As we slipped our lines from the dock in Porto Cervo I was trying to conceal my disappointment. After being present at the original launch of the design for the…
Boat tests
Oyster 495 review: an impressive smaller Oyster
Good things come to those who wait. After tirelessly chasing the breeze for over 100 miles, we found our just rewards. It was a hazy, moody morning as I rose…
Pilot Classic 47 review – timeless elegance
Pride of ownership is a tricky quality to quantify. To many yacht owners looks will play second fiddle to pragmatics – practicality, space and affordability all rank higher (hence the…
Nautitech 44 Open review: space and performance?
It’s been more than six years since the Nautitech yard in Rochefort launched an entirely new design, but this Nautitech 44 Open marks the company’s return to the forefront of…
Ovni 370 review – go-anywhere shoal draught cruising
With its distinctive range of bare aluminium lift-keel cruisers, Alubat’s Ovni brand has been synonymous with bluewater cruising since the 1970s. After a barren period it came out with a…
Solaris 40 review: appealing mix of style and performance
Helming your own yacht – or watching friends and family do so – ought to be one of the biggest pleasures of owning a boat. Along with promoting a clean,…
Beneteau First 27 review: sportsboat given the Beneteau treatment
The original version of the Sam Manuard-designed Seascape 27 (now branded as the Beneteau First 27 SE) has long been one of my favourite small yachts. In 2014 I sailed…
Jeanneau Yachts 60 review: different yachts in one
It’s not long since 60ft yachts were the preserve of custom or semi-custom yards that could go to great lengths to provide a small number of discerning clients with the…
J/45 tested: Fast cruiser with timeless appeal
We’re close-hauled, sailing the new J/45 at 7.5 knots and catching up with a modern 55-footer, but slowly falling into her lee. Winding on a little mainsheet tightens the leech,…
Boat test: X-56 The Xtra mile
Large cruising yachts are enormously appealing, but it’s imperative that they’re easy to tame in deteriorating weather. Yet if this is achieved through making the boat underpowered it will be…
Swan 58 tested: best of both worlds?
No other yard has been as consistently successful in producing iconic models as Nautor – historically Swans are invariably the very best yachts of their era and subsequently become design…
Hallberg-Rassy 50 tested: ultimate refinement
The Hallberg-Rassy 50, the latest from the renowned Swedish marque is a near masterpiece. German Frers has once again sprinkled his fairy dust over the design, conjuring up a modern…
JPK 39FC review: new sporty 40 cruiser
I have long held that bluewater cruising yachts, especially those under 40ft, have much to gain from the way today’s smaller short-handed offshore raceboats are designed and set up and…
Video: Ice 70 review – a luxury, fast Med cruiser
Some yachts will always produce that instant spark of attraction. With others, the appeal may be slower burning, where facets or practicalities will help make the appeal more than skin…
Oyster 595 test: best selling Oyster ever
Your world becomes a very small place when the ease and convenience of travel is lost, a notion that has really hit home in the last couple of year, However,…
Jeanneau SO410 review: lift keel opens up options
If you sail in tidal harbours or shallow waters, your choice of midsize new production yachts is more limited than you may realise. While most manufacturers offer a shallow draught…
Lagoon 55 review: new iteration remains quintessential cat
The number 55 holds a special place in the history of Lagoon – it was its inaugural model, launched back in 1987. The 2021 version of the Lagoon 55, still…
Neel 43 on test: Is three the magic number?
Until recently it would have been easy to assume the pioneering cruising trimarans of the 1960s and 1970s showed that cruising on three hulls has too many drawbacks to be…
On test: Oceanis Yacht 54
There’s something surprising and quite brilliant about the new Beneteau Oceanis Yacht 54, which I bet you won’t notice at first. I certainly didn’t. It’s not the powerful looks or…
Jeanneau Sun Fast 35 review: from the archive
Can the Jeanneau Sun Fast 35 live up to the impressive legacy left by her predecessors? She certainly has big boots to fill. Creating a design that becomes an icon…