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10 Classic Yachts with Incredibly Glamorous Histories

Each of the classic yachts featured here defined the glamor of her respective era.

By Miriam Cain

Admired for their elegance and desired wherever they go, classic yachts attract a large number of owners and charterers. For those wanting a genuine sailing experience or who want to capture the real romance and thrill of yachting, these historic beauties have an enduring appeal. Every classic has a unique story to tell — whether it’s racing with royalty or hosting the Hollywood elite, or perhaps even serving in the war effort.

And each of the yachts featured here defined the glamor of her respective era. But what is it about these storied vessels that makes every generation of owners prepared to sink time and financial resources into their restoration? Here, Miriam Cain presents 10 of the most exquisite classic yachts afloat today, a handful of which are available for the yacht aficionado to charter or even own.

[See also: Twenty for 20: Innovative Yachts of the 21st Century]

Key facts Builder: Ramage & Ferguson Built: 1906 Refit: 1955, 1991, 2002, 2006, 2007, 2020 LOA: 150.1 ft Number of guests: 10 Crew: 10

One of the finest vintage yachts afloat, Kalizma (pictured top) has an iconic past with a tale steeped in history. Originally commissioned by Robert Stewart, vice commodore of the Royal Eastern Yacht Club (whose wealth came from his Scotch whisky distillery and estate), Minona , as she was named upon her launch, was the first steam-powered yacht to have electric lighting.

Designed by naval architect GL Watson & Co, leading designers of their day, and built by Ramage & Ferguson in Scotland, she is a testament to expert craftsmanship — and has stood the test of time with her classic Edwardian looks and fresh contemporary updates.

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As Minona , she served in the British Royal Navy in both World War I and World War II, serving as an Auxiliary Patrol Vessel between 1914 and 1920, and in 1939 as HMS Minona. During her time as the flagship and base for His Majesty’s Deep Sea Rescue Tug Services in Scotland, she was responsible for saving the lives of crewmen from over 1,100 vessels.

On being relieved from her wartime duty, Minona went on to have a couple of different owners during the 1940s and ’50s, and during that period she also underwent a significant refit converting her from steam to diesel. It was during the 1960s that the then-named Odysseia made headlines when chartered by Richard Burton and his wife Elizabeth Taylor, and thus began her dalliance with glitz and glamour.

As a frequent guest of Aristotle Onassis aboard his yacht Christina O , Burton was inspired to purchase the classic yacht as a congratulatory gift for Taylor after she earned an Academy Award for her performance in Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf ? The yacht was subsequently renamed Kalizma , after the stars’ children Kate, Liza and Maria, and refurbished with all new interiors said to have cost more than twice her asking price. Adorned with an art collection with works by Monet, Van Gogh and Picasso, and an extensive library, she became their floating home for the next decade.

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It was on board Kalizma while berthed on the River Thames that Burton presented Taylor with the 33-carat Krupp Diamond, also known as the Elizabeth Taylor Diamond. Then, while berthed in Monaco, he gave her the record-breaking $1.5m 69-carat Cartier diamond, which arrived under police escort. Taylor wore the jewel, which became known as the Taylor-Burton Diamond, for the first time on a necklace at Princess Grace’s 40th birthday party.

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A number of royalty, including Princess Grace of Monaco and Prince Rainier III, and distinguished personalities such as Rex Harrison and Tennessee Williams, were later guests of the most famous Hollywood couple during their high-profile ownership.

Kalizma has gone on to have a number of owners since then, including serial classic yacht owner Peter de Savary. Kalizma was de Savary’s flagship and floating headquarters for the British team at the 1983 America’s Cup challenge, hosting several spectators in Newport.

Acquired by Indian tycoon Vijay Mallya in 2006, and then by philanthropist Shirish Saraf in 2019, she has since been fully restored, rejuvenating her old-world charm with all the luxuries and amenities expected of a modern superyacht. Today she is available to charter in the Indian Ocean and Asia Pacific with accommodation for 10 guests in five staterooms, including a stunning master suite, two doubles and two twins.

From €90,000 to €100,000 (approx. $101,800 to $113,100) per week. Contact Tim Morley, founder, [email protected], +33 680 863 091, morley-yachts.com

Shenandoah of Sark

Key facts Builder: Townsend & Downey Built: 1902 Refit: 1972, 1996, 2018 LOA: 178 ft Number of guests: 10 Crew: 12

Built at the turn of a century for American banker Charles Fahnestock, Shenandoah , as she was then known, was one of the most high-profile yachts of her age and a symbol of one the most glamorous eras in yachting. Delivered in 1902 by the Townsend & Downey Shipyard in New York, she quickly gained a reputation not only for her celebrated design but for the parties held on board.

During these formative years Shenandoah played host to some of the world’s most powerful families and international royalty while in her homeport of Newport, Rhode Island. A few years later, Fahnestock retired and sailed her to the Mediterranean, where her reputation as one of the most elegant sailing yachts on the circuit was solidified, with parties held along the Côte d’Azur and Amalfi Coast becoming the most sought-after ticket for the yachting fraternity.

While cruising the Mediterranean, Shenandoah turned the head of German aristocrat Landrat Walter von Bruining, who went on to purchase the three-masted schooner and rechristened her Lasca II. Under Bruining’s ownership, Lasca II spent time in Germany and England, where he enjoyed just one summer in Cowes on the Isle of Wight before World War I broke out.

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Commandeered by the British, she subsequently became the property of British shipbuilder Sir John Esplen, who reinstated her previous name and installed two engines on board. Shenandoah then went through a number of different names and owners, including an Italian prince and the Danish sculpture philanthropist, Viggo Jarl, between the wars. Jarl endowed a substantial part of his fortune on the renamed Atlantide, updating her with new diesel engines and an electricity plant, and embarking on a series of long passages to the West Indies and through the Panama Canal to South America.

At the onset of World War II, Jarl returned to Europe and hid Atlantide from the Nazis, removing her masts and engines to render her useless to either side. Surviving the war, and with her engines and masts reinstated on board, Atlantide continued to turn heads wherever she cruised, and also welcomed European royalty on board, including the Duke and Duchess of Windsor.

After surviving two World Wars, Atlantide’s run of good fortune was apparently over. During the next few decades she went ‘underground’ and is rumored to have seen her fair share of smugglers and gamblers, cruising throughout the Americas and Caribbean, before ending up in the Mediterranean, where she was seized by the French government in a tax scandal.

Following many years of neglect, she was rescued in 1972 by the inventor of the Bic ballpoint pen, Baron Marcel Bich. Restored to her former splendor and christened Shenandoah once again, Bich sailed the yacht back to America as a spectator boat for the America’s Cup — the first time she had been back to her original homeport of Newport for over 70 years.

Shenandoah spent several years under Bich’s ownership, immaculately maintained, before being purchased by industrialist Philip Bommer. Having witnessed Shenandoah sailing when he was just 13, Bommer had spent the ensuing two decades dreaming about owning her, and in 1986 his ambition was fulfilled. Extensively refit and restored once again, Shenandoah became a renowned charter yacht, before once again entering years of neglect.

Rescued once again, refit and refurbished, Shenandoah was an America’s Cup spectator for the second time, this time in New Zealand in 2000, before competing in the Millennium Cup superyacht regatta. Five circumnavigations later, with a number of successful transatlantic races and classic regattas under her belt, and via a number of owners and award-winning refits, the rechristened Shenandoah of Sark is today a perfectly preserved piece of sailing history.

From €110,000 (approx. $124,400) per week. Contact Burgess Yachts, +44 20 7766 4300,  burgessyachts.com

Christina O

Key facts Builder: Canadian Vickers Built: 1943 Refit: 1954, 2001, 2015, 2018 LOA: 325.3 ft Number of guests: 34 Crew: 3

Christina O is a part of yachting legend. Arguably the most famous classic yacht still afloat, the fabled yacht of Aristotle Socrates Onassis has regularly entertained some of the world’s most powerful and famous people. She may not be a classic beauty like Delphine and Talitha but, thanks to the lavish parties hosted aboard by Onassis, with guest lists full of some of the most well-known names of the time, including Frank Sinatra, Marilyn Monroe, Richard Burton and Elizabeth Taylor, Christina (as she was then known) regularly featured in newspapers and on the cover of glossy magazines.

Becoming a part of the zeitgeist of her era — and as famous as some of the Hollywood stars who came aboard — she remains today a visible symbol of the glamorous lifestyle enjoyed by the yachting crowd from the late 1950s throughout the ’60s.

Originally built in 1943 as a Canadian naval frigate, Christina O remains the largest North American-built yacht still afloat. Purchased by well-known yacht owner and Greek shipping magnate Onassis in 1954, she was converted into the yacht that she is today. It is rumored that Onassis purchased the then-named HMCS Stormont for its scrap value of $34,000, and then spent over $4m converting the surplus anti-submarine frigate into the luxury yacht Christina, named after his firstborn child.

In those days this was a vast sum of money, but the investment paid off. Not only did Christina hugely enhance his status and fortune — as a venue for hosting businessmen and politicians, as well as film stars — but she also served as the backdrop for his famous romantic relationships, including his love affair with the renowned soprano Maria Callas. It was on board the converted frigate that John F. Kennedy met his idol Winston Churchill during a dinner hosted by Onassis, and a decade later where Onassis began his courtship of the widowed Jackie Kennedy. The yacht was even their wedding venue.

Despite seeing some deterioration under the ownership of the Greek government, Christina O has been refurbished and refitted; today she retains the fantastic opulence Onassis so extravagantly bestowed on her. In fact, she positively oozes ’50s Hollywood glamor; it could even be said she has only improved with age. As an in-demand charter yacht, her eternal appeal to a modern clientele is proven.

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All the modern comforts and luxuries that are expected on a luxury yacht seamlessly blend with her original features. All of the 17 guest suites have been refurbished, yet maintain the pastel decor selected by style icon Jackie O. The original, mosaic-tiled pool that transforms into a dance floor has also been restored, while the famous Ari’s barstools retain their original upholstery, believed to be sperm-whale foreskin — now there’s a conversation starter when you are perched at the bar.

Christina O is currently cruising the Caribbean and will be available for charter throughout the summer in the Mediterranean. The perfect yacht for large family groups or event charters, her SOLAS status allows up to 34 guests to cruise in total comfort in 17 double staterooms, 14 of which can be converted into twin staterooms.

From €620,000 to €700,000 (approx. $692,000 to $790,000) per week. Contact Morley Yachts, [email protected] , +33 680 863 091, morley-yachts.com

Key facts Builder: Camper & Nicholsons Built: 1928 Refit: 1947, 2009, 2013, 2018 LOA: 147 ft Number of guests: 16 Crew: 12

With a unique and historic pedigree, the Camper & Nicholsons-built Grace has led many lives during almost a century afloat. Built as a luxury yacht in 1928 and originally christened Monica, she was used by the British as part of the war effort. While serving in the Royal Navy as HMS Rion, she sadly suffered serious damage as part of the Dunkirk evacuation fleet.

Rescued by Aristotle Onassis in 1951 and renamed Arion , she played host to iconic figures like Winston Churchill and Elizabeth Taylor. On hearing of Prince Rainier’s engagement to Grace Kelly in 1955, Onassis presented the classic motor yacht to them as a gift for their forthcoming 1956 nuptials.

She was renamed Deo Juvante II , and the couple honeymooned aboard her, cruising Corsica and Sardinia. Acquired by the current owners in 2007, she spent more than two years in the shipyard being restored to her former glory and having additional superyacht luxuries installed, including air conditioning and en-suite bathrooms.

Rechristened Grace , she is available for charter in the Galápagos Islands for up to 16 guests and 12 crew. Great attention to detail has been given to restoring her original features, including the original brass ship’s wheel from 1927, which is still inscribed with the yacht’s original name. The master suite, known as the Grace Kelly Suite, is in the original location, while two further master suites and two twin-bedded cabins are all decorated to the highest standards.

Her communal guest areas feature period-style, custom furniture in keeping with her elegant build. In addition to her alfresco dining and lounging areas and hot tub, the toybox is geared towards exploring the Galápagos National Park and includes kayaks, snorkeling equipment and two Zodiac tenders.

From $129,000 to $139,000 per week. Dominic Meredith Hardy, director, [email protected] , +44 781 840 3524, classic-charters.com

Key facts Builder: Great Lakes Engineering Works Refit yard: Scheepswerf Zeebrugge Built: 1921 Refit: 1926, 1997, 2003, 2016 LOA: 258 ft Number of guests: 26, 150 day guests Crew: 26

Commissioned by auto magnate Horace Dodge and named after his only daughter, Delphine is the largest steam-powered yacht ever to be built in the US. Sadly, Horace never got to see the launch of this third private yacht he built, as he passed away just a year before her delivery. However, his wife Anna and their family loved and cherished Delphine , cruising on board her in the Great Lakes and along the East Coast, hosting cocktail parties on board.

With all her luxuries, including 10 magnificent staterooms, a music room, card room, dining room and smoking room, and a crew of 55, she positively defined 1920s East Coast glamor. In 1926, while she was docked on the Hudson River in Manhattan, two cabins caught fire, and with too much water poured in by the fire department, Delphine sank. Unwilling to live without her, the Dodge family salvaged her from the deep and restored her faithfully, with some additional renovations to her interior.

She suffered further, minor damage when she ran aground in the Great Lakes, before being repaired and acquired by the United States Navy at the start of the war to become the flagship for Admiral Ernest King, commander-in-chief of the US Fleet and chief of US Naval Operations during World War II. While still in service as USS Dauntless, she reputedly hosted Franklin Roosevelt, Winston Churchill and Viatcheslav Molotov as they met with Admiral King to discuss war strategies and prepare the Yalta Convention.

Reacquired by the Dodge family after the war, she was restored to a private yacht and rechristened Delphine once again. Over the next three decades Delphine sailed under numerous ownerships and different names, including almost 20 years spent as a training ship for merchant seamen, until finally being sold (for scrap metal prices) in 1997.

Having crossed the Atlantic for the first time and berthed in the Mediterranean, she was towed to Bruges, Belgium, where she underwent a six-year, $60m restoration. Her new Belgian owner scoured museums and archives for Delphine’s original blueprints, in an effort to ensure that the engineering and architectural refit was faithful to her original design, right down to the 20-ft-tall quadruple steam engines, six-person Turkish bath and hairdressing salon. Even her bespoke tenders, handmade from Honduran mahogany, remain exactly as they were when she was brand new.

Rechristened in 2003 as Delphine by HSH Princess Stéphanie of Monaco , she is today the largest luxury yacht of her era with her original steam engines still in service. To put that into context, her 6-ft-tall propellers are powered by water converted into vapor pressure by diesel fuel. She consumes 600 liters an hour at cruising speeds. When you consider that many modern motor yachts of a similar size use more than 1,000 liters of fuel an hour, Delphine could almost be considered environmentally friendly. Full steam ahead.

$400,000 per week. Contact Lionel Lebugle, manager, [email protected] , +33 621 282 496, ss-delphine.cruises

Key facts Builder: Friedrich Krupp Germaniawerft Refit yard: Pendennis Built: 1929 Refit: 2018 LOA: 233 ft Number of guests: 12 Crew: 18

At the time of her launch in 1929, this clipper-bow yacht was christened Haida , after the native people of Alaska and British Columbia. It is the name for which she is best known, and to which she has recently reverted following a comprehensive refit. However, the iconic Haida has sailed through a succession of adventures and has had many different names during her storied life.

Haida’s original commissioning owner spent over a decade cruising the west coast of America, pursuing his interests in marine science and fishing. In 1940, the oceangoing yacht was commandeered for service in World War II by the US Navy. She had a heroic naval career, saving many lives and protecting key installations while patrolling San Francisco Bay.

In 1946, post war, she returned to her role as a private yacht and moved to Alexandria in Egypt, where she cruised for five years before moving to the French Riviera in 1952 — just in time for the birth of the Mediterranean yachting scene.

She has resided in the Mediterranean ever since, under various ownerships of dedicated, high-profile owners, including Löel Guinness, becoming one of the world’s most famous superyachts.

Haida’s recent, award-winning refit by the renowned Pendennis Shipyard has combined the grandeur and elegance of 1930s yachting with state-of-the-art superyacht luxuries. Despite replacing over 100 tons of steel within her hull structure, Haida 1929 (as she is now known) retains the sophisticated and timeless exterior lines originally designed by Cox & Stevens.

Even the original Krupp engines remain, thought to be the oldest working engines of their type. Deck spaces are generous, especially on the recently extended sun deck, which has been split around her iconic funnel. Period furniture and artworks re-create the charm and ambience of her heritage, while a light color palette and modern amenities have been integrated.

Her notable features include a barber shop, spa, hammam, biofuel fireplace, indoor and outdoor cinemas, and stepped pool. Elegant and refined, Haida 1929 is a truly original classic. Refit project management by Edmiston Yachts.

Contact [email protected] , edmiston.com

Key facts Builder: Georgi Dimitrov Built: 1962 Refit: 2018 LOA: 213ft Number of guests: 12 Crew: 17

She may not hail from the golden era of yachting like other classic yachts her size, but this former Soviet spy ship is certainly not short on history. A true gentleman’s yacht, La Sultana has led many lives during her 50-plus years afloat. Originally built in 1962 in Bulgaria for use as a passenger ferry, Aji-Petri (as she was then known) was the fifth of a series of 12 ships that carried passengers and cargo through the Black Sea between the ports of Istanbul and Yalta.

She became a Soviet spy ship in the early 1970s when the Soviet Union took over the entire fleet of passenger ferries operating in the Black Sea to use for military purposes. Officially, she was in service in the North Atlantic for the International Telecommunication Union; however, in reality she was being used to eavesdrop and intercept radio telecommunications between the US and the UK. After the dissolution of the Soviet Union, Aji-Petri resumed her position as a passenger ferry before being used, in her original form, as a pleasure yacht in Tunisia.

Some 50 years after her build, she was discovered by a French gentleman. It was during a colossal seven-year, multimillion-dollar restoration in Casablanca that the yard unearthed several espionage instruments, including a radioactivity detector and several electronic devices from the Cold War. With the addition of her raised bow, touch-and-go helipad, machinery, piping and wiring, commercial engine and a huge keel, the rechristened La Sultana emerged from the shipyard as a majestic cruising yacht.

Today, her striking interior features Art Deco touches that draw inspiration from the stylish vessels of the 1920s, while the Arabian Nights-inspired decor is both eccentric and exotic. The new layout features an indoor 16-ft counter-current swimming pool and hammam, and seven luxurious staterooms, including a vast master suite on the upper deck, two VIP staterooms on the main deck, and four staterooms on the lower deck, all with en suites — quite a difference from the original build with its 102 cabins.

Her large deck areas include lots of relaxation and entertainment areas, as well as a classically styled spa pool on the foredeck, located forward of the new helipad. With more than a nod to the golden age of yachting, the rebuilt La Sultana is a classic motor yacht for modern times.

€12,500,000 (approx. $14,095,937). Contact Charles Ehrardt, senior sales broker, [email protected] , camperandnicholsons.com

Builder: Camper & Nicholsons Refit: Pendennis Built: 1937 Refit: 2015 LOA: 164 ft Number of guests: 10 Crew: 11

Designed by Charles E Nicholson and built by Camper & Nicholsons in 1937, Malahne is one of just a handful of British-built, pre-war motor yachts to have survived into the 21st century. Originally commissioned by William Stephenson, head of the British arm of the Woolworth store chain and a passionate yachtsman, this classic 1930s gentleman’s yacht has led a glamorous and colorful life, with many ups and downs. Stephenson owned both the J-Class yacht Velsheda and Malahne , and named them after his daughters Velma, Sheila and Daphne, with the first few letters of their names forming ‘Velsheda’ and the last few letters ‘ Malahne .’

She spent her first few years cruising the Mediterranean, and crossed the Atlantic a number of times before being handed over for military needs during World War II. During her time serving as a patrol cruiser in the English Channel, Malahne also participated in the evacuation of troops from Dunkirk.

Post war, Malahne passed through a few different hands before being acquired by the legendary Hollywood producer Sam Spiegel, who anchored her off Jordan to be used as a floating office while shooting Lawrence of Arabia. On retiring from her filming duties, Malahne became a fixture along the glittering Côte d’Azur, where Spiegel entertained Hollywood A-listers including Frank Sinatra, Elizabeth Taylor, Grace Kelly and Jack Nicholson. She also starred in the 1973 murder mystery The Last of Sheila , starring Raquel Welch.

A decade later, she was sold to a Saudi sheikh who renamed her Adel XII and changed her beyond recognition, with an almost sacrilegious angular new superstructure and modern interior quite out of keeping with her classic past. Twenty years later, she passed into more sympathetic hands, and underwent a hugely ambitious restoration at the British shipyard Pendennis. The restoration experts there sought to bring her back to her original classic yacht form, but with the addition of a few 21st-century comforts.

While Pendennis worked on recreating her original hull form and undoing the damage wrought by the previous owner, classic yacht experts GL Watson & Co were drafted to rework her exterior lines; meanwhile, design experts from Oliver Laws — who designed the Art Deco interiors of the Connaught hotel and Claridge’s — set to work on her interior, producing a design more faithful to the original, including a number of original antique 1930s pieces but with a modern Art Deco twist.

Today, thanks to such a comprehensive and sympathetic refit by her devoted British owner, Malahne is a tribute to modern engineering and British craftsmanship. One of the finest classic yachts for charter , she features state-of-the-art equipment and Art Deco interior styling. Were he still alive, there’s no doubt that Sinatra would be delighted to tap his dancing shoes once again on board her stunningly restored teak decks.

From €145,000 to €165,000 (approx. $164,000 to $186,6500) per week. Contact Michaela Beitz-Biggi, head of charter fleet management, [email protected] , +44 207 495 5151, edmiston.com

Key facts Builder: Friedrich Krupp Germaniawerft Refit: Devonport Yachts Built: 1930 Refit: 1993, 2009 LOA: 262 ft Number of guests: 12 Crew: 20

With her flared clipper bow, impressive funnels and traditional counter stern, there couldn’t be a more classic-looking yacht reflecting the golden age of yachting than Talitha . Originally commissioned by Russell Algar of the Packard Motor Car Company, the originally named Reveler was sadly not yet delivered by the German shipyard F. Krupp in Kiel when Algar died.

Sold to Charles McCann of the Woolworth family and renamed Chalena, she was later requisitioned by the US Maritime Commission in 1942, and entered service as a gunboat with new armaments mounted fore and aft. Operating under her new military name of USS Beaumont in the waters between Midway Island and Pearl Harbor, she survived the war without serious incident, and in 1946 was decommissioned and returned to private ownership.

Post war, like many of her classic cousins, she spent many years lying abandoned — in her case on the Greek island of Petali, before being rescued by the Australian film producer Robert Stigwood and renamed Jezebel. Stigwood spent millions restoring much of her original elegance, with the addition of modern comforts including air conditioning and satellite communications systems.

Described by The New York Times as a “floating fantasy,” she featured a re-design of the distinctive clipper bow and new teak decks but, sadly, it wasn’t to last and, following some engine problems, she was laid up once again in the late 1980s. In 1993 she was brought to the attention of her next and current owner Sir John Paul Getty Jr.

Under the guidance of legendary designer Jon Bannenberg, she was painstakingly restored to her former glory, with both exterior and interior redesign and brand new engines. The addition of a pair of funnels and an extended wheelhouse was at the time criticized by many, but Bannenberg’s vision proved them wrong when the renamed Talitha G (named after Getty’s second wife) was relaunched to great acclaim, with more than a nod to her 1930s design.

One of the most detailed, distinctive and beautiful classic motor yachts to be relaunched in recent times, Talitha is suitably reflective of an incredibly glamorous era of yachting. Featuring an all-new Art Deco interior with all of the trappings of a modern classic, she is a real head-turner, not only for the Hollywood celebrities spotted on board, but for her own stunning looks.

Builder: Brooke Marine Built: 1939 Refit: 1999, 2016, 2019 LOA : 115 ft Number of guests: 8 Crew: 5

Delivered in 1939 by British shipyard Brooks Motor Craft, the classic sailing yacht Eros has led a colorful past, with lords, ladies and royalty all captivated by her charm and beautiful lines over her eight decades afloat. Originally christened Jeanry , she was commissioned for the daughter and son-in-law of a British lord who unfortunately spent very little time on board her before she was requisitioned by the Royal Navy to participate in the evacuation efforts at Dunkirk during World War II.

Following the end of her wartime service she went on to be owned by Greek shipping magnate Stavros Niarchos, second only to Aristotle Onassis in the shipping magnate stakes and also the first man to be called a billionaire. Niarchos rechristened her Eros in honor of the Greek god of love and passion, and under his ownership the wooden schooner became a fixture on the Mediterranean yachting circuit, hosting the cream of European society, including King Juan Carlos and Queen Sofia of Spain.

Niarchos gifted the newlyweds the use of Eros along with his private Greek island, Spetsopoula, for their honeymoon in 1962. The island also hosted Prince Charles and Princess Diana for the latter part of their honeymoon while they cruised through the Mediterranean and Aegean on board the Royal Yacht Britannia.

Eros went on to change ownership just one more time before being rescued by her current owner in 1992. Meticulously restored to her original grandeur over the course of 18 years, she was relaunched in 2016 and now offers the refinement of a bygone era combined with the latest superyacht luxuries. Retaining many original details, including the Admiralty bronze fittings of the ship’s bell and restored Burmese teak planks, her complete overhaul involved repairs and replacements to her steel structure, and over 20,000 new bronze bolts, among many other things.

Today, Eros offers charter guests the chance to experience genuine sailing on a stunning classic yacht, either cruising in the Caribbean or Mediterranean or racing in classic regattas in the Caribbean and New England. Boasting state-of-the-art technology, 22 hydraulically assisted winches and 9,000 sq ft of sail, Eros can reach speeds of up to 10 knots under sail.

And for those looking to simply sit back and relax, her four guest cabins include a master stateroom with private en suite featuring a Jacuzzi bath, a double stateroom with en suite, and two twin cabins with shared bathroom. Out on deck, she boasts numerous seating and lounging areas for socializing, relaxing and alfresco dining.

Eros also offers plenty of on-the-water entertainment, with a great selection of water toys for her more active guests to enjoy.

From $44,000 to $48,000 per week. Contact Dominic Meredith Hardy, director, [email protected] , +44 781 840 3524, classic-charters.com

[See also: What Do We Know About Jeff Bezos and his Yacht?]

This article appears in the 04 Mar 2022 issue of the New Statesman, Spring 2022

Miriam Cain

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Moonbeam of Fife III, 1903

Built at Fairlie by Fife

The 30 metre, gaff cutter  Moonbeam of Fife III  epitomises beautiful classic yachts at their finest. Launched in 1903,  Moonbeam of Fife  is still going strong on the classic yacht regatta circuit despite being more than a hundred years old. The William Fife-designed yacht is constructed in wood with an oak hull and superstructure, while her interior joinery is well-kept mahogany. The historical yacht  Moonbeam of Fife III  is currently for sale.

Tuiga, 1909

Built by the renowned William Fife shipyard in Fairlie on the Clyde estuary in Scotland,  Tuiga  was commissioned by the Duke of Medinaceli, a close friend of the King of Spain, Alfonso XIII, and has had 10 owners in 106 years. HSH Prince Albert II decided to buy her in 1995.  Tuiga  has been participating in classic yacht regattas ever since and is now the flagship of the Yacht Club de Monaco, crewed by YCM members.

Mariette, 1915

Built by Herreshoff

The classic 42 metre twin-masted schooner _Mariette of 1915 _was built by Herreshoff in the United States 100 years ago. Age has not withered her, but  Mariette of 1915  has undergone a few refits in the Pendennis yard at Falmouth in recent years: in 2010 and again in 2012 in preparation for the Pendennis Cup, in which she took first prize in the St Petroc Traditional Class as well as being crowned overall winner. In 2014 she returned to Falmouth once more for minor works.

Creole, 1927

Built by Camper & Nicholson

Now owned by the Gucci family, this beautiful wooden schooner has had a colourful history. Commissioned by wealthy American Alan Cochran and launched in 1927,   Creole  has had a number of different owners and also been called  Vira.  When she was known as  Magic Circle , she was transformed into a minesweeper during the Second World War, having previously competed in a number of regattas and attended previous America’s Cup events. In the 1970s she was used by the Danish government for sailing training in the rehabilitation of drug addicts before being bought by the Gucci family in 1983.

Endeavour, 1934

Arguably the world’s most famous J Class,   Endeavour  was the British challenger in the 1934 America’s Cup, but was beaten by the Harold Vanderbilt-owned  Rainbow .  Endeavour  was commissioned by Sir T.O.M. Sopwith, who was keen to ensure that this yacht was the most advanced design possible. With his experience designing aircraft, Sopwith applied aviation technology to  Endeavour ’s rig and winches and spared nothing to make her the finest vessel of her day.

She swept through the British racing fleet and into the hearts of yachtsmen around the world, winning many races in her first season. Though she did not win the America’s Cup she came closer to doing so than any other challenger.

Since 1934, she has often led a perilous existence, even being sold to a scrap merchant in 1947 only to be saved by another buyer hours before her demolition was due to begin. In 1984, American yachtswoman Elizabeth Meyer bought  Endeavour  and she was transformed and rebuilt by Royal Huisman.  Endeavour  sailed again on June 22, 1989, for the first time in 52 years. J Class yacht   Endeavour  is now for sale.

Elena, 1910

Built by Herreshof

In 1910, Morton Plant commissioned 55 metre   Elena  to be designed by American naval architect Nathanael Herreshoff, the so-called “Wizard of Bristol”, who made his name designing sailing yachts for America’s elite. Plant’s brief was to the point: he wanted a schooner “that can win”.

Herreshoff gave  Elena  a slightly deeper keel than preceding designs of that time, lowering her centre of ballast, which improved her windward ability.  Elena  won most of her early races against the cream of the American schooner fleet and in 1928 came her crowning glory, victory in the Transatlantic Race. In 2009, she was rebuilt using the original plans for the first  Elena.

Black Swan, 1899

Originally designed by Charles Nicholson and built in 1899 at Camper and Nicholson in Gosport, England,  Black Swan  started life as  Brynhild  with a yawl rig. She won a number of races at the beginning of the 20th century, including the King’s Cup. Over the years, she has undergone several changes and different rig configurations, and at one stage she was renamed  Changrilla . She was rechristened  Black Swan  in the 1960s and, today, after an extensive restoration project at the Beconcini yard in La Spezia, Italy, she is now carrying a gaff-rig, designed by the Faggioni Yacht Design Studio and built by Harry Spencer.

Mariquita, 1911

Built by Fairlie

Another beautiful classic yacht from Fife,  Mariquita  was launched in 1911. The 38.16 metre sailing yacht was designed and built for the industrialist Arthur Stothert. As part of the 19 metre Big Class racing that re-emerged in 1911, this gaff-rigged cutter is said to have inspired the J Class yachts that came after her.

She raced competitively against her brethren from 1911-1913, but by the 1950s,  Mariquita  was the last in the 19 metre class remaining. She was restored in 1991 and received a further refit in 2004. A star on the classic yacht racing scene,  Mariquita  is now for sale.

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The Boats I’ve Loved: 20 Classic Boat Designs

The Boats I’ve Loved: 20 Classic Boat Designs by Chuck Paine 2016 106 pages ChuckPaine.com

Some 60 years ago, living in New Jersey, I bought a lovely little centerboard cabin sloop that proved completely unsuited for anything more adventurous than daysailing the state’s inland waterways. My 19-footer, with its shoal-draft underbody and undrained wading pool of a cockpit, was far too unstable to survive a running sea or a heavy blow.

Had I known then of a naval architect with the imagination and skill of Chuck Paine — alas, he was 12 at the time — I would have traveled the length of the Jersey coast to find the Paine-designed cruising sloop that sails today as the prettiest, toughest 26-footer that any single-handed sailor could have wished for.

But since it’s now too late for a western New York landlubber like me to even think about owning a boat again, Chuck Paine’s stunning new book will have to stand in as the next best thing.

Paine’s subtitle is “20 Classic Sailboat Designs.” Every one of his top picks is accompanied by photos or artists’ renditions, easy-to-decipher hull cutaways and jewels of essays covering design, construction and sea-keeping qualities, even touching on what the author candidly refers to as “blemishes” — design components that fall short of expectations. In fluent and conversational fast-paced prose, Paine has pitched his book to armchair sailors as well as to seasoned mariners in search of the perfect sailing yacht.

Not all of the boats are from Paine’s own drafting board. One is a Sparkman & Stephens Blue Jay that the author and his brother built from scratch as teenagers, and another is an 80-year-old Nat Herreshoff 12 ½. Progressing in scale from that toy-like Herreshoff, the book carries readers through over 100 pages to the final entry: the 43-foot Paine-designed cutter Anasazi, a heavy-displacement, cold-molded vessel influenced by the work of John Alden.

Despite the meticulous attention Paine pays to the mechanics of architecture and construction, he makes clear that his main goal in writing the book is to encourage readers to pick up one of the many older boats of his own creation now found in brokerage ads at what he calls “stupidly low prices.” 

In 1956, I bought my 19-footer used. With a 5-hp inboard auxiliary, it cost all of $1,100. The 26-footer Francis II featured in Paine’s book would have been the craft of my dreams. The sloop is a double-ender of fiberglass or cold-molded wood. Her two-berth house provides full headroom “if you’re less than 6 feet tall,” and with nearly 2 tons of ballast, she is, according to the author, one of the most stable boats “for her size that my studio ever designed.” Of his famous “blemishes,” there are none. 

What Francis II would have fetched on the secondhand market more than half a century ago is hard to say with any certainty. But it would surely have been far less than the $17,000 to $21,000 Paine says his boats of similar length will bring today. Yet, though the author argues that cost in this range is not particularly excessive, he concedes that the choice for buyers remains what it has always been: either a used boat with perhaps another $50,000 invested for restoration and refit, “or a brand new boat … for more than twice the price.” 

And as Paine is quick to add, “decisions, decisions.”

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Led by Paul Spooner CEng MRINA, a naval architect with 30 years' experience in the industry, including Fairlie Yachts & Restorations and other yards around Europe. PSD brings to bear decades of collective experience working on some of the world’s finest vessels, both classic and new.

Paul and his team dispay a wealth of experience and dedication to every project. Their creative ideas and elegant designs truly deliver.

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The A List: Yachting's Top Designers In Their Own Words

What’s the wildest design request you have ever received.

The world’s top designers descended on Cortina d’Ampezzo for the Superyacht Design Festival in February. Here we capture their views – and the spectacular Italian scenery

Martin Francis, Francis Design To work with Philippe Starck!

Sam Sorgiovanni, Sorgiovanni Designs  The wildest request (no pun intended) was for a live terrarium on Nirvana, with living camellias, turtles and water dragons, achieved in collaboration with a zoologist specialising in reptiles. It specified environmental needs, humidity and temperature requirements along with a forepeak cricket farm for live feed! However, seasickness was something we didn’t anticipate.

Fiona Diamond, Seymour Diamond  I was asked to recreate the decorative ceiling with tortoiseshell from the lobby of the Hôtel de Paris in Monaco for an owner’s lounge. We achieved this by 3D-scanning clay and wood details, which were then produced in SikaBlock by CNC machine, all finally being sanded and painted to replicate the look. Faux tortoiseshell only!

Daniel Nerhagen, Tillberg Design The boat was more or less ready for delivery when the owner came on board and did the walk-around. In the lobby atrium he saw a perfect parking spot for his vintage Ferrari. So not much to do: remove the interior, windows and lining and make a cut out in the bulkhead to be able to lift in the car, then close the opening and put everything back again. Turned out great in the end.

Frank Neubelt, GYC Studio The most complex design brief given to me was a removable, land-storable helipad set over the pool deck on a 70 metre, for carrying a helicopter on exploration journeys only.

What will be the next great disruption in yacht design or construction?

Jarkko Jämsén, Jamsen Yacht design and construction has only really seen two significant disruptions in the last 150 years: the transition from sail to steam and the introduction of GRP. So I’d say that the impact of fusion energy on propulsion is probably the only truly disruptive phenomenon on the horizon.

Adam Lay, Adam Lay Studio Sustainability (responsibility, longevity, re-use, traceability and transparency), along with more healthful finishes and processes, which go hand-in-hand with sustainable goals.

Mark Smith, Michael Leach Design Environmental issues and pressure from global perceptions.

Guillaume Rolland, Liaigre Disruption will come in the way owners use their yachts: less social protocol and more personal journeys in life.

Malcolm Mckeon, Malcolm Mckeon Yacht Design The next great change in yacht design will be classification societies permitting the use of glass as a structural material to allow designers a greater use of glass without the penalties of weight and cost.

Ronno Schouten, De Voogt Naval Architects The next great disruption will be the transition to completely sustainable yachting.

Bill Tripp, Tripp Design Cut emissions in half and have a better yacht.

What’s the one thing you’d love to design that’s not a yacht?

Francesco Paszkowski, Francesco Paszkowski Design I would like to design a clifftop villa. It would blend into nature – hidden or integrated into the landscape ­– and the impact on the environment would be zero.

Wayne Parker, Wayne Parker Design The way we work and live in the world is changing, driven largely by climate change and technology. With these influences in mind, I would love to design a habitat either underwater, which is sensitive to the environment and can withstand the forces of nature, or in space that utilises technology and materials that will withstand the test of time.

Laura Pomponi, Luxury Projects  An underwater archaeological museum in which to bring to life and show arts and craftsmanship, or historical vessels that are still hidden in dusty archives or under the oceans.

What design element is it your dream to include in a superyacht project?

Luca Dini, Luca Dini Design & Architecture I have always been in love with natural materials and for this reason I have always tried to integrate in my projects as many materials as possible deriving directly from nature: precious silks, woods, leathers and marbles, with which many Tuscan artists have left indelible traces in history through their beautiful works. While designing yachts, one of the biggest constraints we have to deal with is weight. It has often happened that the employment of objects that I would like to include has been nixed by engineers. For this reason, my next goal is to design marble furnishings using the latest lightening technologies. For example, I imagine the exterior areas of a yacht furnished with tables, armchairs and sofas made with the most beautiful marbles available, which are virtually indestructible and could also feature backlighting.

Peder Eidsgaard, Harrison Eidsgaard I would include a roofless bedroom, independently elevated, at the tip of a very long aft deck: ultimate privacy in fresh air under the stars, to the sound of the waves.

Philippe Starck, Starck Sea, humanity and respect.

John Vickers, Vickers Studio The last 20 years’ involvement with many projects over 100 metres has seen almost everything go into some amazing creations; but personally I have always hoped to include a private owner’s access beach club/toy garage, with cars, bikes, a horse stable for that early morning beach ride – oh, and a small classic sailing yacht!

Ewa Eidsgaard, Harrison Eidsgaard Cocoon-like window seats. I love the idea of sitting in such a prime viewing location looking at waves somewhere in Alaska!

Where do you find your design inspiration?

Dickie Bannenberg, Bannenberg & Rowell Design It’s freely borrowed from everything around me, not always in a logical way.

Espen Øino, Espen Øino International There is inspiration everywhere. One just has to be observant and open-minded.

Laura Sessa, Laura Sessa Studio D’Architettura I find my inspiration everywhere: from a book, a magazine, from nature, visiting a museum or just walking in the street. I collect all my thoughts and ideas in a book that I use when I need them.

Philippe Briand, Philippe Briand Limited We are continually looking for new inspiration and ways to improve our designs. Given the fact that evolution has the benefit of millions of years of trial and error to perfect its designs in nature, a designer can benefit in drawing from its influence. This approach to innovation, emulating nature, has inspired many of our greatest creations and the streamlining of our yachts. As a designer you have a mental “blank sheet” that tends to fill up while visiting museums or simply looking around. But, when I create a yacht I use my inspiration to make the architectural structures interesting, this is where problem solving takes over to create an aesthetically pleasing habitat that can be built and not a render fata morgana (a mirage). There are three fundamentals for my designs: long sweeping lines, stark white, and flawless use of glass.

Immo Ludeling, Beiderbeck Designs Design is attitude. It is in every aspect of our lives but for me I find most beauty in art, nature and classic yachts.

Alberto Mancini, Am Yacht Design I get inspired by travelling around the world – every island, country village and museum I visit is a source for my brain. The islands of Kauai and St Barths are the best places on the planet to get inspired. Then Italian futurist art from 1909 to 1944 inspires me a lot. I can’t stop looking at Umberto Boccioni’s sculpture – it transmits to me a unique sense of speed, form and dynamism. Last but not least, the automotive: my passion since I was a child. Again, I can’t help but touch and examine every single surface of exotic supercars. It doesn’t matter which brand – most supercars can be considered as real pieces of art.

Tim Ulrich, Beiderbeck Designs Sails will enjoy a renaissance and change, away from a sporty means of propulsion, to become a supplementary option for relaxed and quiet cruising on large and very large yachts. Noting the current trend towards ever-larger catamarans, a new type of superyacht might well develop like this.

Michael Leach, Michael Leach Design New yachts will struggle to match the second-hand ones (circa 500GT) when it comes to usable guest space due to increases in the size of green technology and crew cabins.

Greg Marshall, Gregory C Marshall Naval Architects  The next big revolution in yacht design will be 3D printing on a large scale. This has already begun on a limited scale with limited materials. Large metal 3D printers are coming online right now that will be capable of printing an entire boat out of metal. This opens the doors for extraordinary design freedom and quality improvements. For example we are currently designing a 9m tender designed to be entirely 3D printed out of Titanium. Titanium is interesting for many of its properties, it is very light, burns at a higher temperature than steel. Traditionally it is too expensive but with 3D printing we can reduce the material by up to 80 per cent, making the best material affordable. As titanium does not corrode we do not require it to be painted. As it is 3D printed we can optimise all of the structure to suit specific loading and can then make the boat very light while making it stronger. We can also 3D print in hundreds of watertight chambers that we could never afford to manufacture – this will make vessels ultimately safer.

From the design side we can create normally mundane things – like engine room grills – any shape we want. We can make pipes within pipes within pipes, which then make the systems inside the vessel much less complicated. We can also 3D print the electrical wiring into the vessel itself, greatly reducing man hours.

On the environmental front, there is no wastage with 3D printing so the scrap amounts are greatly reduced. Because there is no heat applied to the metal we do not need to do fairing which is a big environmental disaster and takes a huge number of man hours.

Jim Schmicker, Farr Yacht Design The use of foils to enhance stability, comfort, speed and control will continue to be developed and deployed over a wide range of superyacht types. The benefit of significantly reduced heel angle alone improves the habitability and the whole sailing experience of owners and crew.

Guido De Groot, Guido De Groot Design Creating the space on board needed for more economical and environmentally friendly propulsion and energy supply systems.

Bill Dixon, Dixon Yacht Design Is the future sail-powered superyachts, that satisfy the vessel’s power requirements by the free generation of hydrogen from seawater?

Hans-maarten Bais, Diana Yacht Design I feel that a great disruption will be new regulations for emissions, so we have to invent new ways of propelling and powering yachts.

James Roy, Lateral Naval Architects Clients who are brave enough to take risks and invest in disruptive technologies and innovations, married with a lateral-thinking approach to design and engineering.

Tim Heywood, Tim Heywood Designs I am fortunate in that I find inspiration all around me, all the time. You just have to be receptive to it, make “crossing subject boundaries” the way you look at all objects, be they the thorax of a butterfly or the exposed structure of a 50-floor contemporary office block.

Terence Disdale, Terence Disdale Design Sitting by a lake, watching the sun come up.

Axel De Beaufort, Hermès I find design inspiration in my day-to-day life. Curiosity is the best way to find new ideas, in sometimes the most unexpected situations. I would love my life to be perpetual astonishment. Speaking with craftsmen is also a huge field for building up new ideas and challenges by understanding techniques and seeing how to push boundaries.

Jozeph Forakis, Jozeph Forakis … Design I get inspiration from all aspects of nature: plants, animals and systems, down to the microscopic scale. I’m currently studying the extraordinarily beautiful and weird ultra-deep sea “aliens” being discovered only now. They are better than any science fiction – mother nature has an incredible imagination!

What is the next generation of superyacht owners looking for?

Bernardo Zuccon, Zuccon International Project Adventure and a desire to discover hidden new lands; an authentic fusion with the surrounding ocean; entertainment, thanks to toys and tenders; health and wellness on board.

Marnix Hoekstra, Vripack We believe that the owners of the future are looking to be inspired as much as before, but on a whole new level. Our yachts will remain the vessels for unprecedented personal experiences and the design process will be no exception. Think virtual reality presentations by our avatars, for instance – something our studio is pretty close to doing in the near future. But the yachts will remain beautifully safe and light-filled floating experience centres.

Giorgio M Cassetta Wholesome experiences of harmony and beauty, devoid of useless formalities, that are respectful of the beautiful surroundings and exciting for the people they love.

Antonio Romano, Hot Lab The next generation of owners are looking for a place to disappear from the world, and to socialise with their world at the same time.

Ramon Alonso, Radyca Seaworthiness plus volume plus comfort plus economy plus contemporary design equals a sexy, fast-looking full-displacement superyacht that allows owners to explore coastal destinations in a relaxed yet sophisticated way.

Alexandre Thiriat There is no Planet B. Like more and more people around the world, ecology will be what the new yacht-owning generation will look for.

Pascale Reymond, Reymond Langton More adventures and exploring experiences, still in the comfort of their floating home. Some might also decide to spend longer periods of time on board.

Justin Olesinski, Olesinski When chartering, a quick, easy online booking service will be needed for time-poor clients, with clear pricing options. For future owners, it will be technologically leading media and connectivity. Yachts will be designed for a minimal crew, therefore self-cleaning or dirt-resistant materials, and automatic launching of tenders will be required.

Igor Lobanov, Lobanov Design Owners will always be looking for quality and perfection in execution, but also more and more for sustainability, for design requiring less repair and maintenance, and potentially less crew. As a parallel movement, I see that superyachts tend to have the same features in quantity and quality as megayachts.

Stefano Vafiadis, Studio Vafiadis Future owners have a new vision of luxury, more focused on lifestyle and travelling than being docked in a marina. The boat is seen as a medium to have incredible experiences that no one else can have.

What is a superyacht designer’s most underestimated skill?

Bart Bouwhuis, Vripack The simple ability to listen, to truly listen, to ask again. The sole objective being to allow the designer to surpass the owner’s expectations in the design work.

Andrew Langton, Reymond Langton Listening to what their clients actually want… or making mojitos.

Adriana Monk, Monk Design The art of listening and having genuine intuition.

Jim Dixon, Winch Design The most underestimated skill of any designer has to be flexibility!

Andrew Winch, Winch Design Trust and imagination – but humour and smiling come very close!

How are onboard lifestyles changing and how will superyacht design be impacted?

Mike Fisher, Studio Indigo Young owners will drive change as they live simpler lives, with technology intertwined into everything and an increasing concern over environmental issues – to which the superyacht industry will need to adapt.

James White, March & White We’re seeing an increased desire for hospitality-influenced interiors that amplify guest experience, interiors that create truly lasting memories, not only for the owners, but also for their friends and charter guests.

Mark Berryman, Mark Berryman Design Clients are requesting spa and recreational spaces as they are spending more time on board, and to accommodate this, yachts will need to keep increasing in size.

Enrico Bonetti, Bonetti/Kozerski Architecture Lifestyle on board is becoming less formal, more functional and flexible. Yachts are less evocative of land-based spaces and a more modern and graceful, boat-specific language is evolving.

Dominic Kozerski, Bonetti/Kozerski  Advances in audiovisual technology allow for flexibility in the placing of equipment, making media rooms superfluous. This, with the prevalence of tablets, offers freedom in the planning and use of space.

Enrico Lumini, Hot Lab The relationship between inner and outer spaces is getting stronger and the boundaries between these two sectors of any vessel is becoming thiner every day. This requires us to make these boundaries totally disappear and treat the yacht as a whole, as has already happened in civil architecture.

Piero Lissoni, Lissoni & Partners Respect, risks, simplicity, elegance.

Francesca Muzio, FM Architettura D’Interni Yacht owners require multi-dimensional experiences and a deeper meaning behind design. We must have a more intellectual approach mixed with deeper technological exploration, without forgetting the surrounding Natural element. Interior architecture should give you possibilities rather than constraints.

Jonny Horsfield, H2 Yacht Design Clients are now much more interested in exterior lifestyle and fitness so exterior design is now much more fluid between interior and exterior, with bigger, more detailed on-deck facilities, with larger opening doors and glass areas. On one recent project the gym has pride of place on the sundeck!

Andrea Vallicelli, A Vallicelli & C Yacht Design Some technological innovations have certainly contributed in changing onboard lifestyles: for example digital communication systems or transparent materials that allow a new relationship with natural light. However, I believe that the most important aim of yacht design is still to create objects that offer the pleasure of experiencing the beauty of the natural context in an exclusive way.

Simon Rowell, Bannenberg & Rowell Design I can’t generalise about on-board lifestyles; each client is different, and each should challenge designers and builders to realise their dreams. Weird, then, that so many yachts are so similar. We’re trying to recalibrate that. It’s in our DNA as a studio.

Franco Romani, Perini Navi Owners are looking for faster yachts with more aggressive forms. So hull lines have evolved, becoming sleeker towards the bow with generous volumes aft for comfort, with superior performance at sea.

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25 of the best small sailing boat designs

• Nic Compton
• August 10, 2022

Nic Compton looks at the 25 yachts under 40ft which have had the biggest impact on UK sailing

There’s nothing like a list of best small sailing boat designs to get the blood pumping.

Everyone has their favourites, and everyone has their pet hates.

This is my list of the 25 best small sailing boat designs, honed down from the list of 55 yachts I started with.

I’ve tried to be objective and have included several boats I don’t particularly like but which have undeniably had an impact on sailing in the UK – and yes, it would be quite a different list if I was writing about another country.

If your favourite isn’t on the best small sailing boat designs list, then send an email to [email protected] to argue the case for your best-loved boat.

Ready? Take a deep breath…

Credit: Bob Aylott

Laurent Giles is best known for designing wholesome wooden cruising boats such as the Vertue and Wanderer III , yet his most successful design was the 26ft Centaur he designed for Westerly, of which a remarkable 2,444 were built between 1969 and 1980.

It might not be the prettiest boat on the water, but it sure packs a lot of accommodation.

The Westerly Centaur was one of the first production boats to be tank tested, so it sails surprisingly well too. Jack L Giles knew what he was doing.

Colin Archer

Credit: Nic Compton

Only 32 Colin Archer lifeboats were built during their designer’s lifetime, starting with Colin Archer in 1893 and finishing with Johan Bruusgaard in 1924.

Yet their reputation for safety spawned hundreds of copycat designs, the most famous of which was Sir Robin Knox-Johnston ’s Suhaili , which he sailed around the world singlehanded in 1968-9.

The term Colin Archer has become so generic it is often used to describe any double-ender – so beware!

Contessa 32

Assent ‘s performance in the 1979 Fastnet Race makes the Contessa 32 a worth entry in the 25 best small sailing boat designs list. Credit: Nic Compton

Designed by David Sadler as a bigger alternative to the popular Contessa 26, the Contessa 32 was built by Jeremy Rogers in Lymington from 1970.

The yacht’s credentials were established when Assent , the Contessa 32 owned by Willy Kerr and skippered by his son Alan, became the only yacht in her class to complete the deadly 1979 Fastnet Race .

When UK production ceased in 1983, more than 700 had been built, and another 20 have been built since 1996.

Cornish Crabber 24

It seemed a daft idea to build a gaff-rigged boat in 1974, just when everyone else had embraced the ‘modern’ Bermudan rig.

Yet the first Cornish Crabber 24, designed by Roger Dongray, tapped into a feeling that would grow and grow and eventually become a movement.

The 24 was followed in 1979 by the even more successful Shrimper 19 – now ubiquitous in almost every harbour in England – and the rest is history.

Drascombe Lugger

Credit: David Harding

There are faster, lighter and more comfortable boats than a Drascombe Lugger.

And yet, 57 years after John Watkinson designed the first ‘lugger’ (soon changed to gunter rig), more than 2,000 have been built and the design is still going strong.

More than any other boat, the Drascombe Lugger opened up dinghy cruising, exemplified by Ken Duxbury’s Greek voyages in the 1970s and Webb Chiles’s near-circumnavigation on Chidiock Tichbourne I and II .

The 26ft Eventide. Credit: David Harding

It’s been described as the Morris Minor of the boating world – except that the majority of the 1,000 Eventides built were lovingly assembled by their owners, not on a production line.

After you’d tested your skills building the Mirror dinghy, you could progress to building a yacht.

And at 24ft long, the Eventide packed a surprising amount of living space.

It was Maurice Griffiths’ most successful design and helped bring yachting to a wider audience.

You either love ’em or you hate ’em – motorsailers, that is.

The Fisher 30 was brought into production in 1971 and was one of the first out-and-out motorsailers.

With its long keel , heavy displacement and high bulwarks, it was intended to evoke the spirit of North Sea fishing boats.

It might not sail brilliantly but it provided an exceptional level of comfort for its size and it would look after you when things turned nasty.

Significantly, it was also fitted with a large engine.

Credit: Rupert Holmes

It should have been a disaster.

In 1941, when the Scandinavian Sailing Federation couldn’t choose a winner for their competition to design an affordable sailing boat, they gave six designs to naval architect Tord Sundén and asked him to combine the best features from each.

The result was a sweet-lined 25ft sloop which was very seaworthy and fast.

The design has been built in GRP since the 1970s and now numbers more than 4,000, with fleets all over the world.

Credit: Kevin Barber

There’s something disconcerting about a boat with two unstayed masts and no foresails, and certainly the Freedom range has its detractors.

Yet as Garry Hoyt proved, first with the Freedom 40, designed in collaboration with Halsey Herreshoff, and then the Freedom 33 , designed with Jay Paris, the boats are simple to sail (none of those clattering jib sheets every time you tack) and surprisingly fast – at least off the wind .

Other ‘cat ketch’ designs followed but the Freedoms developed their own cult following.

Hillyard 12-tonner

The old joke about Hillyards is that you won’t drown on one but you might starve to death getting there.

And yet this religious boatbuilder from Littlehampton built up to 800 yachts which travelled around the world – you can find them cruising far-flung destinations.

Sizes ranged from 2.5 to 20 tons, though the 9- and 12-ton are best for long cruises.

The innovations on Jester means she is one of the best small sailing boat designs in the last 100 years. Credit: Ewen Southby-Tailyour

Blondie Hasler was one of the great sailing innovators and Jester was his testing ground.

She was enclosed, carvel planked and had an unstayed junk rig.

Steering was via a windvane system Hasler created.

Hasler came second in the first OSTAR , proving small boats can achieve great things.

Moody kicked off the era of comfort-oriented boats with its very first design.

The Moody 33, designed by Angus Primrose, had a wide beam and high topside to produce a voluminous hull .

The centre cockpit allowed for an aft cabin, resulting in a 33-footer with two sleeping cabins – an almost unheard of concept in 1973 –full-beam heads and spacious galley.

What’s more, her performance under sail was more than adequate for cruising.

Finally, here was a yacht that all the family could enjoy.

Continues below…

What makes a boat seaworthy?

What characteristics make a yacht fit for purpose? Duncan Kent explores the meaning of 'seaworthy' and how hull design and…

How boat design is evolving

Will Bruton looks at the latest trends and innovations shaping the boats we sail

How keel type affects performance

James Jermain looks at the main keel types, their typical performance and the pros and cons of each

Boat handling: How to use your yacht’s hull shape to your advantage

Whether you have a long keel or twin keel rudders, there will be pros and cons when it comes to…

Nicholson 32

Credit: Genevieve Leaper

Charles Nicholson was a giant of the wooden boat era but one of his last designs – created with his son Peter – was a pioneering fibreglass boat that would become an enduring classic.

With its long keel and heavy displacement, the Nicholson 32 is in many ways a wooden boat built in fibreglass – and indeed the design was based on Nicholson’s South Coast One Design.

From 1966 to 1977, the ‘Nic 32’ went through 11 variations.

Credit: Hallberg-Rassy

In the beginning there was… the Rasmus 35. This was the first yacht built by the company that would become Hallberg-Rassy and which would eventually build more than 9,000 boats.

The Rasmus 35, designed by Olle Enderlein, was a conservative design, featuring a centre cockpit, long keel and well-appointed accommodation.

Some 760 boats were built between 1967 and 1978.

Credit: Larry & Lin Pardey

Lyle Hess was ahead of his time when he designed Renegade in 1949.

Despite winning the Newport to Ensenada race, the 25ft wooden cutter went largely unnoticed.

Hess had to build bridges for 15 years before Larry Pardey asked him to design the 24ft Seraffyn , closely based on Renegade ’s lines but with a Bermudan rig.

Pardey’s subsequent voyages around the world cemented Hess’s reputation and success of the Renegade design.

Would the Rustler 36 make it on your best small sailing boat list? Credit: Rustler Yachts

Six out of 18 entries for the 2018 Golden Globe Race (GGR) were Rustler 36s, with the top three places all going to Rustler 36 skippers.

It was a fantastic endorsement for a long-keel yacht designed by Holman & Pye 40 years before.

Expect to see more Rustler 36s in the 2022 edition of the GGR!

It was Ted Heath who first brought the S&S 34 to prominence with his boat Morning Cloud .

In 1969 the yacht won the Sydney to Hobart Race, despite being one of the smallest boats in the race.

Other epic S&S 34 voyages include the first ever single-handed double circumnavigation by Jon Sanders in 1981

Credit: Colin Work

The Contessa 32 might seem an impossible boat to improve upon, but that’s what her designer David Sadler attempted to do in 1979 with the launch of the Sadler 32 .

That was followed two years later by the Sadler 29 , a tidy little boat that managed to pack in six berths in a comfortable open-plan interior.

The boat was billed as ‘unsinkable’, with a double-skinned hull separated by closed cell foam buoyancy.

What’s more, it was fast, notching up to 12 knots.

Credit: Dick Durham/Yachting Monthly

Another modern take on the Contessa theme was the Sigma 33, designed by David Thomas in 1979.

A modern underwater body combined with greater beam and higher freeboard produced a faster boat with greater accommodation.

And, like the Contessa, the Sigma 33 earned its stripes at the 1979 Fastnet, when two of the boats survived to tell the tale.

A lively one-design fleet soon developed on the Solent which is still active to this day.

A replica of Joshua Slocum’s Spray . Credit: Alamy Stock Photo

The boat Joshua Slocum used for his first singlehanded circumnavigation of the world wasn’t intended to sail much further than the Chesapeake Bay.

The 37ft Spray was a rotten old oyster sloop which a friend gave him and which he had to spend 13 months fixing up.

Yet this boxy little tub, with its over-optimistic clipper bow, not only took Slocum safely around the world but has spawned dozens of modern copies that have undertaken long ocean passages.

Credit: James Wharram Designs

What are boats for if not for dreaming? And James Wharram had big dreams.

First he sailed across the Atlantic on the 23ft 6in catamaran Tangaroa .

He then built the 40ft Rongo on the beach in Trinidad (with a little help from French legend Bernard Moitessier) and sailed back to the UK.

Then he drew the 34ft Tangaroa (based on Rongo ) for others to follow in his wake and sold 500 plans in 10 years.

Credit: Graham Snook/Yachting Monthly

The Twister was designed in a hurry.

Kim Holman wanted a boat at short notice for the 1963 season and, having had some success with his Stella design (based on the Folkboat), he rushed out a ‘knockabout cruising boat for the summer with some racing for fun’.

The result was a Bermudan sloop that proved nigh on unbeatable on the East Anglian circuit.

It proved to be Holman’s most popular design with more than 200 built.

Credit: Alamy Stock Photo

Laurent Giles’s design No15 was drawn in 1935 for a Guernsey solicitor who wanted ‘a boat that would spin on a sixpence and I could sail single-handed ’.

What the young Jack Giles gave him was a pretty transom-sterned cutter, with a nicely raked stem.

Despite being moderate in every way, the boat proved extremely able and was soon racking up long distances, including Humphrey Barton’s famous transatlantic crossing on Vertue XXXV in 1950.

Wanderer II and III

Credit: Thies Matzen

Eric and Susan Hiscock couldn’t afford a Vertue, so Laurent Giles designed a smaller, 21ft version for them which they named Wanderer II .

They were back a few years later, this time wanting a bigger version: the 30ft Wanderer III .

It was this boat they sailed around the world between 1952-55, writing articles and sailing books along the way.

In doing so, they introduced a whole generation of amateur sailors to the possibilities of long-distance cruising.

Westerly 22

The origins of Westerly Marine were incredibly modest.

Commander Denys Rayner started building plywood dinghies in the 1950s which morphed into a 22ft pocket cruiser called the Westcoaster.

Realising the potential of fibreglass, in 1963 he adapted the design to create the Westerly 22, an affordable cruising boat with bilge keels and a reverse sheer coachroof.

Some 332 boats were built to the design before it was relaunched as the Nomad (267 built).

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Subtle variations on 1930s classic yacht design with long overhangs, low profiles and smooth lines, all married to contemporary underwater profiles, are synonymous with Spirit’s modern classic sail and power yachts.

All Spirit yachts have core characteristics in common: beautiful aesthetics, ease of handling and a celebration of wood. Spirit Yachts are designed to be as beautiful in 100 years as they are today.

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World-renowned yacht designer Sean McMillan founded Spirit Yachts in 1993, building the company into a worldwide success story. A revered sailor on the classic racing circuit in his own Spirit 52, Sean has led the way in modern classic design and construction.

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5 Modern Runabout Boats That Pay Homage to Classic Designs

Classically inspired vessels by names such as comitti and wajer are much more than their looks., michael verdon, michael verdon's most recent stories.

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The distinctive look of a classic runabout—a subtly curved profile, varnished mahogany hull and decks, and mirror-finished chrome—took shape in the 1920s before fully coming into its own in the 1960s. Select yards in the U.S. and Europe are still inspired by this enduring style while incorporating the latest in propulsion, fiberglass hulls, and onboard technology. Here, five such craft that will have you actually enjoying getting the runaround for once.

Wajer has greatly expanded its fleet since the Dutch yard was founded more than three decades ago. The new Wajer 44, which boasts a 40-knot planing hull, a functional cabin, and an outdoor layout that optimizes usable space, best demonstrates the line’s evolutionary progression. Legendary NFL quarterback Tom Brady is a fan, having purchased two other Wajers.

Frauscher 1017 GT

The Frauscher family, who have overseen their eponymous Austrian yard since 1927, eschew the word “retro” in favor of “timeless”—though they freely admit to slipping “design cues from the past” (including vertical bows) into all their builds. The sleek 1017 GT is a forward-looking version of a 1920s Gentleman’s Racer, with a top speed of 67 mph thanks to its stepped hull and twin 430 hp engines, while the options list includes such futuristic features as underwater lighting.

Cockwells ‘Grace’

Specializing in custom tenders for 28 years, U.K. yard Cockwells created a new benchmark for itself with the 31-foot Grace , capable of maintaining its composure at a top speed of 44 mph. “We wanted to create an elegant boat that would look at home beside a classic Riva, with the performance of any modern vessel,” says founder Dave Cockwells. That intriguing recipe includes pinstripe-mahogany decks juxtaposed against a modern helm replete with a display screen on a carbon-fiber background.

Comitti Venezia V31

With its fast, slender hull and wood decks, Comitti ’s Venezia V31 exudes la dolce vita, but with a contemporary twist. For this model, the Italian yard (dating back 68 years) retains the best of the old world—sensuous lines, a mahogany console and wheel, and teak or mahogany inlays—while offering a top speed of 53 mph, a full cabin, and a full-beam sunbed over the engine.

Van Dam ‘Lickety Split’

For 47 years, the Van Dam yard in Boyne City, Mich., has been turning out world-renowned, bespoke wooden vessels. The white-hulled Lickety Split , a 24-foot Gentleman’s Runabout, showcases the builder’s woodworking prowess with mahogany and features a long-planked deck with a stylized two-seat cockpit aft, and, forward of the windshield, a concealed rumble seat remotely controlled from the helm. True to its name, the boat can hit 55 mph thanks to its custom 350 hp Sterling engine.

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Flying Proas: The History of these Weird & Speedy ‘Shunting’ Boats

There is simply no other boat that will give you so much speed for so little cost. Nic Compton explores the history of proas and sails on a newly-built ‘shunting’ proa in Devon.

Is it a seabird? Is it a hydroplane? No, it’s Tiny Giant ! For the past few months the inhabitants of Stoke Gabriel on the River Dart in Devon have been scratching their heads trying to figure out an unusual new craft that has appeared on a mooring off the village. Clearly made of wood, the proa it looks nothing like any of the usual local boats, such as the indigenous salmon boats and trawlers once built on the river. Neither is it one of those plastic cruising yachts that seem to find favour among so many modern sailors. 

Yet, given half a breeze this strangely-shaped craft can be seen flying down the river at speeds in excess of eight knots, looking like some crazy giant moth. What’s more, it never tacks but simply flips the sail from one end of the boat to the other and heads off in the opposite direction (called ‘shunting’). Curiouser and curiouser, as Alice would say, and you might well think you’ve stepped into a Boating Wonderland.

The boat is of course a proa: one of the fastest boats you can build for its size and cost – or a pointless exercise in exotic boatbuilding, depending on your point of view. The owner of this unconventional craft is none other than William Lewis, commodore of the Stoke Gabriel Boat Association. He was converted to proas after hearing multihull pioneers Jim and Russel Brown speak while he was attending a course at the WoodenBoat school in Maine. William was working as a corporate layer in Johannesburg at the time, but the arrival of covid forced him to reconsider his priorities. He decided to return to the UK and take a sabbatical year off work.

“I thought of all the sensible things I could do, and didn’t do any of them,” he says. Instead, he signed up for a 40-week boatbuilding course at the Boat Building Academy in Lyme Regis , UK. “Which was a bit of a stupid thing to do, as I’m not very good with my hands and have no particular talent with tools.”

Students on the BBA course are invited to ‘sponsor’ up to six new-builds, which means they have to pay for the materials but get to keep the boat at the end. There were countless sensible small boat designs William could have chosen which he could have then sold quite easily at the end of the course, but the former corporate lawyer had no doubt had enough of being sensible. Instead, William decided to follow his whimsy and build that seemingly most impractical of craft: a ‘shunting’ proa.

“The attraction of a proa, once you’ve made the intellectual shift, is that it’s got a lot of waterline, a lot of stability, and is very nice aesthetically,” he explains. “In the right hands, this boat can reach 14 knots. But the value for me was as a potential cruising dinghy. Most cruising dinghies are a compromise of beam, weight, draft and transportability. If it’s beamy, it’s too heavy; if it’s narrow, it’s too tender. With a proa, you can transport it easily and you can do fun things like sail on and off a beach without worrying about the centreboard or the rudder.” 

Uncompromising Design

Put like that, it makes an awful lot of sense. And it’s hard to argue with a 17ft 9in homebuilt boat you can put on a roofrack and which is capable of 14 knots. Yet to most western sailors there’s something instinctively ‘wrong’ about a boat that is asymmetric from side to side yet symmetric from end to end – indeed, there is no bow or stern on a shunting proa, as the front and back switch with every tack. 

Proas themselves feel no need to justify their existence. They have been around, happily carrying people across the Pacific Ocean, for thousands of years – far longer than any of the Johnny-come-lately boats most western sailors seem to espouse. 

Multihull design in the Pacific – of both the shunting and tacking variety – varied from island to island. Catamarans were favoured for carrying heavy cargo, while a single outrigger canoe was faster for chasing fish and impressing the girls. The hulls could also be swapped round, using two canoes to make a catamaran or a single canoe with a float (or ama ) to make an outrigger canoe. Both types were rigged either as shunting or tacking configuration. Double outrigger canoes (ie trimarans) were rarely built in Polynesia and Micronesia, though they were used in Indonesia and the Philippines.

When Western explorers arrived in the Pacific, they were amazed by these nimble, lightweight craft that sailed rings around even their fastest boats. 

“Their outrigger boats passed by our ship very quickly even though we were under full sail,” wrote Antonio Pigefeta, while sailing around the world with Magellan in 1521. “There is no difference between the bow and the stern of these boats and they are like dolphins bounding from wave to wave.” 

And this from William Dampier sailing on the British ship Cygnet in 1686: “I do believe they sail the best of any Boats in the World. I did here for my own satisfaction try the swiftness of one of them, sailing by our Log, we had 12 Knots on our Reel […] but I do believe she would have run 24 mile an hour. […] By report, they will go from hence to another of the Ladrone Islands about 30 Leagues off [ie 90 nautical miles], and there do their Business, and return again in less than 12 Hours. I was told that one of these Boats was sent Express to Manila, which is above 400 Leagues [1,200nm], and performed the Voyage in 4 Days time.”

It wasn’t long before western yachts designers started playing around with the idea. Nat Herreshoff, always way ahead of the game, designed several catamarans from 1876 onwards. But it was Captain Ralph Munroe who focused specifically on the shunting variety, designing in 1898 a proa capable of 18 knots – the first of several proas the good Captain would design and built. Even President Roosevelt’s uncle, Robert B Roosevelt, was at it, building a 50ft proa at about the same time. 

Proas in the 20th Century

In the modern era, the cause was first taken up by multihull designer Dick Newick, who designed the 36ft ‘Atlantic proa’ Cheers in 1967. Unlike a traditional Pacific proa, which has the outrigger (or ama) on the windward side, the Atlantic proa has the outrigger on the leeward side. The boat’s styling was absolutely in keeping with the times, looking both futuristic and timelessly elegant. With Tom Follett at the helm, Cheers won third place in the 1968 OSTAR, becoming the first American boat to complete the race.

The potential of the type was spotted by British yachtsman (and mustard millionaire) Timothy Colman, who set a new world speed record of 26.3 knots with his 56ft proa Crossbow in 1972. He stretched that to 31.2 knots three years later, and went even further in 1980 with his proa/catamaran Crossbow II , setting a new record of 36 knots. Since then, proas have consistently claimed the world sailing speed record (when not being challenged by windsurfers and kite surfers), the most recent being Paul Larsen on his carbon fibre proa Sailrocket 2, which set a record of 65.45 knots in 2012.

One of the biggest names in the proa world is Russel Brown (son of multihull pioneer Jim Brown) who built the 36ft Jzerro , weighing just 3,200lb and capable of 22 knots, and sailed her across the Pacific from San Francisco to New Zealand in 2000. More recently, Jzerro was acquired by New Orleanian sailor Ryan Finn who in 2022 sailed her singlehanded 13,500 miles from New York to San Francisco, making her the smallest craft to achieve this feat. 

Another proa design which has acquired a devoted following in recent years is the 31ft Madness designed by John C Harris and available in kit form from his company Chesapeake Light Craft. Better known for designing easily-built canoes and dinghies, Harris conceived Madness as a ‘pocket cruiser’ for exploring the Chesapeake Bay and the Bahamas. He soon clocked up 20 knots in the boat, with average speeds of eight to ten knots. Five more boats have been built to the design, and a stretched version is currently being built in aluminium.

“The point is not to be weird,” says Harris. “I can’t afford to build something like this just to be weird. The point is that Pacific proas have a list of really compelling advantages. The main advantage is that, because of the asymmetry, you get to leave half the boat ashore. And the balance of forces is so perfect that the structure can be light and simple. It’s the fastest boat for the money.”

Back in Devon

Back in Devon, the proa William chose was the T2, designed by Gary Dierking and described in his book Building Outrigger Sailing Canoes as a “sport canoe for one or two people”. Although based on the traditional craft of the Marshall Islands in the central Pacific, the T2 has been updated in a number of ways for modern construction. For a start, the main hull (or waka ) is strip-plank and sheathed with fibreglass and epoxy. It has sealed buoyancy tanks at either end and a self-draining cockpit with buoyancy underneath, making it virtually unsinkable.

William used 6mm Alaskan yellow cedar for the planking, cut and moulded into strips by him and his team at the Boatbuilding Academy. To strengthen the hull – and to turn the whole process into a useful teaching exercise – they added two layers of cold-moulded 2.5mm sapele planking, laid diagonally at 90 degrees to each other. Slightly less fibreglass was used to compensate for the extra weight of the sapele, though the boat still ended up overweight and slightly bigger all round. The stems were laminated from sapele, and William was persuaded to add an inner and an outer keel, also laminated from sapele.

The instructions specify three gallons of epoxy resin for the T2 and, as the team took turns planking up and laminating the hull, William soon discovered an inconvenient truth: “Using epoxy there’s two types of workmen: the one who’s paying and the one who’s not.”

Dierking’s design caters for all types of builders, and his instructions for the ama suggest it can be built from two pieces of Styrofoam, sheathed in fibreglass and epoxy, while the outrigger booms (or akas) can be made from two pieces of aluminium tubing. For William, the whole point of doing a boatbuilding course was to improve his boatbuilding skills so, rather than go down the cheap ‘n’ dirty route, he chose to build the ama from strip-plank cedar (also sheathed in fibreglass and epoxy), and made the akas from laminated spruce. The actual shape of the akas was the result of hours of R&D culminating in a further session of lofting – all part of the learning process.

For the rig, Dierking offers two options: the traditional Oceanic lateen rig (ie crab claw), or his own modern windsurfer type rig with a cut-off clew. William chose the traditional option, though made using modern methods, including the hollow spruce birds-mouth mast and yard and a solid laminated boom. Even the sail was made inhouse by BBA students as part of the course. 

I joined William on the River Dart while he was still trialing his remarkable new boat – named Tiny Giant after his wife Priya “who is tiny and hyperactive”. My first impression when I climbed on board was how stable she was, side to side, thanks to that 9ft overall beam. My second impression was how tippy she was fore and aft, when I creeped out to the ends to get my on-board shots, thanks to that 16in main hull beam. It is of course this narrow beam, combine with a relatively long waterline which makes the boat so fast, while the deep-V hull shape allows the boat to grip the water without need for any foils. 

“I’ve had her out in a Force 4-6. She’s not as fast as a planning dinghy, but faster than a normal 30ft cruising yacht,” says William. “She has quite a big wetted surface area so it takes a bit of wind to unstick her, but she comes alive with a Force 3 (7-10 knots) and will get up to 9 knots quite easily. The Force 6 brought serious problems because the tack started thrashing around wildly and bashing the hull. That’s why it’s important to have the halyard handy, so you can dump the sail in an emergency.” 

In many ways, trimming the boat is similar to a gaff-rigged yacht: you need to ease the sheets and don’t expect to sail too close to the wind. With the wind forward of the beam and the sail set to get the centre of effort in just the right place, she should sail herself in a straight line, though William and I didn’t quite achieve that on our trial run. The sail trim can also be adjusted by angling the mast to leeward to produce a better sail shape in light airs, or to windward in a strong blow like a windsurfer sail. Getting even more fancy, the windward brail line can be tightened to give the sail a fuller shape – similar to the ‘tunnel’ effect used on the lateen rig – though again William hasn’t reached that level of proa prowess just yet.

Steering with an oar takes quite a bit of getting used to. William made it look easy, but I struggled with it, especially off the wind. As Chris Grill, who sailed his extended T2 Desesperado from Mexico to Panama in 2011-12, wrote in his blog ( grillabongquixotic.wordpress.com ):

“My dream is to steer with one foot whilst playing the fiddle and drinking gin and tonics, and steering oars are incompatible with that ideal.” He eventually fitted rudders, hinged so the one at the ‘bow’ can be raised and the one at the ‘stern’ lowered during each shunt.

Strangely, one of the biggest challenges William has faced is getting on and off the boat’s mooring. The one thing you want to avoid with a proa is going aback, so heading into the wind to pick up a mooring simply isn’t an option. Instead, William usually drops the sail before he reaches it and paddles the rest of the way if necessary – something which is easier said than done when the current is running at 4 knots, as it often does on this part of the Dart. Good sculling skills are an essential part of sailing a proa.

It’s been a steep learning curve for William and his exotic craft, and his dream of creating a light but fast cruising dinghy for coastal hopping is still a work in progress. The next step is to take the boat out on Start Bay to test it in a seaway, and then the real adventures will begin.

“The challenge is to travel very light,” he says. “The idea is to walk out of my front door with a rucksack, walk down to the water, get on the boat, pop the rucksack in the well, and off we go. That’s the type of dinghy cruising I want to do. I might fashion a bivouac for the boat so that I can stay on board for a night or two. Small-scale adventures is what it’s about.”

And there’s nothing weird about that.

Show Me More:

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• ‘True’ Vs Technology: Adrian Morgan on Sailing Gadgets
• Dave Selby’s Confession: Secret Blackwater Sloop

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10 most interesting places in Tver Region (PHOTOS)

1. Catherine the Great's ‘Travel Palace’ in Tver 

The city was founded on the Volga River in 1135. It’s 12 years older than Moscow and even competed to become the capital of Ancient Russia. Today, it is a major regional center with a population of around 414,000 people.

Travelers from one capital to the other would often stop in Tver. Empress Catherine II even had a travel palace built in Tver so as to have somewhere to rest along the way. Now, it houses the Tver Regional Art Gallery. It includes artwork collections owned by Tver governors from country estates in the Tver Governorate that were nationalized after the Bolshevik Revolution. They contain works by Alexey Venetsianov, Konstantin Korovin, Arkady Plastov, Valentin Serov, Mikhail Vrubel and other famous artists.

2. Rzhev Memorial

The town of Rzhev is located 120 km from Tver. From October 1941 to March 1943, some of the bloodiest battles of World War II, including the ‘Battle of Rzhev’, took place there (you can read more about the battle here ). Soviet troops lost more than 1.3 million men, including wounded, missing in action and taken prisoner.

A memorial to the soldiers who fell in the battle was inaugurated in Rzhev in June 2020. At the center of the composition is a 25-meter bronze statue of a Soviet soldier whose trench coat "morphs" into a flock of cranes. The reference is to one of the most popular and poignant songs about the war titled: 'Zhuravli' ('Cranes'). It was composed by Yan Frenkel to lyrics by Rasul Gamzatov.

3. Lake Seliger

Lovers of outdoor recreational activities should visit the shores of Seliger at least once in their life! This huge (260 sq. km) lake of glacial origin is home to about 30 species of fish. Hence, fishermen go there at all times of year and fish from boats, from the shore and, in winter, through ice-holes.

The winding shoreline of the lake has a multitude of different hotels and campsites (as well as glamping sites), so anyone can stay there according to their preferences. And you can jump straight into the lake from the banya (bathhouse)!

One of Seliger's landmarks is the charming town of Ostashkov, the largest on its shores.. Its key attractions include a Soviet local history museum, which is housed in a former church.

You can also take a ride on a retro train along the Seliger - Ostashkov - Bologoye route.

Seliger train

4. Nilov Monastery (St. Nilus Stolobensky Monastery)

One of the main attractions in Tver Region is the Nilov Monastery, founded in the 16th century. This functioning monastery is also situated on the picturesque shores of Lake Seliger. In Soviet times, it housed a colony for young offenders, a prisoner-of-war camp, a hospital and a tourist hostel…

According to legend, a hermit monk named Nil, famous for his diligent prayer, settled on the island of Stolobny on the lake. It was said that no calamities or robbers could force him off the island. After he died, other monks began to go to where his cell had stood and, eventually, they founded a monastery there. Before the Bolshevik Revolution, it was one of the most revered monasteries: Thousands of pilgrims used to visit it to worship the relics of the Venerable Nil. As part of the project ‘Russia: 85 Adventures’, we filmed a video at the monastery – you can watch it here .

If, in Torzhok, you've time to eat, Pozharsky's is the place to know. Their cutlets, fried, are such a treat, Then after lunch you'll lightly go!

So wrote Alexander Pushkin, who frequently traveled from St. Petersburg to Moscow to see his friend Sergei Sobolevsky. Thanks to Russia's most outstanding poet, ‘Pozharsky cutlets’ – patties of ground chicken coated in white bread croutons – became the town's most famous speciality. And they remain its calling card to this day.

But, the town is famous for more than just gastronomy. The once major trading center has, today, evolved into a charming provincial town. Things to see include the picturesque scenery along the banks of the River Tvertsa, the Saints Boris and Gleb Monastery, which is virtually the oldest monastery of Ancient Russia (believed to have been founded in 1038), and the unique, wooden 17th-century Old Church of the Ascension.

6. The flooded bell tower of Kalyazin

One of the region's most famous sights is the flooded bell tower of Kalyazin. The 74-meter tower protrudes out of the water not far from the shores of a reservoir. Tourists who take pictures of it are sometimes oblivious of the fact that the ruins of a once-flourishing monastery lie hidden under the water.

Most of the Makaryev Monastery of the Holy Trinity was demolished in 1940, ending up in the flood zone of the Uglich hydroelectric power station on the Volga River and the Uglich Reservoir. What remains now as a reminder of the monastery are the bell tower, which was recently restored and re-whitewashed and also a set of frescoes miraculously rescued from the monastery. You can read more about them here .

7. The source of the Volga

It's hard to believe that this spring and stream in the Valdai Heights are the place where one of the world's biggest rivers (and the biggest in Europe) rises. Next to the spring stand a chapel and a footbridge with a plaque – an ideal spot for a souvenir selfie!

In Ancient Rus’, the River Volga was always held in special esteem – it was described as “Mother Volga”, a multitude of towns were built along it and it provided food for a large number of Russian regions and continues to do so to this day. This is why pilgrimages have been made to its source for several centuries now. Back in the 17th century, a monastery stood there, but it burnt down and was never restored. A new one was, however, built in 1912 – the Olginsky Convent.

8. Shirkov Pogost

This spot on the shores of Lake Vselug (today part of the Volga River) is dubbed the "Kizhi of the Tver Region". Like the famous Kizhi on Lake Onega , Shirkov Pogost is of interest because of its multi-tiered wooden church – in this case, the church of John the Baptist, a masterpiece of Russian wooden architecture, which was built in 1697.

According to one legend, the Pogost was named in honor of the Shirkov brothers, merchants who had the church built. They were taking two icons of John the Baptist from Novgorod to Moscow. On this spot, they laid down the sacred images and decided to rest, but they could not pick them up again – and, so, decided to build a church there without using a single nail!

9. Vyshny Volochyok

The town got its name from the word ‘volok’ (‘portage’) – in other words, various watercraft were carried across a section of dry land between two bodies of water there. True enough, Vyshny Volochyok was on the watershed of the basins of the Baltic (Tsna River) and the Caspian (Tvertsa River, a tributary of the Volga). Under Peter I, the first artificial canal in Russia was built between the two rivers.

Vyshny Volochyok was always an important staging post on the route from Moscow (and Central Russia) to St. Petersburg. Because of its convenient location, there were many factories and production plants there, from garment factories to glass and woodwork facilities. Volochyok is also famous for the manufacture of ‘valenki’ (‘felt boots’) and it even has a museum devoted to this footwear and to the art of wool hand felting.

A host of old factory buildings, as well as houses that once belonged to affluent merchants in a great variety of styles, have survived in the town. A roadside imperial palace was also built there, which, today, houses a school.

10. Konakovo

Until 1929, the village was called Kuznetsovo, after which it was renamed in honor of Porfiry Konakov, a participant in the 1905 Russian Revolution. The area is famous for its china. The Konakovo Pottery Factory was founded as early as 1809 and is one of the oldest in Russia. It is no longer in operation, but local craftspeople are using the legacy of its artistic workshop to revive production today. Items can be bought as a souvenir in Tver Region.

But, today's tourists know the location more as a fashionable riviera. Konakovo and nearby Zavidovo are popular places for recreational activities and water sports. People go sailing, wakesurfing and wakeboarding and there are a multitude of hotels and glamping sites for holiday stays. And the close proximity to the M11 motorway makes the location even more attractive (particularly to Muscovites, who can get there in just over an hour!). 

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Crash of an Antonov AN-22A in Tver: 33 killed