World’s coolest yachts

WE ASK TOP SAILORS AND MARINE INDUSTRY GURUS TO CHOOSE THE COOLEST AND MOST INNOVATIVE YACHTS OF OUR TIMES

NICK MOLONEY NOMINATES THE OPEN 50

“I’d been intrigued by short-handed sailing since the early days of the BOC Challenge and was blown away by the wide beam Finot-conq designs that began to push the parameters of form stability.

“I was in Newport the day the Finot-conq Open 50 Cray Valley first went in the water in 1997 and remember saying to myself ‘I’d give anything to sail that beautiful boat’.

“Roll forward to 2002, and Offshore Challenges entered two boats in the Route du Rhum. Ellen Macarthur would race her beloved Kingfisher

Open 60 and Mark Turner sourced an Open 50 for my campaign. I could not believe it when Mark revealed to me what my boat would be.

“Both Ellen and I won our divisions in a stormtorn event that also saw me set a new course record on the Open 50, then called Ashfield Healthcare. Sailing solo on this boat, at speeds in excess of 20 knots, are memories I will never forget. I believe that some boats have huge hearts. This is one of the biggest hearted boats I have ever sailed on.”

‘This is one of the biggest hearted boats I’ve ever sailed’