“In 1983, at 16 years old, I dreamed of building my own keelboat. An IOR Half Tonner was the top of my list, but I soon realised this was far…
World’s coolest yachts
World’s coolest yachts: IACC America’s Cup yachts
“I was obsessed with the Version 5 America’s Cup boats back in the early 2000s, I used to sit there and stare at the TV,” recalls 2021 World Sailor of…
World’s coolest yachts: B&Q Castorama
“For me ‘Moby’, as Ellen MacArthur’s trimaran was known, is one of the coolest yachts,” says top yachting photographer, Thierry Martinez of Ellen’s B&Q Castorama. “In this photograph Ellen is…
World’s coolest yachts: Swallow
“For my most influential boat, my mind drifted to the story of Swallows and Amazons, which gripped me as a child,” Nikki Henderson recalls. Arthur Ransome’s much-loved tale of children…
World’s coolest yachts: Vestas Sailrocket 2
“With no hesitation, my choice for the world’s coolest yacht is Vestas Sailrocket 2,” says Pascal Conq. The designer behind two-times Vendée Globe winning IMOCA 60 PRB and the new…
World’s coolest yachts: Superyacht Heitaros
I first saw Heitaros sailing in St Barth and thought it was a beautiful 60- or 80-footer but, as we neared, a crew looking as small as ants could be…
World’s coolest yachts: TP52 Patches
Eamon Conneely commissioned the original Reichel Pugh-designed TP52 Patches in 2005 to race under IRC in the Admirals Cup and within the original class box rule on the International circuit,…
World’s coolest yachts: Maxi 72
The Maxi 72 is the biggest boat where you feel you’re doing things properly, writes Mike Sanderson. These boats don’t have a canting keel or daggerboards but they are incredibly…
World’s coolest yachts: Star class
The coolest boat, for sure, is the Star, writes Enrico Chieffi. Clearly, on one side it’s for personal reasons, because I was World Champion, but it’s a 100-year-old design and…
World’s coolest yachts: Maxi Ketch Mari-Cha III
Fast, shapely, elegant and still formidable on the race course, Mari-Cha III was and still is one of the world’s most impressive yachts, writes Yachting World’s ex-editor, Elaine Bunting. Created…
World’s coolest yachts: Maxi Trimaran MACIF
The round the world record breaking sailboat, MACIF was launched in 2016 for French solo sailor and Vendée Globe winner François Gabart. He set a solo round the world record…
World’s coolest yachts: International Moth
“There are so many boats out there that have cool aspects and yet remain horribly compromised or are no longer relevant. After a ridiculous amount of consideration (and excluding our…
World’s coolest yachts: Ngoni
“Build me a beast. Don’t build me a sheep in wolf’s clothing. This has to be an edgy and innovative weapon, fast and furious.” This owner’s brief is well known…
World’s coolest yachts: The Ultra 30
“The Ultra 30s were the coolest boats, were way ahead of their time,” says Eddie Warden Owen, who skippered an Ultra 30 and also ran the circuit for several years.…
World’s coolest yachts: Mariquita
“Built in 1911 as a 19 Metre, Mariquita is one of the most beautiful yachts afloat, and I’ve had the privilege to be race navigator on board for most of…
World’s coolest yachts: Lady Belle
“It’s 50 years since my wife and I were beating down the West Solent in our first tiny yacht and saw a cloud of sail running in from seaward,” say…
World’s coolest yachts: Duen
“I cannot think of a better example of a happy cruising family than that of the crew of Duen,” So says cruising legend, Jimmy Cornell. “Among the many cruising people…
World’s coolest yachts: The Mayflower
The Mayflower is certainly the most unusual nomination to date for a world’s coolest yacht! It came to Yachting World from Pete Goss, on the 400th anniversary of the famous…
World’s coolest yachts: Finot-Conq design Nica
Hawaii-based photographer Tor Johnson, who has written for Yachting World on the challenges of cruising in British Columbia, has shot many different yachts, but he has a soft spot for…
World’s coolest yachts: The Beneteau First 25.7
Although he is something of an expert on ocean cruising subjects, ARC organiser Jeremy Wyatt says his ideal is smaller, and more local, a Beneteau First 25.7. “A boat I…