WHATÕS NEW
LOA 16.95m 55ft 7in • BEAM 8.20m 26ft 11in • DISPLACEMENT 18,600kg 41,006lb • DRAUGHT 1.50m 4ft 11in • PRICE ex VAT: €1,159,000 • www.garciayachts.com
I wager that in 2020 we’ll see an increased thirst for cruising multihulls with a performance edge. The first cruising yacht to reach Saint Lucia in the ARC in December was a TS5, a sporty yet cruising-orientated catamaran. Its crew regularly enjoyed fresh bread while beating a Volvo 65 in the racing fleet. Meanwhile the latest Neel trimaran, the Lombard-designed 47, won the ARC+.
On page 90 we follow some long term monohull sailors who chose to buy and equip a Nautitech 46 for their dream Atlantic voyage, and learn why they would now always choose a cat for cruising. As for what’s new, Groupe Beneteau wanted a speedier option than its Lagoon model for its new Excess cats and we sail the first Excess 15. And for the dreamers, take a look at the formidable Kinetic 62 from South Africa.
Finding a balance between speed and comfort makes these choices rather tempting doesn’t it?
Garcia continues its exploration focus, following in the footsteps of its successful collaboration with Jimmy Cornell on the 45ft monohull that he took into the North West Passage.
In designing the boat so there’s ‘nowhere you can’t go’, Garcia has opted for 52ft hulls and a large superstructure. The helm, raised on the starboard side, is a little removed from the cockpit below because of a deep hard-top that runs almost to the transom. However, this also provides considerable protection.
There’s a complete interior navigation station, as well as a forward cockpit accessible directly from the saloon via a watertight door. Garcia stresses that the boat is easily manageable twoup, but you can choose from three or four cabins, plus a crew cabin right in the bow.
The first hull launches in April, and three boats have already been ordered.
Occasionally an owner with a new yacht in build has such faith in the builder and enthusiasm for the project that they wind up buying the company. This is how New Zealand-born movie producer Bob Hayward got involved in what has become Kinetic Catamarans, a new company producing two semi-custom performance cruisers, the Kinetic 62 and Kinetic 54.
Over the last two years, quietly and behind closed doors, Hayward has been working with South African builder Leon Scheepers on the first Kinetic 62, which had its official debut at the Annapolis Sailboat Show in October.
The Kinetic 62 is by Simonis Voogd Naval Architects, and has a modern, purposeful appearance and an inside-outside living space that Hayward terms “prime beachfront real estate”. It has a modern, angular hull shape with dreadnought bows and sweeping reverse sheer. The topsides height is relieved on each side by three long hull portlights and the crisp line of a sprayrail running aft from the bows.
The central concept is a performance cruiser, a yacht designed as a fast world girdler capable of 250-300-mile days. As was first pioneered on Gunboats, there is a central steering position at the forward end of the saloon.
Sail handling is carried out from the forward cockpit. The traveller is on a line driver and the mainsheet operated on a hydraulic winch, while a self-tacking Solent headsail set on a furler is controlled on a rewind winch. Centreboards are also raised and lowered with line drivers.
These forward cockpit controls mean the whole aft area of the boat is for leisure and pleasure. Here you’ll find an outdoor table and seating, a wet bar and electric barbecue and drinks fridge.
Large lockers beneath each of the aft steps can stow snorkelling or dive gear, fishing rods and bait wells, and there is space for a liferaft.
The 62 has can be specified with three or four cabins. This first boat had what seems like an ideal private owner’s layout with two large double cabins in the starboard hull, and to port an owner’s double cabin with huge en suite heads and wet room, and a spacious office aft with a proper ‘working from home’ desk and chair.
The saloon is bright, with excellent all-round visibility, and it boasts a big lounge seating area and even more spacious galley.
The Kinetic 62 is fully specced with carbon rig, 3Di sails and Sailmon electronics.
The company has also started to build the first Kinetic 54, which is set to be launched later this year. The first of these smaller cats will be offered at a discount and sea trialled to Madagascar and Mauritius with the new owner.
“We will learn and sail back and make any necessary modifications,” says Hayward.
This blacked-out big cat was a showstopper at the Cannes Yachting Festival in the autumn. Named simply E it was commissioned by an owner who dreams of sailing in silence and showing that eco-conscious yachting is possible on a luxury charter vessel.
Clearly, a 60ft glassfibre, carbon and resin catamaran is by no means a green product. However, it does present an interesting and responsible push towards using sustainable solutions in an environment typically associated with extravagance.
E uses twin 55kw forward-facing props to generate hydroelectric power. A carbon curved structure covers the entire flybridge to support
a bimini topped with solar panels, which give a further 4.5kw of power. These are designed to regenerate a 135kwh battery bank, which provides the boat with six hours silent running, although a diesel genset is included for regulatory reserve power.
The materials used on board are ethical wherever possible, including reclaimed teak, recycled sails and even recycled paper for the kitchen surfaces (coated with a pigmented resin). Elsewhere, products from suncream to caviar are sustainably sourced, and the toys include E-foil boards, electric underwater drones and Gocycle electric bikes.
The owner, who has stepped up from a Lagoon 45, comes from the same area as the Polish shipyard and his project has encouraged Sunreef, which is already swamped by demand for large sail and power cats, to develop a full series of eco-electric models. E has an owner’s cabin, four double guest cabins and crew quarters for two and will be used both privately and for charter.