Yachting news, Friday, 13 November 2026

Rossinavi launches the 47.5m explorer Seazens

Rossinavi has launched Seazens, the 47.5m steel and aluminium explorer built in Viareggio as Project Berserk 47. She is under 500GT, with a 9.2m beam and a 2.7m draught, and twin Caterpillar engines give a top speed of 15 knots and a range of 4,000 miles at 10 knots. The main-deck cockpit carries two tenders, of 11.2m and 6.4m, handled by a hidden 5.5-tonne crane, and there is room on the foredeck for two jet skis and a rescue boat. Inside, The Touch Studio of Amsterdam has used a Japanese-inspired palette of cream, beige and gold. She takes 11 guests in five cabins, with a full-beam owner's suite on the main deck, and nine crew. She was sold in 2023 and was listed for sale in July at €39.5 million.

First Benetti Oasis 36M sold

Benetti has sold the first hull of its Oasis 36M, two months after unveiling the model at the Cannes Yachting Festival. Jonathan Hind of Burgess acted for the buyer, and Burgess will also manage the build, with delivery due in May 2028. The 35.6m successor to the Oasis 34M has an exterior by RWD and interiors by Bonetti/Kozerski. She is 296GT, with a 7.8m beam, a 2.1m draught and a 13m sundeck, and takes ten guests in five cabins and seven crew. BOATPro counts 38 Benettis on order or in build.

Heysea wins a 55m full-custom order

The Chinese yard Heysea Yachts has an order from a European owner for a 54.7m full-custom yacht designed by Vripak, and work has already started. She will have a steel hull and aluminium superstructure, 499GT, room for 12 guests, and twin 800hp engines for a top speed of 12.5 knots and a range of 3,500 miles at 8 knots. Delivery is planned for 2029.

Star Worlds: Negri and Lambertenghi go top

Another day, another leader in Miami. In race four, sailed in a hazy, patchy southerly of 6 to 7 knots, Diego Negri and Sergio Lambertenghi (ITA) finished 15th but still moved to the top on 35 points. Will Stout and Danny Cayard (USA) and Eivind Melleby and Christian Nehammer are tied on 38. Leandro and Lucas Altolaguirre (ARG) won the race, their second win of the week. The defending champions, Paul Cayard and Frithjof Kleen, finished outside the top 40. Two races remain, and the discard that comes in after race five could reshuffle the standings.

Balanger keeps the Moth world title

Enzo Balanger, 26, has won the International Moth World Championship in Perth for the second year running, finishing 21 points clear after 14 races in winds of up to 25 knots. The K-Challenge sailor, born in Les Abymes in Guadeloupe, is the first Frenchman to win the title in the foiling era. There were 45 boats in the fleet.

Four J Class yachts expected at the Superyacht Cup Palma

Entries have opened for the 31st Superyacht Cup Palma, from 23 to 26 June 2027 at Club de Mar. Organisers expect Velsheda, Svea, Rainbow and Hanuman, which would be the first J Class line-up at the event since 2022. The 33m Baltic Winwin, winner this year for the third time, is set to defend, and the 37.5m Archelon is among the newcomers. The performance multihull class and YYachts division added this year will return.

America's Cup: the French AC75 tests a new rudder in Naples swell

La Roche-Posay Racing Team spent just over three hours on the Bay of Naples on Wednesday in its AC75 B1, in a southerly of about 7 knots that faded to 4, with a 1m swell that was the biggest sea the team has met there. Diego Botín and Quentin Delapierre shared the helm through 69 tacks and 49 gybes, and the boat appeared to have a modified rudder, though the team has not confirmed it. Coach Philippe Mourniac said the boat-handling was getting better but had a long way to go before the Louis Vuitton Cup in May.

Tavira: man still missing after suspect boat comes ashore at Cabanas

More details have emerged about Wednesday night's incident in the Ria Formosa. Tavira's harbour master, Sérgio Pardal, said a GNR and Maritime Police patrol spotted an unmarked fast boat lying stopped near Ilha de Tavira, and that its four occupants, all said to be Moroccan, fled out to sea across the Tavira bar. He said there was no police chase. The boat ended up ashore on Ilha de Cabanas. One of the three men left on board called the Lisbon rescue centre at 22:45 to report that a 32-year-old had gone over the side, and the other three were taken to hospital with minor injuries.

Rough seas kept the first searches on land, and they were called off at about 01:00. They resumed at 07:10 yesterday with Tavira's firefighters, a RIB and a jet ski from the Tavira lifesaving station, and a team walking the island, but the man had not been found. The boat, its fuel and other equipment were seized on suspicion of supplying drug-running vessels at sea. Postal says it is the fourth such fast boat seized in the Algarve since the start of November.

GNR seizes two fast boats and 1,120 litres of fuel on the Guadiana

On the same day, the GNR's coastal and border control unit spotted two fast boats on the Guadiana and tracked them by land, sea and air until they were stopped in the Ribeira do Vascão, in Alcoutim. Officers seized the boats, 56 jerrycans holding about 1,120 litres of fuel, three satellite phones, a GPS, a surveillance camera and a laptop. Two foreign men, aged 26 and 55, were made formal suspects. The GNR believes the fuel was meant to supply drug runners at sea. Separately, early on Wednesday the Maritime Police seized a four-engined fast boat found aground in the Ria Formosa near Tavira.

Weekend weather: showers, with a break in the south on Saturday

IPMA expects rain or showers to go on until Sunday, mostly in the north and centre. In the south, cloud should clear from Saturday afternoon. Meteored says a new front, linked to a low west of the British Isles, should arrive on Saturday afternoon, and IPMA forecasts more rain on Sunday with south to south-westerly winds of up to about 40 km/h on the west coast. The forecast gives no specific outlook for the Algarve or for sea state, so check IPMA and the Navy's bar status page before going out.

IRC rewrites its Measurement Manual

The IRC Rating Authority has published a major rewrite of the IRC Measurement Manual, which includes the rule changes that apply from 2027. There is fuller guidance on weighing, from load-cell choice and calibration to single-point lifts, and on recording the boat's condition so that a measurement can be repeated. There are new or expanded sections on interceptors, lifting appendages, twin rudders, unusual rigs, sail corner points and leech hollows, plus quick-reference appendices on bulb weight and list angle. Owners planning to remeasure, modify a boat or apply for an Endorsed certificate are advised to read it and talk to their local rule authority first. It is on ircrating.org.

Jeddah to host a Red Sea Yacht Show from 2027

Sela and the events company Tahaluf have signed a ten-year agreement to run a Red Sea Yacht Show at Jeddah Yacht Club. 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. The story was reported on 5 November.