Yachting news, Saturday, 7 November 2026

Admiral hands over the 54 m Silvia

The second yacht in Admiral's Panorama range, part of The Italian Sea Group, has been delivered to the owner who bought her in 2023. She went into the water at Marina di Carrara in July. Silvia is 53.5 m long with an 8.8 m beam and comes in at 499 GT, just under the 500 GT line. Hull and superstructure are aluminium, with the hull finished in a distinctive blue. Piredda & Partners drew the exterior and Radyca the interiors, and FGI Yacht Group oversaw the build on the buyer's behalf.

Two MAN engines are paired with a hybrid system to cut noise and vibration, and a zero-emission hotel mode lets her sit at anchor for hours running the ship's systems without the generators. She takes 12 guests in six cabins, including a full-beam owner's suite with its own terrace.

Jack Setton dies

The French businessman, designer and yacht owner Jack Setton died on 4 November. Over more than half a century he owned over 60 boats and became known for tough, practical yachts that anticipated today's explorer market, among them the 32 m Pink Shrimp, a converted shrimp boat fitted with water jets, the 77.7 m Sea Ranger, once a deep-sea tug, and the 57 m Senses, which he compared to a Hummer at sea. One of his early designs, the Setton Bullit 298, was the only boat to meet a US Navy requirement for a fast craft that could be dropped by parachute from a Hercules. He received the Legacy Award at the 2025 World Superyacht Awards.

Mengi Yay's flagship Gray Wolf opens her doors

At 52.6 m, the first Virtus XP is the largest yacht the Turkish yard has built. She was delivered in April and shown at Monaco in September. Van Oossanen did the naval architecture and Paolo Dose's VYD Studio the interiors. Her steel and aluminium hull is built for long-range cruising: twin Caterpillar C32s give 15 knots flat out and 12 knots cruising, and she carries more than 65,000 litres of fuel. There are five cabins for ten guests, including a main-deck owner's suite with a private terrace, and the beach club, which also houses the tender, opens out with folding side platforms and has a glass-sided pool. The second Virtus XP, Amphib II, was launched in July.

First Sunreef 100 Eco, Ipharra II, sails on electricity

The first 29.3 m Sunreef 100 Eco was launched in Gdańsk in June and handed over two months later to a returning Sunreef client. She is fully electric, with two 360 kW motors and a 770 kWh battery bank, and solar panels built into the hull, superstructure and bimini produce up to 49 kWp. Under her carbon rig she can reach 15 to 20 knots in the right wind and cruises at 8 to 10. Inside the 12.8 m beam are a full-width owner's suite forward and five more cabins for up to 12 guests, plus a spa, gym and office. The aft Ocean Lounge hides a garage for two jet skis. Sunreef has 23 yachts on order or in development.

Gulf Craft delivers a Nomad 101 at the Qatar show

Gulf Craft has handed over a 30.8 m Nomad 101 to her owner at the Qatar International Boat Show in Doha. The tri-deck yacht was launched at the yard in Umm Al Quwain this autumn. Phathom Design did both exterior and interior, using flax, hemp and bamboo, bio-based vegan leather, reclaimed wood floors and carpets made from recycled fishing nets. The yard has seven more yachts on order or in build.

New long-term backers for RS Sailing

The British dinghy builder has taken investment from the Swedish marine investor Fredriksborgs Förvaltnings AB and from the owners of Rototek, the Nottinghamshire rotomoulder that has made RS hulls for more than 25 years. No sum was disclosed. RS says its team, boats and UK production stay as they are, dealers, warranties and parts support carry on as normal, and it will keep investing in new boats and class events. There are more than 40,000 RS boats in use across 15 racing classes.

Route du Rhum: a bad Friday for the Italians, Horeau pulls clear

Francesca Clapcich lost the bowsprit of 11th Hour Racing after a difficult night and has dropped out of the IMOCA top three, the day after Ambrogio Beccaria retired with a back injury. Corentin Horeau (MACSF) now leads the class by more than 250 miles after taking the weather front head-on north of the Azores, and a fresh low north of Guadeloupe may force the leaders to choose between sailing round it or through it. Among the daggerboard IMOCAs, Nicolas d'Estais (Café Joyeux) is about 50 miles ahead of Sébastien Marsset (Foussier).

Class40 is still a dogfight. Achille Nebout and Guillaume Pirouelle (Sogestran Seafrigo) have been swapping the lead and were about a mile apart yesterday. Basile Bourgnon (Edenred) still leads the Ocean Fifties, with Pierre Quiroga (Wewise) 89 miles behind at midday. Damien Seguin (Arkea – Handicap International) leads his multihull class with 1,761 miles to go. Ireland's Pam Lee (Empowher) is stopping in the Azores to repair a padeye and her charging system.

Moth Worlds: Balanger and Didham level after day one in Perth

The International Moth World Championship began yesterday at Mounts Bay Sailing Club on the Swan River and runs until 12 November. The Fremantle Doctor arrived late, giving the foilers a good breeze for three races in the late afternoon. The defending champion, France's Enzo Balanger, won two of them and is tied on points with Richard Didham of the USA, who won the first. Hattie Rogers is the leading woman. In the lowrider fleet, Britain's Paul Hignet won both races.

44Cup title to be settled in Cartagena next week

The RC44 fleet makes its first visit to Cartagena for the season final, with racing from 12 to 15 November and a practice day on the 11th. Aleph Racing, steered by Pietro Loro Piana and fresh from winning the RC44 Worlds in Cowes, leads the series by a single point from Markus Törnqvist's GeMera Race. The course will be set close to the shore. Organisers note that the usual northerly breeze is 8 to 12 knots, but strong south-westerly gales can blow up suddenly at this time of year.

ORC changes its speed model for 2027 and names championship venues

The Offshore Racing Congress issued 15,630 certificates this year, up 10% on 2025, for 9,677 boats. For 2027 it will revise the hydrodynamic model in its VPP to treat planing hulls and scow bows more fairly, and it is developing a new offshore scoring method to replace or back up weather-routed scoring when forecasts are extreme or unreliable. Countries will also be able to make wider use of the ORC Light certificate. The 2027 European Championship will be in Málaga from 5 to 12 June and the World Championship at Skovshoved, Denmark, from 6 to 14 August. The new rules and certificates are due in early January.

Bruna puts the Azores on yellow alert; Algarve swell builds on Monday

IPMA has issued yellow warnings for rain, wind and rough seas for all nine Azores islands, running from yesterday until Monday, as depression Bruna sets in. Gusts of up to 90 km/h are forecast across the archipelago from early Sunday. The Maritime Authority and the Navy warn of significant wave heights of up to 6 m, with maximum waves of 10 m, and gusts of up to 152 km/h between last night and early Tuesday. They advise skippers to double up moorings and keep a close eye on boats at anchor or alongside. That matters for the Route du Rhum boats now making for the islands, and for Elvest, which is due to be towed to São Miguel.

On the mainland the forecast for our coast has not changed since Thursday: IPMA expects 1 to 1.5 m on the Algarve's south coast on Sunday, building to 2 to 3 m from Monday, with persistent and sometimes heavy rain. We have still seen no warning issued for Faro district, so check IPMA before you go out, and get lines and fenders sorted this weekend.

The Algarve's 17th-century sea forts, at the Portimão Museum this afternoon

If the weather keeps you ashore, the Portimão Museum has a free talk at 17:00 today on the Algarve's maritime fortresses of the 17th century. The town's Feira de S. Martinho is also on. Drivers should note that traffic is restricted on the Marginal de Alvor, at the riverside access, until 30 November.

New edition of the TYHA marina Code of Practice

The Yacht Harbour Association and the UK consultancy Marina Projects have published the eighth edition of their Code of Practice, launched at the ICOMIA World Marina Conference in Venice. The first two volumes cover marina planning, design and operations, the third covers boatyards and the fourth superyacht marinas. Dubai Harbour Marinas singled out the new guidance on emergency preparedness, environmental responsibility, staff competence and smart-marina technology, and Premier Marinas says it has already begun applying it. The code has guided marina planning since 1977.

Lorient La Base expansion goes out to consultation

The public port operator Compagnie des Ports du Morbihan wants to spend €12.8 million on 3.22 hectares of extra water space at Lorient La Base, the Breton home of many offshore racing teams. That is almost 40% more than the existing berthing area. The plan includes 530 m of floating wave-attenuating pontoons and a 29 m access walkway, with room for racing yachts, working boats and heritage vessels. A public consultation runs from 16 November to 16 February, and if the plan is approved, building would run from November 2027 to July 2029.