The second week of Les Voiles de St Tropez kicks off today (October 4) with a record number of Maxi yacht entries – 46 – including high-performance regatta winners and showstopping modern classics. Here are some of the largest Maxis competing for the crown...
Jasi
Length: 35.11m
Builder: Swan
Jasi was delivered in 2018 as a Swan 115 flush deck model. She is constructed from lightweight foam and carbon cores in order to meet the strict weight requirements to keep this yacht up to her promised sailing prowess. On the technical side, sails are flown on a high modulus carbon mast and boom by Southern Spars with hydraulic upper and lower deflectors and ECSix carbon rigging.
Silvertip
Length: 33.95m
Builder: Yachting Developments
Silvertip is a born racer with a lightweight carbon composite hull designed by Dubois Naval Architects. She was delivered in 2001 and is often spotted on the regatta circuit, competing in a number of prestigious races around the world. Most recently, she took several wins at the Mastercard Superyacht Regatta in Auckland, New Zealand, and came third overall. Silvertip features a flush deck for ease of movement around the boat when racing and has a full complement of sails by North Sails, including a 572 sqm mainsail, paired with Southern Spars rigging.
Namuun
Length: 33m
Builder: Turquoise Yachts
Sold off market in September 2022 this sailing classic (formerly known as Simba) returns to the racecourse as Namuun. She was the second Truly Classic 108 sailing yacht to hit the water, following in the footsteps of her sistership Jazz Jr, and features a flush deck, low deckhouse, sweeping sheer, moderate freeboard and keyhole-shaped cockpits. Simba can carry full main and genoa in up to 17-18 knots of true wind. A low wetted surface area offers good performance in light winds, paired with a high aspect ratio sail plan.
Pattoo
Length: 32.87m
Builder: Vitters
The Vitters-built Missy has returned to the racing circuit this year as Pattoo after a change in ownership earlier this year. She was developed in collaboration with Malcolm McKeon Yacht Design and is the first project delivered by Vitters in cooperation with the studio. The owner's brief was for a carbon-fibre performance cruiser and resulted in her slim 7.5 metre beam, generous sail plan and lifting keel that extends from 3.75 metres to five metres. She has a carbon-fibre mast is from Southern Spars (with ECsix carbon rigging) and carries a sail wardrobe from North Sails.
Spirit Of Malouen X
Length: 32.55m
Builder: Green Marine
Spirit Of Malouen X previously raced under the name Open Season for many years with victories at the Maxi Yacht Rolex Cup in 2015 and 2016. She was delivered in 2012 as a Wallycento but was later extended by two metres increasing her draft from 6.2 metres to 7.1 metres, enhancing her competitiveness in the Wally racing circuit. She was purchased in Spring 2022 by an experienced owner, and the yacht is now lined up for an extensive three-year racing program.
Morgana
Length: 30.5m
Builder: Southern Wind
Morgana is an all-carbon racer-cruiser commissioned by an experienced yachtsman and delivered in 2020. She is designed inside and out by Nauta Design with naval architecture by Reichel Pugh Yacht Design and is the second Southern Wind sailing to be purchased by the owner. Towering above the hull is a high modulus carbon rig and a powerful sailplan; below the water, a single rudder and a deep lifting keel that extends to 6.1 metres. Buttons on the pedestal in the aft cockpit control the mainsheet, vang, outhaul, cunningham, backstays and headsail furling.
Y3K
Length: 30.5m
Builder: Wally
Y3K is the product of three of the biggest names in sailing: Wally, Luca Bassani and Frers Naval Architecture. She was delivered in 2009. She flies 540 square metres of sale with a mast and boom by Hall Spars and rigging by PBO. When cruising, she can be managed by only two crew, giving the owner the pleasure of steering a yacht as fast as a maxi racer without worrying about children and guests onboard: the social areas are safely separated from the manoeuvring areas.
Galateia
Length: 30.48m
Builder: Wally
Galateia is the third hull in the Wallycento line, but she represents a second generation evolution for the 30.48 metre box-rule Wally fleet. Impressed by the performance of the second Wallycento, Magic Carpet3, after her debut in 2013, the owners of Galateia also chose Reichel/Pugh Yacht Design as naval architects for their new build with exterior design by Wally and Luca Bassani. Galateia features what Wally dubs a “super flush deck” and puts a priority on entertainment with a large guest cockpit set amidships.
Leopard 3
Length: 30.5m
Builder: McConaghy Boats
Leopard 3 was built in GRP by Australian yard McConaghy Boats to a design by Farr Yacht Design and delivered in 2007. She is arguably the most high profile racer cruiser yacht in existence and has a trophy cabinet packed with silverware, having taken first place at the 2016 Rolex Maxi Cup and Les Voiles de St Tropez, among a host of other regattas and races worldwide.
Magic Carpet Cubed
Length: 30.5m
Builder: Wally
Fresh from a win at the Giorgio Armani Superyacht Regatta, the WallyCento Magic Carpet Cubed returns to the racecourse in Saint Tropez to test its mettle once again. She was launched as the second in a series of next-gen performance cruisers by Wally, named the Wallycento, in a collaboration between Luca Bassani and Reichel/Pugh Yacht Design. The boat has a displacement of just 50 tonnes (if you remove the keel and the mast, that figure drops to 18 tonnes) which makes her one of the lightest cruising boats ever built. During her construction, every item was weighed, right down to the titanium screws holding it all together. Her Southern Spars rigging flies 640 square metres of sail while a lifting keel reduces her draft by two metres.
Tango 100
Length: 30.48
Builder: Persico Marine
Tango was delivered as a WallyCento model in 2017 and was designed for speed. Built in carbon fibre and has a minimalist interior by Pininfarina with cabins that can be neatly converted into a sail storage room when the yacht is set up for regatta racing, thanks to a giant skylight hatch that gives direct access from the foredeck. A single, 45 metre Southern Spars carbon mast offers a total sailplan of 640 square metres upwind, and the boat easily reaches seven knots.