Yachting news, Friday, 6 November 2026

Antonini Navi launches the Evo 31 Hanaa

The full-custom, 31.2 m yacht went into the water at a private ceremony at the yard in La Spezia, almost three years after her keel was laid in January 2024. Delivery is planned for spring 2027. Her steel and aluminium hull was drawn by Hydro Tec, which also handled the exterior and layout, while Milan's Hot Lab did the interiors. The owner, who is not named, wanted an explorer-style boat with long range and good sea-keeping.

There are four decks. The bow has a terrace built into the hull that can be used for dining or as an office, and the owner's suite on the upper deck opens onto a private aft terrace with a bar and jacuzzi. The sun deck covers more than 78 sq m. Below there are four guest cabins, three crew cabins and a side garage for a tender of up to 5 m.

Leapher's first explorer, Horizon II, heads for the Isle of Wight

The new Dutch yard Leapher Yachts has sent its first superyacht out of Tolkamer on her way to the UK. The 61 m Horizon II, formerly Project Lazarus and the first NAVIX60, has a polar-class steel hull for high latitudes. Van Oossanen and O7 Designers did the naval architecture and Cor D. Rover the styling inside and out. She is 1,760 GT, takes 14 guests in six cabins and has a beach club, pool, sauna and diving room. At 10 knots she has a range of 9,000 miles and 40 days' autonomy. She was launched in March and ran sea trials in June.

McConaghy rolls out its first GT86 power catamaran

The Australian builder's 25.5 m GT86, with a 9.2 m beam, has left the shed at its Zhuhai yard in China after nearly two years' work. Twin Volvo IPS 1350s give a top speed of about 28 knots, and with 15,000 litres of fuel she can cover more than 3,000 miles. She is also the first McConaghy boat with the yard's new tablet-style integrated vessel control. Sea trials and commissioning come next, before handover to her owner.

A ten-year deal for a Red Sea Yacht Show in Jeddah

Sela and the event organiser Tahaluf have agreed to stage a Red Sea Yacht Show at Jeddah Yacht Club for ten years. The first edition is set for 14 to 17 October 2027, and the organisers are aiming for more than 50 superyachts, 150 exhibitors and over 10,000 visitors.

Route du Rhum: Beccaria out with a back injury, Class40 still in a knot

Ambrogio Beccaria retired Allagrande Mapei from the IMOCA race last night. He was lying fifth when he fell heavily in the cockpit and hurt his back badly, and after talking to the race doctors he decided to stop. He is making for the Azores to be checked over, and his team is getting ready to meet him there and bring the boat home.

Corentin Horeau (MACSF) still leads the IMOCAs, with 1,445 miles to go this morning, and Basile Bourgnon (Edenred) leads the Ocean Fifties with 1,347 miles left. In Class40, Guillaume Pirouelle (Sogestran Seafrigo) is in front with about 2,076 miles to sail, but Achille Nebout on Amarris has moved up to second and the leading group is still separated by the smallest of margins.

SailGP: Moth youth champion Jake Pye joins the Black Foils

New Zealand's SailGP team has signed 21-year-old Jake Pye, who is already training on the F50 at the league's new permanent base in Pensacola. Pye took Moth Worlds silver in 2024 and bronze plus the youth title in 2025, joined Emirates Team New Zealand last October, and skippered its Women & Youth AC40 crew to the category win at the America's Cup preliminary regatta in Naples. The Black Foils race next in Dubai on 21–22 November, before the season final in Abu Dhabi a week later.

Yacht Racing Forum returns to Amsterdam alongside Metstrade

The 16th Yacht Racing Forum takes place at the RAI on 19 and 20 November, with about 250 people expected. On the agenda are the state of the sport, bringing in younger sailors, artificial intelligence, sponsorship and race formats, plus sessions on the America's Cup and The Ocean Race. Double Olympic champion Shirley Robertson will moderate.

IRC updates its race management guidelines

The IRC Rating Authority has published a revised edition of its guidance for organising authorities and race committees, in time for clubs drafting their 2027 notices of race. It sets out which IRC rules organisers may change, expands the advice on sail limits and replacement sails, recommends stating crew-number limits, and covers short-handed classes, including automatic and wind-vane steering. It also has new advice on proportionate equipment checks and on scoring.

Under-25 RS Aero team racing gets under way in Cagliari

The U25 RS Aero European Team Racing Championship runs today to Sunday off Su Siccu, the second half of this year's Sardinia team racing week. Each team has one man and one woman under 25, racing two against two. Monaco are defending the title, and the entry includes two Italian teams, two from Lithuania and crews from Argentina, Brazil, Poland and Ukraine, among others.

Bruna to bring 2–3 m seas to the Algarve coast from Monday

IPMA has now put numbers on the low we have been following. Depression Bruna, north of the Azores, is expected to bring rain, wind and rough seas to the mainland from Sunday 8 November until at least the 13th. On the Algarve's south coast, IPMA expects south-easterly waves of 1 to 1.5 m on Sunday, turning south-westerly and building to 2 to 3 m on Monday. The west coast faces 4 to 5 m on Monday.

Southerly winds will strengthen from Sunday, with gusts of up to 70 km/h on the west coast and on high ground, and the rain will be persistent and sometimes heavy, with possible thunderstorms. The yellow rain warnings issued so far, from 15:00 today until midnight, cover eight districts from Viana do Castelo to Setúbal, not Faro, but IPMA says more warnings may follow. Now is the time to double up mooring lines and check fenders.

Portuguese Navy coordinates Perraut's rescue north of the Azores

Matthieu Perraut, whose Ocean Fifty Elvest capsized in the Route du Rhum on the night of 3 November, was taken off at 06:15 yesterday about 464 miles north of São Miguel. The rescue was coordinated by the Portuguese Navy's rescue centre at Ponta Delgada. Two merchant ships had been sent to stand by him on Wednesday, and he stayed on the upturned hull, safe, until help arrived. Elvest has since been righted so that she can be towed to São Miguel.

Marbella seeks 50 years for its town-centre marina

Marbella's council, working with the Andalusian regional government, wants to double the planned concession for Puerto Deportivo Virgen del Carmen from 25 to 50 years, to support a modernisation programme worth more than €16 million. Mayor Ángeles Muñoz announced the plan after meeting the regional minister for development and the marina's director. Rents, charges and day-to-day running stay as they are while the extension is processed. The marina has more than 300 berths, fuel, a four-tonne crane and winter storage.

Gallipoli plans a €70 million, 400-berth marina

The Apulian town wants a sheltered marina of more than 400 berths on the Scirocco side of the Giudecca, able to take larger yachts and help protect the shore from storm surges and erosion. The €70 million sought from Italy's infrastructure ministry, which includes a new harbour master's office, depends on the port joining the Taranto-based Ionian Sea port authority, under an agreement the city council was due to ratify yesterday. No construction dates have been given.

Hong Kong's airport plans a 500-berth superyacht marina

The Hong Kong Airport Authority has drawn up plans and invited expressions of interest for Skytopia, a waterfront development whose first phase is a 500-berth marina able to take yachts of more than 100 m. Hong Kong is badly short of moorings: its last marina, Gold Coast, opened in 1993, and the typhoon shelters are full. Other proposals include marinas at Hung Hom and Lamma Quarry and a large extension to the Aberdeen South typhoon shelter.