The 2026 St Barths Bucket – taking place 12-15 March 2026 – is fast approaching, with the yachts competing for the coveted regatta title now confirmed. BOAT takes a closer look at the competitors vying for the top spot...
Increasingly larger yachts are preparing to take the stage at the St Barths Bucket, with many sailing behemoths attending this year's regatta. Celebrating a 31-year history, many yachts are in attendance as social non-racing entries, such as Burger Boat's 46.7-metre Ingot and 46-metre Nadan, Royal Huisman's 42.1-metre Hanuman, Palmer Johnson's 37.4-metre Temptation and Baltic Yachts' 34.1-metre Liara.
Read More/St Barths Bucket: The extraordinary history of an event where the ultimate aim is to win the partyM5 - 78.4m
Builder: Vosper Thornycroft
Year: 2004
The world’s largest sloop, M5 brings to the event the majestic sight of her towering mast and vast sail area. Despite her scale she’s surprisingly agile and a great spectacle on the Bucket reaching legs.
Read More/M5: On board the largest single-masted sailing yacht in the worldAtlantic - 69m
Builder: Van der Graaf
Year: 2010
Built in steel by the Dutch yard under the watchful eye of naval architect Doug Peterson, Atlantic is a replica of the 1905 transatlantic Kaiser's Cup-winning sailing yacht of the same name. The original was commissioned by New York Yacht Club member Wilson Marshall and broke the record for the fastest Atlantic crossing from New York to Cornwall.
Hetairos - 66.9m
Builder: Baltic Yachts
Year: 2011
The all‑carbon ketch Hetairos is a Bucket veteran and remains one of the most covetable sailing superyachts afloat, a wonderful fusion of traditional looks and state-of-the-art hull design and construction. Capable of flying 3,000 square metres of sail downwind, this big yacht is a formidable reaching and running weapon.
Aquarius - 65.2m
Builder: Royal Huisman
Year: 2025
This keenly anticipated new launch will be one to watch. The Dutch yard’s new ketch launched in spring 2025 and evolved from 56-metre Aquarius, for the same husband and wife owners. A longer waterline and much greater hull volume have produced a more capacious yacht with extremely graceful lines and a tall and powerful carbon rig.
Adix - 64.8m
Builder: Astilleros de Mallorca
Year: 1984
The three-masted schooner underwent a four-month refit at The Yard Brisbane in 2019, only a few years after a previous refit by Pendennis in 2015. She remains one of the largest sailing yachts built since the 1930s, though interestingly, she was significantly shorter in the 80s than she is now. Originally named Jessica, Adix is the flagship of the Spanish yard.
Perseus3 - 60m
Builder: Perini Navi
Year: 2015
An unusual Perini Navi with a sloop rig, Perseus3 mixes classic Perini comfort with modern systems and a vast-sized downwind sail area. The large sailplan and efficient handling gear make her ripe for results.
Maximus - 59m
Builder: Vitters
Year: 2023
Vitters’ gorgeous glossy black ketch Maximus, delivered in 2023, is a latest generation modern classic, sporting a race‑bred package of twin rudders and a lifting keel. She's built to cruise the world and still turn into a contender when in race mode.
Rosehearty – 56m
Builder: Perini Navi
Year: 2006
This 56-metre Perini Rosehearty rarely misses a Bucket. A highly decorated vessel on the racing circuit, she won the title at the 2017 St Barths Bucket and returned last year to the Les Grande Dames category, where she normally wins. She is in her full glory when she’s fully powered, with the big spinnaker, staysail, main, mizzen staysail and mizzen up.
Read More/The biggest yachts to look out for at the 2025 St Barths BucketMelek - 56m
Builder: Perini Navi
Year: 2010
Launched from the Italian builder’s Viareggio yard in 2010, Melek is a supremely comfortable long-distance cruiser with accommodation for 11. She returns to the Bucket for a shot of sporting action.
Ravenger – 53.9m
Builder: Baltic Yachts
Year: 2017
Fresh from a transformational refit at Baltic Yachts, the world’s largest full-carbon composite sloop, built originally as Pink Gin VI, Ravenger returns sleeker and stiffer. New rig and systems align luxurious cruising with serious racing intent.
Red Dragon - 51.7m
Builder: Alloy Yachts
Year: 2008
Dubois lines and Alloy Yachts build quality give Red Dragon her long legs. Entered in Corinthian Spirit, she will focus on close, non‑spinnaker racing while keeping the owner‑guest experience front and centre.
Q - 52m
Builder: Alloy Yachts
Year: 2008
Entered in Corinthian Spirit, Q is a Dubois-designed bluewater cruiser with the power to allow its owners to experience a true racing thrill. She shares family with Below Deck star Parsifal III, with both yachts owned by Kim Vibe-Petersen.
Arabella - 47.7m
Builder: Palmer Johnson
Year: 1983
Arabella is classic three‑masted staysail schooner by Palmer Johnson is noted for social capacity and rugged simplicity. In Corinthian Spirit trim she emphasises seamanship and steady pace.
The Aquarius - 46.2m
Builder: Perini Navi
Year: 1990
The flybridge sailing yacht The Aquarius, previously just Aquarius, has been cruising the world since 1990. New Formula masts were fitted in a 2010 refit, as well as in boom furling systems to better control her 923 square metres of sail. She placed third in Class C of the 2018 Superyacht Cup Palma.
Visione - 45m
Builder: Baltic Yachts
Year: 2002
The Baltic Yachts icon – light for her length with a planing‑capable 45-metre hull – Visione has a history of line‑honours performances and remains devastating on reaching legs while staying a comfortable family cruiser between regattas.
Gitana - 45m
Builder: Fitzroy Yachts
Year: 2009
A Dubois‑drawn alloy sloop built by Fitzroy in New Zealand. In Corinthian Spirit mode Gitana races without spinnakers, relying on sail selection and clean manoeuvres to stay in the hunt.
Canova - 43.3m
Builder: Baltic Yachts
Year: 2019
Winner of the 2020 World Superyacht Awards, Canova is famed for her cutting-edge technology, such as the novel-for-the-time Dynamic Stability System DSS foil, which propelled the sailing yacht to the top of her league. Now, she vies for the Corinthian Spirit title.
Linnea Aurora - 39.4m
Builder: SES Yachts
Year: 2024
Delivered in 2024 by SES Yachts, Linnea Aurora is the fifth Hoek TC128 and carries two deckhouses and a gracious interior layout. Classic lines outside, modern systems within, she is tailor‑made for stylish Caribbean passages and racing.
BeCool - 39m
Builder: Nautor Swan
Year: 2025
BeCool was the first hull in Nautor Swan's 39-metre Swan 128 series, optimised to sail in eight to 12 knots. The large performance cruising yacht is outfitted with all the creature comforts and amenities that the owner could need, yet is fully capable of racing hard in the day. She is easy to handle with in-boom furling, a pinhead mainsail and self-tacking genoa.
Read More/On board the 39m Nautor Swan yacht BeCool designed for both racers and landlubbersAction – 37.3m
Builder: Royal Huisman
Year: 2014
Twice the winner of the Superyacht Challenge Antigua, this dark-hulled modern classic sloop, Action, races with a well-drilled and highly orchestrated crew that will be striving for another success.
Whisper – 35.5m
Builder: Holland Jachtbouw
Year: 2003
Cruising and Bucket racing since her launch in 2003, the Ted Fontaine-designed Holland Jachtbouw Whisper was built by avid sailor Hap Fauth – an owner that Captain Simon Davison calls the “best I have worked for in 30 years”. At 35.4 metres, with a 49-metre rig and 565 square metres of sail, she is great in light breeze. Available for charter with rjcyachts.com
Geist - 34m
Builder: Spirit Yachts
Year: 2020
Spirit Yachts’ wooden 111 is sculpture in motion. Owner‑driven with no dedicated crew quarters, Geist is ultra‑light and efficient. The sweeping timber interior by Rhoades Young is as talked‑about as her slippery hull.
Aurelius – 33.9m
Builder: Jacht Ontwikkelings Maatschappij
Year: 2011
A striking modern classic design built for elegant but robust passagemaking, Aurelius has an aluminium hull with pleasing overhangs and a traditional masthead rig. She will be racing in the Corinthian Spirit class, eager to show off her light‑air pace and agility under white sails.
Namuun - 33m
Builder: Turquoise Yachts
Year: 2012
A modern‑classic with a hull from Turkey’s Urkmezler yard and Hoek design DNA, Namuun features long overhangs, a powerful sloop rig and warm interiors.
Inukshuk – 32.6m
Builder: Baltic Yachts
Year: 2013
This light‑displacement carbon composite performance cruiser, Inukshuk, from the superlative Finnish builder promises to be super quick in the lighter lanes that often define Bucket courses.
Sunleigh - 32.5
Builder: Jongert
Year: 2002
A robust Dutch cruiser‑racer with pleasing lines, Sunleigh is comfortable, seaworthy and well suited to the racecourse, with a hugely experienced owner and crew who’ve done it time and again.
Read More/How to race the St Barths Bucket like a pro: Expert tips from Shirley Robertson