an office, with its own private access aft. These are 48V powered yachts, including the aircon and refrigeration, and use Integral E-drives delivering up to 15kW each into the house batteries bank.

Stay tuned for more to come in the next couple of years from this maturing brand.

HH80

If there does happen to be anyone left out there still thinking cats don’t look cool, then perhaps show them a picture of the HH80. This bang-up-to-date Morrelli & Melvin turbo cat might be the only beast out there to get near a Gunboat 80’s performance. A carbon epoxy build with prepeg boards, it has a 30m-high mast and is capable of hull flying. Can you imagine that?

HH says it has the lowest boom in class for a low centre of effort and fast, smooth ride. While the light displacement figure is not given and will depend on interior fitout, a generous cruising payload weight of up to 40 tonnes is presented. HH has some form at this supersize level too, having delivered the HH88 two years ago.

It’s since been flat-out building its latest range, the new 44s, 52s and 56 to come. The HH80 appearance is all curves and muscle, from the reverse bows to sculpted sections of the coachroof, which help fashion forward and aft cockpits. Below that glass-look roof is a multitude of solar panels (around 11kW) on the carbon superstructure.

A self-tacking jib could be controlled by a captive winch for more short-handed operation, and M&M’s predictions are it could offer sparkling cruising ability with 250+ mile days possible in just 12 knots breeze! The design affords real space to the forward cockpit, with the winches and sail handling set well forward at the start of the longeron.

Walking through the sliding doors from there to the main saloon must be like entering the Starship Enterprise (you can almost hear the ‘swoosh’ noise of the doors). At 79ft, it offers the most space and speed available without falling into restrictive big yacht coding.

The HH80 is designed to suit six to eight guests with space for two to three crew in dedicated accommodation.

Balance 750

Balance is a US/South African brand/build which has really created momentum since its 2013 inception with a range of refreshing performance voyaging cats packed with practical and original thinking. And now it’s gone big, with a new flagship 750 that launched in Cape Town earlier this year, named Some Day. Balance claims it will redefine luxury and speed.

The company is named so for good reason, aiming to hit that balance of speed and agility using fine hulls with daggerboards paired with airy, modern comfort. The 750 adds a liberal sprinkling of luxury into the mix. This is also the first Balance with a forward cockpit, linked to the saloon via a waterproof door.

Offering another relaxation zone, this also houses the primary winches at the mast base, so the boat can be trimmed from forward or controlled from either aft helm. We particularly like the inboard station Balance has designed, allowing its swing wheel VersaHelm to cant to a fully protected steering position.

A powerfully rigged yacht, the 750 is controlled using a full hydraulic system, including rams in the boom, mast, beams, and captive winches. This promotes short-handed use, so two or three hands can sail and operate the yacht. It’s also a sleek-looking design by Anton Du Toit, with low hulls and roof.

A flybridge is an option, and Some Day has an in between ‘flylounge’ to give some sunlounger space between the solar field. The interior shows how the UK’s Design Unlimited is one of the world’s best at combining superyacht glam with lightweight materials. Furniture is all foam cored styled with wood veneers, in accommodation laid out with four or five cabins with or without crew quarters.

The hulls, deck and structure are foam cored too, keeping displacement to 32 tonnes. Infused E-glass is predominantly used for noise insulation, while there’s also plenty of carbon reinforcement in high-load areas and bulkheads.

Persico Cat 72

Construction work on this 72ft speed project by Persico Marine has continued since 2023 behind a veil – until January this year, that is. The finished hull was revealed in a series of images which show just how narrow its twin hulls are, and how they are allied to a low-profile superstructure.

An enormous longeron dominates the forward half of the boat, which wastes no weight in fripperies such as foredecks. Underlining the performance potential of this 21.5 tonne Morrelli & Melvin project, American Magic has ‘come on board’, with sea trials and fine-tuning of the boat, shifting to the team’s base in Pensacola, Florida.

Persico promises it will ‘push the yacht to its limits’. And those limits look to be pretty far out, thanks to a full set of foils that are designed to keep the hulls flying just above the water. There are rake-controlled righting-moment foils (RMFoils) over 7m in length, daggerboards for leeway control, and T-rudders with rake control. The whole set-up is integrated with Gomboc’s Flight Control System, which manages the foil angles of attack.

Expectations are that the RMFoil is beneficial from wind speeds of around 9 knots and allows the yacht to skim at 20 knots in just 13 knots of true wind. Persico reports that the system will automatically lower the flight of the boat and manage speeds according to the owner’s preference.

Nonetheless, a crew of at least three is required to sail with a choice of two exterior helm stations or a protected interior wheel, which gives access to mainsail management and all flight controls. The yacht has a pared-back, modern interior from Design Unlimited.

And despite potential speeds of up to 40 knots, Persico describes it as possessing ‘the comfort of a cruising vessel’. The coachroof is studded with 2kW of solar panels and the yacht features electric boats propulsion.

Supercats – Size & some speed

McConaghy Sapphire Plus MC & Panther

While it built its name on its high-performance and record-breaking maxi monohulls, McConaghy has proved that it can build anything, from AC40s and their hydrogen chase boats to a deep-sea submersible. It’s also no stranger to multihulls, including its largest craft to date, the sensational, futuristic 42.5m trimaran Adastra, which launched 10 years ago. Latterly, it’s really honed in on the large cruising multihull market, with its MC range of sailing cats.

These Jason Ker designs, with their signature flybridge-mounted aft helms, began with the MC50 in 2018, and grew to include last year’s spectacular launch, the MC75 Jack. Such has been the interest in these large cats that McConaghy has recently conceived two full new ranges: a Panther line of electric hybrid yachts from 48-68ft and a Sapphire range of super spacious supercats from 70-115ft. Both are, of course, carbon builds, the forte of this yard.

The Sapphire range looks to be going after more of the Sunreef space race market, albeit with distinctly more sailing focus. Despite Sapphires aiming to offer ‘the largest interior volume in the world relative to their size’, they should still sail well. The yard predicts they’ll be able to average speeds in the teens – in 20 knots the S80 should reach at almost 14 knots, and could even hit 20 knots on its day. Now that would be a sight!

Retractable composite centreboards drop 5m down from the hull at the push of a button to help offer pointing ability, while sail handling systems use advanced push-button technology to make operation by a small crew easy. In terms of comfort, these highly voluminous yachts won’t be lacking. A hard bimini covers both the forward and aft cockpits, while the side windows can open out at the push of a button.

Vaan R8

An aluminium supercat. After all, it’s the material of choice for the majority of monohull superyachts. Vaan has been quietly making a name for itself as a specialist in luxury aluminium multihulls with a focus on greener building. Its 40ft R4 and 50ft R5 have proved its use of recycled and fully recyclable aluminium as a viable material for its semi-bespoke electric powered yachts.

Our full review of the R5 follows next month, but suffice to say when you board this yacht and appreciate the finish quality and particularly the natural light the huge coachroof windows bring (thanks to the stiff structure), it’s easy to picture the appeal of scaling up the design. Reassuringly, the naval architecture is once again by fellow Dutch firm Dykstra, world-class superyacht designers.

Vaan likes to keep the boom low for performance, so no flybridge on the R8. There is, however, an internal helm, linking to a forward cockpit, and when you combine these with the saloon and aft cockpit, it equates to formidable single-level living space.

Siting the galley down to starboard amidships will also emphasise this space. And it’s designed like a superyacht, so the crew quarters forward link to the galley, mess and the bridge. Elsewhere, there’s space for five guest suites, but another benefit of aluminium is that each yacht is built to order so layout can be adaptable to suit.

Equally, aft helms or benches can be chosen, a crane, davits, swim platform etc. The R8 will be powered by two electric engines with two diesel range extenders and a 100kWh battery bank. Displacement is predicted to be between 35-40 tonnes. Construction of the R6 is due to start later this year and Vaan has several serious prospects for this R8, a project born from demand, founder Igor Kluin confides.

JFA 87

French yard JFA has been working with fast cruising monohull and multihull expert Marc Lombard on a successor to its 85ft sailing catamaran for a couple of years, and the new design is now well in build. Measuring 87ft LOA, it has an extended flybridge, featuring a new navigation station, a sheltered bar and a large saloon, with solar panels on the hardtop.

Franck Darnet’s interior uses the 11m beam to deliver a huge social space flush with the cockpit, and a wonderful owner’s cabin forward at deck level. The aluminium hull has been completed and was recently married with the glass-epoxy composite deck, allowing interior systems to start going in.

Cabinetry is already taking shape. The US-based owner plans to sail round the world with a family of four.

Lagoon Eighty 2

We featured this yacht in our Cannes show preview last issue, where it will be making it’s world debut this autumn. The hull design comes just below the 24m mark in terms of class, making the boat an attractive candidate for charter, just like its 77ft predecessor.

Key features of the new model include a large 50m2 flybridge with a hard-top and optional Jacuzzi, plus a wide lifting bathing platform that extends the flexible cockpit space. Accommodation is designed for eight guests, where the centrepiece is the owner’s suite with its drop-down balcony.

Loose furniture that can be specified by the owner is a new feature, creating much greater customisation potential. And the hull is made of 40% bio-sourced resin, with a lower carbon footprint.

Megacats – Supersized space

Sunreef 43

Moulding the hulls for this sailing cat was completed back in February and constituted the largest one-shot infusion project in the world, according to Sunreef. Flybridge and bimini mouldings are also complete, with work well under way on the interior systems of this 140ft ‘supercat’.

The hulls alone account for 1,700m2 of composite surface and will be embedded with part of the 250m2 of third-generation ‘solar skin’, capable of generating 60kW of electrics. It can be stored in the huge 1MWh battery system – a bank that can propel the yacht under silent electric power for 12 hours, or guarantee night after night of silent operation at anchor.

A regenerative propulsion system allows the yacht to make electricity while sailing. The 43 Eco should sail too, with speeds well into double figures. But the real draw is the enormous volume and open deck space. Highlights include the giant flybridge with a spa pool, flexible lounging dining space with a bar on the main deck level and the beach club with fold-down side platforms.

There’s accommodation for up to 12 guests and we expect a generous forward owner’s suite with prime views. Three boats have already been sold!

Echo Yachts 58m

Dubbed the ‘Adventure Sailing Catamaran’, this true megacat promises to be the world’s largest luxury sailing cat when completed. And Australian shipbuilder Echo Yachts has experience here, having already built a 56m powered cat and an 84m trimaran.

This all-aluminium, full-custom build features a twin DynaRig sail system. Designed by Dykstra Naval Architects in collaboration with One2three Naval Architects, the yacht is engineered to manage the complex structural loads unique to sailing catamarans. It incorporates dual shaft generators that harvest energy from trawling controllable-pitch propellers, and a battery storage system that ensures emissions-free operation and extends range while under sail.

Sunreef 35 Eco

Never one to slacken the pace, Sunreef also announced the sale of a new 35 Eco sailing cat late last year. The 115ft boat is being built in the UAE and is slated for delivery in 2028.

Like all Sunreefs, it will feature a huge solar array for renewable power, as well as vast outdoor spaces, including a 100m2 flybridge with a plunge pool. Accommodation is for up to 10, with a master cabin dominating the forward section of the superstructure and filling the full 14.7m beam.

Its bathroom includes a tub positioned with fine views out through deep glazing and freestanding his ‘n’ hers basins in limestone-effect composite. The saloon includes an elegant bar running down the starboard side and the yacht represents a new level of interior finish for Sunreef. An ‘ocean lounge’ is formed by a combination of the aft platform and the fold-down side wings, reached down a few teak wood-lined steps from the aft cockpit lounge area. catamarans-lagoon.com

If you enjoyed this….

Yachting World is the world’s leading magazine for bluewater cruisers and offshore sailors. Every month we have inspirational adventures and practical features to help you realise your sailing dreams.

Build your knowledge with a subscription delivered to your door. See our latest offers and save at least 30% off the cover price.

Note: We may earn a commission when you buy through links on our site, at no extra cost to you. This doesn’t affect our editorial independence.

The post Supercats, Maxicats, Megacats: 16 new high-performance luxury multihulls appeared first on Yachting World.

The plan is simple: buy a boat and seek out your best life. You’ve decided you want a multihull, for the space and stability that offers.

Your other key requirements are comfort – a yacht you can live aboard for months – and a multihull that’s bluewater capable so you can explore wild remote places. It has to be safe, of course. And spacious enough for you, your partner, maybe your kids (and perhaps someone to help look after them sometimes), or a few friends and family. After all, adventures are better shared.

Bonus items? If the budget allows – performance, please! A fast boat means less time at sea (critical for keeping the non-sailors happy). Faster means more fun, but also the faster you sail the more flexibility you have for weather routing. So speed equals safety.

If this all sounds familiar, that’s because many Yachting World readers dream of the same thing: a bluewater catamaran, powering through the miles, and the freedom of an endless horizon.

Every year, I work with hundreds of people chasing this dream. And wow, it’s a big project! Most begin with hours upon hours, if not weeks, lost to YouTube and online reviews, comparing boat brands. Once committed, the number of decisions to make and to-do list items explodes.

What modifications or custom options will you want? Do you want gas or all-electric? How many cabins do you need, and what layout suits you best? What sails do you need? Who to make them? Then there’s electronics, spares, tools, toys, logistics… and how to leave behind your land life.

Buried in logistics and yard work, cruisers often fall into a common trap: time and time again they forget the sailing element.

Many new catamaran owners are experienced monohull sailors but new to multihulls. Others charter in the Med a few times a year but have never owned their own boat. Some haven’t sailed in years – kids and work got in the way. Some, incredibly, are total beginners.

Article continues below…

The best bluewater multihulls of all time: a complete guide

What are the best bluewater multihulls for long term cruising? The one you own, or the one you can afford…

Best catamaran and multihull: The very best yachts on two and three hulls

There are many categories in the European Yacht of the Year awards, from the best luxury yachts and performance yachts to the best yachts for families and evet…

So when the boat finally arrives or the jobs list is finished in the yard, most owners are exhausted and over-excited. Their sailing skills are rusty. But, at that point, taking the time to polish up their boat handling is not what they want to do. Understandably, they want to slip lines and go.

The problem is that a lack of skill and confidence can lead to a bumpy first couple of years cruising. The best case scenario – if they’re lucky – is that only the boat gets bruised. I’ve seen many boats listed for sale within two years.

Two things matter most to the success of your bluewater experience:

• The brand and model of catamaran you buy
• Your sailing and cruising skills

Your skill and confidence will make or break your experience – and your crew’s too. Here are the 10 top skills to polish before casting off.

Leaving or manoeuvring in a marina – and dealing with twin engines – is likely to be your first test of handling skills with your new catamaran. Photo: Richard Langdon

Docking a catamaran with Twin Engines

Leaving the marina is going to be the unavoidable first step. The departure sets the tone. Nail it, and there’ll be a good feeling in the air.

Twin engines take some getting used to. First, forget your rudders: lock the helm straight and steer with the engines. Famously, cats can spin on the spot. But it rarely turns out quite as advertised… high topsides, no keel, and light bows mean your ability to pivot is often negated by windage and drift.

Once you figure out how to use the limitations of a cat to your advantage you’ll love the double engines. Practice is key.

Catamaran docking tips

• Stern to wind is your mantra. Keeping the stern facing the wind makes the boat more stable and easier to control.
• Park in reverse. Stay stern to the wind, and you have better visibility and comms with the aft line handler.
• Skip the ‘spin’. Where possible, use a 3/5/7-point turn with one engine at a time. It’s simpler, less confusing and thus less risk-prone. And you can keep the boat to windward of the tight space within your turn.
• Use one hand. Traditionally, driving multihulls was taught with two hands: left hand left throttle; right hand right throttle. Change this to one hand. Then you can move around, twist your torso, see, communicate and park successfully.

Multihulls are becoming increasingly popular for sailors taking on an Atlantic challenge – here setting off on the Atlantic Rally for Cruisers (ARC). Photo: James Mitchell/WCC

Wind angles and routing

Factory polars can be shocking. “50° to windward?! How will I ever get upwind anywhere?” you wonder. Well… yes… catamarans are reaching machines. They don’t point well. Daggerboards help a lot with upwind performance. But even then, crack off 10° and they fly.

Don’t blame your tools. Learn how to use them. So how to best leverage this?

Sail more miles, faster. Cracked off = big speed gains. Sometimes you can still reach a windward destination faster than a monohull of similar length by using this technique.

Wait it out. If a shift is coming in the next few days, consider delaying your departure. Then enjoy a fast few hours of downwind sailing, rather than the 10 hours slog you initially signed up for.

Don’t pinch – it doesn’t work. Accept your angles and see if you can outsmart your own plan. If you do ever see a cat pinching, don’t be fooled. They will be using the engine for assistance.

Multihulls are weight sensitive so try to keep heavy items central and low. Leading anchor chain aft away from the bows is prudent. Photo: GLY

Weight management

Cats are wider, roomier, and generally have more space for more stuff (much of which you probably don’t need). But they are also lighter, and more weight sensitive. All this means there is a lot to consider when it comes to stowage.
If you are a monohull sailor, be prepared to pay just as much, if not more attention to how much and where you add extra weight on board.

Catamarans are typically lighter displacement than a monohull of equivalent length, and so extra weight on board will have a greater impact. And, unlike a monohull which relies on its keel for stability, a catamaran relies on its beam. Therefore, loading the catamaran with weight aloft, or not distributing it evenly across both hulls, will make it more prone to heeling and reduce its stability.

What to do

• Live minimally. Be ruthless about what comes aboard. Once ‘stuff’ (the usual culprits are extra kitchen equipment, doubled-up tools and spares, shoes you never wear, water toys you never use) comes aboard, you will feel a sense of ‘loss’ to take it off. Save yourself the grief, and never let it on.
• Keep the ends light. I know they are roomy and no one sleeps there. But they are empty for a reason! Weight needs to be central, and low. Consider storing the outboard motor off the tender and use bow lockers for light gear only.
• Balance port and starboard. One hull shouldn’t carry your whole life. Check from astern on a calm day that your boat isn’t listing.

Reefing early is vitally important with a catamaran. Photo: Marianne Urth

Reefing a multihull

Cats don’t spill any power via heeling. They just power up, until they flip. And that is why reefing is key. Reef proactively. Set strict wind speed reefing thresholds (lots of manufacturers recommend these).

But don’t be afraid to err on the more cautious side, as the guidelines rarely take into account sea state.

Multihull reefing tips

• Topping lift! No vang means the boom drops hard onto the roof without it.
• Mainsails don’t drop easily. There is a lot of friction due to full battens compressing mast cars, and probably a 2:1 halyard. Consider using downhauls on the luff or upgrading mast cars to ones with roller bearings and using the reefing line to coax the sail down. If all else fails, you can change course upwind but be cautious of the increased apparent wind when you do that.

Keeping weight out of the ends is key for sailing performance. Photo: GLY

Depowering a multihull

As aforementioned, gusts don’t spill power on a cat – they load it up. Multihulls can take a lot, but the line between everything being fine and not fine is sudden. You need a fast, simple depowering setup in case of any unexpected gusts or squalls.

The previous advice was to reef early – but we aren’t always good at that. So you need a plan if you get caught out and miss the window of opportunity to reef.

Multihull depowering tips

• Active sheets. Keep these on winches with the clutches open – always the mainsheet and headsail/spinnaker sheet.
• Traveller dump. The windward traveller line should also be ready to dump. In a gust, this can be your first move because it’s in the cockpit where you also are likely to be.
• Bear away. Go for a quick bear away as soon as you’ve depowered the sails to reduce the apparent wind. Practice hand-steering this.
• Turn downwind fast. Quickly straighten the helm the moment you don’t feel the wind on your windward cheek.
• Daggerboards. Keep the leeward daggerboard line on a winch ready to quickly raise it to avoid tripping.
• Depowering. For kites and gennakers, set up quick-release tack systems for instant depowering.

Catamaran sailing is all about the fun –especially downwind, when properly set up. Photo: Jean-Marie Liot

Downwind sails

Cats sail downwind like a dream, so it’s time to embrace that. You’ll be especially thankful for your and your crew’s proficiency with the spinnaker or Code 0 when the winds soften and you have a long ocean passage ahead of you.

Any monohull sailors might underestimate the gains to be made by flying downwind sails. But a few knots can make a big difference over 3,000 miles. Anyway, you are out of excuses! Cats are stable, the bow is safe – and with its big soft nets, it’s even kind to your knees. There’s no justification for not going up there and giving this a go.

Downwind catamaran tips

• Practice the drop. If you know you can get it down, you overcome the fear of putting it up. This might include using socks, furlers, or a traditional drop to douse the offwind sails. Nail them all!
• Optimise your systems. Make hoisting, flying and dropping these intimidating sails easier – reroute lines if needed, add Martin Breakers (a quick-trip shackle to release tack line under load) and use electric winches if that helps smooth
  the routine.
• Learn the angles. The more you understand about what wind strengths and angles your sails love, the more likely you’ll be to fly them. Get as much data as possible, or a sail crossover chart from your sailmaker. And also keep a good log and note your own numbers.

No excuses to go without a kite. Photo: Saskia Stainer-Hutchins

Feedback cues

We’ve all been there. You go off watch with the boat sailing peacefully in 10-15 knots. And you wake up having fallen out of bed, the boat heeled over hard, in 20 knots upwind. You will now reminisce on those days with fondness. As a catamaran sailor, you are going to have to master the art of subtlety. Specifically, interpreting less obvious feedback that the boat is overpowered or underpowered.

Tips for tuning in

• Use the instruments. But don’t use them in isolation. Boat speed and wind speed tell you a lot and it’s critical to respond to them with reefing (see point No4). However, you can also sense a few degrees of heel, a change in acceleration, or a shift in pressure with your body. The less reliant you are on instruments and the more intuitive your relationship is with the boat, the safer you will be.
• Use your hearing! Listen for slamming, rig hum, and the frequency of the wave slap.
• Log what you ‘feel’. Log regularly and include wider information so you can look back and compare. For example, if a few weeks ago you were happily eating dinner with no reefs in the main, what’s different this time? The sea state? Your fatigue? Intuition?
• Power down early. Comfort trumps speed on cruising boats 99% of the time (which can be hard to adapt to for successful, driven people). But remember the dream – it’s usually a version of ‘slowing down’.

Living the bluewater dream, anchored in an idyllic spot – and catamarans can drop the hook in relatively shallow water. Photo: Robin Christol/GLY

Manoeuvres

Two hulls change things when it comes to manoeuvres: tacking is slow, gybing is violent. You need to get comfortable with it all.

It’s not uncommon to find catamaran sailors who avoid manoeuvres at night. That’s great in theory – until you sail into a wind hole, or want to avoid a squall, or need to miss a cargo ship. Really every bluewater sailor needs to know how to complete manoeuvres in all conditions, at any time of day.

Upwind Manoeuvres

Build up speed before the tack and use it to carry you through. Remember, angles are wider and the turn may well be more than 100°.
If you have them, and they aren’t already down, drop both daggerboards to the same level. It gives you some grip during the turn.
Back the jib through the tack if needed (unless it’s self-tacking, in which case get creative with a handybilly or extra control line).

Downwind Manoeuvres

With a square top, big roach and full battened mainsail, gybing can be exciting. The main needs a lot of control through the gybe. Centre the traveller and make sure it’s locked off on both sides, tighten up the mainsheet, gybe – then control the sheet to dampen the slam when it flips to the other tack.

A remote-controlled windlass will be a big help when retrieving and viewing your anchor tackle, while headsets help maintain communication with the helm. Photo: Saskia Stainer-Hutchins

Catamaran anchoring

Most cruisers are at anchor about 80% of the time, even if they are ‘sailing around the world’! It’s a critical skill, and a core element of living the dream.

But in order to spend your days swimming off the back of the boat or enjoying serene sunset cocktails on the bow – and to comfortably sleep, make repairs, and live on the hook – you need to be able to anchor confidently, reliably and securely.

Making sure the hook is properly set will ensure a more relaxing time in that idyllic anchorage. Photo: Kinetic Catamarans

Catamaran anchoring skills

• Set it properly. Use 3-7 times the depth. Reverse hard on it (1,500-2,000rpm) – better to drag and find out it’s not holding now, rather than at 3am.
• Find space. Choose a spot with not too many boats around. If there are, make sure they’re catamarans too as similar hull shapes swing similarly. Resist the temptation to be too close to the beach in the crowds (instead, get a fast tender and learn how to use it).
• Always use a bridle. If it isn’t already set up, attach a mooring line of identical length to each bow cleat and tie both to the chain in the same place with a prussick knot or rolling hitch.
• Float the chain. Learn to float the chain in preparation for the reef-laden anchorages of French Polynesia or other heavenly spots. Use a couple of traditional heavy plastic fenders at about 10m increments.
• Shorelines. Know how to set up a shoreline to control your swing. This will open up the tighter anchorages, or the deeper ones, which can be beautiful. Anchor as normal and then head ashore with a long line and tie it to something stable like a tree or a rock.

Photo: Lagoon Catamarans

Enjoy the comfort

Sometimes sailors can be a bit masochistic. Let that go. This dream involves two hulls – it’s time to get comfortable.

Before departure, try to relax. You don’t need to prep every meal in advance and psychologically prepare yourself for beyond three or four days of the usual motion sickness. Instead, think about activities to keep everyone busy and entertained.

You can cook, bake, eat, sleep, do yoga, workout, learn the guitar, or dance while underway (yes, I’ve done all of the above). This is a lifestyle.

Just one thing to remember: when sailing downwind the wind funnels through the saloon, so card games don’t work so well. Everything else? Go for it.

I feel so lucky to have spent so much time around people making this dream into their reality. It’s inspiring to see people brave enough to go after more from their life. So if you want to make that dream last you’ll need to invest in the skills to make it work. Docking, reefing, routing, anchoring – mastering these techniques will add a layer of safety, confidence and ease to your experience.

If you enjoyed this….

Yachting World is the world’s leading magazine for bluewater cruisers and offshore sailors. Every month we have inspirational adventures and practical features to help you realise your sailing dreams.

Build your knowledge with a subscription delivered to your door. See our latest offers and save at least 30% off the cover price.

Note: We may earn a commission when you buy through links on our site, at no extra cost to you. This doesn’t affect our editorial independence.

The post 10 essential multihull sailing skills you need to know appeared first on Yachting World.

There are many categories in the European Yacht of the Year awards, from the best luxury yachts and performance yachts to the best yachts for families and evet a best specialist yacht category. But with multihulls rapidly increasing in popularity, the best catamaran and multihull category is often hotly anticipated.

The small number of entrants in this category in no way reflects the rich range or huge demand for multihulls. Many new models were launched by the big yards in the preceding years and they’re struggling to keep up with bulging order books.

2024 saw a reduced showing of new multihulls this year, which is perhaps representative of a market that’s been booming for many years, but also one which is slowing its new model releases as it struggles to fill order books.

Best catamaran and multihull

Best catamaran and multihull 2025 winner – Nautitech 48 Open

Space, speed and style. Is this the best-looking current production cat? It builds on the success of the 44 Open, offering more space in the key areas you want it, increasing practical stowage throughout, while that extra waterline length helps offer high average speeds.

This is a sailor’s yacht – on the helm you can really feel the acceleration and sail the shifts as if aboard a performance monohull.

The Lombard design studio incorporated its trademark reverse sheer to help keep a low freeboard impression, and shifted the rig aft to keep the bows deliberately dry. The result can be felt immediately on the water with the non-immersed bows resulting in fast, easy tacking. There’s also less danger of catching a bow in waves as these dry forward sections increase as the bows lift with speed.

We spent a lot of our trial matching single-figure windspeeds and when I found a 12-knot ‘gust’, I was amazed how quickly we accelerated up to double figures close reaching. Aft helm cats often receive negative comments about their exposed steering positions and a lack of clear forward vision. And while those points stand, I usually feel the trade-offs are worthwhile for the sailing experience – certainly so here.

The direct steering is superb, incomparable to a bulkhead helm or flybridge helm. Practical solutions that will suit bluewater cruising include the low boom, forward-facing navstation, and redundancy features for the electrical and steering systems. The Naca profile fixed keels also allow for drying out.

The test boat had a three-cabin layout plus a utility cabin. The hulls are noticeably narrow forward, but the yard has used the dimensions well, especially in this multipurpose SmartRoom. The build and finish quality is production level – nicely designed but to a price.

Were I to be offered €1m to spend on a new yacht, this might make my shortlist. It’s one of the rare production cats that makes you want to remain on the helm. No complex daggerboards hinder the accommodation, which allows intelligent layout solutions to be offered. For distance voyaging at a good average speed, this has the waterline length to deliver, combined with comfort throughout.

Lagoon 43

Lagoon continues to build the highest numbers – nearly 1,100 Lagoon 42s have launched since 2016. And while this new Lagoon 43 was slated as a replacement, the 42’s continued popularity sees its production run continue (albeit only the four-cabin model for charter). The new 43 is the same length and width, but otherwise quite different.

A chief goal was to offer four equal size cabins for charter guests, and to move the berth in the owner’s cabin version forward away from the dock. The result is that the 43 looks especially wide in the bows. Hard chines just above the waterline on the inboard side of the hulls help to keep the wetted surface areas down. VPLP admits there were worries about its seakeeping in chop, but say its CFD analysis shows it works.

That said, we found this 14-tonne cat struggles to point and prefers to be sailed slightly freer, and a Code 0 is key in lighter breezes. See more next month. Access from the dinghy/dock/ocean has all changed, including new bulwark door openings.

Nauta Design worked particularly hard on the connecting saloon and cockpit and how the dual tables and chairs can combine. There’s also a flybridge area above the bulkhead helm which offers some seating without pushing the boom too high, while the cockpit aft bench allows you to sit facing forward or aft with feet on a net.

Best catamaran and multihull winner 2024 – Outremer 52

My highlight test of 2023? Sailing this Outremer 52 for 200 miles over two days and nights! Quite how such a large vessel, one that is capable of doing laps of the planet in true comfort, is also capable of providing such enjoyable sailing is the secret sauce that helps scoop this prize.

And it was pushed hard for this award by the disruptive HH. But the Outremer is such a well rounded, measured and thought out yacht for bluewater cruising at a reliable speed – it’s the full package, a dream boat for family bluewater sailing and arguably the French yard’s best and most refined model to date.

Designer VPLP was tasked with replacing the popular and well proven 51 with more comfort and stowage, while maintaining the performance. It says it took the best of the 55 (which won this award two years ago), and the best of the 51’s deck plan to create this 52. The result means too many good features to point out here, from the variety of helm positions, including a completely protected position inboard using the swing pedestal, to the well conceived spaces. I’d therefore recommend reading our full test report online or in YW’s June 2023 issue!

Neel 52

Neel continues to enjoy its cruising trimaran niche, using the wow factor of bridgedeck accommodation combined with the type of sailing enjoyment and feedback monohull sailors appreciate.

The impressive lightwind performance and direct feel of a Neel I am used to. But I don’t think I’ve ever been so surprised by the amount of cabins or space as I was on this 52. It’s available with four to six cabins plus the option for two crew cabins aft! Some of this maze works well, other areas, such as the forward cabins in the main hull not quite so well. Horizon and rig sightlines and some finishing also leaves room for improvement.

HH44

The HH44 seemingly manages to achieve the space and pace balance in a compact 45ft package, while also being one of the most innovative and exciting new production yachts I have sailed. From its looks to layout, to practical on deck solutions such as swing pedestals, side gates through the bulwarks and transom gates that double as swim platforms and boost cockpit security, it’s packed with fresh thinking.

And on the subject of ‘fresh’, the natural ventilation encouraged into the yacht through those massive forward facing coachroof windows which open – a feat made possible thanks to a stiff carbon composite structure – negates any aircon requirements.

With its deep carbon boards and tall carbon rig the HH44 is a powerful, reactive animal to sail. However, it’s the incorporation of the first parallel hybrid electric drive units which really makes this high tech high performance cat stand out. The electric motors are attached to the aft end of conventional diesel engines, not only providing silent power, but renewable energy through regenerative drives while sailing.

Best catamaran and multihull 2023

Best catamaran winner – Nautitech 44

If the very best catamaran delivers the ideal comfort to performance compromise, here’s a catamaran that seems to strike the perfect balance.

For those who cite a lack of visibility and protection as reasons not to choose this aft helm route, try sailing this first – direct steering brings so much more helming pleasure that you get the enjoyable feeling and communication more associated with a monohull. The attention to keeping weight low and central, vacuum infused vinylester build and a low coachroof and boom all aid this performance. The fine entry Lombard-designed hulls allowed us to properly point upwind at 8 knots (in 13), but it was the hands-on steering sensation that really stayed with me.

While there’s no real inside/outside boundary – the saloon bridges both – the Chedal-Anglay interior design works well. It is not as voluminous as some, but is certainly enough to be smugly comfortable at anchor, finished to a good quality, with walnut Alpi trim as standard. The layout option for a ‘smart room’ office/laundry/bunk room or stowage cabin is indeed really smart.

Out of all the multihulls nominated or sailed last year, this cat impressed me the most under sail. It’s the ideal size to go distance sailing, with good performance, low draught and space for family and friends. It had me dreaming.

Balance 482

I was drawn to the Balance 482, thanks to the combination of good looking modern design, high average speeds and, chiefly, the profusion of clever thinking and practical ideas that it brings. The South African build uses a foam core with E-glass laminate and cored furniture for a light weight of 11.3 tonnes, but also with the ability to take a generous payload.

An electric furler option combined with screecher sail helps offer effortless handling and fun sailing, although the 482 prefers a breeze in the double figures. Smart options such as load cells on the rigging, a bowsprit camera to monitor the anchor chain, plus engine room and mast cams all help for maintaining vigilance. Other features we like include the solar panels properly installed on raised brackets, raincatchers built into the coachroof, and how all sheets and lines are led to the helm station. But the prize solution is the VersaHelm, which allows you to swing the wheel inboard, close off the helm station, and stand watch and steer from a fully protected position.

Catana Ocean Class

The Catana Ocean Class is a bulky model which is geared more towards creature comforts than the higher performance of its predecessors. That said, it uses carbon in the structure and roof, foam cored furniture, the tanks are mounted low in the hulls and it has daggerboards and fine entry bows. The weight savings help it offer a massive 5.5 tonne cruising payload, plus there’s capacious stowage and large tank, refrigeration and laundry capacity.

Positioned between Lagoon and Outremer, the Catana echoes a bit of its sister brand Bali’s concept with its internal cockpit-cum-saloon layout while providing good ventilation via large sliding doors and opening windows. We liked how it’s easy to handle solo from one helm station, including the electric remote control of the boards, plus the layout of the galley and navstation.

C-Cat 48

Those chasing speed and helming pleasure should perhaps look to the C-Cat 48, as it’s as close to helming a fast monohull as a cruising cat is likely to get and one of the rare times we enjoyed sailing upwind in light breezes on a multihull! This is largely thanks to a lightweight, stiff build – the Comar yard has managed to save 1.7 tonnes over the first boat (9.5 tonnes light) and increased the draught of the curved daggerboards to 2.95m.

A carbon roof and rig comes as standard, as well as an epoxy hull, full carbon deck, bulkheads and compression beam. It is a little quirky with comparatively small volumes, but this François Perus design will outperform most other performance cats and monohulls of a similar length.

Excess 14

The Excess 14 shares that direct sensation you get from aft helms and some of the performance of the C-Cat, but in a more balanced, voluminous layout for cruising. The Excess 14 benefits from the research of VPLP’s Vannes racing office, where attention was focused on weight reduction, with savings particularly in furniture, on improved stiffness (PET foam cored sandwich for main structural bulkheads), and the efficiency of deeper fixed keels.

The result is telling on the water, as it should be for any best catamaran contender, where you can log easy miles: we clocked late 7s upwind, reached in the late 8s and regularly averaged 9 knots with gennaker in 12-15 knots. Clear glass windows give acceptable visibility from the helms through the coachroof and the comparatively minimalist interior. In short it offers a good mix of volume, reasonable performance and enjoyable sailing – see our full review last month.

Sailing performance was another key facet in the battle of the big cats from the big cat yards, Lagoon and Fountaine Pajot. Both models offer luxurious amounts of space for home from home comfort, as watersports bases for long term cruising.

Lagoon 51

The decision to push the mast to the front of the coachroof to allow for a larger genoa than its recent preference for self-tacking jibs has paid off on the Lagoon 51. It helped us sail efficiently into the waves (albeit not pointing too high) before clocking double figures reaching with the code sail in 15 knots.

The Lagoon’s large flybridge with dual access is a USP at this size that will be a hit or miss deal breaker for many. The 51 offers unrivalled accommodation volume in three, four or six cabins, and relaxation zones, and good circulation through these big spaces. Once again the jury applauds Lagoon for thoroughly testing the prototype model during a six month tour. Over 100 have already sold.

Aura 51

We saw in our December issue how the experienced owners of the Fountaine Pajot test boat choose to live and work full time aboard their Aura 51. It’s a design that promotes space, enough to take friends, family and crucially for them, all the toys to enjoy at anchor. Its capability of averaging 8-10 knots also appeals, although the single side helm and hydraulic steering result in scant connection to the sailing in light winds (the same applies to the Lagoon).

The fact the yard already offers this in a hybrid version and has an electric and hydrogen model in the pipeline could sway some, but the decision between the FP and the Lagoon will likely come down to preference between a central flybridge or offset bulkhead helm together with interior design and layout.

If you enjoyed this….

Yachting World is the world’s leading magazine for bluewater cruisers and offshore sailors. Every month we have inspirational adventures and practical features to help you realise your sailing dreams.

Build your knowledge with a subscription delivered to your door. See our latest offers and save at least 30% off the cover price.

The post Best catamaran and multihull: The very best yachts on two and three hulls appeared first on Yachting World.

Would you like a drink?” asks Fiona, one of the crew of Outremer 52 Inez V. Even if you’ve only just stepped aboard, as I have, you know you could probably ask for a cappuccino or a mojito jangling with ice, and it would be no problem. The enormous freezer and shiny coffee machine are right there in the saloon.

The galley opens to the cockpit, there are seating areas inside and outside, a cooling breeze comes through the forward saloon windows. Inez V is as spacious and comfortable as a small apartment, but one with a permanent view of the harbour, the sea or a tropical anchorage. The question I’ve come to ask – why a multihull? – simply answers itself.

Richard Border and his partner Alex Mathisen from Vancouver took delivery of their new Outremer 52 in 2023. They are long-time sailors and have a Mark Mills-designed C&C 30 racer they keep at home. Border’s plan to exit his business in actuarial consulting included buying a boat they could cruise and live aboard afterwards, and for that they chose a catamaran.

Four years ago, to test the concept, they chartered a Lagoon 45 in Greece and helped deliver a Lagoon 42 from Les Sables d’Olonne to Gibraltar. “We had 20-30 knots off the Portuguese coast and we were able to sit down to a meal of roast lamb and red wine in our T-shirts, where in a monohull we’d have had foul weather gear on,” says Border. That convinced them.

After a year in the Med getting familiar with Inez V, I met them at the start of the 2024 ARC transatlantic rally. Next they plan to join the Grand Large World Rally, spending three-and-a-half years circumnavigating, “and then we will sell the boat,” Border says.

Outremer 52 Inez V. Photo: James Mitchell/World Cruising

Nearby is Petr Deuchner, the professional skipper of an enormous-looking Australian-flagged Fountaine Pajot Samana 59. It is Deucher’s second Atlantic crossing in this model of catamaran.

“If you want adventure or speed, or are racing, buy a monohull,” he says. “If you want comfort and safety and a boat for different ages on board, get a multihull. For this [kind of sailing], I really like a multihull,” he says.

Having conquered the realm of yacht charter, catamarans are transforming the experience of ocean voyaging. This has been accelerated by the reach of YouTubers selling the lifestyle, such as ex-monohullers Sailing La Vagabonde and others.

The case that catamarans are inherently less safe for ocean crossings and round the world voyages has been comprehensively scotched by their testimonies. Places they aren’t suited to, such as high latitudes and regions with cold, rough or volatile weather, are not that high on most families’ sailing agenda anyway.

The Inez V crew plan a three-and-a-half-year circumnavigation. Photo: James Mitchell/World Cruising

The rise and rise of multihulls, mostly French- or South African-built catamarans, is well reflected by entries in rallies. For many new owners, the ARC transatlantic is the first step away from the Mediterranean. This year, over a third of the rally boats were multihulls.

“I get the impression that the owners are younger and a bit more family friendly,” says Paul Tetlow, managing director of World Cruising Club. Overall the ARC appears to be attracting more mid-life sailors in their 40s or early 50s – a sign of increasing affluence and earlier financial independence.

Plenty of room

Professional navigator and racing sailor Mike Broughton is at the end of the same dock, about to go transatlantic with a charter group in Jack, a highly desirable looking carbon composite McConaghy MC75 catamaran. A Royal Yacht Squadron ensign flutters at the stern.

With its huge saloon and flybridge helm stations with race car-style seats, this is a sailing superyacht experience in a sub-24m package. “The rules are so much less restrictive, and you have much more living space than with a 30m boat,” Broughton points out.

The downsides? “It doesn’t do such deep downwind angles, doesn’t go upwind so well and is a bit slower in light winds, but in 16-17 knots [of apparent wind] we’re much faster, and as soon as you reach 18, we are doing 20 knots.

Catamarans galore in the Marina Las Palmas in the lead up to the ARC start.
Photo: James Mitchell/World Cruising

“The sail plan is very, very good: a big square top main, big Code 0 and a genoa and staysail. We have amazing line speed [on the winches] at the push of a button. We have a lot of privacy in the two hulls and lots of little areas to read, write, talk to people.” With plenty of room for the 12 crew, they are also about to have “a very cushty watch system,” he smiles.

By offering life at less of an angle than a monohull, multihulls are particularly ideal for families with small children, friends not so at ease on boats, or anyone with a mobility issue or a disability. Toronto businessman Axel Doerwald has a spinal cord injury, so a multihull was the only practical option. He’d begun looking into buying a cruising yacht in 2016, having done “a little local sailing with friends on Lake Ontario. But I didn’t know a lot, and I didn’t know what I was getting myself into,” he says.

He began looking at new build options but found that either the helm positions of production designs were inaccessible to him and/or the builders were unable to modify moulds to make access through the cockpit wide enough for a wheelchair. A chance meeting with a US broker linked him up with South African builders Vision. They were trying to sell hull No1 of their 444 model and were happy to accommodate modifications.

Article continues below…

Outremer 52 review: Exclusive 200-mile test

They seem preternatural, our navlight giving the dolphins an oily reflection as they launch like dark green torpedoes in unison…

£1,051,510.00

Sailing La Vagabonde explain their multihull criteria

Over the last seven years Riley Whitelum and Elayna Carausu have advanced from novice sailors to logging more ocean miles…

Doerwald has since sailed 25,000 miles – his maiden voyage was the 6,500 from South Africa to Grenada via St Helena and Ascension islands. He requires crew with practical skills to go sailing. He took on two German sailors for the transatlantic crossing and pays for this.

“Trying to manage on my own is not realistic or safe. I can helm and I can trim sails, but I can’t lower the dinghy, I can’t go to the gooseneck or cope if something goes wrong. I need crew to fix things. That comes down to money. Buying a boat is only one part of the equation.”

Costs of ownership

Multihull manufacturers are building boats at a rate that a global marina infrastructure historically configured for monohulls is struggling to adapt to and accommodate. To take the example of the ARC again, a decade ago it was full at 225 boats. Now the rally is maxed out at 175 because multis need either two finger pontoon berths, stern-to space with ground lines, or a hammerhead.

Pre-rally essential checks. Photo: James Mitchell/World Cruising

“Exponential supply is out of kilter with the present berthing mix, especially in the western Med,” says Paul Tetlow.

Richard Border couldn’t take his Outremer 52 back to Vancouver even if he wanted to. “There’s no place we could berth it, as far as I’m aware,” he says. “The waiting list [for a suitable berth] is years long.” In the Med, there is a race for stern-to moorings, and in Greece the Borders had to anchor near popular harbours so they could grab a spot the next morning as soon as the occupants left.

Then there’s the expense. “A lot of places you’re paying by the square metre, superyacht prices on the basis of beam, and it varies a lot. In Croatia, we were paying €300 a night. In Turkey it was more expensive for a month than in La Grande Motte [France] for four months. Prices ranged from €60 a night to €290.

“We were quoted €790 for a night in a marina in Barcelona during the America’s Cup,” he recalls. “We didn’t take it!”

Multihulls also face restricted yard and haul out facilities. The investment needed for a big lift is massive. There was nowhere suitable in the Canary Islands until this autumn when Rolnautic Varadero in Las Palmas opened a new 8,500 tonne hoist, at a cost of €6m. Further afield on the ‘milk run’, options for wide beam haul outs are sparse. Paul Tetlow points out: “It is definitely a problem above 45ft. Facilities are few and far between and this would need careful investigation.”

For all these reasons, multihulls must spend a majority of their time actively cruising or at anchor, and be self-sufficient to do so.

Stephane Gautier’s Excess 14 Ikigai sets off at the ARC start. Photo: James Mitchell/World Cruising

Owners need to factor some extra costs, such as servicing and maintaining two engines. Mark Billings does not see this as an outright downside. He bought his Fountaine Pajot Elba 45 earlier this year and his ultimate aim is to go through the Panama Canal to the Sea of Cortez.

“If you are doing a service on one engine, doing the second is trivial,” he argues, “and the thing is we have redundancy of engines and rudders.”

Axel Doerwald says he budgets $200,000 annually to cover maintenance, insurance, marina fees, crew fees, spares, fuel and provisioning.

“Maybe it could be $150,000 or less if you’re able-bodied and handy, but if you need people with experience to help, it’s expensive. Casual crew won’t be able to fix things and the quality of crew is something I’m happy to pay for and it gives me peace of mind.”

Doerwald has had good experiences getting crew through FindaCrew.net, selecting people following video calls.

Mark Billings’s Fountaine Pajot Elba 45 My Cherie Amour. Photo: James Mitchell/World Cruising

The costs of new boats have risen sharply in the last few years. There is uncertainty among owners about what they will get back when they sell. “We won’t know the actual ownership cost until we sell it,” says Richard Border. “Since we ordered, the same boat is 30-35% more, and if you order an Outremer now, you won’t get it until 2028. I’m hoping that will keep demand up. But it all depends on the state of the economy.”

“You have to accept that if you think you’re getting into this as an investment, it’s a pipe dream. And you’re on the hook to maintain it,” says Axel Doerwald. “I think potentially you will spend more than with a monohull and you’re paying twice the mooring fees, the insurance costs are higher, the ongoing maintenance is somewhat higher.”

Where next?

Based on World Cruising’s data, Paul Tetlow estimates that, after crossing the Atlantic, “25% will go through the Panama canal, 25% or more will remain in the Caribbean for more than a season (staying south), under 25% will go north to the US, and the balance will return to Europe.”

Catamarans now make up more than a third of all boats taking part in the Atlantic Rally for Cruisers. Photo: James Mitchell/World Cruising

Sailing back to Europe is often done by owners with delivery crews, or by a delivery skipper. Shipping back is very expensive – supposing owners can get a place on a ship. “I’ve looked at shipping back [from the Caribbean to the Mediterranean],” says Billings, “and it would cost $40,000. Which is actually cheaper than preparing for this,” he adds, “when you account for all the extra equipment for this, flights for crew, etc. But that’s if we can find a ship; there can be years of a wait. It will be years before we can go back.”

These practical and financial considerations are some of the issues would-be owners need to weigh up. Yet for more and more buyers, the stability of a multihull, the space and the privacy win out many times over. It is easy to see yourself there, kicking back in Virgin Gorda with that galley-made mojito or cappuccino.

Invested in their own choice, the owners we spoke to are enthusiastic advocates. “You can’t argue the greater comfort,” Axel Doerwald concludes, “and if you have sufficient discretionary income, it’s a no-brainer.”

If you enjoyed this….

Yachting World is the world’s leading magazine for bluewater cruisers and offshore sailors. Every month we have inspirational adventures and practical features to help you realise your sailing dreams.

Build your knowledge with a subscription delivered to your door. See our latest offers and save at least 30% off the cover price.

The post Why so many sailors are making the switch to multihulls appeared first on Yachting World.

Du Toit Yacht Design has also been busy with Balance again recently, conceiving longer, faster new models. During this year and next the South African-built US brand will release the Balance VersaDrive Hybrid 464CC and 502CC, which feature a carbon composite grid (pictured right) and the option of VersaDrive hybrid power, as well as maintaining many of the popular features of the older 442 and 482 models.

Sail areas for the 464CC and 502CC have been increased over the previous models to boost potential performance

Balance refers to its carbon grid as a carbon core (the CC in the Balance VersaDrive Hybrid 464CC and 502CC), which gives the cats an ultra-stiff framework. Bulkheads, primary beams, chainplates, rudders, cabin soles, daggerboards and trunks are full carbon construction. With a taller mast, this has allowed the design team to increase sail area and potential performance.

View of the internal structure looking aft to port

The hybrid element, meanwhile, refers to the fact that the cats are offered with the latest Integrel E-drive system, which provides both diesel and electric propulsion and improves the boat’s weight distribution and power capacity. This boosts the charging output from the dual 45hp Yanmar diesel engines to 30kW and provides 40hp of electric drive from the battery bank.

Article continues below…

First look: Balance 442 – lightweight, fast catamaran

Although relatively heavy designs that maximise space and comfort still dominate the market, demand for lightweight and fast cruising catamarans…

How hybrid sailing yachts finally became a feasible option

Every sailor is familiar with the wet cough of the diesel engine, and the acrid smell of its exhaust. For…

Balance VersaDrive Hybrid 464CC and 502CC Bring Upgrades

The new models also boast increased ventilation and visibility throughout, and feature Balance’s new stern doors, which fit over the engine bay hatches and can be raised to close off the transoms at sea.

Popular features of older Balance models are retained, but the new boats boast improved visibility and ventilation throughout

“All the best features of our boats have been retained in these new designs,” explains founder Phil Berman. “But we’ve supercharged performance voyaging by building these new models longer, leaner, faster and capable of carrying additional payloads without penalty.”

The daggerboard cats weigh around 11.5 tonnes and 13 tonnes respectively and are priced with VersaDrives from US$1.285m and $1.785m.

Contact details: balancecatamarans.com

If you enjoyed this….

Yachting World is the world’s leading magazine for bluewater cruisers and offshore sailors. Every month we have inspirational adventures and practical features to help you realise your sailing dreams.

Build your knowledge with a subscription delivered to your door. See our latest offers and save at least 30% off the cover price.

The post Balance VersaDrive Hybrid 464CC and 502CC first look: Carbon core catamarans with hybrid propulsion appeared first on Yachting World.

The Evo 60 is an eye-opening, performance-focused luxury cruising catamaran and a full South African project. Drawn by top multihull designer Anton Du Toit (Balance Yachts’ designer), who grew up on a cruising yacht and is self-taught, the first Evo 60 is already in construction at Evolution Marine in Cape Town.

This is a young company with plenty of experience behind it. Led by veteran boatbuilder Oliver Dawson, the yard specialises in advanced composite work, with recent projects varying from a Class 40 to high-speed ferries, accommodation pods and even a replica of a GT40 sports car.

Evolution Marine aims to build 12 Evo 60s over the next four years at its Cape Town manufacturing facility

The powerful, modern-looking cat is being promoted as capable of both regatta sailing and bluewater cruising. A fully infused E-glass/carbon epoxy structure will go some way to meeting its brief for strong, safe high-speed. Around 80% of the Evo 60 is carbon, including rig, appendages, crossbeam and longeron.

Dawson’s conservative estimate is that the lightweight displacement of the first boat will only be 13.5 tonnes. He says their objective is to make this high-performance cruising catamaran experience closer to that of a monohull superyacht, yet “with a similar power-to-weight ratio as the Gunboat 68, she should perform exceptionally well”.

The aft-mounted wheels provide articulating helm positions, an advancement on the now popular pivot systems, which should give “a monohull-like sailing experience, especially in the outboard performance mode,” Dawson continues. Push-button controls and a self-tacking jib will help enable short-handed use.

Evo 60’s emphasis will be on spacious luxury, speed and comfortable cruising

A glance at the Evo 60 renderings tells you there’s as big a focus on liveability and luxury as there is on performance. The covered cockpit, saloon space and galley with island provide significant socialising space. And the layout of the first boat has an opulent owner’s hull swallowing the full port-side hull, including transverse berth. Three interior design themes are offered.

Evolution Marine is gearing up to build 12 yachts over the next four years. The first is progressing without an owner as Dawson wants it at the start of the Cape to Rio Race at the end of this year. It will then make its debut at the International Multihull Show in 2026.

The saloon has a miami beach-house feel

When you compare the much shorter lead time and price against similar performance cruising cats from HH and Balance etc, Evo could make an attractive proposition.
The price is expected to be around $3.5m, which includes a very full, ready-to-sail spec.

Article continues below…

Best catamaran and multihull: The very best yachts on two and three hulls

There are many categories in the European Yacht of the Year awards, from the best luxury yachts and performance yachts to the best yachts for families and evet…

Excess 13 first look: A light and airy catamaran for easy enjoyment

Receiving a limited edition Lego set is one of the most surprising (and best) ways I’ve seen to announce a…

Evo 60 Specifications:

LOA: 18.27m 60ft 0in
LWL: 18.27m 60ft 0in
Beam: 9.02m 29ft 7in
Draught: 0.63-3.28m 2ft-10ft 8in
Contact details: evolutionmarine.co.za

The Evo 60’s price is expected to be around $3.5m

If you enjoyed this….

Yachting World is the world’s leading magazine for bluewater cruisers and offshore sailors. Every month we have inspirational adventures and practical features to help you realise your sailing dreams.

Build your knowledge with a subscription delivered to your door. See our latest offers and save at least 30% off the cover price.

The post Evo 60 first look: Luxury catamaran with a capital L appeared first on Yachting World.

This South African yard’s first model, the Vision 444, is a fast and lightweight catamaran set up for long-distance sailing that has won wide acclaim over the past five years. A new 48-footer is also in development for launch in 2026.

Avoiding complexity whenever possible is a big part of the overall concept. Mainsail trim, for example, is controlled by a bridle with purchase system each side that’s mounted on the hard top. This enables the sail to be trimmed as accurately as with a traveller system, but the arrangement is lighter, quicker to install and a lot easier to maintain, especially in far-flung parts of the globe.

Systems are also chosen from suppliers with global distribution and complex options are avoided where possible. The 40hp Nanni diesel engines, for instance, use an almost ubiquitous Kubota base engine that doesn’t have the complexities of electronically controlled common rail fuel injection systems. In addition, each boat leaves the factory with all the spares needed for the first two years of sailing – all stowed in a dedicated workshop area that also has space for all the necessary tools.

The Vision 484 will offer more space than the existing boat and will have a three-cabin layout. It will also have an impressive 4,300kg payload, while the bridgedeck is raised to 90cm above the water. Until now the yard has not had a presence in Europe, but Agulhas Yachts in Palma was appointed to represent the brand in January 2025.

Article continues below…

Best catamaran and multihull: The very best yachts on two and three hulls

There are many categories in the European Yacht of the Year awards, from the best luxury yachts and performance yachts to the best yachts for families and evet…

Excess 13 first look: A light and airy catamaran for easy enjoyment

Receiving a limited edition Lego set is one of the most surprising (and best) ways I’ve seen to announce a…

Vision 484 Specifications:

Hull length: 14.75m 48ft 5in
Beam: 8.00m 26ft 3in
Draught: 1.25m 4ft 2in
Displacement: 12,700kg 28,000lb
Price: US$1,250,000.
Contact details: visionyachts.com

If you enjoyed this….

Yachting World is the world’s leading magazine for bluewater cruisers and offshore sailors. Every month we have inspirational adventures and practical features to help you realise your sailing dreams.

Build your knowledge with a subscription delivered to your door. See our latest offers and save at least 30% off the cover price.

The post Vision 484 first look: New catamaran in development for 2026 launch appeared first on Yachting World.

For over a decade, my wife, Rachel, and I lived aboard what could aptly be described as a traditional bluewater cruising yacht. Our 1984 Tayana 42, Agápē, was an excellent choice for us to begin our cruising adventure.

Everything about her was robust and designed to withstand decades of abuse from the relentless ocean. We sailed her through Mexico, Central America, and into French Polynesia where we have spent the last five years exploring countless remote islands and anchorages.

The longer we spent on the water, the more we fell in love with the cruising life. Yet simultaneously, the remote lifestyle left us longing for friends and family. A sailor’s life is filled with farewells as new friends sail in and out of each other’s orbits.

Two years ago, when we decided to make cruising a permanent move, we started taking on more and more crew. This was not because we needed help sailing, but to forge and strengthen friendships made along the way. Coincidentally, around this time, I developed a serious condition: I was bitten by the ‘bigger boat’ bug, sometimes referred to as ‘Two foot-itis’.

Unfortunately this condition affects the part of the brain responsible for rational thinking!

Joshua and Rachel Shankle found and bought their Leopard 46 catamaran in French Polynesia. Photo: voyagesofagape.com

A bigger boat

I began exploring different yachts that would offer us more space for visitors. I also hankered after something that could sail faster than our 16-ton cruiser was capable of. Here in French Polynesia, we sometimes navigate passes where the current exceeds 5 knots, and our ability to motor at just 5.5 knots has prevented us from visiting some places we’d hoped to. We realised that achieving all the space we wanted would require a 55-60ft monohull.

Gradually, my attention turned instead to catamarans. I loved the space and stability catamarans offer but was concerned about their performance in foul weather.

Once we decided to focus on catamarans, I began trying to get on board as many different models as possible. This isn’t difficult, as catamarans now constitute roughly 40-50% of cruising yachts. Everything involving boats is a compromise, and stepping aboard different models gave us a clearer idea of what we truly desired or could live without.

The couple are keen divers and appreciate the extra space a catamaran offers. Photo: voyagesofagape.com

This proved invaluable, as design features we might admire for their sailing characteristics could be less practical for day-to-day life. After a decade aboard our Tayana, we had a good grasp of what was important to us, but transitioning from monohull to multihull opened a whole new world of questions.

Narrowing the search

Rachel and I spend the majority of our cruising time at anchor, rarely tying up at docks or marinas. This meant our next vessel needed to function more like a floating condo than a weekend racer. We wanted something that sailed well, but equally important was having a comfortable and inviting home to enjoy and share.

One of the first things I reconsidered in our search was where I wanted the helm position. Initially, I favoured older Catanas and Nautitechs with their lower booms and more performance-oriented look. However, on both brands, the helms are exposed at the stern.

Catamarans can often get into shallow, sheltered anchorages in out-of-the-way places – and some models can even be safely beached .Photo: voyagesofagape.com

While advantageous for viewing sail shape and trim, I felt they can obstruct ease of movement when embarking or disembarking, especially when carrying heavy dive equipment – diving is one of our passions. Combined with the experience of an autopilot failure necessitating hours of hand steering, I began to prioritise a comfortable and protected helm station.

Gradually, we narrowed our search, and focused on a few models that suited our lifestyle best. It’s not that they were superior boats, but they aligned more closely with our needs. Unfortunately, most were half a world away and outside our budget.

With cyclone season fast approaching, we listed Agápē, hoping to sell before the season began, which would allow us to leave French Polynesia in search of our new home. Completing the last few projects before sale proved unexpectedly challenging, as I found myself wanting to do more and more. Posting her listing felt like a betrayal.

Large genoas need careful management when the wind gets up. Photo: voyagesofagape.com

While I cherished our monohull, she was ageing, and every boat reaches a point where an owners’ affection no longer justifies the cost required to maintain it to a certain standard. Selling Agápē was – on paper – undoubtedly the correct decision, yet emotional attachments to a boat are hard to sever. Older boats possess more character and can feel like part of the family. The idea of replacing the hand-finished solid teak interior with laminate and glassfibre was difficult to accept.

Serendipity

One evening, everything seemed to fall into place. While enjoying sundowners at the beach, some cruising friends asked which broker we were using, as they too were contemplating selling their boat, a 2012 Leopard 46.

We’d spent many evenings aboard their catamaran, sharing meals and games, and over the years had assisted them with several smaller projects. A few months earlier, our boats had even been side by side in the boatyard for bottom jobs, allowing me to inspect theirs closely.

Rachel and Joshua Shankle are delighted with their Leopard 46. Photo: voyagesofagape.com

As we discussed the sales process in French Polynesia, a price was mentioned that we could afford. From there, the decision was easy, as this catamaran was already in French Polynesia, sparing us a significant cost in taxes and simplifying the moving process. We’d set aside thousands of dollars for flights to inspect boats globally and ship our belongings, funds we could now allocate to making the Leopard fit to become our new home.

Article continues below…

How to get a multihull ready for bluewater sailing

If you’re contemplating buying a multihull for bluewater sailing, be it a new one or a brokerage yacht, what equipment…

43 of the best bluewater sailboat designs of all time

Which yacht is the best for bluewater boating? This question generates even more debate among sailors than questions about what’s…

The best bluewater multihulls of all time: a complete guide

What are the best bluewater multihulls for long term cruising? The one you own, or the one you can afford…

It took me three days to meticulously inspect every square inch of the catamaran, testing everything I could before reaching a decision. While this may seem intrusive, especially when the owners are friends, it’s an essential step. Personally inspecting a boat as comprehensively as possible is crucial; surveyors are invaluable for insurance purposes, but no one should be more committed to uncovering the boat’s true condition than its prospective new owners.

Having recently sold one boat and bought another, I can attest to the fact that I forgot or was unaware of issues on our own monohull, as well as discovering overlooked details on the catamaran. These are no one’s fault (unless deliberately concealed) – it’s just the nature of boats.

Catamarans offer plenty of living and cabin accommodation. Photo: voyagesofagape.com

Although it won’t be feasible for everyone, I was very grateful we could spend the night on board before we bought the boat. We’d stayed on a few of our friends’ catamarans over the years and the benefit of being able to spend time on the Leopard – just listening to the noises or how passing wakes might slap the sugar scoops – cannot be understated. It also gives you time for the ‘wow’ factor to wear off and start to notice the small imperfections.

Shakedown sail

Once we committed to buying the Leopard, everything progressed swiftly. With cyclone season approaching, we only had a few weeks to finalise Agápē’s sale and prepare our new catamaran, now named Agápē Nui (Nui meaning ‘big’ in Tahitian), for a 1,000-mile sail from Tahiti to the Marquesas Islands against the trade winds.

This passage served as a thorough shakedown for both boat and crew. With my parents aboard, the extra hands and rest were welcomed. We tested everything, from reefing lines and deck hatches during headwinds and waves to engine performance during the calm of the last 36 hours of the journey. The passage gave us plenty of time to learn the Leopard’s sailing characteristics as my dad and I played with different angles and trim. As often is the case, we discovered the boat could endure more than we could. Typically, we needed to slow down to enjoy a smoother ride against the swells.

Space to spread out makes maintenance easier. Photo: voyagesofagape.com

Six months later, we’ve sailed our new home over 3,000 miles from Tahiti to the Marquesas and back, through the Tuamotu archipelago. I continue to be impressed with how well she sails and the comfort a catamaran provides. However, it’s not been without its challenges.

The hardest thing for me sailing the catamaran is there is very little feeling to the boat. On our monohull, I could walk away from the helm and know if she was overpowered or if the wind had shifted by the way she would move. We also had a built-in safety margin in the way a monohull can heel in a big gust. This isn’t the case on a catamaran.

We’ve had to adopt a more conservative approach – especially when running downwind on squally nights. We don’t have radar to see squalls approaching and as the wind speed picks up so does the boat speed. When deciding to reef, turning into the wind exposes the boat’s beam to its full force, highlighting the overpowering effect of the massive mainsail. The rig loads are also formidable. On our cutter-rigged monohull, I could adjust the mainsheet by hand; on the catamaran, every manoeuvre requires a winch.

A catamaran has allowed the Shankles to spend more time sharing their cruising lifestyle with friends and family. Photo: voyagesofagape.com

Another challenge has been anchoring. On this model of catamaran, the anchor roller sits behind the trampoline, a design that has its pros and cons. The heavy anchor is not stowed as far forward when sailing, which is good for weight placement, but makes it more difficult to add floats to our anchor chain (important to keep it from damaging or becoming entangled in fragile coral reefs). We’ve managed a workaround, but it adds time when raising the chain.

On our monohull, the roller was on the bow, so if the boat drifted due to wind or waves, we could wait a moment for the boat to correct itself. With the catamaran, we can’t allow the boat to drift, or we risk the chain becoming taut against the hulls. This means when picking up or lowering the anchor in windy conditions the helmsman must use more throttle than normal to keep the bows into the wind. We’re learning and getting better but, since anchoring can be a flashpoint for many cruising couples, any additional stress in this area is best avoided.

We’ve often heard that catamarans mean more work, but I’ve found this to be only partly true. While we now manage two engines and a diesel generator, the increased space around these motors makes routine maintenance significantly easier and quicker. The larger space makes it easier to keep the area clean, helping to spot any leaks or issues immediately. Otherwise maintenance is roughly the same – except for waxing the hulls, which literally is twice the work.

It’s normal to take time adjusting to a new yacht, especially when transitioning between different types. Perhaps over the next few years, I’ll come to appreciate the subtle nuances of the Leopard as deeply as I did our beloved Agápē.

‘Exhaustion is the biggest challenge cruising sailors face’. Photo: voyagesofagape.com

In comfort and company

The most significant change by far, and one that outweighs any negatives, is the comfort.

Exhaustion is one of the most formidable challenges cruising sailors face. On our monohull, even simple tasks during rough passages, such as using the heads, could prove daunting. Living aboard while heeled at 20° sometimes felt more like a battle for survival than a hobby.

So far, on Agápē Nui, we haven’t encountered anything like that. While conditions can still be rough and somewhat uncomfortable, neither of us has been tossed from our beds. More importantly, we arrive at each new anchorage tired but far less exhausted than before.

In terms of comfort, the catamaran truly shines at anchor. We now enjoy double the refrigeration and freezer space, two watermakers, even a washing machine. Our solar capacity has doubled to 1,800W, and we have plans to increase it to nearly 3,000W. This allows us to operate all our appliances sustainably and live far more comfortably than we could have dreamed of just 10 years ago.

Anchoring their catamaran has dealt some big lessons! Photo: voyagesofagape.com

In the past six months alone, we’ve welcomed 19 friends, family members, and fellow creatives aboard, many staying for weeks at a time. This was one of the main reasons we chose a catamaran – to share our lives with loved ones – and having those plans come to fruition has been extraordinary.

There’s ample room for everyone to spread out and work or relax. We thoroughly enjoy having guests on board, but having space to retreat to ensures we can host for even longer. Few things are so rewarding as getting to share the magic moments of cruising life with the ones you cherish.

Just six months in, we’re still in the honeymoon phase of ownership, but we’re convinced that choosing a catamaran was the right decision. Our catamaran ticked far more boxes than it left empty. We now have the space to host friends and family for months, using solar energy alone to meet our daily needs.

I love the way she sails and being able to cover more miles in more comfort allows us to enjoy the places we arrive at sooner, and experience for longer. Every time I step onto the deck, I’m astounded and grateful that we now call Agápē Nui our home.

If you enjoyed this….

Motor Boat & Yachting is the world’s leading magazine for Motoryacht enthusiasts. Every month we have inspirational adventures and practical features to help you realise your sailing dreams, as well as tests and news of all the latest motorboats.

Plus you’ll get our quarterly Custom Yachting supplement where we share the last on offer in the superyacht world and at the luxury end of the market.

Build your knowledge with a subscription delivered to your door. See our latest offers and save at least 30% off the cover price.

The post What’s it really like to go from a monohull to a catamaran? A liveaboard cruiser’s lessons learned appeared first on Yachting World.

Explore the latest in ocean cruising catamarans for 2024 with our lineup of five exceptional boats. From the eagerly awaited Seawind 1370 to the eco-conscious design of the Vann R6, each catamaran brings its own distinct features to for cruising adventures.

Seawind 1370

The market for comfortable and spacious performance multihulls continues to grow. Seawind is perhaps less well known in Europe than French brands such as Outremer, however the yard’s background as a sister company to long-standing trimaran builder Corsair effectively gives it a long history in this market.

The 1370 is a long awaited model following an extended Covid-related shut down of the Vietnam production facility. The boat won’t premiere at a show until Cannes in September, but the first seven boats are already on the water, including hull No2, Ruby Rose 2, owned by YouTubers Terysa Vanderloo and Nick Fabbri.

Article continues below…

The best bluewater multihulls of all time: a complete guide

What are the best bluewater multihulls for long term cruising? The one you own, or the one you can afford…

Best catamaran and multihull: The very best yachts on two and three hulls

There are many categories in the European Yacht of the Year awards, from the best luxury yachts and performance yachts to the best yachts for families and evet…

The 1370 is a 45-footer with lightship displacement of 12,300kg. That’s a little heavier than the Outremer 45 and HH44, for instance, but almost 5% lighter than the Excess 14. Modern reverse bows and immersed hull shapes drawn by French-based Yacht Design Collective are intended to combine high performance potential with good load carrying capacity.

Accommodation layouts are geared around the needs of long-term cruising couples and their guests. The modern interior style has ash finishes and large front-opening windows to optimise natural ventilation. A wide lifting tri-fold door aft enables the bridgedeck accommodation to be easily opened onto the aft cockpit in sunny climes, while giving protection against the elements when necessary.

Punch 1370

This range of Mortain & Mavrikios-designed lightweight cruising catamarans has its roots in the former Martinique Multicap Caraïbes yard, which built some 25 boats until 2010. A couple of years ago the designers and Christian Hernandez decided to revive the range, with construction in a new MultiCat Algarve yard, at the mouth of the Rio Guadiana in Portugal.

Red cedar strip planking and epoxy is used to create the underwater profile, while deck and topsides are of composite with a recycled Airex foam core and epoxy using 45% bioresins. The 1370 has a displacement of only 8.5 tonnes, placing it firmly at the light end of the cruising catamaran spectrum, yet it’s still designed for a payload of three tonnes. The updated rig has a square top mainsail and overlapping jib. Shallow keels are fitted, rather than daggerboards.

Lagoon 60

This full flybridge design fills a big slot that previously existed between the Lagoon 55 that was launched in 2021 and the more lavishly appointed Sixty 5. The new design’s huge aft cockpit can be fully opened out onto the water, including hull sides that hinge down like butterfly wings, creating an area even wider than the yacht’s generous 32ft beam allows. There’s also a large forward cockpit on the same level as the saloon, and with direct access, making this an ideal yacht for larger parties.

Layout options include five cabins with a bridgedeck galley, or four cabins with the galley in the port hull, accessed by its own stairs. This version also has a smaller bar area on the bridgedeck, along with a larger saloon.

As with the 55, the rig is stepped further forward than on earlier models and is fitted with overlapping headsails. Naval architect VPLP says these offer more flexibility and efficiency on a boat of this type than the near ubiquitous non-overlapping jibs of today’s yachts.

Nahoa 55

The best boats are invariably the result of considerable experience. This aluminium exploration catamaran has its roots in more than eight years and 50,000 miles of voyaging on a 2005 41ft production catamaran – and the lessons learned and problems encountered during that time. The concept was created by Ben Brehmer and Ashley Stobbart for the next stage of their voyaging life with a young family.

The result is a “focus on expedition-style comfort, reliability, and suitability for short-handed crews,” Brehmer told me. It’s a powerful hull with watertight bulkheads intended for high latitude adventures, as well as use in the tropics.

High bridgedeck clearance helps provide comfort at sea, while protection from sun and inclement weather is maximised.

All lines are led to a forward cockpit, allowing a lone watch keeper to handle the boat. The new coachroof design maximises visibility and light and gives the option to fully enclose the forward cockpit with removable glass. Although initially envisaged as a one-off, the first boat is scheduled to start build in June at a New Zealand yard that’s capable of producing multiple examples in parallel.

Vaan R6

This Dutch yard is one of a number of the multihull builders leading the way in producing yachts that can be recycled, while also making big steps towards decarbonisation.

The 58ft R6 is intended as a rugged yacht capable of taking owners anywhere between the poles and the Mediterranean. It follows 40ft and 50ft R4 and R5 models. With beam only fractionally short of 30ft, it’s a big yacht by any standards and the builders have sought to make the most of the huge volumes on offer.

There’s lofty headroom, large windows that maximise the view of the outside world and a choice of spacious seating areas. In addition to sumptuous owners and guest accommodation, there’s an optional cabin for two crew, recognising this is an important factor to recruiting and retaining crew.

This is also Vaan’s first model with twin staircases leading down from the bridgedeck into each hull. Benefits include easier circulation of people, improved privacy, and an option to have the galley in the port hull rather than on the bridgedeck.

“The Vaan core philosophy of sailing, style and sustainability of course applies again,” founder Igor Kluin tells me. “This boat is made for sailors, with clean styling and truly sustainable material use and propulsion.”

If you enjoyed this….

Yachting World is the world’s leading magazine for bluewater cruisers and offshore sailors. Every month we have inspirational adventures and practical features to help you realise your sailing dreams.

Build your knowledge with a subscription delivered to your door. See our latest offers and save at least 30% off the cover price.

The post 5 of the best new ocean cruising catamarans for 2024 appeared first on Yachting World.

If you’re contemplating buying a multihull for bluewater sailing, be it a new one or a brokerage yacht, what equipment and spec should you be thinking about? The choices you make could determine much of your experience along the way, from comfort at sea to safety, but you don’t want costs to mount up unnecessarily. Where’s the right place to draw the line?

For this feature, we consulted two very experienced bluewater sailors with oceans of multihull miles behind them, catamaran owner Chet Chauhan and coach Nikki Henderson, for advice and guidance.
Here, they look at what they consider the most important priorities, from downwind sail choices to energy requirements – and not neglecting essentials such as a robust workhorse tender.

It is aimed squarely at speccing a multihull, but many of their recommendations would be applicable to bluewater yachts of any type.

safety in numbers – a good way to get into the groove of bluewater cruising is to sail with others in events like the Atlantic Rally for Cruisers (ARC). Photo: James Mitchell

Sail choices and rigging options

Nearly all bluewater catamarans will come with slab reefing, which is simple and durable. Make this system work as efficiently as possible. Check what your mainsail car system is, and possibly upgrade the cars to ones with roller bearings to reduce friction. The smoother the mainsail can drop, the better.

Fit downhaul lines for each reef on the luff to make downwind reefing easier. Ideally, run these back to the same winch station as the reefing lines and halyard. On that note, the ability to reef from one place is important. Running back and forth from port to starboard to control reefing lines and halyards is not practical and increases the risk of a slip or a fall. Check that the winch layout allows that.

When it comes to headsails, buy more than one for redundancy. If your budget is limited, make your extra sail the storm headsail. If you can afford it, choose a blade headsail as well for your ‘everyday’ headsail, and a higher clewed, larger reaching headsail for long downwind legs.

Headsails made from laminate sail cloth and fitted with extra UV protection when furled are a worthy investment. They weigh less, which makes changing sails short-handed much easier.

A tidy cockpit with winches and lines to hand of the helm (plus tailing lockers) is most practical. Photo: Andreas Lindlahr/EYOTY

If you opt for a spinnaker or other loose-luffed sail, getting it down easily is critical. The sock system you choose to douse it needs to be robust. I find that fibreglass rings work best.

Lengthen the sock-line so that it can run down through a block on the foredeck and back to a winch sited aft, close to where the sheets are controlled; this will make dousing the sail easier. Wobbling around on the bow getting your legs caught up in the sock line isn’t fun.

When it comes to asymmetrical sails, it’s all about furlers. Stick with the traditional furlers for a Code 0 or a flatter gennaker, and consider a top-down furler for a true asymmetric.

Unless you’re a performance-orientated sailor buying a performance catamaran, the ability to sail dead downwind is important. Ideally, invest in a symmetric spinnaker.

If you have a performance catamaran, first buy a heavy spinnaker to withstand any squalls. For cruisier catamarans, choose a lighter and larger S2 because it will help in lighter airs and you won’t have the acceleration to safely sail through a squall with it up anyway. If you are limited in budget, not a confident spinnaker sailor, or want a more robust heavy weather option for dead downwind sailing, poled out twin headsails (jib/genoa) is a great alternative. Just make sure you have two tracks in your headsail foil.

Spinnakers need a reliable dousing method – leading control lines to these winches aft makes more sense than foredeck work. Photo: Andreas Lindlahr/EYOTY

For controlling all the sails, lines that run aft to inboard winches are much easier than lines that run to winches by or at the mast only. At the very least, you should be able to hoist and drop the mainsail and adjust reefing lines and headsail sheets from a position where you can also see a chartplotter and adjust the helm manually.

Ready for heavy weather

I recommend having your mainsail built with three reefs. But before requesting this, check the boom has the space for three sheaves, or even four if you have an adjustable outhaul at the aft end – sailmakers and riggers don’t always communicate with custom changes.

If you have a furling headsail and no inner forestay, ensure your storm headsail can be hoisted over the top of it. To my mind, an inner forestay is the better option for a storm headsail, as you can rig it ahead of time to be ready if the weather worsens. It’s also arguably less physical a task to hank on a headsail than it is to slide one over the top of the jib or genoa right at the bow.

If you are cruising anywhere you could meet major rough weather, I’d buy a series drogue. This will help you slow the boat down. Tying warps together is also an option, but lean on the rope option as a plan B. Don’t rely on mooring lines for this as they’ll be unlikely to fit on your winches. Whichever you use, practise it so that you don’t have to invent it in anger.

a protected helm or ability to steer from a protected position is recommended. Photo: Andreas Lindlahr/EYOTY

Cockpit security

If you sail with children, an enclosed cockpit (or a way of enclosing it) is important to create the boundaries they need to have an essence of freedom. The same goes for pets.

An enclosed cockpit not only protects the crew from falling out, but also prevents water from coming in. Tradewind sailing comes with big swells, and the acceleration and deceleration – which is especially pronounced when sailing deep downwind with a symmetric spinnaker – can occasionally result in big quantities of water flooding the aft decks. An enclosed cockpit is the ideal, but you could also consider fitting removable barriers if you prefer the option to be able to walk straight from the saloon into the water on anchor.

Safety gear and features

Many catamarans have a helm station that is only accessible from climbing up a ladder or stairs which are very far aft, without any real protection from falling backwards straight into the sea. I recommend choosing a boat that has a more protected helm access. This will also improve visibility. A helm that is low down and far aft could obstruct the view and communication to the bow on the opposite hull.

What it’s all about: bluewater cruising at Fakarava Atoll in the stunning Tuamotus of the South Pacific. Photo: Jim Hooper/SV Polaris

For man overboard scenarios, a drop-down ladder on the side deck that can be deployed quickly is important. While the stern seems the obvious recovery location, it is not the ideal first point of contact with a crewmember in the water due to the proximity to the propellers.

A hanging ladder provides the casualty with something to hold onto initially. On the topic of ladders, ensure the ladder on the stern is deployable from the water in case you forget to put it down before jumping in for a refreshing dip while at anchor!

Think carefully about jackstay placement. Jackstays that run along the stanchions on the outboard-most part of the vessel can actually be a hazard; if you fall overboard while clipped on, you will drag in the water. Look for ways, or ask the manufacturer, to run jackstays further inboard. You need to be able to get to the helm, to the mast, and to the bow while always being clipped on. I would advise investigating this early in the build, as extra strong points may need to be fitted.

A chartplotter and comms at the helm are vital. Photo: Andreas Lindlahr/EYOTY

A crew overboard emergency GPS button, a VHF transmitter, and a chartplotter or iPad/iPhone holder at the helm are, for me, deal-breakers.

They are arguably more important on catamarans than monohulls as the distance between the helm and the navigation station can be substantial and involve several flights of stairs.

Water

I sailed halfway around the world without a watermaker and have just completed another half with a watermaker, and I can say the difference in comfort is profound. We no longer have the constant anxiety of finding good water sources and we have the luxury of taking a shower everyday.

A DC rather than AC watermaker is the way to go so you are not reliant on a generator. But even if you do have a watermaker, you also need a way to purify the water. Yes, watermakers do produce the purest water, but after sitting in your tanks without chlorine for a few days in the tropical heat, bacteria and viruses can grow. You could add chlorine every time you make water but it is hard to keep track of the concentration.

A good solution is to add a separate tap in the galley for drinking water that goes through a carbon filter and ideally UV light as well to kill any remaining pathogens. Some units also have filters that add back calcium and other minerals that watermakers remove.

Anchoring

A bulletproof anchoring setup is a critical consideration since the majority of the time you will be on the hook. Modern anchors (Rocna, Spade, Manson, Ultra etc) are very reliable across the majority of the seabeds you will encounter.

Bigger is always better but, with catamarans being weight sensitive, a good compromise is to get an anchor only one size above what the manufacturer recommends. Couple that with around 70-80m of high test chain that has better strength to weight ratio and a sturdy bridle and you are all set – literally!

Lastly, the chain hook that connects the bridle to the chain is something that should not be overlooked. If you are anchored in shallow water and the bridle is slack and resting on the seabed, the chain hook could easily come off. To prevent this, it is good to have a hook that is secured with a pin or bolt.

Your dinghy is like your car – luckily catamarans allow for large davits and therefore large dinghies. Photo: Parallel Sea Productions

Tender dinghy

Cruising sailors always say their dinghy is their car, and like your car it’s often the limiting factor on how much stuff and people you can transport. So get the biggest dinghy that can fit on board or on davits, but not so heavy that it affects the trim and therefore the performance of your boat.

You will also need a good tender anchor that can hold the dinghy in 20-knot wind and waves for when you are snorkelling or diving, but also in an emergency if the outboard engine cuts out and you can’t row against the wind or current.

In a lot of remote places you will have to beach the dinghy to land, so having a good pair of dinghy wheels can make it a lot easier and will spare your back.

Lastly, many dinghies are sadly stolen so it’s wise to secure it with a sturdy chain and the biggest padlock you can find.

Good wheels are key for beaching. Photo: Parallel Sea Productions

Handover and after-care

Anyone planning to sail thousands of miles from land really needs to understand their boat back to front, and with a new boat the role of the manufacturer is critical. A quick six-hour run through where you are given the keys and shown how to turn the engine on is not a sufficient handover.

Before you buy, find out as much as you can about the length of time and training you are going to receive on handover and the expertise of the people who will be giving that handover. They should be sailors or engineers and not sales staff.

Ask also about the quality of the manual, as-built drawings, plumbing and wiring diagrams that come with the boat. You are going to need these. Will they be enough to troubleshoot problems?

Before you buy, find out as much as you can about the length of time and training you are going to receive on handover and the expertise of the people who will be giving that handover. Photo: Andreas Lindlahr/EYOTY

Find out more, too, about the length and commitment of the warranty (and ask other owners for their experiences). If there are major issues with the build, will they be covered? How will it be dealt with?

A strong community of owners of the same brand of boat as yours will be invaluable. There are many very active owners’ associations and groups, and they are worth their weight in gold, so if they have some sort of forum to communicate on, this is a huge plus. It will be a resource for helping troubleshoot problems, find crew and also to make friends.

Bluewater sailing can be an isolating venture, and a sense of camaraderie and practical support among owners of the same type of boat as yours will mean more and buy you more than you might expect.

The balance of power

When preparing a boat for bluewater cruising, one of the most critical considerations has to be energy. How are you going to power the instruments, autopilot, lights, fridges, laptops and all the appliances you can’t live without?

It’s important to first start with a calculation of how much energy you plan to use at anchor and underway. This means having a list of all the energy consuming equipment, coupled with the amount of energy they consume in a 24-hour period. You should come up with a table something like this, which is based on typical energy consumption at sea for us as a couple on our Nautitech 46.

This will show you how much energy you need, and help you size the boat’s energy sources as well as that of the house battery.

You’ll tend to use a lot more power underway because of the autopilot and instruments, but it’s also worth remembering that you’ll be spending a lot of your time at anchor. Ideally you want to optimise your energy sources so that renewables cover your energy usage at anchor on most days.

There are many ways to power a boat, each with their pros and cons.

Catamarans do have the advantage of having a lot of space to fit solar panels. This is why it’s better to go all-in on solar first before adding other sources of energy. A transom solar arch works very well because it’s not shaded by the hoisted mainsail, and the solar panels can dissipate heat more effectively than if fitted on the coachroof, which increases their output.

Once you max out on panels on the arch, add them to the roof but these will produce less. On the curved surfaces of the roof, flexible panels fit better but are about 20% less efficient than rigid panels so factor this into your energy projections.

With a solar arch and additional panels on the roof, you’re likely to have enough power to meet all your energy needs at anchor on most days, although obviously this depends on where you are cruising. In a Mediterranean summer with up to 16 hours of sunlight and cloudless skies, you’ll have little problem topping up the batteries. In the tropics you are looking at 12-hour days with 20% cloud cover on average.

Use a cat’s real estate for solar, starting at the davits. Photo: James Mitchell

A rough rule of thumb is to divide your total solar capacity by five (low end) or three (high end) to get your output in amp hours. For example, 1,200W should give around 240-400Ah per day. Finally, to maximise output it’s important to have separate MPPT controllers for every large panel or every 400W.

On passage, with the autopilot working hard and the mainsail shading the solar panels, you may need additional sources of power. Topping up with the alternators is a cheap way to cover this if it’s only for a few hours a day. Installing high output alternators can halve this time, and some people install hydro generators and wind generators, which also have their pros and cons.

Calculate the power usage of every electric device on board. Photo: Billy Black

From our observations in anchorages around the world, more and more boats are getting rid of gensets. This is partly due to better solar and lithium battery technology but also because of new 12V air conditioning systems. And when sailing in remote places, diesel can be hard to come by. For example, I’m writing this anchored in Nuku Hiva, the largest island of the Marquesas in French Polynesia, and they’ve run out of diesel. Even when the ship arrives in a week’s time, it will be rationed to 100-200lt per boat.

Finally, you need to store all this power you’re generating so batteries are the next piece of the puzzle. Lithium is becoming the standard on all new boats and especially on weight sensitive catamarans. When sizing your battery bank, a rough rule of thumb is to have capacity for at least 1.5 times your daily power usage so you can store enough power to tide you over for at least one bad day of solar production (a day and two nights).

To power all the AC appliances you’ll need an adequately sized inverter of at least 2,000W and, lastly, it’s critical to have a battery monitor to see the state of charge of the batteries at all times.

If you enjoyed this….

Yachting World is the world’s leading magazine for bluewater cruisers and offshore sailors. Every month we have inspirational adventures and practical features to help you realise your sailing dreams.

Build your knowledge with a subscription delivered to your door. See our latest offers and save at least 30% off the cover price.

The post How to get a multihull ready for bluewater sailing appeared first on Yachting World.

The explosion in multihull and catamaran sales has been well documented, with many yards reporting lead times of two years or longer as build slots sold out as quickly as they were released. Now, many multihulls that were ordered post-2020 are on the water.

In this year’s ARC rally there were 16 new boats that had been launched in this year alone, of which 15 were multihulls. We caught up with some of their owners in Las Palmas to find out how the purchase process went and how they’d expedited preparations to get transatlantic-ready.

Custom solutions

Chet Chauhan bought Navasana, a Nautitech 46 Open, in 2021, having previously raced and cruised monohulls. After moving from England to the US west coast for work, he sailed his 20-year-old 38ft Beneteau from San Francisco to Sydney with a previous girlfriend in 2010.

“We visited all the island groups along the way and absolutely loved it. I wanted to keep going, but obviously needed more funds. And I realised the boat wasn’t ideal.”

He moved back to Europe, where he met partner Jessy. Two years ago they decided to revisit Chet’s dream of sailing around the world.

Chet Chauhan (left), Jessy and friend Dan on Navasana. Photo: James Mitchell/World Cruising Club

Deciding to buy a multihull was fairly straightforward. “I’ve had four monohulls before and I used to race, I like a boat that performs and really enjoy the sailing. We’d seriously thought about getting a monohull for this trip, but I realised that you’re spending maybe 80% of the time at anchor, and this is just more liveable.

Having decided on a Nautitech 46 the couple initially looked for a second-hand boat, but quickly realised it was near-impossible to find. “So we decided to order a new one, and we were, I think, just in time. We had a year’s wait time until ours was delivered,” Jessy recalls.

The couple took delivery of Navasana in March this year, the boat delivered on time to the day. They had several after-market upgrades added in La Rochelle, which Chet had specified and organised through their broker, including solar, lithium batteries and custom-built davits.

Chet, who details a lot of the technical modifications to his boat at sailingnavasana.com, says the Nautitech owner’s Facebook group was helpful in working through options and custom solutions, although he was clear on what he wanted to achieve based on his previous Pacific crossing.

Navasana has 1,200W of solar on a fixed arch above the tender, plus an additional 880W of flexible Sunpower panels, a 3,000W inverter, 4x200Ah Victron lithium batteries, while the standard 2x115A/12V alternators were wired into the lithium setup. They opted for no air conditioning.

Extensive solar panels fitted to Navasana. Photo: James Mitchell/World Cruising Club

Sails were focussed on light airs performance to avoid motoring, including an Oxley Levante Parasailor and extra-deep 95m2 Code 0. Additional after-market modifications include rope-cutters on the propellers and a clear-view Racor fuel filter system, a B&G forward-facing camera on the mast, and an Acuva UV filter for drinking water.

He’d been impressed with Nautitech’s build quality during a factory visit and had no qualms about being transatlantic ready. “We were pretty confident because Nautitech sell to a lot of French owners and, because of VAT reasons, they take the boat and head out straight away.

A lot of times they’ll cross the Atlantic within two months. Literally pick the boat up, sail across Biscay in October and then – boom! – down to the Canaries and across the Atlantic.

“Obviously we went to the Med, and had a lot more time to learn the boat. So we felt like we’d be in good shape.” However, he does note that getting to know the systems on a more complex boat has been ‘a big learning curve.’

The couple changed their plans to arrive in the Canaries earlier than planned, which turned out to be something of a godsend. “We thought we’d spend more time in the Med, but this year the Med was very, very hot,” he recalls.

As well as high temperatures, unpredictable weather characterised their season. “In the Balearics at one stage, we were getting Mistrals every, like, three or four days. That was not that much fun because we couldn’t really do any sailing. Then we loved Sardinia, but 10 days after we left, they had these 140mph winds for five minutes. We missed it by a day.”

With high season crowds and less than ideal conditions in the Mediterranean, the couple decided to head straight to the Canaries in September, intending to get the next phase of boat work – including additional solar panels and new halyards – completed in Las Palmas, then explore the Canary Islands before returning for the ARC start.

Chilli Pepper is one of two new Outremer 55s in the rally. Photo: James Mitchell/World Cruising Club

However, a combination of parts delayed in customs, and marine services working frantically to prepare the ARC+ boats, meant that work took much longer than expected. The couple are happy to have invested the time now, as they want to enjoy their two months in the Caribbean before continuing on to the Pacific.
They’ve also used the time in Las Palmas to enjoy the social element that the ARC offers. “The other thing which is challenging with us a bit is our demographic, we don’t have kids and we’re not in our 60s, we’re in the middle. So that’s another reason for joining the ARC, just because there are so many boats you’re more likely to meet those people.”

10,000-mile shakedown

Simon and Penny Hamilton started preparing their new Fountaine Pajot Elba 45 Starry Night in January, giving them a full 10-month build up to the ARC. Carefully planned commissioning and initial cruising phases helped get the family off to a smooth start on their liveaboard adventure with their two young children.

The Hamiltons had also initially looked for a second-hand boat, but discovered that most of the liveaboard boats which met their needs were lying in the Caribbean, and it wasn’t time effective to continually fly over to view them. “We’ve got a limited window. Oscar’s eight, we wanted to be doing this only in primary school [years] so we had a three-year window and thought we just couldn’t be late on the boat. So we ended up going for a new boat,” explains Simon.

“The order was placed in October 2019, and the boat was due November [2021] so it was a two-year wait list, quite a long time. But it’s really worked out well,” says Simon, noting that prices have risen in the interim.

In January they had the boat brought to the UK to get much of the bluewater fit-out done: adding solar, the watermaker, canvas work etc This had several advantages, meaning they could call on the expertise of friends and family in Hamble as well as specialised companies on the south coast, and as the family were still living at home, they could have parts delivered easily.

The crew of Nautitech 40 Open, Hummingbird. Photo: James Mitchell/World Cruising Club

“I also spent a lot of time down with the guys as the work was done so I could see it, because I’m going to have to fix it, and not having a language barrier made a huge difference to asking questions and understanding.”.

In spring they began delivering the boat across into the Mediterranean. Simon and Penny each sailed different ‘legs’ of the delivery, but their young children – Oscar and Skye – didn’t join the boat until Croatia, meaning their first experience of living aboard was one of gentle cruising in the sunshine. The family spent two months enjoying Croatia, before returning west in August.

“We’d done probably near 10,000 miles by the end of the summer, so we’ve done a lot of sailing for a new boat,” notes Simon.

Article continues below…

Catamaran cruising: everything you really need to know

It has become routine now for me to bookend the summer sailing season with a trip to the south of…

Everything you need to know about sailing rallies and cruising in company

There is a pent up enthusiasm for experiences right now. After nearly two years of limitations, many of us are…

Despite this, preparing for the transatlantic has been a huge undertaking. “I have to say. since the beginning of September it’s been two months pretty much full time on the boat.

“I find there’s three different phases. One was us just cruising, but with the brakes on, we’d pick somewhere and spend five days there – because we’re also teaching every day so homeschool is the priority – and doing maintenance. It’s probably only about a month ago it felt like we finished the construction phase, putting all the things on that we wanted.

“The past month it’s been much more getting ready for ocean sailing. Doing a lot more around chafe, and prevention rather than cure.

“So we had anchoring, small passages and then ocean passages, each three phases were quite different. It also takes time for issues to work through.”

Starry Night is a real family affair, with Simon’s father joining them on the transatlantic. “My dad did this crossing with his dad in 1970, so we’ve got the three generations. We’ve got the same chart, and it’s got his route plotted, so we can overlay ours onto it.”

The Hamilton family on their new Fountaine Pajot Elba 45 Starry Night. Photo: James Mitchell/World Cruising Club

Quick decisions

Across the pontoon from Starry Night was one of the newest yachts in the marina, Brett and Amanda Mcleod’s Neel 51 Out of the Woods, which was only launched in September.

“In January of 2021 I was talking to a friend of mine. I was just really dissatisfied with a few things, and he said ‘you should get a 50ft Lagoon and go off sailing’,” recalls Brett.

At the time, it was quite a left-field suggestion, as he and his family weren’t sailing, though Brett used to cruise with his parents and Amanda’s family had owned motorboats. “That has always been a sort of end goal for me – just check out and sail over the sunset. I think it used to be more metaphorical, and not literal!” Brett explains.

The Mcleods brand new Neel 51 Out of the Woods. Photo: James Mitchell/World Cruising Club

“But I started thinking about it, and by March 2021 I had determined that I wanted to do this, and that I didn’t want a Lagoon – or a Leopard, or a Bali. But I’d started looking at Outremers and Catanas and Neel, and really started educating myself about catamarans and multihulls.”

He decided to throw himself into gaining sailing experience, starting by joining Tuesday night races at his local club. Then while looking for a first boat, an Outremer 45 became available – “way more boat than I wanted” notes Brett. But the Outremer was ready to sail, and would get them on the water immediately. Brett set himself the task of taking the Outremer out as much as possible, sailing three to five times a week. Amanda also took her ASA courses.

Although both loved sailing the Outremer, they decided that given their limited bluewater experience they wouldn’t undertake any ocean passages without additional crew. In June 2021 they placed an order for a Neel 51, which gave vast space to accommodate extra hands, as well as to make the transition from family life on land easier for their 11-year-old son.

The timeframe, however, couldn’t be expanded, and Brett says that commissioning a large, complex multihull needed some additional support. A key element of making the rapid plan work was bringing in expert help from the outset of the process.

The Mcleods and crew with their brand new Neel 51 Out of the Woods. Photo: James Mitchell/World Cruising Club

“I hired Will Spence from White Dot sailing, who does some of the safety inspections for the ARC to help me with the process. He and one of his guys came to La Rochelle and went through the boat – and I’m so happy I did that. I’d do it again because I just don’t have that foundation of experience to see the things they do.”

The family spent a month on the dock in La Rochelle, which included post-commissioning work to get bluewater-ready, upgrading electronics etc. It wasn’t the ideal introduction to life on board, exacerbated by a slog of a delivery from La Rochelle to Cascais. At one stage they considered postponing their ARC entry to the January rally, but were concerned their 90-day Schengen visa would expire.

However, arriving in Las Palmas has given the family a much-needed boost. While Brett said the final passage from Cascais to Las Palmas was “finally what I’d seen in my mind, just bluewater sailing in great conditions,” his wife and son flew ahead to join the family programme. They were immediately welcomed into the rally community and its carnival atmosphere, and could get excited about the adventure to come.

“I think we’re just starting to see what’s in front of us,” Brett noted.

If you enjoyed this….

Yachting World is the world’s leading magazine for bluewater cruisers and offshore sailors. Every month we have inspirational adventures and practical features to help you realise your sailing dreams.

Build your knowledge with a subscription delivered to your door. See our latest offers and save at least 30% off the cover price.

The post New mutihulls take on an Atlantic crossing appeared first on Yachting World.

If it could float, it was out on the water in Sydney Harbour that day. Ferries, dinghies, powerboats, catamarans, superyachts, naval ships, and everything in between streamed across the famous inlet. My partner, Nick, and I had collected our charter catamaran from its base, tucked into Rozelle Bay in Sydney Harbour, and now had to navigate this bustling city’s water traffic in an unfamiliar catamaran. We were both feeling a little nervous.

However, the moment that Harbour Bridge came into view, followed moments later by the Opera House looming in the background, our fears were overcome by the sheer thrill. There is nothing quite like sailing past an iconic landmark, and they don’t come more iconic than Sydney’s Harbour Bridge and Opera House. As an Australian I’d dreamed of this moment for years and I bounced around the boat with excitement that a bucket list wish was finally being realised.

A year ago, Nick and I were lucky enough to be one of the very few people who managed to secure a flight to my home country, Australia. After two weeks of hotel quarantine we were free to roam what was, back then, a Covid-free nation with very few restrictions.

Vanderloo at the helm of the chartered Seawind 1260

We were set on cruising the coastline of this vast country and so we opted to do two long-term charters: one in New South Wales and one in the Whitsundays in Queensland. We chartered the same model of boat on both occasions, a Seawind 1260. This is a smaller version of the Seawind 1370, a newer design from Seawind Catamarans that we currently have in build.

The charter would be an ideal stepping stone from our years on board our monohull, a Southerly 38, to future liveaboard cruising on a larger cat. Our first test was to navigate our way out of Sydney Harbour – a great exercise in testing out the visibility from the helm, not to mention our knowledge of Colregs.

Escape the city

But just a short sail away was the peaceful Middle Harbour, a few miles from Sydney Harbour yet a world away in atmosphere. Much of Middle Harbour is a national park, and a serene natural sanctuary.

Quiet Pittwater Bay is just 20 miles north of Sydney. Photo: Terysa Vanderloo

Bantry Bay was a memorable spot, and we took the dinghy ashore to hike around its perimeter – a satisfying and enjoyable expedition until we came across a huge spider hanging amid its web at face height, just inches from the path.

It was an orb-weaver spider, harmless and non-aggressive, but intimidatingly large nonetheless. This was our first encounter with Australia’s spider population, but by no means our last, and while British-born Nick retained some natural caution, he soon adopted a more Australian (read: blasé) attitude towards our native wildlife.

Twenty miles north of Sydney Harbour is Pittwater Bay and Cowan Creek, part of a large estuary fringed mostly by the Ku-ring-gai Chase National Park. For our first proper sail conditions were perfect: bright sunshine, 15 knots on the beam, and slow ocean rolling waves.

We raised the mainsail and unfurled the jib, turned the engine off and settled into several hours of gentle, easy sailing. The swell was quite large, but a lengthy swell period meant that the conditions were still very comfortable; we slowly rose up and down as the wide waves passed beneath us.

We previously had only a small amount of experience sailing catamarans – a day trip off the Spanish coast, a week’s holiday with friends in French Polynesia, a couple of test sails at the Annapolis Boat Show – but this was the first time we’d had the opportunity to sail a cat with just the two of us, and we relished it. The boat was easily making 8 knots and the motion underway so comfortable that I went down below to make a cup of tea and, if I closed my eyes, could have imagined we were at anchor. The most dramatic difference between monohull and multihull sailing was the stability underway.

Bucket list view of Sydney Harbour from the water for Terysa Vanderloo and partner Nick Fabbri.

We reached Pittwater more certain than ever that the decision to sell our monohull – something we agonised over for years – was the right one. Countless bays, coves and creeks dot this inland waterway, all protected from the ocean swell and offering a real sense of isolation and a connection to nature. There were many mooring buoys to choose from, all free to use and well maintained – a pleasant surprise.

America Bay was a stand-out spot, surrounded on all sides by the bush. We took the dinghy to the bottom of a waterfall, clambered up the mountainside alongside it, and ended up doing quite the bushwhack, but finally made it to the top. We encountered more of Australia’s native wildlife while moored in The Basin, a popular anchorage next to an idyllic lagoon and camping spot. This is home to a large number of wallabies, all utterly unfazed by human company.

On our return sail back to Sydney we spent a couple of nights at Athol Bay, on the north side of Sydney Harbour, which has the most spectacular outlook over the city skyline. One night a thunderstorm came through, lightning streaking across the horizon. On others it was clear and bright and we sat in the cockpit all evening watching the city lights twinkle to life. It is truly one of the most special views we’ve ever been lucky enough to enjoy at anchor.

Looking across Athol Bay on the north shore towards Sydney’s city centre. Photo: Taras Vyshnya/Alamy

Breezy Whitsundays

Sailing in the Whitsundays was a total contrast. I’d naively assumed it would be similar to sailing in Thailand or the Caribbean: gentle breezes, the sun shining and palm trees lining white beaches. Well, there were beaches and a few palm trees, but the weather was completely different to what we’d expected.

Our first week saw a strong wind warning, which not only restricted where in the islands we could go (we had to stay on the westward side of the islands, protected – slightly – from the south-easterlies) but we also weren’t allowed to sail at all. Charter company rules said we had to motor everywhere which was a disappointment, although we understood the rationale. Even had we been on our own boat, I’m not sure we’d have wanted to venture onto the windward side of the islands in 30 knots of wind.

However, once windspeeds dropped below 25 knots, we were able to raise the sails and get in some lively sailing. This gave us an opportunity to experience cat sailing under more challenging conditions. When the conditions are ideal, just being out on the water is a joy. But when the wind is howling, the sea state short and choppy, and you’re sprayed with saltwater every time you stick your head out, the vessel itself becomes paramount to getting any enjoyment of the experience (at least, that’s how I feel!).

In this situation, we couldn’t believe how comfortable our catamaran was, even as waves broke onto her windward bow, water slamming into the forward-facing windows and spraying against the clear side panels we’d put up to protect the twin helm stations.

Cruising off Border Island, in the Whitsundays

There are many options for destinations in the Whitsundays, so while the strong prevailing south-easterlies were blowing, we stuck to the windward side. Cid Harbour on Whitsunday Island was a particularly welcome find, both expansive and a well-protected anchorage. Ashore, we did the Whitsunday Peak hike, a winding and at times steep climb to the highest peak in these islands, surrounded by thick bushland.

Despite the strenuous nature of the hike, the view when we reached the top was well worth it. We could see the Whitsunday Islands stretch below us in every direction, right down to our dinghy, now afloat with the incoming tide. With no desire to swim out to our dinghy – there have been several shark attacks in Cid Harbour – we charged down the trail to reach the beach before the tide came in much further. We only had to wade out to our knees, but fellow charterers weren’t so lucky and had to swim to theirs.

A favourite anchorage in Butterfly Bay, Hook Island

South Mole island offered more spectacular hiking. Here the vegetation is less dense and instead the hills are covered in long green grass, rippling in the high winds. Again, we had the hiking trail completely to ourselves – in fact, we had the entire island to ourselves, as it’s uninhabited with only a campsite ashore, the only access being by boat. The anchorage was a little choppy due to the high winds, but the sense of being utterly remote while on land was wonderfully invigorating.

By way of contrast, a trip to Hamilton Island cured any notion of isolation. It’s the main resort island in the Whitsundays and home to a large marina, hotel, several restaurants and about a billion golf buggies, the island’s only form of transport. Hamilton Island gave us a chance to provision and fill our water tanks, but it’s considerably more busy than the other islands in the chain.

Our favourite anchorage of all has to be Butterfly Bay, which sits on the northern coast of Hook Island. Mooring is only permitted on laid buoys, but there were plenty of buoys available, as was the case throughout our entire Australian cruise – a pleasant change from the stress-inducing crowded bays of some popular Caribbean islands, or the cramped anchorages in much of Europe.

Pristine white sands and no-one else about at the northern end of Whitehaven Beach

Butterfly Bay is actually two bays next to each other, which form the shape of butterfly’s wings. Hook Island, like much of the Whitsundays, is also a National Park and totally uninhabited. The edges of the bay are trimmed in coral, which we immediately swam out to explore. Although we saw plenty of fish and some interesting coral, the shallower coral heads were still recovering from damage by Cyclone Debbie in 2017. Freediving to deeper corals rewarded us with healthier, more prevalent coral heads and scuba diving to even deeper levels would reveal yet more sea life.

The world’s best

Of course, no sailing trip to the Whitsundays would be complete without a visit to Whitehaven Beach, situated on the eastern side of Whitsunday Island. Whitehaven is regularly voted the best beach in the world. Pristine and untouched despite its popularity, its sand is made up of 98% pure silica, giving it a bright and brilliant white colour, while the surrounding waters take on a beautiful turquoise hue.

While the south of the beach was home to daytripping boats and other charter yachts, it was only when we explored along to the empty northern end of the beach that we could truly enjoy its untouched beauty. Here, the only footprints belonged to us, the sand soft and silky underfoot. Hill Inlet wraps around the northern tip of the beach, a shallow meandering inlet with shifting white sand bars and blue water. Several yachts had made their way up the channel at high water, and we’d been told it was possible to dry out there. Unfortunately that was off-limits to us as we were on a charter boat, but we dearly hope to return one day on our own catamaran to further explore this incredible cruising area.

Catamaran Sailing Techniques Part 8: the future of catamaran cruising – with Nigel Irens

Most of the features in our Catamaran Sailing Techniques series have been aimed at aspiring newcomers to catamaran cruising looking…

Catamaran sailing: expert multihull techniques

There has been a huge surge in the sales of performance multihulls and with them a need to know how…

If you enjoyed this….

Yachting World is the world’s leading magazine for bluewater cruisers and offshore sailors. Every month we have inspirational adventures and practical features to help you realise your sailing dreams.

Build your knowledge with a subscription delivered to your door. See our latest offers and save at least 30% off the cover price.

The post Catamaran sailing in Australia appeared first on Yachting World.

The Xiamen-built HH range of catamarans found popularity for its high-performance, all-carbon, hull-flying designs such as the HH66 and HH55. But the HH OC50 is designed as a more affordable cruising alternative, and one that targets ocean sailing. Hence it earns its place in our bluewater multihull listing.

The Morelli and Melvin-designed HH OC50 is still stiffened and strengthened by carbon, but built in vinylester composites with a gelcoat finish. This adds an additional 300kg or so over a full carbon HH50, but cost savings are in the region of $400,000.

Solid glassfibre fixed keels with winglets are used instead of daggerboards, which are independent of the hulls and are designed to take the weight of the boat.

HH describe the new Ocean Series as designed with cruising couples firmly in mind. The OC50 comes with a self-tacking staysail and genoa for ease of sail handling. Sail controls are led to a single raised helm station, which has a fixed bimini and canopies for full enclosure.

Practical features for bluewater cruising include plentiful deck stowage, generous tankage, removable transom washboards and tech spaces in the forward cabins.

There is a generous forward-facing navstation and a U-shaped galley with deep drawer fridges and freezers. 

HH Catamarans has also recently unveiled a new OC44 model.

OC50 prices

Ex-VAT US$1.3m

See our full list of the best bluewater mutlihulls

If you enjoyed this….

Yachting World is the world’s leading magazine for bluewater cruisers and offshore sailors. Every month we have inspirational adventures and practical features to help you realise your sailing dreams.

Build your knowledge with a subscription delivered to your door. See our latest offers and save at least 30% off the cover price.

The post Best bluewater multihulls: HH OC50 appeared first on Yachting World.

In a similar fashion to market leaders Lagoon, the area of mass appeal lies in the mid-40ft sector for Fountaine Pajot – now captured by the Fountaine Pajot Saona 47.

The Fountaine Pajot Helia 44, now replaced by the Elba 45, was long the go-to model and size. Indeed the Helia built on the runaway success of the Belize 43, over 200 of which were built in the early 2000s.

However, as appetites for larger cats have increased in recent years, the focus for bluewater multihull cruisers has shifted to this larger model. Seven Fountaine Pajot Saona 47 cats crossed the Atlantic with the ARC between 2017 and 2020 alone.

The 47 has a modern shape, with straight bows and a reverse sheer line. It incorporates significant volume in the hulls below the bridgedeck to create room for the optional athwartships cabins.

Cabin space is a prime selling point, particularly the owner’s suite to port, where there is also abundant natural light and headroom.

The mast is comparatively far forward for a sailplan that has both a powerful main and an overlapping genoa for modest performance under white sails.

The Fountaine Pajot Saona 47 has now been redesigned into the Tanna 47, which boasts additional flybridge and sundeck lounge space.

The interior has also been reworked in the Tanna 47. There is significantly larger and reconfigured galley, which is now in a seaworthy U-shape formation and offers an impressive 300lt of storage space. Layout options include three, four and five cabin formats.

Fountaine Pajot Saona 47s price:

Used price: €500,000

Fountaine Pajot Tanna 47 price:

ex VAT €580,000

Read our full list of the best bluewater multihulls of all time.

If you enjoyed this….

Yachting World is the world’s leading magazine for bluewater cruisers and offshore sailors. Every month we have inspirational adventures and practical features to help you realise your sailing dreams.

Build your knowledge with a subscription delivered to your door. See our latest offers and save at least 30% off the cover price.

The post Best bluewater multihulls: Fountaine Pajot Saona 47 appeared first on Yachting World.

Balance is a shrewd name for these catamarans, which target that elusive balance of comfort, speed and space, typified by the Balance 526.

Founded in 2013 by Phillip Berman, Balance has its headquarters in Florida and shipyard in South Africa.

After selling hundreds of brokerage catamarans, Berman found most cruising catamarans too sluggish, yet felt performance cats lacked the suitable liveability for long term voyaging. Hence, Balance was born.

The Balance 526 launched four years ago. Designed to suit short-handed sailors and families looking to sail long distances, it can carry large payloads and promises easy maintenance. It looks good too – the Balance 526 was our cover star on the September issue of Yachting World, which features our list of best bluewater multihulls.

Berman’s Versahelm design is a key feature. The wheel cantilevers, allowing the helmsman to steer from outboard with clear sightlines, or from the hardtop protection of the aft cockpit. The helm seats and platforms also adjust for optimum views forward. 

Builds involve infused or vacuum-bagged epoxy, carbon reinforcements, foam composite bulkheads and foam cored furniture. The Balance 526 is available with retractable daggerboards or fixed keel options.

The first Balance 482 launches this autumn, and features raked wave piercing bows, and daggerboard or fixed keel options.

The new Balance 482 catamaran

It carries 1,432 sq ft of canvas, with a blade jib and reefing station designed for ease of short-handed sail handling.

Balance 526 price

Ex VAT: US$1.54m

Read our full list of the best bluewater multihulls of all time.

If you enjoyed this….

Yachting World is the world’s leading magazine for bluewater cruisers and offshore sailors. Every month we have inspirational adventures and practical features to help you realise your sailing dreams.

Build your knowledge with a subscription delivered to your door. See our latest offers and save at least 30% off the cover price.

The post Best bluewater multihulls: Balance 526 and 482 appeared first on Yachting World.

The first Seawind 1370 is not yet on the water, but comes with a strong heritage of bluewater multihull design.

For nearly four decades, the Australian Seawind brand and its founder Richard Ward has been gearing its catamarans around safe bluewater sailing, including performance, protection and ease of handling. Since purchasing Corsair trimarans in 2010 it has ramped up production and new model releases. 

Its Reichel Pugh-designed 1600, which launched three years ago, is an elegant looking cat with relatively low freeboard and some smart solutions for fast bluewater sailing.

It has narrow, kevlar-reinforced hulls, combined with daggerboards that don’t protrude through the deck and is capable of 20+ knot speeds. The boards and rudders lift to reduce draught to 54cm for accessing shallow anchorages. We were impressed by its attention to detail and safety considerations. 

The Vietnam yard has now fully updated the 1600 to a Passagemaker model, with new beamier hulls, increased bridgedeck clearance, larger windows and more ventilation. Stowage and bed space has increased and carbon boards and rudders come as standard. 

Seawind launches its new 1370 later this year, a staggering 60 of which have sold on plans alone. This was undoubtedly helped by the fact this was the ‘winning’ model in a comparison of the best bluewater multihulls by YouTube sailors Terysa Vanderloo and Nick Fabbri on their channel Sailing Ruby Rose, who were looking to step up to a catamaran after selling their Southerly 38.

The forthcoming Seawind 1370

This 45ft model, a contemporary design with higher freeboard and reverse bows, looks like an appealing option for a couple cruising long distance. We like the look of the twin protected helmstations.

Seawind 1370 Prices

ex VAT: US$699,000 

Read our full list of the best bluewater multihulls of all time.

If you enjoyed this….

Yachting World is the world’s leading magazine for bluewater cruisers and offshore sailors. Every month we have inspirational adventures and practical features to help you realise your sailing dreams.

Build your knowledge with a subscription delivered to your door. See our latest offers and save at least 30% off the cover price.

The post Best bluewater multihulls: Seawind 1370 and 1600 appeared first on Yachting World.

What are the best bluewater multihulls for long term cruising? The one you own, or the one you can afford is the simple answer.

There is a wealth of proven designs to suit bluewater sailing and a variety of budgets. While we have focussed here on the best bluewater multihulls in production, we’ve also included some cracking pedigree multihulls which tour the planet and might occasionally pop up on the brokerage market.

If you can afford to, then pushing towards the 45-50ft length will buy you space, pace and that extra payload capacity needed to take all the items you’d want on your home afloat.

When looking at the best bluewater multihulls, the choice will come down to that perennial balance between comfort/space and speed/weight. Choosing a lighter weight performance design will obviously help you cover distance voyages more rapidly and potentially allow you to outrun weather systems. It means you can sail faster, with less sail up and less load and stress. But you’ll have to sacrifice some luxuries and need to be quite scrupulous about keeping weight down and centralised in order to maintain high average speeds.

For the majority of cruisers, however, it is the amount of space multihulls offer once you’ve reached your destination that really appeals. As well as the non-heeling living area and real estate they provide, they’re well suited to typical tradewind sailing.

If you’re considering your first or next multihull, we hope the following will serve as a taster.

Best bluewater multihulls for performance cruising

Outremer 51/55

When you think of multihulls designed for bluewater cruising, Outremer will likely be one of the first names that comes to mind. Its heritage lies in building catamarans that can sail fast and are built strong enough to do laps of the globe.

The 51, the current version of which launched three years ago, is an archetypal example of what to look for in terms of blending speed and space is a dream design for a family circumnavigation.

The French yard’s new 55ft VPLP design may look boldly different from its past models, but the philosophy behind it remains the same. It is designed to match windspeed up to 12 knots and Outremer reasons that its ability to sail in 5 knots of breeze will allow it to sail for 95% of the time on a circumnavigation.

Read more about the Outremer 51 and Outremer 55.

Photo: Diego Yriarte

Seawind 1600/1370

For nearly four decades the Australian Seawind brand and its founder Richard Ward have been gearing catamarans around safe bluewater sailing, including performance, protection and ease of handling. Its Reichel Pugh-designed 1600, which launched three years ago, is an elegant looking cat with relatively low, long lines and some smart solutions for fast bluewater sailing.

Seawind also launches its new 1370 later this year, a staggering 60 of which have sold on plans alone.

Windelo 50

This first 50 is built from a composite sandwich of basalt fibre, a cloth made from volcanic rock, and PET foam from recycled plastic bottles, which helps to reduce carbon emissions by nearly 50% when compared with traditional glassfibre methods.

Rapido 50

This new 50 footer is perhaps a more appealing and practical prospect than Rapido’s previous 60 (with its significant fixed beam), particularly as the amas on this new model can fold to reduce beam to 18ft.

Infused carbon foam sandwich construction is used, along with beams, daggerboards and rudder in pre-preg carbon to keep displacement to 8,200kg.

Read more about the Rapido 50

HH OC50

This OC50 is designed as a more affordable cruising alternative, than the HH models which have preceeded it. This model targets ocean sailing.

It’s still stiffened and strengthened by carbon, but built in vinylester composites with a gelcoat finish. This adds an additional 300kg or so over a full carbon HH50, but cost savings are in the region of $400,000.

Read more about the HH OC50

Balance 526

The 526 launched four years ago, designed to suit short-handed sailors and families looking to sail long distances, hence it can carry large payloads and promises easy maintenance. It looks good too.

Berman’s Versahelm design is a key feature. The wheel cantilevers, allowing the helmsman to steer from outboard with clear sightlines or from the hardtop protection of the aft cockpit.

Photo: Christopher White

Atlantic 47

The A47 suits short-handed fast ocean sailing at an approachable size. Lengthening it to 49ft allowed for an aft cockpit. It is available as a sloop or with White’s patented MastFoil ketch rig – rotating aerofoil masts designed for easy short-handed cruising without sacrificing performance.

Read more about the Atlantic 47

ITA 14.99

A combination of sharp design from François Perus and high build quality brings plenty of appeal to this sporty Italian-built cat. The first example launched three years ago with a light displacement of 10.5 tonnes, thanks to an E-glass epoxy-infused build with carbon strengthening. The yard offers semi-custom construction and full hybrid packages.

Catana 53/Ocean class 50

Catana’s performance model from 2017, sports twin aft helms (which may not suit ocean sailors), reverse bows and carbon daggerboards. The high topsides help create good bridgedeck clearance and plenty of accommodation. Its new Ocean Class 50 seems more in the shipyard’s bluewater DNA. The light weight, and dynamic and modern shape with slim hulls and a relatively short nacelle suggests a seaworthy nature and high speeds.

Read more about the Catana 53

Best bluewater multihulls for pedigree performance

Gunboat 48

Veteran multihull designers Morrelli & Melvin designed this smaller model for the Gunboat range. It was built to be more manageable for an owner-driver yet still capable of up to 300-400 mile days.

The Gunboat 48 is something of a rare breed, just six 48s were built between 2004 and 2009. Oh, to have a spare €1.3m right now… one of them is actually on the market.

Read more about the Gunboat 48

Catana 47

At the start of the Millennium, Catana offered fully equipped boats as standard for long distance cruising. The Catana 471 or 472 (one or two helms respectively), represented at the time the optimum in ocean-going catamarans.

Chincogan/Lightwave

Tony Grainger has been drawing fast multihulls for 35 years, including racing trimarans and the Lightwave and Chincogan cruisers. The popular Lightwave 38 has admirable performance and comfort, and the Chincogan 52 (pictured) has the length to clock high average speeds.

Outremer 45 G. Danson

With its characteristic roof, narrow hulls and daggerboards, the Outremer 45 is a standout design which has become somewhat iconic. Despite a rather spartan interior, it has been a great success with fast cruising enthusiasts. On board, family ocean crossings at an average of 10 knots are the norm.

Best bluewater multihulls for family cruising

Photo: Nicolas Claris

Lagoon 450

The Lagoon 450 remains the most popular model in Lagoons already popular range. It exemplifies the VPLP/Nauta design partnership which has made these the very definition of modern mid-size cruising catamarans which can appeal to families and charterers alike.

Indeed the 450 marked the modern look of Lagoon and was the first with interior styling from Nauta. It originally launched over a decade ago as a flybridge design with central helming position (450F), before this ‘sport top’ option (450S) was offered with a starboard helm station and lower boom.

Read more about the Lagoon 450

Photo: Guilain Grenier

Fountaine Pajot Saona 47

The 47 has a modern shape, with straight bows and a reverse sheer line. It incorporates significant volume in the hulls below the bridgedeck to create room for the optional athwartships cabins. Cabin space is a prime selling point, particularly the owner’s suite to port, where there is also abundant natural light and headroom.

Photo: Tui Marine

Leopard 45

Leopard Catamarans, together with designer Simonis Voogd and builder Robertson and Caine, produce the archetypal dual-purpose owner-operator or charter boat in their modern catamaran range.

Key features of the 45 are the amount of light in the saloon and the incredible volume and space on offer in the cabins above the relatively narrow waterlines. Vast social living areas include the flybridge, saloon and dual cockpits.

Read more about the Leopard 45

Photo: www.jfromero.fr

Nautitech Open/Fly 46

During the 1990s and noughties Nautitech earned a good reputation for its elegant catamarans. The 441 is a timeless example and the 44 can be credited with the ongoing trend in hardtop biminis. While its acquisition by Bavaria seven years ago helped Nautitech implement industrial build techniques, the French brand has retained its DNA at its Rochefort sur Mer yard.

The modern Marc Lombard designs have tall rigs with generous square-top mainsails. Twin wheels in the aft quarters of the Open 46 offer a direct feel on the helm, however those spending long periods in the tropics may prefer the shade of the bimini-equipped flybridge option. The layout is also open, with a saloon more outside than in. Styling is clean, modern and simple, and the standard of build and finish are good.

Photo: Olivier Blanchet

Neel 51

First impressions of the Neel 51 are sure to centre on its sheer size and space inside. But as you’ll see from our review of the Neel 43 on page 83, when you sail one overriding impressions quickly centre on its performance.

These trimarans are becoming a popular mass production-built option.

Photo: Christophe Launay

Excess 11

The Excess 11 packs plenty of potential as the smallest yacht offered by the big production yards. A little like the Lagoon 380 of old, it presents a good value new entry-level boat for genuine cruising in a more sporty, modern and enticing design. Some may argue against aft helms for ocean sailing, but those coming from monohulls will appreciate the more direct steering they offer.

Broadblue 385S

Broadblue is a UK brand which offers a distinct line of cruising and Rapier performance catamarans. Its staple 385 packs a lot of cruising comfort into its length, including generous tankage, and has been sailed all over the world. Broadblue built its first electric drive catamaran 12 years ago and offers the only all-electric production sailing catamaran under 40ft in Europe.

Photo: Christophe Breschi

Bali Catspace

For those looking for maximum volume within 40ft, it’ll be hard to beat the Catspace – although it is more of a holiday apartment than a traditional bluewater cruiser. Bali’s garage style sliding aft door does help offer an enormous amount of enclosed (or open) living space.

Best bluewater multihulls for luxury cruising

Photo: Nico Krauss

Privilège 510 Signature

The 510 is designed to take a serious amount of cruising gear – up to six tonnes of it in fact. The excellent helm station now has a fixed windscreen and all lines lead to hand. Finish quality including the electrical installation is first class and Privilege’s trademark, an admirable full beam (26ft) forward cabin, is sumptuous.

Photo: Jérôme Houyvet

Garcia Explocat 52

Garcia Yachts has cornered the market for series-built aluminium monohulls and multihulls in the last decade and this new Explocat 52 is sparking real interest. We ran a full test report in our February issue, describing it as a go-anywhere cat with an enticing combination of space, pace and rugged construction.

Read our review of the Garcia Explocat 52

Antares 44

Built in Argentina, the Antares 44 is the ultimate evolution of a model launched 21 years ago. Entirely dedicated to bluewater cruising, it is the yard’s only model and is constantly being improved according to owner feedback.

Time seems to have no hold on this boatyard and, against the trend, the standard equipment of the Antares 44 is extremely complete

Photo: Richard Langdon

Discovery Bluewater 50

This luxury Bill Dixon design may be a decade old now and into its third iteration, but the concept behind its original appeal remains. For those used to sailing high-end thoroughbred monohulls, here is an option to consider for a comparative level of build quality and fit out when moving to a multihull.

Read more about the Discovery Bluewater 50

St Francis 50 MKII

With this latest version of its original model, this experienced South African builder has optimised a catamaran cut out for the unforgiving seas of the Indian Ocean and the South Atlantic. The MKII allows for an increased load capacity, an important point in long distance cruising.

Xsquisite X5

Intelligent features on the X5 include the protected helm station with glass windscreen, integrated rainwater catcher, UV-protective glass and generous tankage.

Best bluewater multihulls for size & speed

McConaghy MC52

The MC50 (now MC52) was the first and promises some high speed sailing, but it’s the open plan main living deck which will attract the majority. It incorporates an intelligent centreboard system, which hardly affects interior space, but arguably its exposed helms at the aft end of the flybridge will not suit serious ocean cruising.

Photo: Florian H. Talles

HH 55

HH in Xiamen is building some really impressive large, luxury fast cats up to 90ft. This was its second model to launch, a high-end, high performance Morelli & Melvin design capable of rapid passagemaking speeds and enjoyable regatta sailing. Features include C-shaped boards and central or aft helms.

Photo: Mike Jones/Waterline Media

Ocean Explorer 60

If Nautor’s Swan made catamarans, they may look like this… The Ocean Explorer 60 uses the same designer in German Frers and some of the same builders who worked at the famous Finnish yard to produce this world cruiser. The resultant quality shines through. A new OE72 is due soon.

Kinetic KC54

A young company with plenty of experience, Kinetic produces custom fast ocean cruisers, which can occasionally race. Its 62 is a serious performance vessel with carbon hulls, rigs and rigging, daggerboards or centreboards. With fast bluewater cruising the goal, carbon is used to minimise weight so features/toys can still be added. The swim platform and hardware on the newly launched 54 weighs just 90kg, and the generous sized tanks are all in carbon too. Views from the saloon and forward cockpit also look special.

Best bluewater multihulls for ultimate performance

Marsaudon TS4/ORC 42

Few catamaran builders produce genuine performance cruisers at this ‘smaller’ size: this one is kept minimalist and light weight (around 6 tonnes) – the yard’s philosophy is ‘simplicity, then add lightness.’ The 42 is a cruiser-racer with the ability to outpace most yachts across the Atlantic, win a regatta and still offer some space for island hopping. Standard tankage is minimal however. Marsaudon recently rebranded its TS range to Ocean Rider Catamarans (ORCs) and has an ORC 57 in build.

Dazcat 1495

Dazcat builds fast, seaworthy cats from its Multihull Centre in Cornwall. The 1495 is a true ocean cruiser-racer, which is stiff and rewarding to sail, with direct steering linked to carbon rudders. The 1495 can hit 20+ knot speeds with relative ease, but it is the consistent high average speeds which will attract those looking to cover serious miles. Weight is centralised including engines, tanks, and systems all located amidships to help reduce pitching. Dazcat has a semi-custom build approach and creates all sorts of weird and wonderful craft for all abilities.

Dragonfly 40

Dragonfly trimarans are known for their high quality construction and ability to delight sailors with their ease of planing speeds. For those who can live without the space of similar length cats, the new flagship 40 is large enough to offer cruising space, while folding outriggers and retractable appendages mean you can dry out where others wouldn’t dare.

Looping 45/Freydis 48

These two designs by Erik Lerouge both offer a high-performance vision of ocean cruising. The Loopings were built individually and the Freydis in small series, and on both you can sail as fast as the wind in complete safety. Interior quality depends on whether finished by an amateur or by a shipyard.

Swisscat 48

An attractive combination of luxury, comfort and performance, the S48 is a stiff, go-anywhere premium cat that is easy to manage single-handed. The lightweight build (11t) is in epoxy infusion with carbon reinforcement.

Schionning Designs

Jeff Schionning has catamaran design in his blood. His designs exude performance and seaworthiness with flowing, even aerodynamic lines. On all tradewind routes you’ll find a G-Force (models from 12m to 23m) or an Arrow (12m to 15m) sailing more quickly than the rest. His latest venture is with Current Marine in Knysna, South Africa.

Best bluewater multihulls for pedigree cruising

Lagoon 380

The long-time best-seller from the world leader in catamarans, with more than 1,000 produced over almost 20 years from 1999. With its characteristic vertical windows, the 380 and its big brother the 410 made the purists scream when they were presented. But the 380 proved a pioneer of its kind. Safe bow volumes and light displacement (7,260 kg) helped its seaworthy behaviour. The high number of boats on the market makes this the most affordable bluewater cruising multihull for its size, even if price range is as wide as condition is variable.

Casamance 44/46

Between 44ft and 46ft depending on the year of construction and the length of its transoms, the Casamance was an impressive catamaran on launch in 1985. The design by Joubert/Nivelt offered good volume and load capacity. Of the 490 units produced, many joined the charter fleets. The exterior of the Casamance is dated, but the interior in grey ceruse oak has retained plenty of charm.

If you enjoyed this….

Yachting World is the world’s leading magazine for bluewater cruisers and offshore sailors. Every month we have inspirational adventures and practical features to help you realise your sailing dreams.

Build your knowledge with a subscription delivered to your door. See our latest offers and save at least 30% off the cover price.

The post The best bluewater multihulls of all time: a complete guide appeared first on Yachting World.

The luxury Bill Dixon designed Discovery Bluewater 50 may be a decade old now and into its third iteration, but the concept behind its original appeal remains.

For those used to sailing high-end thoroughbred monohulls, here is an option to consider for a comparative level of build quality and fit out when moving to a multihull.

We featured the full test of the Mk2 version last September, and noted that once you see the comfort on offer and experience its kindly motion at sea you start to question how much you really need outright speed.

Since our test, it has received another big tranche of updates for a Mk3 version, which modernises the design in many ways.

It is now 1.5 tonnes lighter with a 10m2 larger mainsail, hence performance should be noticeably better. Elsewhere there are new windows which increase the natural light throughout, new bow designs including a bowsprit, new bimini and options for forward or aft galley layouts inside.

Discovery Bluewater 50 price

ex VAT: £1,555,000

If you enjoyed this….

Yachting World is the world’s leading magazine for bluewater cruisers and offshore sailors. Every month we have inspirational adventures and practical features to help you realise your sailing dreams.

Build your knowledge with a subscription delivered to your door. See our latest offers and save at least 30% off the cover price.

The post Best bluewater multihulls: Discovery Bluewater 50 appeared first on Yachting World.

When you think of multihulls designed for bluewater cruising, Outremer will likely be one of the first names that comes to mind. Its heritage lies in building catamarans that can sail fast and are built strong enough to do laps of the globe.

The 51, the current version of which launched three years ago, is an archetypal example of what to look for in terms of blending speed and space. Weighing a light weight 11 tonnes, it’s designed to take another three tonnes of cruising gear.

The option to sit out and tiller steer from the bucket seats and enjoy thrilling performance is a prime draw, while it is configured to manage the powerful sailplan short-handed.

Photo: Didier Hillaire

But this also has a light, airy and nicely finished interior with forward-facing navstation, albeit more minimalist than the voluminous family cats from production yards. The dream design for a family circumnavigation?

Meanwhile, the French yard’s new 55ft VPLP design may look boldly different from its past models, but the philosophy behind it remains the same. It is designed to match windspeed up to 12 knots and Outremer reasons that its ability to sail in 5 knots of breeze will allow it to sail for 95% of the time on a circumnavigation. Should you get your routing wrong and actually have to sail to windward, the daggerboards provide up to 15° better performance.

A swing helm pedestal allows you to sit up on the side deck in fine weather, or shelter under the bimini when it turns inclement. And ventilation has been well thought out, negating the need for aircon, which means less fuel and weight.

Outremer 51 and 55 prices ex VAT

Outremer 51: €830,000;
Outremer 55: €1,215,000

If you enjoyed this….

Yachting World is the world’s leading magazine for bluewater cruisers and offshore sailors. Every month we have inspirational adventures and practical features to help you realise your sailing dreams.

Build your knowledge with a subscription delivered to your door. See our latest offers and save at least 30% off the cover price.

The post Best bluewater multihulls: Outremer 51 and 55 appeared first on Yachting World.

Paul Goodison is one of the most talented foiling sailors around – he’s a three-time International Moth World Champion and was mainsail trimmer on the American Magic AC75 in this year’s America’s Cup, doing the same role on the Artemis Racing foiling catamaran in the previous Cup. Oh and he’s also an Olympic Gold medallist. But until a few weeks ago, he’d never competed in the SailGP circuit – which makes taking over the wheel of the foiling F50 for Ben Ainslie for the Great Britain SailGP Team all the more challenging.

Having won the season opener in Bermuda, Ainslie stepped out of the circuit for two events (he recently announced the addition of their second child to the Ainslie family, congratulations to Ben and his wife Georgie), handing over to Goodison for the Italian stage of the tour.

We spoke to ‘Goody’, as he is widely known, just before the start of the third SailGP event in Plymouth, UK, which kicks off tomorrow.

“It’s very new,” he explains. “My my role with Artemis a long time ago was as the backup helmsman to start with and then I ended up being a wing trimmer when it came round to the 50.

“Then the last time round I did a reasonable amount of driving the AC75 early on when Dean [Barker] was away, we swapped in and out a little bit, then I was racing as the wing trimmer in the last America’s Cup. To be stepping into this kind of fleet racing with eight boats and reaching starts is all quite exciting and quite different from what I’m used to.

Article continues below…

SailGP: New faces for the second regatta of the season

Saturday 5 June will see the second regatta in this second season of SailGP. For the first time ever the…

“So it was a steep learning curve, I guess, in Taranto, but a good one.” The Brits squad finished 6th in Italy, with Nathan Outteridge sailing Team Japan to win, but a mixed series saw usual front runners Australia, with Tom Slingsby, finishing 8th.

Learning to sail the foiling F50

Previously, many of the SailGP teams were able to hone their skills on a highly sophisticated simulator at Artemis Techologies in the UK, but due to Goodison’s packed schedule he had to learn on the foiling F50 for real.

“Unfortunately, I didn’t get the chance to go on the simulator! That would have been really nice, but it was just about being thrown in the deep end.

“But the other guys, the whole team from the shore team to the sailing team here is tremendous. So it was a lot easier than it would have been, I guess, if I’d been out there with a less experienced team.” 

One of the biggest challenges of racing in Taranto was that with light winds meant each crew was reduced from five to three (removing the grinders onboard) to allow the F50s to foil at a lower wind speed.

“Sailing with three [an option taken by the teams to reduce crew weight in very light winds] the first day last time was a real challenge and something I probably didn’t pick up as fast as I needed to. But there’s some good lessons out there. And if we get thrown in the deep end sailing with three again, we’ve got a much better idea on how we’d attack it this weekend. But hopefully the breeze will come and we’ll be up to full strength with the big guys up front.”

“It’s incredible when you think you are sailing a 50ft catamaran going at 25 knots upwind and 35, 40 knots downwind, with only three dudes. It’s actually really, really rewarding when you get it right – but really frustrating when it doesn’t. 

“I think as soon as the two big guys get off, you realise actually how much they do as well as just grinding the wing sheet in and out! They actually play a big role in flying the boat through the manoeuvres and trimming the jib. So then it just adds a lot more load onto the three guys who are left on board.”

“That’s when we need a couple of octopuses up in the front!”

“Looking back at the last event, it really rewarded the helmsmen that had spent a lot of time flying the boats at the America’s Cup in Bermuda. You could see how well Nathan and Jimmy were able to sail the boat and use a dedicated grinder, whereas all the other teams were sharing the role of the flight control between a flight controller and the helmsman, and switching around between grinding. And that transition is never easy, so the Japanese and the US guys had a little edge, I think. But again, it’s all down to practice.

Great Britain SailGP Team helmed by interim skipper Paul Goodison ahead of Italy SailGP, Event 2, Season 2 in Taranto, Italy. Photo: Bob Martin for SailGP

The foiling F50s are all identical, so coming from the America’s Cup – where each crew member had personalised controls – involved a quick adaptation for Goodison.

“In the flight control position, he has the ability to do both foils and the rudders, and then in the helmsman position on the steering wheel you have a rotating grip that flies the opposite board.

“You also have foot buttons in the cockpit where you press to add rudder lift or take off, as well as having buttons on the wheel to add differential or take away differential. 

So I guess the biggest challenge is I just spent to two or three years placing my buttons where I wanted to have them and getting used to them, to basically trying to learn it all again.

“When you find yourself looking to find a button rather than just moving your leg or your arm automatically is a very different feeling. It’s like trying to look for where the indicator stalk is or trying to find where the clutch is on a car – all the while you’re flying at 30 knots and getting water in your face!”

Fast learning curve

The foiling F50s also go through a series of continuous evolution to keep the development level in the fleet high – something that Paul Goodison found particularly marked since sailing the AC50s in their previous incarnation in Bermuda.

“The big thing is how much the boats have actually advanced since they were sailed in the America’s Cup. The performance is better. The control systems are a lot better. And with the dedicated flight controller the boats are more stable and they’re faster. So they are a real pleasure to drive, it’s great fun!”

There is speculation that new bigger wingsails could come out of the shed for this weekend in Plymouth, giving the F50s another power boost lower down the wind range.

Photo: Bob Martin for SailGP

Another element of SailGP’s development programme is that all data is shared across teams, another big change for Goodison after the cloak-and-dagger espionage world of Auckland.

“It’s just super interesting. You spend the last two or three years desperately trying to understand what the other boats are doing, to try and compare to what you’re doing, to see if you can fast track your learning. And then you arrive in the SailGP world from the America’s Cup world, and you can literally just look at the reports at the end of the day.

“There’s a nicely compiled report for each day, with all eight boats’ data. So it’s pretty easy to pick out the trends and see the differences. 

“I guess the big takeaway from the real light winds for us, looking at the data, was that we probably sailed a slightly slower, higher mode. Which meant that our VMG out of the tacks was probably not quite as good as, say, the Americans or the Australians who were sailing much faster through the water. But in some parts we did have better VMG, in some parts they’d make a gain. 

“So it’s just really interesting being able to piece it all together and realise what you can try new stuff. Although actually on the water there’s not a whole lot of time to put a lot of these ideas into practice, you just have to go with your gut!”

“Also having eight boats out there makes it super exciting. The race is never over, the race is never won. It makes it a little bit more like the Moth racing or I guess the Laser racing I did years ago. It’s great fun.”

The eight foiling F50s practising on Plymouth Sound ahead of the Great Britain Sail GP event on July 16-17

Looking ahead to this weekend’s Plymouth event, Goodison said: “I think it’s going to be awesome, it’s a very natural amphitheatre here, so you’re going to be able to get up high and have a good view of the racing. 

“Much the same, I guess, as it was in Auckland. So I think if you’re coming to watch, you’re going to have to get up really close and have a great view. 

“And for me, I think the sailing is going to be fantastic. We have a good forecast – maybe a touch lighter for the weekend, but the seabreeze will hopefully come in and we should have some good racing.”

Watch the Great Britain Sail GP online at Sky Sports or on YouTube from 1400 on Saturday, 17 July and 1430 on Sunday 18 July. Find out more at SailGP.com 

If you enjoyed this….

Yachting World is the world’s leading magazine for bluewater cruisers and offshore sailors. Every month we have inspirational adventures and practical features to help you realise your sailing dreams.

Build your knowledge with a subscription delivered to your door. See our latest offers and save at least 30% off the cover price.

The post Paul Goodison on how to drive a foiling F50 in SailGP appeared first on Yachting World.

The Great Britain Sail Grand Prix is here, as the eight national SailGP teams go head-to-head in Plymouth this weekend hoping to win the third event of the series’ second season.

Great Britain, the home team for this event, won the opening event of the campaign in Bermuda, with Nathan Outteridge’s Japan being crowned Champion of event two in Taranto, Italy.

Despite not winning either event so far, the Spanish team currently tops the Championship, and Australian helm, Phil Robertson, would love to prove the Spaniards’ title credentials by being crowned Great Britain Sail Grand Prix Champion.

At the other end of the leaderboard sit Denmark and the United States, but only five points separates last place from first and a fine showing in Plymouth could turn a bad start to the season into a promising one.

We’ve already had plenty of drama in Bermuda and Italy this season, and Plymouth promises more of the same.

Brits hoping for a home SailGP win

Champion of the opening event of the season in Bermuda, Great Britain endured a more disappointing sixth-placed finish in Taranto last time out under interim Driver Paul Goodison, who has stepping in, in Sir Ben Ainslie‘s absence.

Goodison remains as skipper for the Brits’ home Sail Grand Prix in Plymouth, and he’ll be hoping for an improved performance in front ofthe home crowd.

Great Britain still sit second in the season leaderboard despite the poor showing in Italy, and a home victory would see the British team further solidify its standing as one of the Championship favorites.

Phil Robertson’s Spanish team currently top the championship. Photo: Ricardo Pinto / SailGP

Spain look to extend SailGP lead

Spain, despite not winning either event so far this campaign, is the only team ahead of the Brits in the Championship rankings right now. Phil Robertson’s team tops the leaderboard thanks to finishing fourth and third in Bermuda and Italy respectively, and he’s proven consistency across events is key to achieving success in SailGP.

The Spanish will be gunning for a victory in Plymouth, but another top-three finish would be no bad thing – and it would prove the Spaniards’ Championship credentials.

Could the USA end their unlucky streak?

It’s been a rather unfortunate start to life in SailGP for Jimmy Spithill, who stepped up to the helm of the US team at the start of this season.

The United States’ helm saw his team finish last on his debut event in Bermuda due to a collision with Japan which damaged both F50s so much they were pulled out the remainder of the event.

Things were looking much better in Taranto as the US qualified for the winner-takes-all Final, only for Spithill’s team to collide with an underwater object during said Final while the US was leading and set for victory.

Once again, damage to the foiling F50 meant the US had to retire, and Spithill now enters his third SailGP event still hoping to see one through to completion.

Denmark hunting for form

Following the Great Britain Sail Grand Prix, SailGP heads to Aarhus for the inaugural Danish event of the Championship.

There will be plenty of support for the home team in Aarhus, but Denmark will be hoping to head into that event in better form than the team has been in so far this season.

Helmsman, Nicolai Sehested sees him team currently last in the Season Championship, having so far picked up just 11 points.

It’s still early in the season so far too soon to write the Danes off, but Sehested and his teammates need to start moving up the table if they are to be in with a shot of winning silverware.

The British SailGP team will be helmed by Ben Ainslie’s replacement, Paul Goodison. Photo: Thomas Lovelock / SailGP

Replacement Drivers out to impress

Both Great Britain and New Zealand utilised interim Drivers during the Italy Sail Grand Prix, with Paul Goodison and Arnaud Psarofaghis skippering the teams respectively in place of Ben Ainslie and Peter Burling, the Kiwi helm now focussed on the Olympic Games alongside crew Blair Tuke who will look to defend their 49er Gold medal from Rio 2016.

Psarofaghis fared the better of the two, winning Race 4 and ending the weekend fourth in the rankings, but neither truly excelled as they experienced the F50 for the first time.

But now having gained a full event’s worth of experience, both Goodison and Psarofaghis will hope to put in improved showings in Plymouth to ensure the Brits and Kiwis remain within touching distance of the top of the Season Championship leaderboard.

If you enjoyed this….

Yachting World is the world’s leading magazine for bluewater cruisers and offshore sailors. Every month we have inspirational adventures and practical features to help you realise your sailing dreams.

Build your knowledge with a subscription delivered to your door. See our latest offers and save at least 30% off the cover price.

The post SailGP: Teams prepared for British leg appeared first on Yachting World.

I arrived in French Polynesia as a cook and photographer on the scientific research yacht Tara, just passing through. But I ended up settling here for a decade; partly because of my passion for sailing pirogues but also because, as a photographer, Tahiti and her islands are a true blessing.

When you think about French Polynesia, you think of traditional multihulls. Before I arrived I read about navigation by the stars, and the ancient history of Polynesians who sailed the Pacific to populate the islands of the Polynesian Triangle.

Before the adventure really began, we met in Tahiti to try out a canoe belonging to one of Ato’s friends. Five minutes after this picture, we reached the beach in a panic, the pirogue was sinking. But seeds have been sown…

I planned to spend one month in Tuamotu, and told myself that I’d hang out with the locals and sail with them aboard their epic outriggers.

Living on Fakarava, an atoll in the Tuamotu Archipelago, I became friends with my neighbour, Ato. One day I asked him: “Ato, where are all the sailing canoes?”

He told me that when engines first arrived in French Polynesia with the ‘popa’a’ (white people) and the nuclear testing programme in the 1960s, the locals were quickly impressed by having so much power with so much ease. No more sails to manage, no more tricky boatbuilding…

The nuclear test programme needed manpower and many Polynesians were hired. They started to earn something new for them: money. Islanders embraced modernity, and the sailing canoes were soon gone. 

One day, as we were exploring a motu, I asked Ato: “Shall we build a sailing canoe?” He said yes straight away.

After Tara I came back to Fakarava and we launched a non-profit organisation to realise the dream or returning traditional multihulls to the island.

Va’a Iti, starting small

Va’a Iti means ‘little canoe’ in Tahitian. As our first project we set out to develop a single-seat trimaran for a hotel in Bora Bora that wanted a model with a Polynesian look but that would very easy to use.

Nestled in the bottom of a valley is the Va’a Iti construction site – Alexandre and his partner Charlotte’s garage. Photo: Julien Girardot

Working with Alexandre Genton, a talented local boatbuilder, we built a canoe based on a V1 canoe, which is a sport paddling canoe with one outrigger.

Single outrigger canoes are an institution in Polynesia, and Polynesian champion paddlers dominate the podiums at international competitions.

Article continues below…

Pacific castaway: Marooned for months in a pandemic

Immersed and weightless in the warmth of the endless blue, I looked down and could see only fathomless depths below…

Jzerro: The oceangoing Pacific proa

The great Californian Gold Rush of the 1840s and 1850s saw over a quarter of a million people follow the…

This was my first canoe construction and the design was successful, though I came to understand what an old seadog I had met a long time ago in St Malo meant when he told me: “When it comes to boats, the best way to end up a millionaire is to start out as a billionaire!”

But what I gained by living this project was much more valuable than the money.

The next build was a larger Va’a Motu for the hotel, whose owner wanted a modern version of a traditional canoe for their beach club.

The single-seat Va’a Iti trimaran developed for a hotel in Bora Bora. Photo: Julien Girardot

This canoe was 20ft long, built of kauri wood using strip planking, while the rig was made from carbon windsurf masts. There is no rudder so the sailor helms in the traditional Polynesian way, with a paddle in the water.

A dream, Te Maru O Havaiki

Te Maru O Havaiki means ‘the shadow of Havaiki’ and is the realisation of a dream – or certainly of the fantasy that I had as a first-time visitor to the Pacific.

Now, I understand that for French Polynesian locals what is past is past. Here people think of the now, the present. The future and past are not so important; it’s another perception of life. They say of people in the islands: ‘They’ve got the time, and people from busy cities, they’ve got the clock.’

Making the two ‘iakos’, the linking spars that connect the ama to the main hull. Construction was complex due to their shape, with marine plywood, strip planking and hard foam core wrapped in composite. Photo: Julien Girardot

Te Maru O Havaiki is a 30ft Va’a Motu (outrigger canoe) designed by a local architect, Nicolas Gruet, and also built by Alexandre Genton.

The build created the opportunity to train two young people from Fakarava, and one of these young men, Toko, hung in right to the end of the construction. He proved to be an excellent laminator as well as disconcertingly natural at sailing the 30ft canoe, which is not an easy machine for a beginner to handle. The Paumotu people have an incredible ease with the water.

For the children, there was the tradition of the ‘titiraina’, a model of a sailing dugout they played with and raced; a fun game which also allowed them to understand the wind and the sea from a very young age. Photo: Julien Girardot

The project secured sponsorship from the French marine preservation agency, which gave us almost €40,000. They liked the local values and tradition, but the most interesting element for them was the scientific element of the project. For them we had to map an area of Fakarava’s lagoon using kites equipped with cameras!

For more than two months we sailed almost every day, skimming the lagoon from east to west and from north to south, sometimes camping rough for two or three nights to explore further.

During each outing we learned a little more, and gained confidence by sailing with the same crew.

We start to dare to sheet on a little more. The canoe is fast, but on one tack it is unstable. Whenever we tack, we shake out or put in a reef, it’s a delicate balancing act. Others, more courageous than us, sailed with just two people, and later were able to turn by gybing. Three crew is fine, but you have to reef… four is better, five is ideal.

Polynesian celebrations for Te Maru O Havaiki’s launch day. Photo: Julien Girardot

In the end, a government inspector from maritime affairs decided, after a stability test, not to register the dugout because it is too unstable. He is not a sailor, nor Polynesian, but freshly arrived from Dunkerque, where his job was to license cargo ships.

I don’t think he understood the importance of the shape of our canoe and it was painful at the time, but understandable with hindsight.

The dugout canoe in this configuration, with only one ama, will not be a 100% safe boat. Instead we will transform the canoe into a trimaran. The Va’a Motu association reconvened to re-elect a new board in April 2021. Now we will write a second chapter, but this time in a trimaran. Te Maru O Havaiki continues to tell the story of the evolution of multihulls.

If you enjoyed this….

Yachting World is the world’s leading magazine for bluewater cruisers and offshore sailors. Every month we have inspirational adventures and practical features to help you realise your sailing dreams.

Build your knowledge with a subscription delivered to your door. See our latest offers and save at least 30% off the cover price.

The post The joy of French Polynesia’s traditional multihulls appeared first on Yachting World.

Some folk seem to have it all. At 28, John John Florence has already enjoyed a career as one of the world’s most talented professional surfers. He lives on the north shore of Oahu, opposite the famous Pipeline wave which he is renowned for dominating. And when he’s not touring the world competing on the World Surf League (WSL) tour he’s surfing optimum waves with his younger brothers.

Born and raised in Hawaii, John John Florence recently married Australian model Lauryn Cribb and qualified for the Tokyo Olympics representing the USA surfing team. So what does someone who seemingly has it all do when not surfing? He sails.

‘JJ’ began sailing on a Hobie and a J/35 but has progressed to a foiling Phantom 18 and a Gunboat 48. He is also in the business of inspiring dreams, thanks in part to his production company, Parallel Seas, which documents his water exploits in video – including his recent cruising in the Pacific.

In 2019 John John Florence tore his anterior cruciate ligament while competing in Brazil, an injury that forced him out of surfing for a few months, but gave him a rare break to sail his Gunboat to some isolated Pacific islands.

It also unlocked a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to stay on the protected atoll of Palmyra, giving Florence and his crew the chance to witness the unique conservation work happening there.

Vela’s Pacific voyage involved a month-long return trip from Hawaii to the northern Line Islands. Photo: Parallel Seas

The trip made for a beautifully shot travelogue-style video series named after his Gunboat 48 Vela and it has turbocharged Florence’s cruising experience. I spoke with him in March after he landed in Sydney for the 2021 Australian leg of the WSL tour, where he was able to describe their cruise in detail from his COVID quarantine.

Hawaiian explorers

For Florence’s first big cruise on Vela after a year and a half of ownership, he and his regular crewmates brother Nathan, close friend Kona Johnson and photographer Erik Knutson were joined by French pro skipper and multihull sailing veteran Jacques Vincent, on a month-long voyage to the Line Islands.

“I had been competing on the road and the way our tour system works with surfing, it doesn’t really allow a lot of time for doing bigger trips like this,” Florence explains. “Getting injured kind of gave me that silver lining to go sailing and do this dream trip I’ve been wanting to do.”

As one of the closest Pacific islands to Hawaii, and one with renowned waves, Fanning Island, some 1,200 miles south, seemed like the logical destination. The Line Islands chain stretches across the equator, in the midst of the Pacific wilderness.

“When I started looking into the chain and Palmyra, and seeing what they were doing down there through The Nature Conservancy, I was pretty amazed. It falls right into a lot of the stuff that I like to support in my life, just growing up in and around the ocean and naturally wanting to protect it.” He contacted the scientists on Palmyra and managed to arrange a stopover to learn more about the conservation underway there.

Vela departed Honolulu in the Hawaiian summer of 2019. Planning was one of the biggest challenges, says Florence: “It felt particularly hard because it was going to be a month long… there’s no fuel down there, no food that you’re picking up for the most part. And five grown men eat a lot of food!”

“It just never feels like you’re ready to go. Yet the moment we left the harbour and raised the main you just settle in and all of a sudden it feels incredible – like you’re more than ready to do this.

A mix of wind and doldrums for Vela’s John and Nathan Florence and Kona Johnson on passage to the Line Islands. Photo: Parallel Seas

“Sailing for days and days like that, it’s pretty cool how your world just shrinks down so small, to what’s there in the moment around you.”

As well as the more regular passage routines such as changing sails, reading books, fishing and cooking, the videos show the Vela crew ‘exercising’ too. This entailed somersaulting off the bows, towing themselves behind trailing lines, paddling around the boat, holding onto rudders or daggerboards in lulls, and ‘surfing’ on the trampolines in swells.

John John Florence found the wave patterns in the doldrums of the deep ocean fascinating after being so familiar with surfing swells that come from one direction. “It was just this really weird looking movement of the water that I’ve never really seen.”

Article continues below…

Pacific castaway: Marooned for months in a pandemic

Immersed and weightless in the warmth of the endless blue, I looked down and could see only fathomless depths below…

Gunboat 55 boat test: is this the coolest boat in the Caribbean

It was a poignant moment, an epiphany even. As Toccata swung to her anchor off Anse Heureuse, a tranquil cove…

He was hungry to absorb knowledge during the passage and studied the weather and routing. Sailing in strong and gusty winds in Hawaii gave him a good grounding. “Once we got away from the islands, it became relatively easy. The wind gets a lot more consistent and you can kind of just tell what the weather’s going to do more easily. So I just became so much more comfortable sailing the boat.”

“Another thing I learned was just having the appropriate sailplans that you can comfortably sleep at night with no stress when you’re off watch.”

A conservative amount of canvas suited the crew’s experience level and the squally weather. “The first couple of nights we had 20 to 25 knots of wind, with big squalls coming through pushing up into the mid 30s. And so it was about having a sailplan set up for that at night, just so you can bear off and be totally fine without having to race out and put a reef in.”

Florence is using his voice to help effect environmental change. Photo: Parallel Seas

Sailing sensibly is probably not something that comes naturally to someone known for making riding Hawaii’s most notorious waves look effortless. “We definitely still went through some things breaking, which happens every time you go sailing,” Florence admits.

This included breaking the storm jib soon after leaving Honolulu and discovering a bent rudder pin, which meant they had to sail on one rudder for a few days until a repair was fashioned.

Palmyra: the island of hope

As land came into focus the crew was rewarded with the sight of a sheer abundance of seabirds, the first sign that life is thriving on Palmyra. From the plush, dense green vegetation, to the transparent waters, teeming with marine life and blooming corals, it’s unlike anything Florence and his crew had ever seen. Thanks to their photography, it’s something we can bear witness to too.

“It’s a very, very protected little piece of land on earth – but it wasn’t always that way,” Florence comments.

“In World War II the military pretty much decimated the entire island.” The Nature Conservancy bought Palmyra in 2000 with the aim of protecting endangered marine wilderness and setting up a base for conservation science. The military’s deforestation, combined with copra farming and an infestation of black rats, had left the island virtually barren. The Conservancy says its rainforest restoration project aims to restore the ecological balance.

“It’s unbelievable to see how it can come back,” enthuses Florence. The Vela crew spent a week living ashore with the scientists, learning about the work they are doing, snorkelling over the reefs and filming some breathtaking footage that helps highlight what can happen if the circle of life is allowed to flourish.

A surf pitstop at remote Washington Island. Photo: Parallel Seas

In the video series, the Conservancy’s Chad Wiggins explains how it operates within the Hawaii Chapter, in all 50 states and in 72 countries. “Here we take care of an innovative research station focused on climate adaptation and resilience.”

Kydd Pollock, another conservationist living there, thinks Palmyra can become an international baseline to show what a tropical ecosystem is supposed to look like when all its links are intact.

The footage shows us in HD quality how the coral reefs are restoring themselves quicker than anywhere else because nature’s chain, including plankton, fish, seabirds, trees and soil, has been restored to balance.

“Palmyra has all the links,” comments Florence’s brother Nathan. “A lot of places are missing those links or have too much of one. If you can just click them back together, then nature will do the rest”.

“It taught me how nature can heal itself a lot quicker just from being in such a healthy state,” John Florence tells me. “It also opened my eyes up to the rest of the world and changing things without too much change, if you know what I mean.”

He is referring to the idea that introducing small local measures can allow nature to regenerate. Near his Oahu home, for instance, an area was sectioned off to encourage seabirds to return. “It started really small. And over the past year or two, it’s pretty amazing how many big seabirds are now coming back to nest in that area.”

Secluded waves

After an enlightening week on Palmyra, the Vela crew stopped at Washington Island to sample some stunning untouched waves before pushing on to Fanning for another 10 days of surfing and exploring the reefs.

Having spent three quarters of my life addicted to surfing, I can safely say that anyone who sails and surfs will always dream of doing a trip to a remote island with perfect empty waves on tap. So how hard was it for John John Florence, strapped in a knee brace at the time, to have reached such a destination and have to watch his brother and best mate surf?

“Yeah, that was a little bit of a nightmare at times,” he laughs. But belly surfing, riding a paddleboard and just swimming in the waves proved replenishing enough. “I remember this one afternoon when there was no wind and the waves were really fun – I went out by myself and I was just riding waves on my stomach and just have never felt better.

“But at the same time, getting to explore those places are all big parts of what I want to do in my life. So I felt pretty filled-up from just being able to check out the other sides of Fanning and take the tender and go through all the reefs – and even just sailing there in general. Those are all really big challenges and they made it really, really enjoyable.”

Florence was taken with the sense of exploration and inspired by the locals. “People on these islands are catching the majority of their own food, are completely off the grid – living their lives in the moment. They are always thinking about what they can do today.”

He also enjoyed learning more about the independence sailing brings and the energy management of his boat.

Stunning drone footage from Fanning Island. Photo: Parallel Seas

“We had a Watt&Sea [hydrogenerator] on the back as well as the solar on top. And I was amazed that we didn’t have to charge our batteries from the engine once while we were sailing – that’s pretty incredible.

“You’re running the fridges, the autopilot, the lights, computers, cameras, everything. And the RED cameras [we use] have real big batteries that take a lot of power.”

There are 8x145W and 2x140W of flexible Solbian panels on Vela’s coachroof. “It’s amazing how much power the solar gives, especially somewhere like Fanning, where it’s just sun for days and days.”

The price for the pleasure of the voyage finally came with a six-day beat back home in 20-knot plus winds. However, Florence is pragmatic about how all these sea miles have helped fill him with confidence both to do more cruising and to two-hand the boat with his wife (Space X is a short film documenting the couple’s first full tour around Oahu).

Recovery from a cruciate ligament injury meant John John Florence could only watch as his crewmates made the most of the surf opportunities. Photo: Parallel Seas

“The more I sail, the less of a time schedule I want with it,” he muses. “I think that’s the ultimate dream – all of a sudden you have access to be able to surf these amazing waves in parts of the world that people can’t get to without a boat.”

Stimulating dreams is a key part of what Florence does. “That [Line Islands] trip really made me realise that if you can inspire people to get outside and go sailing or be in the ocean, they will get a feel of how great it is… which makes [them] want to protect it. I think when people feel it for themselves, it has so much more of a bigger impact.”

Many of us may not feel ready to try and aspire to such an adventure. “One of the biggest lessons I learned was that you’re never going to be as ready as you want to be… so at a certain point, you kind of just have to go. And I think if you take it slow and easy, it’s pretty doable to do these bigger ocean crossings.

“Once you’re on the boat and you get in that rhythm, it’s pretty incredible the way the world opens up.”

John John Florence

The 2020 Pipe Master is modest about his sailing, but the footage I’ve seen of him helming his foiling Phantom show he’s clearly skilled. He has sailed since he was a teenager, starting on a friend’s Hobie monohull dinghy. “I bought a Laser 2 then started sailing around on that, flipping it and breaking things.”

John John Florence took his first big sailing step with buying and cruising a J/35, which he loved: “There’s a lot of learning to do, especially in Hawaii with so much wind… so learning by doing is I guess how that went.”He describes how sailing became the natural way to explore. “It’s this mixture of exploration and the challenge of getting somewhere. I’ve always just been interested in the way it works”.

Despite his elite sporting success, Florence comes across as grounded and eager to keep learning. He met snowboarder Travis Rice in Tahiti where he was introduced to sailing Rice’s Gunboat 48 Falcor. “We started talking about passing the torch and the timing just kind of worked out,” Florence explains. Once Rice had sailed to Hawaii, Florence bought the boat and rebranded it Vela “after the Southern Hemisphere star constellation”.

He admits it was a leap moving up to a near 50ft performance catamaran, but Florence befriended Jacques Vincent, a former crewmember of Hydroptère, who was able to share some of his experience.
“Jacques essentially just showed me how to go slow,” he chuckles, “which is a good thing because when I first got the boat I just wanted to push it, I wanted to go fast.

“When you don’t have that knowledge or the right crew, then pushing a boat like that can be just dangerous. But that’s the amazing thing about these light multihulls: you can go pretty quick with a pretty small and safe sailplan.”

If you enjoyed this….

Yachting World is the world’s leading magazine for bluewater cruisers and offshore sailors. Every month we have inspirational adventures and practical features to help you realise your sailing dreams.

Build your knowledge with a subscription delivered to your door. See our latest offers and save at least 30% off the cover price.

The post John John Florence: The surfing sailor appeared first on Yachting World.

Over the last seven years Riley Whitelum and Elayna Carausu have advanced from novice sailors to logging more ocean miles than most of us will sail in a lifetime. And they’ve managed to translate their journey in the most engaging way, reaching more people than any other sailors on the planet via their YouTube channel, Sailing La Vagabonde.

This Australian couple are actively influencing a new generation of bluewater cruisers. Millions of viewers watch their weekly episodes of the Sailing La Vagabonde channel, which brings multihull cruising into your living room (or office).

In them they share their liveaboard lifestyle by providing 20-minute hits of endearing weekly escapism.

But their reach is now ensuring they have the ear of the industry too, with the couple starting to leak plans of a new emission-free vessel, which will be sponsored by marine manufacturers.

One of Riley’s latest videos is more opinionated and advises people what to look for – and what to avoid – when buying a new catamaran. Just how much do these influencers want to influence?

Sailing La Vagabonde: Novices to experts

For those unfamiliar with Sailing La Vagabonde, the channel has accrued over 1.5m followers thanks to the fresh, self-deprecating, and admittedly easy-on-the-eye nature of its bronzed protagonists. Riley and Elayna are supported by the crowdfunding model Patreon, through which they have accrued over 3,600 paying members, and make a healthy return from YouTube revenue.

Riley Whitelum. Photo: c/o Sailing La Vagabonde

Their journey began when Riley, now 33, bought a 43ft Beneteau Cyclades in 2013, financed from eight hard years spent working on oil rigs. He met Elayna in the Greek islands, where she was working as a musician for a travel company. Seduced by his characterful moustache and the appeal of life afloat, the 21-year-old from Geraldton soon agreed to join Riley aboard.

She began documenting their budget cruising adventures for family and friends, including the myriad trials, challenges and plain scary moments of liveaboard sailing, before sharing the videos publicly.

After three years, including crossing the Atlantic and Pacific, they struck a deal with Outremer for a new 48ft catamaran on a hire-purchase agreement. This provided a more comfortable base for shooting and editing video, which has transformed into slick TV-quality production for their Sailing La Vagabonde episodes.

It also provided a stable platform to bring a mini Vagabonde into the world in the shape of their son Lenny.

In November 2019 they made headlines by carrying climate activist Greta Thunberg eastwards across the North Atlantic (along with 11-month-old Lenny). However, it was only once Riley had completed this intense, stressful passage as skipper and topped up his estimated 80,000 sea miles that he says he felt more “comfortable handing out advice or behaving like an expert”.

Riley’s video on buying a new catamaran centres on why it makes sense, particularly in terms of safety, for anyone thinking of going long term cruising to opt for a performance multihull over a charter-style production cat. He thinks more buyers should look at the numbers, demand the polars, ask more relevant questions of brokers and not get sidetracked by sales talk.

“If more people start going into boat shows asking better questions and it all filters back through, then the second-hand market would be full of much better-performing vessels,” he reasons.

Cat among the pigeons

He describes people being attracted to a multihull that looks like a comfortable house as the ‘great safety paradox’. “You’re drawn towards, and inevitably end up buying, the exact vessel that you don’t want to be in when faced with a difficult forecast,” Riley argues. He believes that the performance potential of multihulls is one of their biggest safety factors, pointing out that during their passage with Greta they were “jumping from one safe piece of ocean to another, while surrounded by fairly inclement conditions”.

Riley lists a multitude of further benefits of a fast cat, including allowing you to: “pick your path across an ocean; keep up with weather systems; travel twice as far in a day; maintain the same boat speed with half the amount of sail up, making your passage dramatically safer”.

Riley and Elayna struck a deal with Outremer for a new 48ft catamaran on a hire-purchase agreement. Photo: Robin Christol

These are valid points, but I’m left wondering how far up the performance curve he recommends going for ocean cruising. “So that’s the question,” Riley replies enthusiastically. “If you’ve got a multihull that can really perform, you don’t need to sail it at full throttle all the time.” Therefore, excluding full race boats, he thinks performance craft from Outremer up to the more minimalist speedsters such as Marsaudon’s TSs are actually fine for beginners.

“You end up with a lot better sailors because those people will learn to sail on a boat that performs. You get that feedback, it talks to you more.”

That said, Riley and Elayna think that selling a performance machine to the less experienced sailor should come with responsibility.

Article continues below…

The inside story of Greta Thunberg’s upwind Atlantic crossing on La Vagabonde

The sky flashed a blinding white light and a spark came down just a few hundred metres to port. We…

How to get paid to go sailing – 5 different options for living the dream

Imagine escaping the daily routine of work, the long commute, the corporate life, the grey skies… What if you were…

“I think that they [the buyers] need to be trained by 
the company that’s selling the vessel. So it’s sort of like, ‘yeah, you can have this, but you need a license’.”

I point out that a high proportion of multihull buyers are coastal holiday sailors, while many new performance cats are too costly. But Riley confirms that his video is aimed at people who want to do some miles. “And I also said be aware that if you start doing this you’ll probably catch the bug and end up doing a lot more than you think.”

The ‘truth about buying video’ is more focussed on getting people to ask the right questions in the first place. Elayna thinks the larger companies selling production catamarans “need to give a truthful option of what is best for coastal sailing and what is best for crossing oceans.”

Creating, filming and editing accounts of liveaboard life are all part of the daily routine for Riley and Elayna. Photo: c/o Sailing La Vagabonde

Despite their opinions on production catamarans, Riley and Elayna make it very clear they don’t want to put anyone off sailing. “People are very emotional and I need to be really careful,” accepts Riley. “The last thing I want to do is upset Ma and Pa Kettle, who just spent their life savings on a Lagoon 45 – I really don’t. But all things considered, I just felt obligated to point out a few things… and because people do want to know our thoughts and ideas and opinions on stuff.”

Life in a slower lane

They emphasise that cruising is not all about sailing far or fast. “You don’t have to sail around the world to have fun, in fact the slower you go the more fun you have.” They refer to another channel, Catamaran Impi, inviting a response from South African couple Brent and Ana who’ve lived and cruised extensively aboard a heavier-style catamaran for 11 years.

Brent and Ana had to modify their Lagoon over 18 months to make it bluewater ready, but maintain they are comfortable on a heavier cat, especially during storms, when they’ll actually slow the boat down to avoid weather systems. In particular they highlight the ability for one person to be able to reef on any point of sail.

So, two different vloggers, two different views. It all shows how easily we can now gain rich information based on first-hand experience.

In their opinion, Riley and Elayna have the ideal boat for their adventures in their relatively new 48ft performance cat. Yet over the last couple of years they have been working away on a new zero emissions project, and have attracted sponsors, including Oceanvolt and Doyle Sails.

“The whole idea is to have a very good performing vessel… that can sail right up to the anchorage, before motoring in that last part,” Riley explains. He admits they don’t expect the new technology to be faultless and that with a young family they’ll err on the side of caution.

They already live relatively frugally, with minimal waste and use their reach to promote an awareness of ocean health. But do they feel the pressure to influence others with their new project too?

“With the emissions thing, it’s just so politically charged that we’re just generally going to lead by example,” Riley answers thoughtfully. “We’re going to do our own thing and just show you that either the technology works or it doesn’t.”

The bigger picture

Sailing La Vagabonde’s lifestyle may seem enviable, but when you consider the exhaustive hours of editing work, the endless search for wifi, and issues such as trolling which flourish when you make your personal life public, it’s heartening to find that Riley and Elayna still genuinely seem to love what they do.

Juggling the not insignificant trials of producing and uploading content along with parenting the newest Vagabonde, Lenny is not an easy task. Photo: c/o Sailing La Vagabonde

It seems viewers are increasingly turning to them for guidance too (they now produce digital sailing tutorials). “The journey itself is going to be harder than people think and probably more rewarding as well,” is Riley’s advice to those considering long-term cruising.

“So it’s not easy and you just have to love it. And once you do really love that time on the water, which is a massive reset, everything just disappears. Your worries, your concerns, all of the things that seemed important, just evaporate.”

He says his enjoyment of sailing has enriched his experience of becoming a capable skipper. “If you love the lifestyle and everything around it, then the learning side of things – and upping your level as a sailor – just becomes easy… it just happens.”

“But you do have to love the hard times too,” Elayna cautions. She is heartened that their typical viewers have evolved with them and moved on from older men to younger dreamers and doers.

When Nikki Henderson wrote her ‘Across the Atlantic with Greta’ account for Yachting World last year, she put Sailing La Vagabonde’s success down to the relatability of Riley and Elayna. I’d add to that their genuine desire to communicate the positives of sailing.

“One of the main things is getting people interested in sailing that aren’t already sailors. That’s really cool,” thinks Riley. Somewhat influenced, I couldn’t agree more.

If you enjoyed this….

Yachting World is the world’s leading magazine for bluewater cruisers and offshore sailors. Every month we have inspirational adventures and practical features to help you realise your sailing dreams.

Build your knowledge with a subscription delivered to your door. See our latest offers and save at least 30% off the cover price.

The post Sailing La Vagabonde explain their multihull criteria appeared first on Yachting World.

With Lagoon catamarans at one end of the spectrum and world-girdling Ultime class trimarans at the other, there’s not much in the multihull world that design studio VPLP has not turned its hand to. It is among the biggest of the French design offices, which seem to dominate this sector, and one of the best regarded.

Founded by the naval architects Vincent Lauriot-Prévost and Marc van Peteghem, who met during their studies at Southampton University in the late 1970s, the company has always carried the acronym of their two surnames.

“I called Vincent in February 1983 and said there’s maybe a first boat to design, do you want to partner with me?” recalls van Peteghem, who is now the cruising half of the VPLP duo. “We shared the same values and the same vision of the world and we’ve been partners ever since. When I was 12 or 13, I said I was going to be a yacht designer. Then it was only a question of patience.”

VPLP’s first ever design, the radical 50ft trimaran Gérard Lambert

And though I say ‘cruising’, I use the term somewhat loosely, as van Peteghem has designed everything from dinghies to superyachts. While these days he takes care of clients such as Lagoon, Excess and Outremer, he and co-founder Lauriot-Prévost actually began their careers designing a radical 50ft foiling trimaran called Gérard Lambert.

The boat was built for Vincent Levy’s 1984 OSTAR and showed real potential until its loss during the Route du Rhum in 1986 following a collision with a cargo ship.

Voiles et Voiliers magazine noted at the time that the boat ‘sowed terror’ among competitors at the 1984 Trophée des Multicoques off south Brittany, where it was overhauling maxi-multihulls. VPLP was off to a winning start. Commissions for racing multihulls began to pour in for a rollcall of skippers that sounds like the offshore racing hall of fame: Kersauson, Le Cam, Tabarly, Arthaud.

That commitment to race boats has never waned, although it is more the preserve of Vannes-based Lauriot-Prévost. Together, they have drawn winning MOD70s, IMOCAs, and even the triumphant Oracle USA17, which swept all before it in the acrimonious 33rd America’s Cup held in Valencia in 2010. They were also the designers behind L’Hydroptère, the advanced foiling trimaran launched in 1994, which held the world speed record over one nautical mile from 2007 until 2012.

Article continues below…

The Yachting World hall of fame: 50 yachts that changed the way we sail

1. Mariquita Built: 1911 Design: William Fife III Mariquita is a living link between the ‘Big Class’ behemoths, such as…

Sardinia charter: Living the high life on a crewed Lagoon 620

Beam. Or beam and volume. Those are the dominant characteristics that spring to mind about cruising catamarans. You expect huge…

Nonetheless, in the midst of all this frothy racing work, van Peteghem recalls being approached to design a 55ft cruising catamaran in the mid-1980s: a one-off for a nascent builder called Lagoon, which was then part of the well-regarded Jeanneau Techniques Avancées, which also built ocean-racing multis. It was the start of a relationship that has endured to this day, down more than two dozen different models spanning lengths from 37ft to 77ft, and some 5,000 boats launched.

Success with racing would not have been possible without the cruising work, says van Peteghem. “All the money we got from cruising boats was invested into new software and engineers and technology and knowledge to be better. And it’s still the case.” VPLP now employs 32 people, a third pure engineers, and the remainder naval architects and designers.

Trademark look

The Lagoon tie-up has been good to VPLP, but it has also helped the catamaran brand to become the most recognisable multihull in the world, with its vertical trawler windows and cavernous interior. So much so that the term ‘lagoon’ has come to apply generically to all catamarans in some parts of the world. It’s clearly a source of pride to van Peteghem, although he protests that he is a “humble person” when I put it to him.

A VPLP-designed Lagoon 55 catamaran of 1987 vintage

“Lagoon has been a little bit forward of the market – offering more and more comfort and space, towards more of a floating home direction than it was at the start,” he says. “In the hull design, we’ve really made a lot of progress to make the comfort at sea as good as possible, and also to minimise the drag.”

Most recently with the launch of the new Excess brand, the owners of Lagoon have asked VPLP to take catamaran design in a slightly different direction. “We are drifting towards something that is lighter and trying to be a little bit faster,” says van Peteghem. With the simpler, curvier lines of its 11m, 12m and 15m models launched so far, it is also aiming to appeal to younger and sportier owners.

“We were very happy with the performance [of the first generation], but I think the next generation could be a bit more radical. It could be one step further in terms of an exciting sailing experience.”

Lagoon 560 is a leader in cruising cats. Photo: Nicholas Claris

At first, Groupe Beneteau wanted to find a different design office to underscore the different look and feel of the new range. But VPLP had a secret weapon, which enabled it to win the new business. And that weapon is, in fact, a man; a man called Patrick le Quément who ran Renault’s 350-strong design department for more than a decade before joining the team as a consultant.

“I convinced them that it was much better that we do [the design] ourselves because we had designed the Lagoons and we knew exactly how to move the dosage of the personality,” says le Quément. He shows me a mood board contrasting the two lines. While Lagoon is all ‘mineral’ – bold edges and manmade forms – Excess is ‘animal’, with flowing curves.

Le Quément brought a certain aesthetic flair with him, but he also introduced VPLP to a new way of working. The technique he’d developed at Renault was to break each new project down into just a few keywords, then produce various sketches that exaggerated one or other of those characteristics – in effect, turning each concept into an illustrated spectrum.

Tan 66 is a VPLP luxury catamaran proposal

Allied to Autodesk software, which allows users to create quick, attractive renderings, this approach suddenly made it possible to visualise hundreds of different possibilities for each brief.

Van Peteghem now sees this as a major strength for VPLP. “We’ve made a lot of progress in understanding the preliminary phase of the design and fully understanding the part about the aesthetic,” he says. “Working with Patrick [le Quément], we learn. Our designs are certainly better now: because he’s there, but also because the other half of the design company is evolving.”

The potential was spotted early on by Xavier Desmarest, the CEO of catamaran brand Outremer. When he was building a team to create the ‘ultimate’ catamaran, he chose VPLP and le Quément, among others. The result was the award-winning 5X, designed for family living, but with good light-airs performance. Despite a price tag of well over €1m, more than 20 hulls have been sold to date.

The souped-up lightweight Outremer 5X No Limit

VPLP also worked on a souped-up version, appropriately called No Limit. Built in carbon and with a foam-cored interior fit-out, the boat is 2.5 tonnes lighter than the typical production version.

Something completely different

With Lagoon as his biggest client, van Peteghem intrigues me by saying he thinks that simpler boats are the way of the future. On the face of it, the brand of “little houses on the water” is the exact opposite, with its growing equipment list and burgeoning interior volumes.

“The market is more or less like an ostrich that has swallowed a watermelon – over the years, it is talking to the same population,” explains van Peteghem. “In the 70s, people were sailing on simple boats. Over time, they got older and richer and wanted a bigger boat with more comfort – more, more, more – and we drift away from the pleasure of sailing.

L’Hydroptère slashed speed records. Photo: Celine Levy

“What about the younger generation? We’re asking ourselves how we will offer solutions that are closer to their aspirations and money. At the moment there’s no real offer of a really simple multihull inside in terms of space.”

Van Peteghem seems particularly animated on this point, and it soon becomes clear why. He lives out the conviction himself, sailing a 6.2m Muscadet designed in the 1960s by Frenchman Philippe Harlé. “She is a monohull built in plywood with 1.12m headroom, and I was in Corsica with my parents in it 45 years ago. I still have it as a family boat. For me, I don’t need much: what I like is to be at sea and really be close to the sea.”

He says he’d love to sail a catamaran that follows the same simple logic as this boat, with four berths and an easy sailplan. “There’d be no compromise on the galley, because I like cooking,” he says with a laugh. But as he puts it, he doesn’t have four bathrooms at home, so why does he need four heads on the boat?

OceanWing concept has been proven and features fly-by-wire sail controls and a reefable wingsail. Photo: Thierry Martinez / Sea & Co

His thoughts are bending towards a Mediterranean cruise with the family. “What I really like is to sail for at least three days, then you get away from the perception of time. There are no more set hours to do things – it’s another rhythm: you wake up, you remember all your dreams, you have a few hours to take care of the boat, you socialise with the rest of the crew. I really love that.”

Despite his personal sailing tastes, van Peteghem believes that technology can make yachting more sustainable in the future. VPLP has just finished working on a desktop project with aircraft builder Airbus, which owes more to aerodynamics than traditional hull shape.

The foiling S-Jet took its form from VPLP, combined with state-of-the-art fly-by-wire controls from Airbus. Two different rigs were designed, including one with a pair of OceanWing sails from VPLP to create a real flying boat. VPLP’s OceanWing has developed out of the towering 68m sail that drove US17 to victory in Valencia ten years ago. “I had the impression that if we could make it stowable, reefable, it might be a good solution for yachts and the shipping industry too.”

A rendering of the AirSeas85 foiling trimaran concept

With French development money and other support, several prototypes have emerged, including that for 8m eco trimaran Gwalaz. “With a projected surface area of only 21m², compared with 32m² or 46m² for standard rigs, the prototype OceanWing propels the boat to an equal or higher speed in every wind condition,” says van Peteghem.

A larger scale test is being carried out on the French hydrogen-powered boat Energy Observer, which uses two 12m wings. And the studio has also published renderings for a genre-defying 282-footer described as “a trimaran or stabilised monohull – with wings”. The concept explorer trimaran Komorebi’s towering OceanWings will get it up to 15 knots or allow it to burn 30% less fuel in hybrid mode.

Van Peteghem says there has been interest in the concept, but nothing serious. “Typically, it is an example of something a little too early. Timing is everything – you can have very good ideas, just not at the right time, when people are not ready to accept or to understand.”

Hemisphere is the world’s largest catamaran

Far from being disappointed by the lack of take-up to date, he is confident that the boat will lead to a concrete project, even if it metamorphosises along the way. After all when, it comes to size, VPLP has nothing to prove: the two largest sailing catamarans afloat came off its drawing boards.

They are the 145ft catamaran Hemisphere, which was delivered in 2011 by Pendennis of Falmouth, and 138ft Douce France from 1998. “A big multihull is the perfect platform because you have a huge range, and the sail and the power, plus the stability and the space. Owners keep their boats for decades.”

Van Peteghem believes that it is down to designers like him to push the industry in the right direction on sustainability, and on construction methods too. For glassfibre boats, for instance, he is thinking about how the constituent elements could be assembled without gluing, so they can be taken apart again.

Canopée is an OceanWinds-powered cargo vessel designed to carry the Ariane rocket launcher

“Changing is very difficult,” he observes. “You either change because you’re under pressure, or because you want to.” It’s all part of an approach that starts with making boats lighter and more efficient in light winds.

“Being light is being green,” he says. “When you sail in the Med and you have a boat which is able to sail in 6-7 knots of wind, then you are only going to use your engine 5% of the time. “If your boat needs 10-12 knots of wind, then you’re going to be using your engine 60-65% of the time.”

First published in the May 2020 edition of Yachting World.

The post Marc van Peteghem interview: Up close and personal with the king of cats appeared first on Yachting World.

Beam. Or beam and volume. Those are the dominant characteristics that spring to mind about cruising catamarans. You expect huge full-width saloons and cabins spread out across metres of multihull.

But standing on the flybridge of the Lagoon 620 Lady Fiona, gazing down at a teal and turquoise Sardinian inlet, it was the height that really struck me.

I hadn’t seen my children for what felt like hours, as they scampered up and down the multi-level cat. They had bounced on the trampoline, climbed to the top deck to survey their domain, launched themselves from the transom steps into the sea, played raucous card games on the aft sundeck and then tiptoed down to their own cabin to cosy up with a book as the waves lapped by.

Far above the water, you glide over – not through – the waves

Lady Fiona was their castle for a few days and she offered as many secretive stairwells and comfortable nooks and interesting viewpoints as the traditional towering variety.

I will admit that the first sail was slightly disconcerting. Unlike a monohull, which has a direct line of sight forward to everyone on deck, there was no one place on the Lagoon 620 where you could see where everyone was. How could I keep up my silent parental head-count?

Article continues below…

European Yacht of the Year 2019: Best multihulls

A real mix of multihulls made this a diverse, tricky category to judge. It can often be the case that…

Buy to let guide: owning and chartering a catamaran – everything you need to know about how to make it work

The organisers of the International Multihull Boat Show in La Grande Motte, estimate that somewhere between 900 and 1,100 catamarans…

But we quickly adapted our ground rules – no walking around the side decks underway without a grown up, holding onto handrails on stairs and so on – and sailed through the week without a slip.

The trade off is a spectacular 360° perspective that could not feel more different to slipping along next to the sea in a traditional cockpit. All sail controls are led to the flybridge, where there are port and starboard wheels for manoeuvring, and both sunny and shaded spots thanks to a wide bimini.

The crew were fantastic with children, and worked hard to make the trip enjoyable for everyone

Far above the water and the engines, you glide over – rather than through – the waves. Even down on the trampoline, barely a splash reaches your toes.

The stability is quite incredible. On our first morning motorsail out of Olbia, we were given a send off by a pod of dolphins before heading out into the swell. The Costa Smerelda is a millionaire’s playground and superyachts roar past with impressive regularity.

Just as our hostess, Michelle, climbed the stairs to the flybridge with a couple of mugs of freshly brewed coffee, a vast motoryacht suddenly altered course straight in front of us, sending a rolling wave towards our bow.

Breakfast is served on the aft deck

It may have been the ultimate First World problem, but clearly those coffees weren’t going to survive. Yet Lady Fiona barely flinched, the wave disappeared under our hulls with almost no perceptible pitching. Not a drop was spilt.

It can make you a bit lazy; knowing you can put your camera down anywhere and it won’t crash to the floor. But that’s nothing compared to the Olympic-level indulgence of a crewed charter. We genuinely never had to lift a finger.

DiYachting offer luxurious skippered and crewed charters on sailing yachts over 60ft (and a couple of hand-picked motoryachts). The company is founded and run by Matt and Lizzie Abbiss, a former skipper and hostess team themselves, and they know what truly works – for crew, guests and owners.

Utter indulgence

Lady Fiona was run by highly experienced South African couple Greg Evans, the yacht’s skipper, and Michelle Collins, a talented chef. Like all diYachting crew, they live on board for the whole season and get to know the boat and local area inside out.

Three times a day the table was beautifully laid, a spectacular meal served, then magicked away, while all we had to do was decide if we’d prefer to wakeboard or snorkel or sail on next.

The paddleboards found their way to the stern before we’d decided to use them, a basket of towels would appear on deck even before we’d climbed out of the sea, while iced water and fruit plates would be waiting to refresh us. The cabins were stealthily made perfect; boat maintenance carried out so unobtrusively it was barely noticeable.

You can expect five-star service three times a day on a crewed catamaran

We have been lucky enough to experience a skippered charter before, on a monohull. Every skipper and host/hostess team work differently, and how they interact with each group of guests very much depends on individual personalities (diYachting offer a very informative guide to everything from crew tips to onboard etiquette on their website) but the space of a multihull changes things too.

Lady Fiona is the Essense model of the popular VPLP-designed Lagoon 620, and the galley was in the stern of the port hull, freeing up the vast saloon as a guest lounge. In charter mode, the galley therefore becomes part of the working area of the yacht, and being served a meal on the aft deck is much closer to a private dining experience than any kind of crew table.

While Greg and Michelle would happily join us for lunch and a chat if we suggested it, for anyone who really values their privacy, a cat charter offers full service comfort without any sense that you are sharing each other’s personal space.

Lady Fiona is a Lagoon 620 operated by diYachting

Our accommodation was impossibly luxurious. The master cabin had a huge athwartships double, a study/dressing area, and then a glorious ensuite heads complete with twin sinks, separate WC and enormous shower, plus private access to the aft deck. From bed to Med in half a dozen steps: a pre-breakfast swim has to be the most idyllic start to any day (especially when breakfast is eggs cooked to order or freshly baked banana muffins).

There were two double guest cabins forward, each with bunk-level windows. The saloon was modern, subtly finished and incredibly spacious, but we spent most of our time pottering between the various outside spaces – the covered aft deck, complete with metres of seating, outside dining space and wet bar; the flybridge, covered by a bimini and with swathes of cushions including a popular sunken lounging spot tucked just abaft the mast, and the foredeck, with yet more recliners.

Archipelago days

After leaving Olbia we first popped into Porto Rotundo, a much-smartened former fishing village that now welcomes an eclectic selection of yachts and well-heeled visitors. We made a beeline for Bar del Molo, a traditional gelateria that’s been serving home-made ice cream from a tiled kitchen since the ’50s, before reaching up to Caprera.

Caprera, a small island in the Bonifacio Straits, is a nature reserve and popular cruising spot.

Water toys include a windsurfer, SUPs and towables

The butterfly-shaped inlet of Cala Coticcio offered a sheltered spot for the night, while the morning revealed a sandy cove hidden deep between rocky outcrops for idyllic swimming and paddleboarding expeditions.

But Coticco’s beauty is well known and by lunchtime dozens of small motorboats had poured into the bay, so we set off for a gentle sail to La Maddalena.

La Maddalena is the larger of the seven islands that make up the Maddalena archipelago off the north-east tip of Sardinia, and connected to Caprera by road bridge. This forces yachts on a pleasant circular route around – rather than between – the island group. We dropped anchor in Monte D’Arena, where the shore was dotted with small hotels and campervans, but the water much quieter.

With a wider bay allowing him to pick up some crosswinds, my husband took the yacht’s windsurfer out for a spin, while my daughter and I explored some of the miniature rock islands and tiny sand pockets scattered around the bay that were accessible only by paddleboard.

The characteristic boulders that decorate the shoreline also litter the seabed of Sardinia’s coast and care would be needed exploring on a self-skippered yacht. It seems obvious, but some of the best professional navigators in the world have been caught out whilst racing in these waters and approaching some anchorages after dark would require a good deal of confidence.

Lady Fiona’s layout, with the galley in the aft hull, leaves the saloon completely open for the guests to relax in

Fortunately, while some spots were very busy during the afternoons, the majority of visitors were dayboats that returned to port by early evening, leaving our anchorages relatively uncrowded overnight. We came across no flotilla fleets, and usually found ourselves sharing with larger private yachts, and one or two glossy superyachts.

As the wind swung more to the south, there was little incentive to leave Monte D’Arena and we stayed on to enjoy the water for longer before motoring back down the eastern coast of Sardinia.

Besides swim steps on each hull, one of Lady Fiona’s most impressive features was a hydraulic semi-submergible platform which lifted to house the 4.3m tender when under way and provided an aft swim deck and handy water toy launching point that was in constant use from the moment we dropped the hook every day.

Perfect lookout from a seat on the guardrails

When a couple of inflatables blew off the boat, Greg also proved just how quickly the tender could be launched from the platform as he went to retrieve them, making it a great safety feature.

Later we passed Porto Cervo, enjoying our top-deck view of some of the Wally crews that were out training ahead of the Maxi Worlds later in September. For a brief glimpse of how the high-rolling set experience the Costa Smeralda, we spent an afternoon off Cala Petra Ruja, listening to the Balearic beats drifting from the famous Nikki Beach resort, before continuing south.

A tiny kingdom

The reach towards Capo Figari proved to be the best sail of the trip, Lady Fiona eating up some 16 miles easily, nudging double figure boatspeeds as we cruised under towering cliffs. Just rounding the headland we were slightly too headed for the big cat, but were later able to ease sheets and continue our sail toward the imposing island of Tavolara, its summit hidden by a frosting of candyfloss white clouds.

We found a spot in the shade of Tavolara on its south-western edge, the bay rapidly emptying of day-trippers to reveal what must be one of the most spectacular anchorages in the Med. There is a single restaurant on the island, but its other draws are the walking and climbing trails up its 1,800ft limestone rock faces.

Tavolara, at 5km by just 1km wide, is known as the smallest inhabited kingdom in the world, and is technically ruled by the Tonino family, who lord over just 11 subjects and a herd of wild goats. However, at anchor that night it was us who lived like kings, as Michelle produced a show-stopping lobster pasta dish.

We rescheduled our final day to spend a memorable morning watching bottlenose dolphins play as the sun rose over Tavolara’s dramatic silhouette, before paddling over to a sandy isthmus that offered good snorkelling grounds – the island is part of a marine protected area and rich with sea life.

Tavolara might be the smallest realm in all the land, but it’s a powerful little place and we struggled to tear ourselves away. The last remaining compensation was a brisk broad reach back to Olbia, enjoyed from Lady Fiona’s flybridge with its master-of-all-you-survey viewpoint. Coming back down to earth would be a wrench.

Crewed catamaran charter guide

Multi-level living

Jumping from the cat’s impressive freeboard was a favourite activity

A couple of things surprised us about our big cat experience. One in particular was how the split levels change the dynamics – Lady Fiona offers both large sociable spaces and private quiet areas, which can be hard to achieve on even a substantial monohull sailing yacht.

It was also remarkable how quiet the Lagoon 620 was – no engine noise or generator hum and zero slapping at anchor. We all slept like babies.

Realistically, on most modern cruising monohulls, only one or two charter crew would be actively involved in sailing at any one time.

On a catamaran the big transformation was how the experience changed for anyone who was not helming. Life underway instantly became much more relaxed.

Five star service

Clearly a skippered and crewed charter is a luxury option, but we were blown away but just how impressive the whole experience was. Meals were restaurant quality, the living accommodation as comfortable as a very high-end hotel, the crew warm and professional.

The water toys were also superyacht spec – a 14ft fast tender, windsurfer, two SUPs, waterskis, wakeboard, and towable banana boat (which I suspect was the highlight of my children’s entire summer, the grins were plastered on their faces for so long afterwards).

The cost

This is trip-of-a-lifetime territory, but with the sheer space available the cost could easily be split between families. For anyone considering buying a new cat, it may also give a much closer comparison than a bareboat charter yacht, so could be money well spent as a way to experience life aboard a full-spec multihull before making a major investment.

A week on Lady Fiona costs from €19,000 in low season, rising to €26,000 in July and August.

The post Sardinia charter: Living the high life on a crewed Lagoon 620 appeared first on Yachting World.

Safely aboard in Reykjavik, about to depart for Greenland some 600 cold, grey miles away, I looked at the GRIB files with the skipper and thought: ‘Wow. You call that a weather window?’

I knew when I signed up for this trip – delivering a 48ft Grainger catamaran from Iceland to Newfoundland via Greenland – that the four of us could expect some bumpy weather, but I didn’t know that we’d be deliberately aiming for it.

The skipper, 68-year-old New Zealander Geoff Thorpe, had sailed Salanjo nearly 45,000 miles from Australia, where she was built, and wanted to take her across the Atlantic by a less obvious route to continue his circumnavigation.

There was nothing gung-ho about him, but he was very confident about our journey. “I think we’ll be fine,” he said. “If we shoot off from here right now on the northerlies at the back of this system, when we hit the next one we’ll go over the top of it on the easterlies. We’ll get some wind but she ought to take it in her stride.”

This was to be my third Atlantic crossing but the other two were made in a monohull, nearly all the time in a T-shirt and shorts.

This journey, it was obvious, would be hideously cold, and no matter how many layers were crammed on, they melted away to nothing in the gale that usually seemed to be blowing on deck.

This near-constant strong apparent wind was a fact of catamaran sailing that friends had told me about.

They had also correctly predicted that watch keeping indoors would be a wonderful luxury and that the boat speed on a cat like this would be dazzling.

That first night, looking aft, I couldn’t believe the view. We were doing 14 knots and it felt like even three water skiers and a grand piano tied to the stern would barely have slowed us down.

On the edge of control

What I had not been warned about – and struggled to get used to – was how hard it would be to get any sleep when the boat was flying along like this.

Under my three blankets and duvet, wearing my thermals and woolly hat and with the hot-water bottle between my feet (still in thick socks) I’d eventually get warm enough to nod off. But the motion in my bed at the aft end of the starboard hull was phenomenal.

We seemed to be hurtling out of control across the face of every wave, or leaping from peak to peak in a series of calamitous crashes. It was like being on a tube train going off the edge of Beachy Head.

This was especially the case when we sailed into the second system, about half way to Greenland. The wind picked up to 35 knots and though we were well reefed down, we began to really shift off the top of the swell.

A train of bigger waves came through, the boat roared down the face of one and we were suddenly making over 23 knots. The leeward hull threw up a vertical wall of white water.

I remember hearing whooping from one of the younger crew, but was pleased to see that the skipper didn’t look in the least bit delighted. Within minutes the headsail was off, we rounded up a little and the boom-furling main was reduced to something about the size of a Laser sail.

We were still making ten knots. The seas were about 15ft, we guessed, but not steep and spaced well apart. Reefed down like that, Salanjo just trucked on. It was awesome.

On our fourth evening at sea, in decreasing wind as we moved away from the system, with the snow-covered mountains of Greenland in sight, we stopped on the edge of the 100-mile iceberg limit and spent the night on the sea anchor so we could see the bergs in daylight.

Early morning sunrise near Qilakitsoq, Greenland, Polar Regions. Photo: Alamy

By the late afternoon of the next day, we arrived at the entrance to Prince Christian Sound, which cuts across the southern tip of Greenland just north of Cape Farewell.

We saw bergs in the dying sun, one as big as the Devon valley in which I live, and between them, intermittent fountains of spray from blowing whales.

This combination of sunset, icebergs, whales and mountains set in almost limitless solitude made that evening the most wonderful landfall I’ve ever experienced. I think everyone was a bit breathless and freaked out by the splendour of it all.

Back in Iceland, Geoff had explained that we couldn’t have even tried this journey if the ice hadn’t been forecast as mostly clear in the sound.

At Cape Farewell, the winds blow very hard from the west nearly all the time, and the later in the year you leave it, the worse it gets. To visit Greenland at all without coming through the sound would involve some grisly sailing to windward in any boat; in a cat it would be pretty much impossible.

All was calm inside the Sound though, as we motored under vast cliffs and snow fields perched a thousand metres up in the sky with tendrils of water cascading down the rocks.

We tied up in the midst of this wonderland at the village of Aapilattoq, home to 130 permanent residents and a gang of Danes smashing out bare rock to accommodate oil tanks. We got to stretch our legs properly here, climbing the hills behind the village to get an absurdly wonderful view of the hamlet, the Sound and the mountains.

Aapilattoq receded astern the next morning as we continued west, a tiny imprint of humanity on Greenland’s vast wilderness.

The town we were heading for, with its 1,500 people, represented an entirely different order of conurbation. It had a laundry, a cafe, three supermarkets and a long-anticipated bar.

Tied up in Nanortalik, having been to the laundry and the bar, where there was a fight (not involving us), we made some minor repairs and filled up with water and diesel. We then turned our attention to the chart table and pondered our departure for Newfoundland.

Looking at that day’s GRIBs for the Davis Strait, we saw an unexpected window opening up. We’d have to wait for a big blow to go through (which meant another chance to go to the fight pub) but could ride out on the back of that and, in theory, endure nothing worse than a day of close reaching in 30 knots heading due west.

We would then make landfall in Labrador and hop down the coast to Newfoundland in between the more awkward bouts of weather. The strait, which had been lurking at the back of our minds as a potential ogre, now looked benign.

So it was a cheerful and optimistic Salanjo that left Greenland the following evening. We motored through the moonlight with a vast iceberg glowing on the southern horizon, then the wind filled in and we got our 30 knots on the beam for the next 24 hours.

We made superb time without any dramas, save the odd wave that broke against the starboard hull with an awesome crash.

Two days later the wind decreased as we sailed into an extended ridge of high pressure, and from then until our arrival in Labrador 36 hours later, we had Tradewind conditions (apart from the cold): wind well aft, glorious sunshine and moonlight, an easy rolling sea, making six to seven knots in 12 knots apparent.

The younger members of the crew thought it a little dull. I thought it was heavenly.

Smelling the finish line

We made landfall at dusk in an anchorage in Labrador at 52.55°N, 55.49°W. By first light we were away again heading south, motoring into a gentle headwind until the breeze filled in strongly from the north-west and gave us 30 knots again.

Greenland, city of Nanortalik and icebergs in the bay. Alamy

We flew across the mouth of the St Lawrence, motor sailed through the night in dying wind, and on the evening of the next day went into Bonavista, our first Newfoundland landfall.

On our return from the pub, however, we soon sobered up when we found that the holding tank in the port hull had backed up and leaked about 100 litres of liquid sewage into the bilge.

We were now only a day’s sail from St Johns, where the boat was to spend the winter, and the skipper smelt the finishing line more strongly than he smelt the sewage, so despite the horrific stench, we were off early in the morning.

With 25-30 knots from the north-west once more, crashing along in big, ugly seas, it was hard to decide which was worse: outside in the rain with the thermometer at about four degrees, or inside with the stench.

On arrival, having motored through the narrow passage between the cliffs into the long, thin harbour and tied up amid the oil rig servicing ships and the trawlers in downtown St Johns, we got on with the time-consuming and grim bilge-defouling operation.

But after that, and a blissful shower, armed with the heroic hunger and thirst of successful ocean navigators, we went out and made merry.

I landed back in London after two weeks and two days away, a pretty short time to make a transatlantic journey.

That was partly due to good luck with the weather and partly due to the terrific speed of the boat – we averaged about ten knots – meaning we could get past deteriorating conditions that would have hit slower boats.

And while I hope my next crossing ends at anchor somewhere a little nearer the Tropics, my glimpse of Greenland was stunning, and I’d love to go back.

The post Transatlantic in a catamaran – from Reykjavik to Newfoundland via Prince Christian Sound Greenland appeared first on Yachting World.

Gino Morelli and Pete Melvin, more commonly known as Morelli & Melvin, are at the centre of almost every development in catamaran performance technology over the last three decades. Their credits include extensive developments with the A Class catamaran, Steve Fossett’s Playstation catamaran, BMW Oracle America’s Cup winner, the Emirates Team New Zealand AC72 that brought the world to foiling, the Olympic Nacra 17 and the junior class, Nacra 15.

So the chance to race around St Maarten aboard one of the team’s latest performance catamarans, the luxurious, high-speed HH66, R-Six, was not to be missed (HH catamarans – a new range of performance cruisers from China). Morelli then joined us on the dock after the race for a bit of a chat.

Gino Morelli on designing performance superyachts

I began by asking his views on the current state of the superyacht market and whether M&M had plans to get into superyacht design. “The performance-oriented superyacht market is still just starting out,” he replied. “There’s a bunch of giant 150-footers that are basically just powerboats with rigs – Mousetrap might be the only one that’s even close to being a decent sailboat.

“I think it’s taken a while for the technology, the rigs and sails, and boat construction to get owners enough confidence that you can build a 100-plus footer. We did the Gunboat 90 – that’s the biggest luxury [boat we’ve done] – and that boat can still fly a hull. Like the HH66, it flies a hull in about 25 knots true – it’s not a powercat with a rig, it actually goes sailing.

“We’re seeing pressure to move up the food chain. From 60s to 80s to 100s. Hopefully we’ll get those jobs. We’re pining for the opportunity to spend somebody’s $20-30million and looking forward to smoking half the traditional superyacht fleet – teaching them what sailing can be like.”

What foiling configuration is ‘best’?

The HH66 has 4m of daggerboard in the water at full draught with about a metre of curvature. This creates around 15 per cent “lift fraction”, which is a reference to the percentage of the boat’s overall weight (around 20 tonnes) that the boards can lift. On our round-the-island race, R-Six did fly for a few minutes with the wind on the beam and boat speed at over 20 knots. But I wondered which of the many semi-foiling, foil-assisted, four-point, three-point set-ups he currently favours.

“We’re working on the TF10 – it’s a trimaran foiler, 10m long, [commissioned by] five guys from NY yacht club. It’s basically a flying Corsair trimaran. Built out of all carbon in Holland by Holland Composites. It’s a fully flying four-point foiler.

“It’s really what we call a gentleman’s racer. So it’s not quite GC32 or AC45 stupidity, but it’s close. You still might want to wear a helmet, but it doesn’t quite have the acrobatics involved.”

“Currently the most user friendly [foil configuration is] what we call the four-point foilers (Read our review of the Formula Whisper four-point foiling catamaran dinghy). Just because it eliminates the need to raise and lower the boards.

“If you’re going across the ocean and don’t change the foil for three days, a three pointer is probably going to win you some miles, but the slight delta in speed between the three-point and four-point boat in any sort of short, enclosed course… for this kind of stuff, four-pointers are much more user friendly, safer, more forgiving – you don’t quite have to be Jimmy Spithill to keep it flying.

“That’s kind of our current track. I keep saying ‘We’re like the Wright Brothers. We just learned to fly, like, a week ago.’

“We go through variations in design in a two month cycle. It’s horrible for manufacturers because the next idea is probably better. It jumps so much.

“We did the Nacra 17 Olympic class cat [designed in 2011] and that was right on the edge when we were just learning how to fly with Team New Zealand. It had the curved boards but didn’t have the T-rudders yet. We didn’t have time to develop the T-rudder before the Olympic trials – and then, they went with it.

“So we had this funny, bizarre boat that’s very difficult to sail but good guys can actually fly it ‘teeter-totter’ on the single foil. It’s a tough boat to sail well.

“So then we developed the 15-footer as the youth training boat – and that boat from the get-go has four-point foils, so it’s immediately faster than the 17. So ISAF, says ‘Hold it. You mean the smaller youth boat is going to be faster than the Olympic boat?’ So we’ve actually detuned the 15 a little bit so it doesn’t quite leap-frog the 17 too quick.

“That’s how fast it’s developing. Our new boat is always faster than our old boat.”

DSS foils on catamarans

“We’ve been fooling around with the moustaches and the top-downs and the DSS foils they all have their sweet spots but the trouble is – what are you trying to fly?

“On this boat (HH66 R-Six) we’re flying dishwashers and washing machines and refrigerators. You know – this boat has 15 per cent lift fraction on its daggerboards – an AC72 has 100 per cent lift fraction. [Gunboat 66] Extreme H2O has got another metre of daggerboard [than the HH66] it’s lighter by at least 1.5 tonnes, it’s got a big rig, so it has about 30 per cent lift fraction. I can see a trend that lift fractions will go up but how many dishwashers, washing machines and coffee makers are we going to be flying upwind?

Gino Morelli

Why is St Maarten Heineken regatta so special?

“It’s a combination of things,” says Morelli. “The round island race is one of those benchmark races [because the course hasn’t changed over the years], so there is a true historical record. Also, the racecourse is right there. You don’t have to motor out for three hours getting to the startline.

It’s very easy for people in the US to fly without changing time zones, there’s direct flights from all over the place to St Maarten, there’s plenty of hotels around here.

I’ve been four or five times and my wife comes with me and hangs out and we enjoy the food – it’s very cosmopolitan between the French and the Dutch – I think the BVI’s are probably a little easier for Americans [to get to] but the racing here is hard to beat.”

The post Design guru Gino Morelli on the latest multihulls – “We’re like the Wright brothers” appeared first on Yachting World.

When Gunboat, the US company that created the luxury super-fast carbon catamaran range, went into Chapter 11 bankruptcy last year, there were big questions about the future of one of sailing’s most daring and innovative brands.

In May of 2016 the rights and assets of the company (excluding the G4 foiling catamaran) were bought at auction by French company Grand Large Yachting, which is behind the Allures, Garcia and Outremer catamaran ranges.

The new owners began by consulting existing Gunboat owners and skippers to find out how to develop and improve the range, then turned to multihull masters VPLP for the new design.

The fixed cockpit canopy on the Gunboat 68 is designed to support solar panels.

The new Gunboat 68 design was unveiled in Annapolis in October. This is a yacht designed to gobble up 500-mile days and take part in one-design fleet racing and it boasts a host of clever and forward-thinking ideas.

The lines manage to be both sleek and aggressive, with reverse bows inspired by VPLP’s record-breaking 100ft trimaran MACIF. One neat idea is that the modular saloon interior is fully demountable. The company knew that racing owners stripped out their boats for events, so decided to design a modular layout.

The fixed roof will support an array of solar panels and the aim is to equip the new Gunboat 68 with sufficient green power to do without a generator. There is a ‘semi-walkthough’ cockpit and tillers and bucket seats for outside steering as well as Gunboat’s customary inside steering position. There are a large number of performance options: curved asymmetric or symmetric daggerboards; a long or short longeron (midships beam and bowsprit); long or short boom; rotating wingmast or fixed rig.

There are “over 80 [interior] permutations in a production setting,” says Lars Erickson, who previously ran Gunboat 62 Zenyatta. “This is a sophisticated and sexy boat that is grunty and offshore competent.”

Gunboat 57: first look

At Annapolis another new Gunboat was on show. When the company went bust, the owner of VaiVai, a Gunboat 55, rescued his part-built boat from the Gunboat premises and turned to designer Nigel Irens to tweak it before organising the completion of the build himself. This has now been relaunched as the Gunboat 57 and adopted into the new Gunboat range.

Gunboat 55 video test – the coolest boat in the Caribbean.

Elongated at the stern, the new 57 has a revised and improved steering system with more performance-orientated lifting daggerboards in place of the original pivoting centreboards.

“The daggerboard installation did require a cabin redesign, which in turn allowed the engines to be repositioned amidships to lessen the pitching moment and improve the trim,” notes Irens.

Gunboat 57

www.gunboat.com

The post Gunboat 68 – the high octane luxury performance cruiser designed by VPLP appeared first on Yachting World.

Italian ocean racing legend Giovanni Soldini – the man who rescued Isabelle Autissier from her capsized yacht in the Around Alone in 1999, and still went on to win the singlehanded race – is in charge of the first ever attempt to convert a Multi One Design (MOD70) into a trans-oceanic foiling multihull.

Team Maserati took ownership of the former Gitana MOD70 at the end of 2015 and began alterations immediately adding a T-foil rudder and an L-foil daggerboard in place of the MOD70 C-foil on one of the hulls, leaving the other side unchanged in order to compare performance on opposite tacks. They also fitted a brand new set of wings to the central daggerboard in order to fly the boat on three points: rudder, lateral foil and the adjustable central ‘Manta’ foil that sits in the slot just forward of the mast in the central hull.

Take a look at the video interview below, filmed at La Spezia in early November, prior to the team’s departure for Las Palmas de Gran Canaria for the start of the RORC transatlantic.

The post MOD70 Maserati: Giovanni Soldini on the benefits of the ‘Manta’ foil on his ocean-racing trimaran appeared first on Yachting World.