Remember those early sailing superyachts... high-chested, heavy, aluminium and sometimes even welded steel hulls? Yet not many years later the fact that Southern Wind's latest 108-footer is an all-carbon, all-high tech oceanic beauty, one that also screams high performance is almost to state the obvious... In Cape Town a new generation of yachts is now taking shape. It’s a case of evolution not revolution. But while the visible differences between the Southern Wind 108 and its predecessors might seem subtle, this is a significant milestone. It’s their first model conceived and engineered from the outset as a diesel-electric hybrid.

The Sydney to Auckland ocean race is not to be undertaken lightly. But what a great feeling when you step ashore after the finish... The trans-Tasman rivalry is set to reignite when the Royal Prince Alfred Yacht Club’s (RPAYC) inaugural Sydney to Auckland Ocean Race, which starts on Saturday, 7 October 2023 at 1pm, from Sydney Harbour and finishes in Auckland, New Zealand. A Category 1 race, competitors will feel the thrill of starting a stunning harbour with the Sydney Harbour Bridge and Opera House as its backdrop. The finish line will be in Auckland home of the America’s Cup.

Two major events in Kiel this summer will vault the city forward into being once again a centre stage for high-level international sailing: the more than 140 years young and unique Kiel Week from 17-25 June and the 2023 edition of the ORC World Championship being held over 4-12 August. The first will focus on competition among a huge variety of classes, from dinghies and Olympic aspirants to big boats, and the latter will bring together on the Kiel Fjord the best of the best in big boat inshore and offshore racing in search of World Champion titles.

By introducing ceramic bearing technology into its latest line of Zircon blocks, Harken has significantly improved the accuracy with which sail trimmers will immediately match sail shape to changes in conditions. An undeniable leader in the field of premium deck gear, Harken is renowned for being at the front of running rigging technology, both in its design and production. The company ethos and the demands of the world class sailors with which it collaborates, requires its technical team to constantly improve its products for racing and cruising alike, and line handling gear has always been one of its specialties.

Bigger isn’t always faster. In the 2013 America’s Cup in San Francisco the speed and spectacle of 72ft wingmasted cats on foils turned heads like never before. But in the next Cup cycle in Bermuda the smaller AC50s were more nimble and in some cases faster. And they were already more consistent performers. Back then, part of the focus was on the solid wing sails. The current Cup boats have what appears to be a more conventional sailplan yet for the Southern Spars-built masts on the AC40s, this return is anything but straightforward.

Indicative of how close and competitive the 52 Super Series fleet will be in 2023, the first week of April saw the majority of the fleet already in Valencia for testing, tuning and training, all underpinned by a major dose of FOMO (fear of missing out). The search for fractions of a knot here and there continues for some, while others, like the 2022 World and circuit champions Quantum Racing, have an exciting new posse of young blood to bring up to speed before the curtain rises less than three weeks later in Saint Tropez.

There has been a lot of promotion of filmless and composite sail fabrics in recent years. With efficient mixtures and orientations of fibres, these materials can be used to create sails of great strength and durability. Dimension-Polyant’s new Tyra PLY now enables all sailmakers to offer their customers this significant uptick in performance. The customisation of sailcloth is not new for Dimension-Polyant, with Tyra PLY the latest in this trend to fulfill the demand for high-strength, lightweight and durable materials applicable across the huge variety of boat types, from winged kites and windsurfers to offshore yachts.

Superyacht regattas are immense fun but for many owners the perception of increased stress in exchange for a few days’ racing keeps them on the sidelines. The SuperYacht Racing Association is working to change that... A recent online meeting of the SuperYacht Racing Association (SYRA) saw a selection of global superyacht event organisers focus their collective minds on one particular issue. On the agenda was the apparent hesitancy of some superyacht owners, along with their captains, to experience the delights of regatta racing.

Fifty years ago in Finland five young men shared a controversial idea and an ambitious plan. They quit their jobs at Nautor and set out to create a new style of offshore cruiserracer – lighter, stiffer and faster than almost anything else on the market. ‘We just got together one day and the idea came up,’ says Per-Göran “PG” Johansson, one of the five founding fathers of Baltic Yachts back then and still one of its directors today. ‘We were not alone thinking “light is better” but most boatyards and naval architects favoured heavier designs.

Shipping raceboats between events makes a lot of sense, whatever the size of the yacht. In particular, wear and tear is eliminated so you can expect the boat, sails and equipment to arrive in the same condition in which it left. It’s also possible to ship the yacht’s container or a trailer with equipment and spares, either at the same time or ahead of the boat. Dutch company Sevenstar is arguably the biggest name in the field globally and has more than 120 of its own ships used for both scheduled and one-off sailings.

When Pauger Carbon decided to push both performance and elegance to the max with their latest composite standing rigging product they ensured that it was just as easy to retrofit as to install on a new launching. The evolution of fibre standing rigging technology moves fast. Ongoing development in materials and design is starting to produce solutions which, compared with conventional stainless steel rod, are smaller in profile for low windage and lighter in weight for greater stability and less pitch gyradius. The end result is higher performance potential in any new project or retrofit rig scenario.

Dry and light! In two short years North Sails Performance clothing has firmly established itself among the most elite technical clothing suppliers... with the benefit of some pretty high quality assistance! A dry bum is one thing that’s very pleasant about wearing North Sails Performance foul weather gear. The other is just how light it is. When North Sails Performance director, Nigel Musto, set out to create the best sailing gear ever seen, or worn, his primary objective was for the wearer to be comfortable and dry. Truly, properly, dry even after hours on deck in heinous conditions.

When the original concept for the new America’s Cup class was announced after Emirates Team New Zealand won in Bermuda, few could believe what they were looking at. A 75ft monohull with no keel, flying on a hydrofoil to leeward and a single T-foil rudder was difficult to imagine. But as we now know, the concept not only works; it is developing fast. North Sails’ designer Burns Fallow has been with Team New Zealand since 1993 where he and his team have both witnessed and been responsible for some of the biggest changes in the sail package.

As the foiling AC40 flying monohull flies smoothly across the surface of the water the real magic is happening out of sight below the surface of the water and within the boat itself. Leaving barely any wake and with just a plume of spray streaming off the leeward foil like an airliner’s vapour trail, the impressive straightline speed of the new breed of foiling America’s Cup monohulls seems effortless. Yet the technology that you can’t see is frequently what makes this all possible. And in this department hydraulics experts Cariboni are at the heart of the new foiling generation.

The masthead is the most dynamically vigorous point on a sailing boat... without factoring that movement into your instruments all that wonderful masthead data will only ever be one part of the story. In the November edition of Seahorse magazine, the design features of the new A+T wind sensor were covered showing how it sets new standards of light weight, fast response time and robust construction. Here we examine in more detail the interface options available and their applications including the revolutionary Inertial IMHU which measures mast head motion right at the wind sensor itself.

Remember those early sailing superyachts... high-chested, heavy, aluminium and sometimes even welded steel hulls? Yet not many years later the fact that Southern Wind's latest 108-footer is an all-carbon, all-high tech oceanic beauty, one that also screams high performance is almost to state the obvious... In Cape Town a new generation of yachts is now taking shape. It’s a case of evolution not revolution. But while the visible differences between the Southern Wind 108 and its predecessors might seem subtle, this is a significant milestone. It’s their first model conceived and engineered from the outset as a diesel-electric hybrid.

With its combination of Italian flair, love of technology, precision tooling and exquisite levels of finish, Persico Marine’s contribution to the world of electric-powered motorboats was never going to be anything other than eye-catching. Especially when the legendary heritage and style that accompanies the ‘Zagato’ name is attached for good measure... This beautiful and impressively engineered electric runabout is born from a partnership between Persico Marine and Zagato Atelier – two iconic and proudly Italian brands, both world leaders in their respective fields.

If you sail Bavaria yachts on charter holidays you may have noticed that over the last few years their new monohull models have become increasingly rewarding to sail. The credit for that is partly due to Maurizio Cossutti, the naval architect responsible for some very fast racing yachts and the Bavaria C-Line boats, but it’s also down to a new way of thinking that has taken root within the company when it comes to creating the concepts for new models. So how do they do it?

The new Arcona 50 is destined to be the perfect flagship for the Swedish builder. The company’s quiet confidence stems from their approach to the design and build of a range of high quality, good looking cruisers that deliver far more performance than the modern yet modest looks suggest. Their style of production also sits well with the location of their yard which itself has a long-held reputation for producing some of the world’s strongest and most respected brands. But make no mistake, confident they may be, but the 50 is still a big deal for Arcona Yachts.

Building upon an outstanding record in Olympic and small boat classes Zhik has carefully and steadily developed its technical clothing, scoring major successes in everything from kitefoiling to the Route du Rhum. Passion for innovation and performance is a driving force behind Zhik’s unflinching focus on development and improvement. Thus its sailing gear repeatedly breaks through technical boundaries, delivering exceptional comfort and protection. Through product innovation and global sales expansion Zhik grew by 40 per cent last year and with continued positive feedback from customers further growth is expected.

Most of us take traveller cars and tracks for granted but the extreme sail trimming and roll stability requirements of AC75s and AC40s required Harken to redevelop its hardware for a whole new performance level. Balancing a monohull with no keel on a pair of foils offset from the yacht’s centreline has been one of the biggest challenges for high performance yacht design in recent years. Understandably, in achieving this the foils themselves have attracted plenty of attention. However, as we are now starting to understand, there are far more elements involved in keeping a highspeed show on the road….

J Boats is so well-known for building racing yachts that it’s easy to forget they also produce cruising boats with the same well-defined character. The original J/24 is the world’s most successful onedesign racing keelboat with about five and a half thousand launched worldwide, but it was initially conceived, designed and built as a family boat, primarily intended for fast coastal cruising. Excellent and reliable all round performance, safely and easily driven in bad weather, unremittingly well-built and with those legendary resale values... when J Boats step up into the long distance cruising market it’s always going to be good...

Fast and light, a mix of the finest traditional and environmentally-kindest modern materials, no wonder that 2022 Route du Rhum winning designer Marc Lombard is so proud of his successful association with RM Yachts. Walking around a boat show or a big marina, it’s easy to conclude that all modern cruising yachts are basically the same. Then you’ll see something like an RM yacht and realise that it’s not true at all. Distinctly different from most of their peers in both concept and construction, RMs have earned a reputation over 35 years for being practical and durable, seaworthy and fast.

In 2020 a group of brave organisers were determined that it would be business as usual in one of the industry’s most difficult years to date. Today, the Genoa International Boat Show is reaping the rewards. In the top tier international boat shows, one show in particular is thriving and growing steadily in terms of its reach, scope and influence. The Genoa International Boat Show, staged every September right in the heart of the ancient maritime city, is effectively five different shows in one, with areas devoted to sailing boats, superyachts, motorboats, next-generation marine technology and nautical tourism

No different to the service they offer their most demanding grand prix clients, Offshore Spars now offers all racing customers the opportunity to precisely match mast bend characteristics to sail design… as standard After almost 50 years building masts for everything from cruisers to America’s Cup winners, Offshore Spars and its new owners are combining […]

A long-distance collaboration between Emirates Team New Zealand (ETNZ) and McConaghy boatbuilders in China to produce the new AC40 class of foiling monohulls resulted in both parties lifting their game to achieve an exceptional result. ETNZ undertook the design of the new machine, which packs a host of complex hydraulic, mechatronic and electronic systems within its 11.8m length, but had to find a build partner with the highest possible composite credentials and the capacity to do a production run within a very tight timeframe.

Sporty… one word that perfectly sums up YYachts’ new 90-footer. However to that you must then add blindingly stylish both inside and out and supremely comfortable in every respect. When Michael Schmidt was looking for a large yacht for himself, he couldn't find any format on the market that even came close to meeting his high demands. It had to be 80 feet, easy to handle, with no vulnerable components and of course, look as good as possible. Most people would explain their ideas to a designer and commission a shipyard to build this single solution. But Schmidt…

While others rave about the ‘new’ crossover between automotive and America’s Cup technology, one of Italy's most respected engineering institutions Persico Marine has been hard at it for years. The ClubSwan80 ‘My Song’ is the latest beneficiary… To many, the idea of a boatbuilding facility cradled in the heart of the foot hills of the Alps, 200 kilometres from the nearest place to launch a yacht (excluding the alpine lakes!) seems crazy. But Persico Marine remains closely tied to the rest of the Persico Group, be that automotive, aerospace, rotomoulding, or architectural, the group grows and learns together.

Many people might think of composite rigging as relatively new cutting edge technology, but SmartRigging has been building PBO rigging since 2005 and solid carbon rigging since 2010. By now they have serious experience, more than a decade of client feedback and an impressive list of high-profile happy clients. SmartRigging delivers sophisticated rigging to an extraordinary spread of customers from AC winners to International 14s, Imoca 60s and giant land-based and offshore cranes. Safe to say they’ve got the hang of it...

The latest collaboration between Baltic Yachts and Malcolm McKeon Yacht Design puts equal emphasis on performance, elegance, efficiency and easy handling, with some unique and interesting features What happens when an experienced, knowledgeable couple of ocean cruising sailors complete a full circumnavigation and then spend about 10 years developing and refining the concept for their ideal high-performance world cruising yacht, before finally getting Malcolm McKeon to design it and Baltic Yachts to build it?

There is a long-term trend in sailing and especially in cruising. Boats are getting bigger and crews are getting smaller. It’s now quite common for a novice sailor’s first yacht to be more than 50ft or even 65ft long. Most new cruising boats in that size bracket are designed to be sailed by a couple who may not have a lot of experience, without any other crew on board. Bigger yachts, greater loads, fewer crew yet easier sailing. One reason that such a bizarre and seemingly conflicting combination of features is possible can simply be described as ‘Reckmann’

When Aurélien Ducroz won the Class40 World Championships last summer, his victory against stiff competition in this intensely competitive fleet was a strong endorsement of his own talent, but also a validation of Crosscall, his radical and remarkable new boat. Kudos is due to the Marc Lombard design office, whose new Lift V2 design exploits the class’s 2020 rule change. Crosscall’s builder, GLC, also deserves credit for delivering a boat that surpassed its design weight target, coming out of the moulds lighter than expected. Another feather in the cap for Sicomin, having supplied nearly all the materials.

Dock talk is cheap and broken dreams are very expensive. When you need to replicate actual working loads, HarkenLab provides a solution. . When grand prix yachts gather in port it’s an opportunity for skippers and owners to check out the latest innovations on their rivals’ boats, and for crews to compare notes on how well the new stuff actually works. At the bleeding edge, new technology isn’t always subjected to rigorous physical testing in controlled conditions. Harken can now build full-scale prototypes and design test benches that accurately replicate the complex, dynamic load cycles of a regatta or ocean …

Cyclops load-sensing technology is designed to tell you how hard and fast you can safely push your boat for maximum performance without fear of breakage. As Cyclops CEO Ian Howarth puts it: ‘For decades, sailors have been given these amazing engines – these beautifully designed sails – to drive their boats as fast as possible. You wouldn’t think of driving a fast car without a rev counter. With Cyclops technology, we’re giving sailors the opportunity to fit that missing rev counter, which means they can run their engines – those hitech sails – at optimum performance and much more safely …

Newport based composite artisans Moore Bros were already aware of the Soviet Ekranoplan ground effect craft programme, when the REGENT team knocked on their door.. Out of that earlier programme, which ran from the early 1950’s to the late 1970’s emerged the famed Caspian Sea Monster. Now the same ground effect flight concept is back in modern guise and to a completely new level of refinement, delivered through ambitious design allied with the best composite engineering and build craftsmanship. Carol Cronin paid a visit to a well-known maritime town and the famous boatbuilding family who call it home

When Hudson Wang decided to expand his industrial empire to include boatbuilding he didn’t mess around; he invested $35M building a new yard from the ground up, filled it with state-of-the art CNC machines, and tasked veteran Kiwi boatbuilder Paul Hakes with creating the world’s leading catamaran brand. The new HH60 is a breathtaking boat, as stylish and luxurious as it is quick, and is a fitting model for a brand with such lofty ambitions. It hasn’t all been plain sailing since the business was launched, but Hakes has homed in on a winning formula.

Not forgetting that the old one was pretty good! There is plenty to shout about in the racing world, particularly for those who are involved at the cutting edge. Pro-Set has a long list of clients that are right in the thick of it, building boats from the blisteringly quick to the jaw droppingly beautiful. Among them is Maguire Boats, a small builder in a niche market based on the UK’s south coast that has enjoyed an impressive run of success and has played a huge part in shaping the high-performance world. The company is famous for its International Moths,