Yachting news, Thursday, 5 November 2026

Gianetti delivers the 38 m Oneiro I

Viareggio's Gianetti Custom Yachts, founded in 1978 and now run by Fabrizio Gianetti, son of the founder, is back in the larger-yacht market with the handover of the aluminium-hulled Oneiro I to a foreign family. The contract dates from 2015–16; the project then stalled for years before the owners and the yard picked it up again.

She carries 29,000 litres of fuel for a range of 2,400 miles at 10 knots, and there is a 6,000-litre, 5 m pool on the sun deck, plus a lift. The crew have seven berths in four cabins, including a captain's cabin beside the wheelhouse. A sister ship, Project 402, already has a finished hull and is expected within two years.

Grand Soleil 60: a bluewater cruiser that still moves in light airs

Matteo Polli drew the hull and Nauta the styling, inside and out. She is 19.68 m long with a 5.80 m beam and displaces 27 tonnes. The aim is 6 to 7 knots in under 10 knots of wind and about 10 knots once the breeze fills in. The standard rig is aluminium, with carbon as an option, and the sail plan can take a self-tacker, a 102 sq m jib or an overlapping genoa, with two electric furlers on the bowsprit. Below there are three cabins, the owner's forward, plus a storeroom that converts into a fourth.

Motor yacht Hemdemim sinks off Bodrum

The roughly 26 m flybridge yacht, built in the 2000s, went down near Bodrum Castle this week. According to Turkish reports quoted by BOAT International and SUPER YACHT 24, an engine failed as she was heading to anchor and gusty winds pushed her against the breakwater, holing the port side of the hull. She filled quickly while being towed to open water and now lies with little more than her upper deck showing. The coastguard took off both crew, who were unhurt, and salvage efforts have begun. The official cause has not been confirmed.

A 36 m hull goes over the top in Piombino

With roadworks blocking the normal route to the water, a 60-tonne, 36 m composite hull from Velmare, a Piombino supplier of large yacht components, was lifted about 25 m and swung across a road overpass. Piccini Trasporti Industriali planned the operation, which took about 45 minutes, and the hull has now continued on its way to the sea.

Route du Rhum: Horeau and Bourgnon stretch away, Class40 neck and neck

Corentin Horeau added to his IMOCA lead overnight on MACSF, and at 07:00 this morning he was 135 miles ahead of Boris Herrmann on Malizia, with Francesca Clapcich third on 11th Hour Racing, 166 miles back. Basile Bourgnon has also pulled further ahead in the Ocean Fifties on Edenred. Léonard Legrand on Sodebo, sailing his first Route du Rhum, and Pierre Quiroga on Wewise are fighting over second, about 94 and 103 miles behind respectively.

Class40 is far tighter. Guillaume Pirouelle on Sogestran Seafrigo led at dawn, less than a mile ahead of Robin Follin on Solano, with Pierre Leboucher on Institut Imagine under four miles back.

Golden Globe: three storms in ten days, and deBoer is ruled out

Three separate systems have hit different parts of the fleet in the South Atlantic, with winds over 60 knots and gusts forecast at 70 or more. Damien Guillou on the Rustler 36 Solarem became the first to pass the longitude of the Cape of Good Hope on Tuesday. The American Guy deBoer (Spirit) was hurt, including a head injury, when he fell below decks. On medical advice, race management declared him unfit to continue yesterday. He is still on board while a safe port is chosen.

Daniel Pinsky (Exodus) rode out more than 60 knots under bare poles and had to go up the mast to retrieve a storm-jib halyard, but reports the boat working again. Henry Wootton's Privateer took breaking seas over the stern, one of which went down the companionway. Twelve of the 16 starters remain in the main race, with about 20,000 miles still to go.

First X-15 Wingfoil Worlds under way in Ibiza

The racing began yesterday off Ibiza Town in a morning breeze of about 10 knots that later faded, so clean starts counted for a lot. Organisers put the entry at 107 riders from 24 nations. Germany's Jette Koep won both senior women's races, and Poland's Kamil Manowiecki leads the senior men from Henry Myers of Australia and Romain Ghio of France. The first world titles will be decided on Sunday.

RS21 Worlds: Mela takes the title in Cannes

Andrea Rossi's Mela won the 40-boat RS21 World Championship at Yacht Club de Cannes, which finished on 31 October, four points ahead of Edoardo Lupi's Torpyone. Marco Pocci's Hong Kong entry Les Freaks was third. George Chryssikos's Grivalia, Greece's first entry, won the Corinthian division, and Magique et Terrible kept the women's title.

Sydney Hobart: Beck back on InfoTrack

Christian Beck will again skipper his 100-foot supermaxi InfoTrack, the former LawConnect and a two-time line-honours winner, in this year's 628-mile race, which starts on 26 December. She will race for the Starlight Children's Foundation with a crew of 21 and a record number of live-streaming cameras. Her rivals for line honours include three more 100-footers: Tribeca LOYAL, Wild Thing 100 and Palm Beach XI.

Wind, rain and a bigger sea from Friday

The Atlantic low we have been following is now firmly in the forecast. 24 Notícias, reporting yesterday, expects rain to return to the mainland and Madeira from Friday 6 November as cold fronts cross the country, at times heavy, with strong winds especially on the coast and on high ground. It warns that the sea will become rougher, mostly over the weekend.

Lusometeo's analysis, published on Monday, names Monday 9 November as the most unsettled day for the mainland so far, and says the south could at times see more rain than the north. It also suggests the system might be named Bruna. Neither source gives wind speeds or wave heights for the Algarve, and we have not seen an IPMA warning for the region yet, so check IPMA before you go to sea and look over your mooring lines and fenders before the weekend.

Algarve dinghy championship comes to Praia da Rocha

Portimão's November sports calendar, published yesterday, puts a round of the Campeonato do Algarve de Vela Ligeira, the regional dinghy championship, at Praia da Rocha on 14 and 15 November, right on the marina's doorstep. The listing does not name an organiser or give class details, so check with the local clubs nearer the time. MotoGP at the Autódromo Internacional do Algarve is also on the town's calendar this month, so expect a busy few days ashore.

Imperia seeks an operator to finish and run its marina

Marina di Imperia has published a tender in the EU Official Journal for an operator to complete construction of the Ligurian port and run its commercial side until 31 August 2090. The works are estimated at €148.54 million before tax and must be finished within six years of signing. Bids must beat a starting annual fee of €4.81 million and are due by 12 February 2027. Bidders must request a compulsory site visit by 20 January. Community boating facilities and two quays stay under separate management.

Havelock Marina rebuild starts on Monday

Port Marlborough will begin redeveloping Havelock Marina, at the head of New Zealand's Marlborough Sounds, on 9 November, with the work due to finish by December 2027. Silt has restricted access, so the basin and the channel past Cullen Point will be dredged. The timber jetties on piers D, E and F will be replaced with floating concrete pontoons, a new 20 m jetty will be added, and water, power and communications will be upgraded. The project has backing from the government's Regional Infrastructure Fund.