maxi yacht lucky

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LUCKY yacht NOT for charter*

27m  /  88'7 | new england boatworks | 2014.

Owner & Guests

• Previous Yacht

The 27m/88'7" sail yacht 'Lucky' (ex. Rambler) was built by New England Boatworks in the United States. This luxury vessel's exterior design is the work of Juan Kouyoumdjian.

Guest Accommodation

Lucky has been designed to comfortably accommodate up to 20 guests in 1 suites.

Range & Performance

Lucky is built with a composite hull and carbon fibre superstructure, with carbon fibre/grp decks.

*Charter Lucky Sail Yacht

Sail yacht Lucky is currently not believed to be available for private Charter. To view similar yachts for charter , or contact your Yacht Charter Broker for information about renting a luxury charter yacht.

Lucky Yacht Owner, Captain or marketing company

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Specification

S/Y Lucky

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September 13, 2017 · Posted by kate

Also winning in class was Irvine Laidlaw’s 82′ Highland Fling XI which was the victor in the Maxi Division. Highland Fling XI took monohull line honors at the 2017 Round the Island Race at the Isle of Wight this past July. Highland Fling XI was built by Goetz and launched in 2009.

Earlier this summer Filip Balcaen’s Reichel/Pugh and Nauta-designed Baltic 112’ Nilaya won first place in Class A, 1st Overall and the Boat International Media Trophy for overall victory at the 2017 Loro Piana Caribbean Superyacht Regatta in Virgin Gorda, B.V.I. for the third time in the past four years. At the Maxi Yacht Rolex Cup this year she finished a close 3 rd in the Supermaxi Class.

Two weeks ago Bryon Ehrhart’s RP63 LUCKY took line honors and the ORC Division at the 500nm Palermo-Montecarlo Race and showed her versatility by switching to buoy racing for the Maxi Yacht Rolex Cup. The team (lost a tie-breaker and) earned a 3 rd overall in the Mini Maxi Division. LUCKY , formerly LOKI, was designed and engineered by Reichel/Pugh, constructed by McConaghy Boats and won overall in the grueling Sydney-Hobart in 2011 and Transatlantic Race in 2015 .

Event Link with Photos and Results

Visit the builder’s websites at: Green Marine Baltic Yachts McConaghy Boats Goetz Composites Reichel/Pugh has now had 36 Maxi Rolex Cup Division Winners since 1997:

2017 – 100’ Galateia – Wally Class 2017 – 82′ Highland Fling XI – Maxi Class 2016 – 85’ My Song – Maxi RC Division 2015 – 94’ Windfall – Maxi RC Division – M. Cotter 2014 – 100’ Magic Carpet 3 – WallyCento – Wally Class – Sir L.O. Jones 2014 – 78’ Lupa of London – Mini Maxi Racer/Cruiser Division – J. Pilkington 2014 – 82’ Highland Fling XI – Maxi Racing & Maxi Racing/Cruising Division – Lord I. Laidlaw 2013 – 112’ Nilaya – SuperMaxi ORCi Division – F. Balcaen 2013 – 78’ Lupa of London – Mini Maxi Cruising Division – J. Pilkington 2012 – 100’ Esimit Europa 2 – Racing Division – I.Simcic 2012 – 112’ Nilaya – SuperMaxi Division – F. Balcaen 2011 – 112’ Nilaya – SuperMaxi Division – F. Balcaen 2011 – 78’ AllSmoke – Mini Maxi Racing/Cruising Division – G. Herz 2010 – 100’ Esimit Europa 2 – Racing/Racing Cruising Division – I.Simcic 2010 – 220’ Hetairos – Supermaxi Division – O. Happel 2009 – 72’ Mini Maxi Bella Mente – Mini Maxi Overall Season Champion – H. Fauth 2009 – 72’ Alfa Romeo 3 – Mini Maxi Racing Division – N.Crichton 2009 – 78 ’ Whisper – 1st Place Mini-Maxi Cruising Class – M. Cotter 2009 – 147’ Visione – Cruising Division – H. Plattner 2008 – 72’ Alfa Romeo 3 – Mini Maxi Racing Division – N.Crichton 2008 – 220’ Hetairos – Cruising Division – O. Happel 2008 – 90’ Rambler – Racing Division – G. David 2007 – J Class Ranger – Cruising Division – J. Williams 2007 – 86’ Morning Glory – Racing Division – H. Plattner 2007 – 78’ AllSmoke – Mini Maxi Division – G. Herz 2006 – 100’ Alfa Romeo – Racing Division – N.Crichton 2006 – 220’ Hetairos – Spirit of Tradition Division – O. Happel 2005 – 77’ Black Dragon – Racing Division – O. Happel 2004 – 86’ Pyewacket – Racing Division – R. Disney 2004 – 78’ Idea – IMS Division – R. Raiola 2003 – 78’ Idea SAI – IMS Division – R. Raiola 2003 – 85’ Alfa Romeo – IRC Division – N. Crichton 2002 – 79’ Alexia – Racing Division – A. Roemmers 2001 – 79’ Alexia – Racing Division – A. Roemmers 2000 – 79’ Alexia – Racing Division – A. Roemmers 1997 – 80’ Morning Glory – H. Plattner

Images of  Galateia and Nilaya © Rolex / StudioBorlenghi

Tags: Galateia , Highland Fling XI , Lucky , Maxi Yacht Rolex Cup , Nilaya

August 29, 2017 · Posted by kate

Montecarlo (August 26, 2017) – Bryon Ehrhart’s RP63 LUCKY took line honors and the ORC Division win with a time of 66h 46m 3s over 500nm at the XIII Palermo-Montecarlo Race for the Giuseppe Tasca d’Almerita Trophy. LUCKY, formerly LOKI, was designed and engineered by Reichel/Pugh, constructed by McConaghy Boats and won overall in the grueling Sydney-Hobart in 2011 and Transatlantic Race in 2015 . Next up for Lucky will be the 28th edition of the Maxi World Championship beginning September 3, 2017. Read More …

Tags: Ehrhart , Lucky , Palermo-Montecarlo Race

July 16, 2015 · Posted by kate

photo courtesy of Lloyd images ltd (July 16, 2015 / Day 18) – Congratulations to Reichel/Pugh 63 LUCKY owner Bryon Ehrhart, navigator Ian Moore and the rest of the crew as they have been confirmed winners of the Transatlantic Race 2015 by the event’s four organizers: the Royal Yacht Squadron, the New York Yacht Club, the Royal Ocean Racing Club and the Storm Trysail Club. LUCKY, formerly LOKI, was designed and engineered by Reichel/Pugh, constructed by McConaghy Boats and has won overall in the grueling Sydney-Hobart (2011) and now the 2015 Transatlantic Race. Read More …

Tags: Ehrhart , Lucky , Moore , Transatlantic Race

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Monte-Carlo (August 24, 2019) – The 15th edition of the Palermo-Montecarlo marked the fifth and final event of the International Maxi Association’s Mediterranean Maxi Offshore Challenge 2018-2019 and fielded fifty-one boats this year.

Miguel Galuccio’s Reichel/Pugh 84’ maxi Vera (formerly My Song ) was first to cross the finish line winning one of the Giuseppe Tasca d’Almerita Trophy . Vera’s crew, including Dutch Volvo Ocean Race legend Bouwe Bekking and Olympic champion Michele Regolo, completed nearly 500 miles of racecourse (on the direct route) in two days, 17 hours and 13 minutes — smashing the record set by Esimit Europa 2 in 2015. Esimit Europa 2 is a Reichel/Pugh-designed 100’ canting keel supermaxi, first launched as Alfa Romeo and is now the Australia-based Black Jack . (more…)

Sheldon, who began his sailing career as a student, commissioned Reichel/Pugh Design No. 96 Zaraffa as a dual-purpose racer-cruiser, built by New England Boatworks and launched in 1999. A rugged design, Sheldon never wanted the boat to be the cause of not finishing a race. Zaraffa competed in the 2001 Fastnet race winning class and taking 2 nd overall. She raced the Newport-Bermuda four times, claiming the 2002 Lighthouse Trophy win on the crew’s second attempt. She was also first-to-finish with overall honors on the 2003 North Atlantic Challenge from Newport to Cuxhaven, Germany, and in 2011 Zaraffa was 1st Corrected IRC 3 in the Transatlantic Race.  She has also raced the Sydney Hobart, Miami to Montego Bay, Round Gotland Race and the Middle Sea Race. In 2018, after a retrofit for the Transatlantic Race, the Sheldon family bestowed the USNA Sailing Team with the gift of Zaraffa for offshore training. (more…)

Reichel/Pugh racers to watch: Alive – Design 162 – 66’ CBTF Racer (formerly Black Jack & Stark Raving Mad ) Grand Illusion (featuring Reichel/Pugh-designed keel and rudder appendages) Lady Kanon – Design 177 – 45’ IRC Racer Shadow II – Design 122 – TP52 Taxi Dancer – Design 39 – 70’ ULDB Vitesse – Design 199.2 – Southern Cross 52’

Race Tracking Event News Photography

Phillip Turner’s Australian-based Alive Yachting team most notably won the 2018 Sydney-Hobart overall, and recently swept 2019 California Offshore races with back-to-back line honor wins in the SoCal 300 (Santa Barbara to San Diego), Coastal Cup (Monterey to Santa Barbara), Spinnaker Cup (San Francisco Bay to Monterey), and Newport-Ensenada Race.

HIGHLIGHTS OF REICHEL/PUGH TRANSPAC HISTORY

Reichel Pugh Maxi’s have held the Transpac Course Record for nearly two decades, from 1999 (Roy Disney’s 75’ Pyewacket Maxi Sled) until 2017 (broken by Comanche – setting the new Merlin trophy elapsed time record at 5 days 01:55:26). Until 2017, the record had been broken 4 times since 1999 – always by Reichel/Pugh designed yachts. R/P yachts have won the Barn Door Trophy 7 out of 10 editions of the race since 1999.

Reichel/Pugh’s original sled design, the 70’ Taxi Dancer took 1st place in Class A in the 1989 Transpac and second overall, this was during the heyday of the California Sleds when Class A of the 1989 race featured 19 Sleds. Thirty years later, Taxi Dancer is still racing!

2015 – WILD OATS XI – Roy Pat Disney’s and Bob Oatley’s 100’ Canting Keel SuperMaxi Wild Oats XI had the fastest elapsed time of 6d 10h 37m 2s to win the 2015 Merlin Trophy and take first in Division 1 at the Transpac’s Diamond Head finish line. Wild Oats XI is a 100-foot custom design famous for its record nine elapsed time victories in thirteen years (2005-2008, 2018) and three overall fleet wins (2014, 2012 & 2005) in the Sydney-Hobart race.

2015 – GRAND ILLUSION – Ed & James McDowell’s Santa Cruz 70 Grand Illusion was the overall winner. She was designed by Bill Lee and features Reichel/Pugh-designed keel and rudder appendages. Grand Illusion has now equaled the record for most overall Transpac wins, joining the 88′ Lurline which won the first two races in 1906 and 1908, and again in 1912. However, Grand Illusion holds the status alone for winning overall three times under the same Owner/Skipper, Ed & James McDowell.

2013 – RP74 WIZARD – David and Peter Askew’s 74’ Reichel/Pugh-designed and New England Boatworks-built Mini-Maxi WIZARD (formerly Bella Mente) finished ‘first’ in the 2013 Transpac Race winning the unique Transpacific Yacht Club’s Perpetual Trophy – a 3.5’ x 4’ plaque of hand carved Hawaiian Koa Wood – better known as the ‘Barn Door.’ This trophy is traditionally awarded to the fixed keel mono-hull employing no stored energy with the fastest elapsed time. Wizard’s elapsed time was 7 days, 7 hours, 53 minutes, 46 seconds, which was 12 hours and 13 minutes slower than Bella Mente’s Barn Door record run of 6 days 19 hours 39 minutes 28 seconds set in 2011.

2011 – RP74 BELLA MENTE – Hap Fauth’s 74’ Mini Maxi BELLA MENTE set a new fixed keel course record of 6 days 19 hours 39 minutes 28 seconds with an average speed of 13.6 knots.

2011 – RPTP52 PATCHES – Jorge Ripsteins R/P-designed TP52 PATCHES won Division 2 followed by R/P designs CRIMINAL MISCHIEF 45’ and VINCITORE 52’.

2011 – GRAND ILLUSION – Ed and James McDowell’s Santa Cruz 70 featuring R/P-designed appendages took first in division and first in fleet overall on corrected time.

2009 – RP100 ALFA ROMEO II – 1st to Finish (Lending Tree got a DNS!) 5 days 14 hours 36m 20s) (Moveable Ballast & Powered Winches Course Record). N. Crichton’s Alfa Romeo II, sailing in the “unlimited” class, was not eligible for the traditional “Barn Door” trophy, but instead was the inaugural winner of a new trophy dedicated by Trisha Steele, called the “Merlin Trophy”. On July 7, 2009, ALFA ROMEO II beat the MORNING GLORY record for best day’s run set in the 2005 race, by sailing 399nm in 24 hours. The next two days she broke her own best-day record by sailing 420nm and 431nm.

2005 – RP86 MORNING GLORY – 1st to Finish (SET NEW RECORD 6 days, 16 hours, 4 minutes, and 11 seconds to win “the Barn Door” trophy) (Moveable Ballast Course Record) – H. Plattner

2005 – RP52 ROSEBUD – 1st Class & 1st Fleet Corrected Overall – R. Sturgeon

2003 – RP77 PEGASUS – 1st to Finish Barn Door Trophy Winner – P. Kahn

2001 – RP75 PEGASUS – 1st to Finish Barn Door Trophy Winner, 2nd Fleet Overall Corrected – P. Kahn

1999 – RP73 PYEWACKET – 1st to Finish Barn Door Trophy Winner (SET NEW RECORD 7 days, 11 hours, 41 minutes, and 27 seconds Ending Merlin’s 20-year record) (Fixed Ballast Course Record) 2nd Fleet Overall Corrected – R. Disney

1995 – RP66 EXILE – 1st Place Class Winner – J. Warwick Miller

1989 – RP70 TAXI DANCER – 1st Place Class Winner (19 Sleds competing), 2nd Place Fleet Overall – M. Rousse

For more information on the yachts contact: [email protected]

ABOUT THE TRANSPAC First organized by the Transpacific Yacht Club in 1906, the Transpacific Yacht Race or Transpac is an offshore sailing race from Point Fermin in Los Angeles to Diamond Head, just east of Honolulu, a distance of 2,225 nm. This is among the world’s great ocean races, and biennially attracts some of the world’s fastest sailing yachts, some of its most talented offshore racing sailors, and a wide variety of offshore sailing adventurers.

photography courtesy of Sharon Green/Ultimate Sailing

San Diego, California (June 2, 2019) – Reichel/Pugh 66’ Canting Keel Mini Maxi ALIVE (formerly Black Jack & Stark Raving Mad) was first to finish (correcting to 7th) in the 5th annual SoCal 300 (300nm), following back-to-back line honor wins in the Spinnaker Cup (San Francisco Bay to Monterey), Coastal Cup (Monterey to Santa Barbara) and Newport-Ensenada. Alive also set a new course record for the 200nm Coastal Cup of 13h 48m 28s. Congratulations to owner Phillip Turner, skipper Duncan Hine and the entire Australian-based Alive Yachting team, who most notably won the 2018 Sydney-Hobart overall. The three-part CA Offshore Race Week now complete, the Alive team is taking on the competitive 17-boat Division 1 in the Transpac Race starting July 10th. (more…)

Queensland, Australia (April 20, 2019) – 100’ SuperMaxi Black Jack took line honors in the 71st Brisbane to Gladstone with a time of 16 hours, 56 minutes and 33 seconds—just 2 minutes and 36 seconds outside the 14-year record it broke last year. It was the sixth consecutive Brisbane to Gladstone line-honors victory for last year’s runner-up in the Sydney to Hobart and it marked eight wins for Black Jack’s owner Peter Harburg since 2009. (more…)

Dominating the Maxi Class 2 for the third year was Windfall’s Michael “Mick” Cotter, who humbly attributes much of their success to luck, however this was Mick’s seventh Les Voiles. The Reichel/Pugh-designed production 94’ Windfall was built by Southern Wind, with interiors by Nauta Yachts, Milan and launched in 2013. Results (more…)

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Bella Mente Racing

Maxi 72 Worlds: A Gathering of Giants

September 3, 2016 By Bella Mente Leave a Comment

 As ever a major feature of the Maxi Yacht Rolex Cup is the Rolex Maxi 72 World Championship. This year six examples of the ultra competitive, owner-driven, grand prix racers will be lining up, their challenge being to dislodge Hap Fauth’s dominant Judel Vrolijk design, Bella Mente. The reigning Rolex Maxi 72 World Champion goes into this year’s Worlds straight from victories at Copa del Rey MAPFRE and the inaugural Maxi 72 North American Championship held in Newport, RI in June.

“This is our favourite regatta,” commented Fauth, who is President of the Maxi 72 Class, which is affiliated to the IMA. “There will be six 72 footers and competition will be fierce. It is always challenging conditions both for the around the buoys and the coastal race. It is normally all you want.”

As to Bella Mente being favourite for a third World title, Fauth added: “We have the oldest boat and I am the oldest helmsman, but we have got a very good team. Our execution over the course of a regatta has been good and if there is one reason why we might have a small advantage it is because of that. But it is a very small advantage: The margin of victory in this fleet is two or three seconds – the boats are very close.”

Read the full release by the International Maxi Association below:

A record-sized fleet of the world’s largest performance yachts is readying itself in Porto Cervo, Sardinia for next week’s Maxi Yacht Rolex Cup. Organised by the Yacht Club Costa Smeralda and the International Maxi Association (IMA) with Rolex as title sponsor, this year’s event takes place September 4-10 and has 52 entries.

In terms of length, the fleet spans the giant 49.7m Ohana to entries at the shorter end of the IMA’s permitted size range – 60 footers such as Gérard Logel’s Swan 601 @robas and the Wally 60 Wallyño.

The biggest class at the Maxi Yacht Rolex Cup will once again be the Wallys (an associated class within the IMA), which features 13 examples of the modernist high performance luxury yachts. Leading the charge off the Costa Smeralda will be the two Wallycentos, Sir Lindsay Owen Jones’ Magic Carpet Cubed and the latest example launched last October, David Leuschen’s Galateia, plus the elongated version, (now 32.7m) Open Season of International Maxi Association President, Thomas Bscher.

The Supermaxi class has a formidable line-up including Irvine Laidlaw’s new Swan 115 Highland Fling 15, plus two Baltic Yachts-built high performance carbon fibre one-offs: the Nauta 115 Nikata and the Javier Jaudenes-designed Win Win – both making their Maxi Yacht Rolex Cup debuts. This year sees the return of Sir Peter Harrison’s Farr 115 ketch, Sojana, following a lengthy refit.

The Js are back this year. Lionheart and Velsheda will match race their way around the race track.

The Maxi class (79-100ft) will see two high profile yachts making their Maxi Yacht Rolex Cup debuts. Best known for her offshore program, Mike Slade’s Farr 100 Leopard 3 has travelled to the four corners of the earth to compete in races such as the Rolex Sydney Hobart, the RORC Caribbean 600 and the Fastnet Race, in which she has twice scored line honours victories.

Despite only being two years old, George David’s Juan Kouyoumdjian-designed Rambler 88, also has notched up thousands of sea miles. This year alone she has won the IMA’s annual Volcano Race (from Gaeta, Italy, south around the volcanic Aeolian Islands off northeast Sicily) and last week claimed line honours in the Palermo-Montecarlo race, the fourth and final event of the IMA’s inaugural Mediterranean Maxi Offshore Challenge.

The Maxi class also includes four entries from Southern Wind Shipyard, including the Farr-designed 100ft Blues and Michael Cotter’s Windfall. There are two SWS 82s: Massimilano Florio’s Grande Orazio was winner of the IMA’s Volcano Race in 2015, while Ammonite is brand new, campaigned by leading Australian skipper Marcus Blackmore.

As ever a major feature of the Maxi Yacht Rolex Cup is the Rolex Maxi 72 World Championship. This year six examples of the ultra competitive, owner-driven, grand prix racers will be lining up, their challenge being to dislodge Hap Fauth’s dominant Judel Vrolijk design, Bella Mente. The reigning Rolex Maxi 72 World Champion goes into this year’s Worlds straight from victories at Copa del Rey MAPFRE and the inaugural Maxi 72 North American Championship held in Newport, RI in June.

The Mini Maxi class (60-79ft) also has a strong line-up. Roberto Lacorte’s Mark Mills 68 Supernikka returns to defend her title, while she will be up against another Mills 68, the more thoroughbred racer, Prospector, which as Alegre and then Caol Ila R was one of the most competitive boats in what is now the Maxi 72 class. Also to be watched will be American Bryon Ehrhart’s Reichel Pugh 63, Lucky. Winner of last year’s Transatlantic Race, Lucky in her previous life was Loki, winner of the 2011 Rolex Sydney Hobart.

In 2015 the Mini Maxi Racer-Cruiser class had one of the tightest finishes and the top four boats return this year, including winner, Riccardo de Michele’s Vallicelli 80 H2O, which finished on equal points with Giuseppe Puttini’s Swan 65 Shirlaf (which this year will face stiff competition from new IMA member Marietta Strasoldo’s Swan 651 Lunz Am Meer.)

Andrew McIrvine, Secretary General of the IMA commented: “It will be an exciting year with a number of new boats competing, especially in the SuperMaxi division where a new generation of more race-oriented boats are appearing. The challenge of manoeuvring these huge craft around the tight courses around the islands of the Maddalena makes for a great spectacle and keeps so many sailors coming back year after year.”

Racing will take place over a mixture of windward-leeward and coastal courses.

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About Bella Mente

The original Bella Mente Racing campaign kicked off in 2006 with Key West Race Week, and since then owner and skipper Hap Fauth has had three additional racing yachts in the program.

Launched in September of 2018, the current Bella Mente is a Maxi 72 designed by Botin Partners in Spain and built by New England Boatworks in Rhode Island.

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Yachting Monthly

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Maxi 1000: Quick, seaworthy and solidly built

• Graham Snook
• June 9, 2022

If you’re looking for a quick and comfortable cruiser that is full of great features with solid build quality, few boats can rival the Maxi 1000, as Graham Snook discovers

Product Overview

Anna-Leigh and Alex Cox have both sailed for many years but Gemini , their Maxi 1000, is the couple’s first yacht. They also own a Sunseeker 31 motorboat, but Anna-Leigh’s yearning to return to sailing won over and they now use either boat when work allows, often cruising the Solent or beyond.

As a first yacht for coastal and offshore cruising, the couple have fallen on their feet with Gemini ; the Maxi 1000 has a good pedigree. Her designer was Pelle Petterson, Swedish Olympic medalist and skipper of America’s Cup challengers.

Being made redundant during a global pandemic might not be the best time to buy your first yacht, but it happened at just the right time for Anna-Leigh and Alex. ‘We never thought we’d be able to own a yacht like Gemini , at least not at this stage in our life,’ smiles Anna-Leigh.

‘After more than 20 years with the same company I was made redundant and Alex was looking to expand Raw Bean [his coffee business], so I joined the company and we bought Gemini . We love her, she’s a great boat!’

A deep forefoot prevents excess slamming to windward. Photo: Graham Snook

The Maxi 1000 was a development of the Maxi 999 that was produced between 1985 and 1992 when the 1000 started production. The model remained in build for 10 years with more than 1,000 built.

Gemini was hull no. 1042, launched in early 2002 and was one of the later boats. Having reached 20 years old, Gemini hides it well; a few loose areas of caulking on the weathered teak decks and scratched detailing of stickers around the coachroof windows show the extent of her life so far.

Covid delays

Anna-Leigh and Alex bought Gemini in 2020, but they weren’t able to collect her from Fowey until spring 2021. ‘We were really lucky though,’ explains Alex. ‘Although because of Covid and the regulations, we weren’t able to visit the boat, Gemini ’s previous owners Pete and Ali Siddall would go down and check on her, they really looked after us well.

‘We couldn’t have asked for a better seller. When we eventually left Fowey they came out and waved us off, taking photos which they then sent us.’

Although they have sailed for years, Gemini is Anna-Leigh and Alex Cox’s first yacht. Photo: Graham Snook

There was a light breeze when I joined Alex and Anna-Leigh at Swanwick, a far cry from the couple’s first date when Alex had borrowed a friend’s yacht to impress Anna-Leigh, only for it to blow a gale – the less said about that trip the better, but they are living happily ever after now.

Gemini was moored stern-to and boarding was easy. The Maxi 1000 has a long bathing platform with a ladder and a step in the transom. Despite having a radar pole fixed to the step, there was plenty of foot space – one more step and I was in the cockpit.

The Maxi 1000 shares a lot of family features with her previous models; sleek with a pleasing sheer line and wedge-shaped coachroof. After the 1000, bows became more vertical and hulls broader.

Petterson has been clever with the design, keeping the freeboard at a sensible height but sloping her decks up gently going inboard to increase the headroom below.

As standard the 1000 was fitted with a 7/8ths fractional rig and a self-tacking jib, which Gemini still has. The couple have found that the furling No2 genoa (28m2) suits their sailing, giving her the extra sail area the self-tacking jib lacks in light winds. Her Lewmar 40ST winches make short work of either sail.

She also has two jib tracks on the inboard edge of the deck; the forward set allows a jib to be sheeted within the shrouds while the genoa passes outboard.

Gemini has the optional teak deck, which adds to her desirability. Photo: Graham Snook

Friendly conditions

In the conditions we had, 6-10 knots true, we weren’t going to be pushing her limits. On the wind (32-35º apparent wind angle) we had an apparent wind speed of up to 14 knots and she was sailing well.

Making between 5.2-5.9 knots in the gusts, she would start to feel pressed but remained comfortable and responsive; a few more knots breeze and the genoa might have needed a turn taking in or switched to the self-tacking jib, but as we only had a short beat up Southampton Water it was soon time to bear away.

At 60º AWA the wind was dropping 7-10 knots but we were getting 5-5.4 knots through the water. Gemini has Whitlock wheel steering; its rod connections keep the steering slack-free with responsive control.

Sadly, the breeze decreased more, at 90º in 6 knots she was making just over 4 knots, but by the time we were sailing at 120º AWA in 3.6 knots apparent, it was more drifting with control than sailing.

It was time to put the kettle and the engine on, and head back. Gemini has the optional full teak deck and she looks all the smarter for it. There are a few places where it’s worn or been sanded to a depth where the caulking sealant has come adrift, but the fastenings holding the deck are still well-hidden by their wooden plugs.

Lewmar 40ST winches make it easier to sail shorthanded. Photo: Graham Snook

She has a detachable mainsheet on a short traveller in the cockpit, enabling the cockpit table or a cockpit cover to be easily fitted.

Stowage in the cockpit is excellent with a cavernous locker to starboard and deep lazarette lockers beneath the helm’s seat and to port.

Moving below, Gemini has wide companionway steps over the engine compartment. The forward section is removable to give good access to the front of the engine. One is instantly struck by the amount of solid wood on show; on the whole, it has aged well.

The Maxi 1000 was available with a teak or an American cherry wood interior, the latter having a more interesting grain pattern.

Below decks

Immediately to starboard is the heads. If you’re entering the boat with soaked oilskins you can get changed in here and then leave the wet kit in the locker to the rear without having to drag it through the boat. Once dry, it can be left in the oilskin locker outboard of the chart table seat, so it’s on hand when you need it.

The chart table is a good size, and what looks like a squeeze is a comfy navigation station. The lid overhangs the table and has a good chunky laminated solid-wood surround with a grab handle forward in the semi-bulkhead.

The locker beneath the chart table has the bin and there’s a drawer beneath that. There is a handy cubby hole outboard, beneath the chart table, and the switch panel is above. Instrument space is a little limited but otherwise, it works well.

The aft end of the saloon has over 6ft of headroom. Photo: Graham Snook

Opposite, to port, is the L-shaped galley. It has high fiddles and a good grab handle aft of the large double stainless-steel sinks. Above the stove are deck-level lockers with smoothly sliding doors.

Her original 90-litre water capacity was increased by her former owner to 260 litres for trips away to the Isles of Scilly. There is a good line of drawers and a locker beneath the sinks and a pan locker below the stove.

Headroom below is good, with 1.83m+/6ft+ in the galley, aft cabin and rear of the saloon.

Moving forward, the wedge-shaped coachroof takes away headroom from the forward end of the saloon down to 1.68m/5ft 6in and the forward cabin to 1.6m/5ft 3in.

In the saloon are five deck-level bottom-hinged lockers. Where there would be a sixth on the starboard side is an open-fronted locker with a solid wood fiddle. The lockers have solid wood louvred fronts and weighty solid-wood frames.

Two hatches provide plenty of ventilation in the aft cabin. Photo: Graham Snook

With all this wood it could have easily felt like the inside of a coffin; thankfully though, the Maxi 1000 has a white GRP inner liner which forms the supports for the forward and aft berths, the saloon seat bases, and chart table seat.

Not only does this make the workflow of building the yacht more efficient, it also lightens the lower areas of the yacht.

In these seat bases, one finds lockers that can be accessed from the top and inboard without having to lift cushions or crew. It’s especially handy as Gemini is sensibly fitted with lee cloths, which would further add to the faff of getting into the lockers were it not for these locker doors.

She has a bench seat to starboard and U-shaped seating to port, which has a nice feature that allows the bunk base to slide out to create a double berth. This gives Gemini three decent-sized double berths.

Still in good nick

At 20 years old, Gemini is still in great condition. There are some battle scars in her woodwork and watermarks in her floorboards, but it’s nothing some sandpaper and varnish couldn’t put right.

She has lots of nice little details, such as the raised deck outboard of the helm or the plastic edging around the inspection hatches on the floorboards that seal the edges and stop them from binding and squeaking.

The chart table has plenty of stowage. Photo: Graham Snook

In the forward cabin, there are bottom-hinged doors to access the under-berth stowage without having to lift the bunk cushions. The long vee berth has an infill, but there is no other floor space in the forward cabin, so with the insert in place, as you would do with sheets on the berth, there’s no room to get changed unless you do so in the saloon or lying down. Not an issue with children, but it might not be ideal for you or any guests you invite onboard.

The berth is 2.09m/6ft 10in long with a maximum width of 1.77m/5ft 9in, but at shoulder height it is only 1.44m/5ft 9in.

Alex and Anna-Leigh have found the aft cabin makes the better owner’s cabin on board. It’s easy to see why, it feels huge. While the berth isn’t the widest (at 1.6m/5ft 3in) headroom is 1.83m/6ft and the space above the berth is unusually generous too. I kept expecting to bump my head but it never happened.

The aft cabin also has both shelf and locker stowage outboard. Locker ventilation is great thanks to the louvred doors. There are reading lights and the main light switch can be reached from the berth. The cabin also benefits from two hatches that open into the cockpit for increased ventilation.

Beneath the berth are the batteries and there is also access to the engine and to the saildrive gearbox.

Opposite the aft cabin is the heads, again there is good headroom here. The shower pulls out of the heads and there are mirrored sliding lockers outboard.

The plinth for the toilet is quite high. The toilet has a fold-down cover that stops the toilet from getting wet and gives a good seat for those having a shower. The toilet roll holder is sheltered in the locker under the sink, also in there, you’ll find a drawer for even more stowage.

Louvred doors provide good ventilation to the lockers. Photo: Graham Snook

The Maxi 1000 is a good-looking boat that will find favour with those who like yachts with attractive lines and are happy to have a pretty boat rather than a roomy boat.

She harks back to a time before impractical plumb bows when yachts were more parallelogram in profile than brick. Her narrow beam does restrict her accommodation and interior comfort by modern standards, but she’s a more comfortable sailing yacht because of it.

Looking for rivals, I was struck by the good value the Maxi 1000 offers. The quality of her woodwork was good, but compared to other Swedish-built yachts or yachts of a similar quality she was considerably cheaper, almost a third in some cases.

Although her interior woodwork wasn’t pristine, she is two decades old and the quality of the joinery was better than many yachts built today.

Finding a yacht the same age and price that offers excellent coastal cruising, build quality and clever design features along with the ability for club racing, is a hard task.

For those with deeper pockets, there’s the Finngulf 33, Arcona 340 or the Hallberg Rassy 34. If you’re looking for more performance, there are yachts like the Elan 333 or X-Yacht 332, J105 or the newer Dehler 34, but as YM caters for cruising sailors I’ve suggested three rivals that are similar but with a twist…

Alternatives toi the Maxi 1000

There was an option for a deep performance keel

For a more modern alternative, without having to spend half as much again as a good Maxi 1000, the Dufour 34 is similar in ethos to the Maxi 1000 and within roughly the same price bracket. The 34 model was launched after the Maxi in 2003, and developed into the 34 Performance.

In 2010 it evolved to become the 34e; gone were the aft helm seat and step in the transom. Instead, she gained an open transom with raised aft deck, liferaft locker and fold-down bathing platform, while forward was a larger steering wheel.

Like the Maxi 1000, she’s a nippy 33ft coastal cruiser with the comfort of two separate cabins as standard and a large cockpit that enables her to be used for cruising or racing. Her hull is sleek, well-proportioned and easily driven. She has a single spade rudder and her standard draught was 1.5m/4ft 11in. There was an option for a deep performance keel (1.9m/6ft 2in) to allow her to reach her full performance potential.

A wheel bisects the aft end of the cockpit and got bigger as she became the 34e. Nowadays a boat like her would have twin wheels. The steering was smooth and the large wheel made helming enjoyable.

Below decks, the layout is very similar to the Maxi 1000, even if it doesn’t match the Maxi’s quality; instead of one-piece laminated surrounds to the galley and chart table Dufour uses corner pieces and has an ‘assembled’ feel rather than the crafted feel of Swedish boats.

The use of darker mahogany veneers is also more apparent on board. The berth size is good and, unlike the Maxi, there is room to stand in the forward cabin and there is hanging and shelved stowage in the forward cabin too.

The saloon has a bench seat on each side, with the chart table to starboard. The heads is opposite the galley and there’s the option for a second aft cabin. As the 34 is a newer design and was launched when the Maxi was ending her production cycle, one should expect to pay more.

An easily driven hull shape gives the 346 good directional stability. Photo: Bob Aylott

The centre cockpit Moody 346 is a good option for those wanting more interior space while still retaining good sea-keeping. It comes at the expense of performance, but the 346 is certainly no slouch – far from it.

Just under 250 Moody 346s were built since its launch in 1986, and some also featured twin keels.

On deck, the 346 can’t compete with the large aft cockpit of the Maxi 1000 or the Dufour 34, and the downsides of the centre cockpit may outweigh the benefits; the raised position increases rolling motion. It’s also smaller and there are more steps to move around the boat from here, whether you’re heading to the saloon, or mooring up or boarding from aft.

However, there is decreased pitching, a large aft cabin and greater owner privacy. Indeed, it is below decks where the 346 makes up ground.

For many, the privacy and space offered in the separate aft cabin is what persuades them to choose a centre-cockpit design. The galley is a longer L-shape and has more countertop space, but much of it is along the corridor to the aft cabin where the headroom is reduced by the cockpit’s shape.

It is the cosy aft cabin that steals the show here though, especially for a sub 35ft yacht. Not only does it have a large double berth outboard to port, but opposite there is also an L-shaped sofa.

While her interior might feel a little dated now, the 346 remains well made and practical, and can offer many miles of comfortable coastal cruising to anyone who chooses to buy one.

Most of the Westerly Storm 33s have tiller steering. Photo: Lester McCarthy

Westerly Storm 33

For those who like the idea of a 33ft cruiser with a touch of speed, but can’t stretch to the Maxi 1000, a cheaper alternative is the Westerly Storm 33.

The Storm was Westerly’s 1986 take on a performance cruiser and it sold 141 of them. After seven years, it (along with the company) was revamped. She became the Regatta 330 and another 15 were built.

The Storm holds true to Westerly’s values: tough British-built boats with solid joinery that sailed well. The majority have tiller steering, making them quick to respond and rewarding to sail.

The cockpit is a good size and while the coamings are low, they are sloped making them very comfortable when sitting out of the cockpit. Forward, the companionway has a teak grated bridgedeck, and steps below; this gives those operating the coachroof winches more room and provides stowage for the liferaft.

Her interior quality still shows today, although it’s clear that after more than 35 years interior design has evolved while the amount of solid wood has decreased. The lack of a forward anchor locker has increased the space and size of the forward cabin, and it has lockers and floor space to show for it.

The saloon is a good size as is the L-shaped galley, but what she gains forward she loses in the smaller aft cabin and heads. Westerly Yachts remain a popular choice with cruising couples and those with small families and the Storm is no different; she was designed for the British coastal waters and has all you need to enjoyably navigate them.

Expert Opinion

A yacht built by the old Nimbus boat yard and designed by Pelle Petterson is, without doubt, a winning combination of well thought out design and substantial construction standards. As a result, these boats always hold their value.

Of the yachts I’ve surveyed, very few had serious structural problems, but there are a few issues you need to be aware of. Port light fittings within the saloon can allow moisture into the normally very well finished internal joinery and laminate.

Many topsides were moulded in a dark blue pigment and while reasonably colour-fast for around five to 10 years, many do end up with the typical chalking and fading that many dark coloured gel coats suffer with. It can be quite noticeable where repairs have been previously undertaken.

Some 1000s had teak decks overlaid onto the main working GRP decks and as with several other yachts of this age, it’s very important to evaluate the condition and watertightness of the deck as replacement costs will always be expensive.

If you’re considering the wing keel option, take a close look at the hull to keel joint condition and obviously the internal fastenings. It’s not uncommon for yachts of this age to need the fastenings properly checked. It is also important to pay attention to the rudder blade condition as moisture absorption is frequently an issue as well.

Ben Sutcliffe-Davies, Marine Surveyor and full member of the Yacht Brokers Designers & Surveyors Association (YDSA) www.bensutcliffemarine.co.uk

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The International Maxi Association’s 2023-24 Mediterranean Maxi Offshore Challenge starts this Saturday (21 October) with a huge, top quality maxi yacht line-up as part of the Royal Malta Yacht Club’s Rolex Middle Sea Race.

In the 44th edition of this ‘classic 600 mile’ anticlockwise lap of Sicily, starting and finishing off the Maltese capital Valletta, 17 maxi yachts of 60+ft LH are entered. In addition is Alexia Barrier’s outright line honours favourite, the MOD70 trimaran Limosa, sailed by her all-women’s Jules Verne Trophy (non-stop round the world record) team The Famous Project. They return to defend their title – in 2022 Limosa was Riccardo Pavoncelli’s Mana.

Among the monohulls, the scratch boat is Bryon Ehrhart’s Lucky, a boat which knows the way for as Rambler 88, under her original owner George David, she won line honours on five consecutive occasions between 2015 and 2019. Ehrhart has kept the majority of David’s crew, led by America’s Cup and offshore legend Brad Butterworth.

Personally Ehrhart holds a perfect track record in the Rolex Middle Sea Race – in 2010 he entered it in his TP52, also named Lucky, and impressively won overall under IRC on his first attempt. This will be his first time back. He says: “In 2010 it was such a tough race through every condition possible. Truly the race is a great test of sailing skill and we look forward to the test again this year. Thanks to Royal Malta Yacht Club and Rolex for keeping this event so strong for so many years. It is a classic!”

The longest maxi competing this year is the 107ft Paprec Sailing Team (aka Spirit of Malouen) skippered by Stéphane Névé. This started life as Sir Charles Dunstone’s Wallycento Hamilton, was then acquired by Thomas Bscher, extended to 107ft and renamed Open Season. She was sold to present owner Jean-Luc Petithuguenin, who has evolved her into being an offshore racer.

The 100ft Leopard 3 will be one to watch. Under original owner Mike Slade, Leopard 3 was transformed from a racer into a race cruiser. Under her present Dutch owner she has been transformed back. In a massive refit earlier this year her rig was replaced with one 350kg lighter, permitting bigger, longer luffed, jibs. The central part of her deck (mast back to main winch) and cabin top were replaced so she now has a tighter sheeting angle for her headsails. She has a full new winch package. In total she is now five tonnes lighter.

The mods are working as Leopard 3 won both line and overall honours in July’s Aegean 600. For the Rolex Middle Sea Race skipper Chris Sherlock says they have bolstered their crew, including re-recruiting Volvo Ocean Race skipper Neal McDonald as a watch leader. Tied to the nav station will again be Will Best.

Sherlock is impressed with this year’s maxi line-up: “It is a pretty hot fleet and there’s a lot of good guys on all the boats.” As to the conditions he says that the big breeze originally forecast for the first day is now passing through on Friday. After the start it is currently looking light and upwind: “Our routing is telling us we will be on our J0 and J2 for near on 90% of the race, so a lot of upwind stuff and light-medium, which is also good for Bullitt. But everyone is going to have their good spots in this race where they go really well, but the boats are so diverse, it will depend on how much of that ‘good stuff’ you get for your boat.”

Andrea Recordati’s Bullitt has also been under the knife. Compared to how she was last year, the Wally 93 is more powerful with improved downwind performance thanks to a longer bowsprit, increased mast rake and increased sail area. She also now has a fixed keel drawing 6m with the bulb further aft producing a more bow-up trim, further augmented by the two tonnes of water ballast she now has each side.

Making her Rolex Middle Sea Race debut this year is Roy P Disney’s Pyewacket 70 VO70, originally the 2011 vintage Telefonica. She was subsequently turboed when she was Peter Harburg’s all-conquering Black Jack, before Disney acquired her in 2019.

Disney, and his father Roy E before him, are and were enthusiastic Transpac competitors who pioneered the West Coast maxi sleds (ULDBs), then the maxZ86s. Roy P has personally raced 26 Transpacs… “My father for years and years had this on his list,” he says of the Rolex Middle Sea Race, a race his father ultimately never sailed. “It is a very romantic race. Everyone who does it talks about the beauty of it, all the way around and the finish is just amazing. I finally decided to close the loop. Now my boy is off to college, I have the time…” And Stromboli (the volcanic island the race passes) is a character from Pinocchio.

Aside from her success in the Transpac and other races on the US West Coast, Pyewacket 70 proved she is competitive by winning this spring’s RORC Caribbean 600 outright. “Because it is a Volvo boat, it gets more comfortable the more breeze there is!” Disney continues. “We are up against some 100 footers so we may not win on the water, but I think in the light air we are going to have them. Reaching we should be at least up with them.”

Surprisingly it will also be a first Rolex Middle Sea Race for Pyewacket 70’s legendary navigator Peter Isler (who started the heavy weather race in 2007 aboard Tom Hill’s maxi Titan 12, but then retired). “My expectation is to see a volcano, get the through the Strait and beat Lucky!” His forecast is similar to Sherlock’s: “It is a good navigator’s race. It is looking like it will be a broadish reach about half way to the Strait [Messina] and then a front goes through and once that clears it turns on the wind in the Strait with a fair bit of punch and then it’s westerly all along the top of a lot of Sicily. So a lot of upwind.”

In addition there are the usual array of former Volvo Ocean Race boats including the VO70s Ocean Breeze and Green Dragon and the VO65s Ambersail 2 and Sisi. Among the hot 60s are is the DSS-equipped Wild Joe sailed by Marton Jozsa and Guido Paolo Gamucci’s canting keel Mylius 60 Cippa Lippa X. For Jozsa and his largely Hungarian crew, the race will be their 12th Rolex Middle Sea Race.

More information at  www.internationalmaxiassociation.com

• Rolex Middle Sea Race

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Wallyño will be racing in the ten boat Mini Maxi 3 + 4 class against Riccardo de Michele's Vallicelli 78 H20 , a repeated past class winner here, although beaten by one point last year to Luca Scoppa's Dehler 60 Blue Oyster. Also back this year are Luigi Sala's Vismara Mills 62 Yoru and Aldo Parisotto's Mylius 65FD Oscar3. This class’ other half comprises Swans including two original 65s, Anthony Ball's Six Jaguar and Giuseppe Puttini's past class winner here Shirlaf, plus the 651 Lunz am Meer, campaigned by Marietta Strasoldo and the more modern 601s, regular competitor Gerard Logel's @robas and Les Amis of Valter Pizzoli.

From the old to the brand new: Stealing the show this year will be Roberto Lacorte’s new FlyingNikka racing alone in Mini Maxi 0. This will be the first event for the world’s first fully foiling maxi with AC75-style flip-up T-foils, but the price is a stratosphere IRC TCC of 3.866.

Also new is Pier Luigi Loro Piana's My Song , the first example of Nautor’s ClubSwan 80. Loro Piana has been racing at the Maxi Yacht Rolex Cup since the early 1990s. “The event is getting better and better,” he says. “Happening at the end of the season is perfect. Rolex does an incredible job and the Yacht Club Costa Smeralda is the best place to race out of.”

Of his new My Song , he adds: “I feel very good - it is exciting. This boat has more things to adjust and the canting keel and daggerboard are new for me. It is important the boat is competitive against other boats of the same size although it would be fantastic to start a one design class.”

Longest here are the Js, whose fleet has doubled in size with Velsheda and Topaz joined by the ‘Super-J’ Ranger, now with a new American owner, for whom this is his first yacht. Following a substantial refit she raced for the first time at this year’s St Barths Bucket and won. Similarly Svea , now campaigned by a trio of Swedes, also won the Superyacht Cup on her first outing with her new team.

Calling tactics on board is round the world race veteran Bouwe Bekking, who previously raced in the J aboard Lionheart and whose last J Class event was winning the IMA-backed World Championship in Newport, RI in 2017.  “Js are always a challenge to sail,” says Bekking. “On Svea there is a nice mix of pros and guys with normal jobs who are good sailors and enjoying their Swedish heritage.” Svea was originally designed by Swede Tore Holm in 1937, but back then was never built. Around 80% of the crew are Swedish. “This has a really nice layout. The Js are all so similar and they are all sailed very well, so you need a good start.”

Among the Super Maxis (LH = 30.51+m) is once again the modern classic Spirit 111 AC Geist of Christian Oldendorff, which will be up against the Wally 107 Spirit of Malouen X (ex-Hamilton/Open Season), now belonging to TP52 campaigner Jean-Luc Petithuguenin, plus two Swan 115s: Shamanna, while Juan Ball has exchanged his Swan 90 Nefertiti for Moat 1 (ex- Highland Fling XV ).

As in 2021, the competition in the Maxi class (LH: 24.09-30.50m) will be fierce. It is also the biggest class with 13 entries. For the first time the Wallys joined the Maxi class last year and their 100 footers filled the podium: Sir Lindsay Owen Jones' Magic Carpet 3 , Claus-Peter Offen's Y3K and David M. Leuschen's Galateia . After winning the first two races, victory had came close for Lord Irvine Laidlaw's Reichel/Pugh 82 Highland Fling XI until her forestay broke. All four return along with the Dutch-owned Farr 100 Leopard 3, Charif Souki’s WallyCento Tango and Andrea Recordati's newly acquired Wally 93 Bullitt.

Offen has been competing at the Maxi Yacht Rolex Cup since 2000. Today, he says “it is more professional and the boats, are much faster, but the quality of both the boats and the crew has increased significantly.” As to whether he can repeat his second place... “that was amazing given that we have a comparatively old boat. It was a combination of doing a good job and a little bit of luck.”

This year they will line up against the pure maxi racers, including Rambler 88, now in the hand of former Lucky Maxi 72 owner Bryon Ehrhart and Wendy Schmidt’s ever improving Botin Partners 85 Deep Blue. Some of the best looking yachts here are the Southern Winds, including the 90 All Smoke, Canadian Will Apold’s 96 Sorceress, which debuted here in 2017, and Massimiliano Florio’s 82 Grande Orazio, the 2018 winner.

As usual, the toughest here will be the six out of class former Maxi 72s, still racing together under IRC in Mini Maxi 1. Favourite is Cannonball, winner of the last two editions but gunning for her is Hap Fauth's Bella Mente now 74ft long. However Cannonball too has stepped up and she is now 75ft, with a deeper keel and also water ballast. Rating-wise Cannonball and Bella Mente are the same, but two points ahead of the 77ft Jethou. American regulars Jim Swartz's Vesper and George Sakellaris' Proteus, which finished second and third respectively last year, have a similar rating with Peter Dubens' North Star lowest of this group.

“The level is getting higher and higher,” says Cannonball strategist Michele Ivaldi. “We know that Bella Mente has improved a lot. Cannonball is a brand new boat now and we are learning her again - it is like having a new toy.”

Returning is last year’s complete Mini Maxi 2 podium: Alessandro Del Bono’s Capricorno, Luciano Gandini’s Mylius 80 Twin Soul B and Jean-Pierre Barjon, with his newly acquired Botin Partners 65, Spirit of Lorina. They are joined by Carlo A. Puri Negri and his Farr/Felci 70 Atalanta II, winner of last year’s Aegean 600 and the two Wally 80s, Rose of Sven Wackerhagen and Jean Philippe Blanpain’s Ryokan II, and the Vismara 80 MoMi of Angelomario Moratti and Nicola Minardi de Michetti.

Racing gets under way at 1200 tomorrow with a light forecast, conditions expected to build later in the week potentially to Mistral level.

(by James Boyd / International Maxi Association)

International Maxi Association Legal Headquarters: c/o BfB Société Fiduciaire Bourquin frères et Béran SA - 26, Rue de la Corraterie - 1204 Genève - Switzerland

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For the Maxi Yacht Rolex Cup, the Multihulls Are Here

For the first time, the regatta, which has always been for monohulls, will include big catamarans. Capsizing could be an issue.

By David Schmidt

Call it a game of speed, tactics, underwater rocks and double the number of hulls.

For the first time in its 43-year history, the Maxi Yacht Rolex Cup , which begins on Monday in Porto Cervo, Sardinia, will include up to five maxi multihulls. These fast and powerful catamarans, which measure at least 60 feet, bow to stern, can often sail faster than monohulls, but they don’t carry capsize-preventing keels.

This presents a challenge at the Maxi cup. The regatta is known for its coastal courses. These often wend past the Maddalena archipelago’s islands and submerged rocks, and, critically, through Bomb Alley.

This stretch of water, about 15 miles long, separates the archipelago from Sardinia’s north-northeast flank. When the strong northwesterly winds — called the mistrals — blow, Bomb Alley can get boisterous, which should yield exciting, if not scary, racing.

“This is an experiment, really,” said Andrew McIrvine, secretary general of the International Maxi Association , which organizes the regatta with the hosting Yacht Club Costa Smeralda . He said the decision was initiated by a member’s request.

“A lot of Maxi owners are getting a bit long in the tooth, and it will probably extend their racing life by a few years if they can race on a catamaran, rather than hanging on to the back of a Maxi,” he said.

Catamarans have two hulls to create stability, rather than a single narrow hull and a heavy keel. Critically, they generally lean over — or heel — less than a monohull, which makes it easier to move across the yacht during maneuvers. But if the sails are not adjusted to match the wind gusts, multihulls can lose their balance and capsize.

“There’s the old saying about running aground that sometimes gets applied to capsizing big multis: There’s two clubs, those who have and those that will,” said Paul Larsen, who is the race skipper of Allegra, an 84-foot catamaran. “It’s no joke.”

While the risks are real, regatta organizers were clear that they wanted to attract sophisticated racing-focused multihulls.

“There are a lot of horrible caravan multihulls,” McIrvine said, referring to cruising-oriented catamarans. “We won’t just take anything because it’s big, that’s for sure.”

Regatta organizers said that the multihulls would compete in their own class. However, weather depending, the catamarans could sail similar or separate coastal courses as the monohulls, potentially setting up passing situations with the slower-moving monohulls.

“I see the opening up to multihulls as a natural thing, a natural development of an event that has always been characterized by cutting-edge technology,” said Michael Illbruck, commodore of the Yacht Club Costa Smeralda. “This type of boat entirely fits with the Maxi world.”

Five Maxi-size catamarans initially entered the regatta, the maximum under the event’s rules, but one had a catastrophic fire and another capsized, sustaining season-ending damage.

Unless other Maxi multihulls enter the regatta at the last minute, that leaves three of the multihulls that will race, two of which will be making their racing debut on the Maxi cup’s coastal courses.

Regatta veterans describe these courses as aesthetically pleasing and tactically challenging, and regatta organizers said the islands could also modulate sailing conditions.

“The various courses around the archipelago of La Maddalena offer an area with limited waves when the prevailing mistral wind blows,” said Edoardo Recchi, the club’s secretary general and sports director. “This kind of course fits the characteristics of multihulls better.”

The archipelago’s often flat waters can make for fast sailing, but navigation can also be confined.

“The proximity to land puts real pressure into the decision-making as the consequences could be of far more importance than simply the race result,” Larsen said. “It’s challenging, thrilling and spectacular.”

This places a premium on crew choreography, especially when the mistrals howl.

“All the teams are working with big gear and very high loads, and mistakes can be very costly sailing amongst the archipelago,” said Kinley Fowler , an America’s Cup winner and the sailing team manager of Convexity², a Gunboat 68, describing the forces exerted by the big sails. “This will be exaggerated on the multihulls as we will be going faster, so it means that we will need to be thinking one or two steps ahead the whole time.”

Despite these scrawny margins, multiple teams are hoping for the mistrals.

“I’d prefer a windy regatta,” Larsen said. Of Allegra, he said, “The boat has proven itself to be strong and fast, and the crew know her well.”

Others are also confident about their boat-handling abilities.

“We have a really strong team and are not afraid to push the limits,” Fowler said. While the Maxi cup is the debut regatta for Convexity², Fowler said that the core team had sailed together for years. “Fingers crossed we get to light it up.”

While the three multihulls are fast and powerful, Lord Laidlaw’s Highland Fling 18, a new Gunboat 80, is built for speed. It should be able to sail at more than 30 knots in certain conditions.

“We are definitely on the edge of speed, loads, systems — and my helming ability,” he said, adding that helming a Maxi multihull is much different than a monohull. “Great to be learning something new at 80.”

As for racing the boat through Bomb Alley in a mistral, Lord Laidlaw, who has won his class at this regatta multiple times aboard his previous Highland Fling monohulls, was candid.

“A bit scary, if I am honest,” he said, explaining that the team had taken precautions to prevent capsizing. They include incorporating sail-handling equipment that automatically releases the ropes that control the sails if certain thresholds (loads or heel angle) are surpassed.

As for dealing with a possible capsize, the teams — and the regatta organizers — are prepared.

“We will also be wearing helmets and Kevlar vests with built-in life jackets, something we have never done before,” Lord Laidlaw said.

Recchi, of the yacht club, said safety boats would be on the racecourse. He also said the event would mitigate risk by monitoring weather forecasts and real-time reports, and by selecting courses that best match conditions.

“Additionally, in the event of a major issue, the Coast Guard is on standby with their boats to help, and a towing boat will be also on standby in Porto Cervo,” he said.

There are the submerged rocks to consider, too.

“It is very easy to ground around the northeast of Sardinia,” Lord Laidlaw said. “Many people who cut corners have regretted it.” He admitted that he had twice hit those rocks.

Unlike monohulls with fixed keels, multihulls can retract their daggerboards, which are the vertical underwater foils that enable the boats to sail a straight course. When the daggerboards are down, multihulls often draw as much water as their keelboat counterparts.

When the daggerboards are retracted, multihulls become shallow-draft vessels, which can create tactical advantages on courses that wend past islands and submerged rocks.

“The fact we can raise the boards — where keelboats can’t — might allow us to cut a few corners where there are outlying shallows,” Larsen said. “But this is a high-stakes game.”

Lord Laidlaw said raising the daggerboards on the Highland Fling 18 took seven seconds. But then you can go “sideways, maybe further into the rocks,” he said.

While all teams want a safe regatta, they also want to win.

“Let’s see how tight the racing is,” Fowler said about sailing near the rocks. “We may have to push the limits to get a jump on the competition.”

This wasn’t a one-off assessment.

“When the racing is tight,” Larsen said, “all cards are on the table.”

Published on September 11th, 2021 | by Editor

No wind for Maxi Yacht Rolex Cup finale

Published on September 11th, 2021 by Editor -->

Porto Cervo, Italy (September 11, 2021) – The wind never filled in on the final day of the 2021 Maxi Yacht Rolex Cup, thus, following yesterday’s layday, the results stand after four days of racing.

For the third time, the stand-out performance across the maxi fleets was that of Canadian Terry Hui’s Lyra. The 2000 vintage Wally 77, once raced by the Murdoch family, was first campaigned by Hui in 2018 and won the Wally class that year and in 2019, when she scored firsts and seconds in all but one race.

This year, with the Wallys incorporated into the main IRC fleets, Lyra won Mini Maxi 3 with four straight bullets. Often this was by a significant margin, although Riccardo de Michele’s Vallicelli 78 H20, which has previously dominated the Mini Maxi class, was second to Lyra by two minutes under IRC corrected time on day three.

In fact, Lyra is a well optimized boat with a top professional crew led by Kiwi tactician Hamish Pepper and including round the world sailor Phil Harmer, former Team Shosholoza America’s Cup navigator Marc Lagesse, and skipper Mark Sadler.

“That definitely helps,” says Pepper. “We have a lot of sailors from the TP52s and RC44s and every maneuver we do with grand prix style and we push the boat to get every inch out of it. Terry got us a new main and new jib and the boat had a few improvements like new rigging and the mast is a lot better balanced so we can get the right tension out of it.”

Hui added, “I have been lucky to have a good boat and a good crew, but most importantly lucky to be back. It makes me feel that whatever we take for granted, that is normal, is actually so precious and it makes you appreciate that what we have been doing is very special.”

In the 100+ft Super Maxi class, Ronald de Waal’s magnificent J Velsheda enjoyed a near perfect scoreline, dropping just the final race to Topaz. The two Js have dominated the Super Maxi class with Christian Oldendorff’s Spirit Yachts 111 Geist finishing the regatta tied on points with the Swan 115 Shamanna, but winning on countback.

British America’s Cup and Olympic sailor Andy Beadsworth, sharing tactical duties with American Mike Toppa on board Velsheda, was experiencing his first week J Class sailing. “I thoroughly enjoyed sailing on the boat and with the team. We had a couple of phenomenal races against Topez when we were never more than three boat lengths apart.”

Beadsworth, who has previously raced here and won aboard boats like Michael Cotter’s Whisper and Windfall, the late Sir Peter Harrison’s Sojana, continued: “They have differences upwind and downwind, but overall they are very evenly matched. They are less maneuverable than a lot of boats and you really need to steer them with the sails. So it is team effort to get the boat around the track, but a team like this makes it look deceptively easy.”

The closest racing was between the former Maxi 72s, which ran away with the top five spots in Mini Maxi 1. Ultimately Dario Ferrari’s Botin-designed Cannonball, finished two points clear of Jim Swartz’s Vesper in turn one ahead of both George Sakellaris’ Proteus and Hap Fauth’s Bella Mente.

Cannonball was the defending champion here and racing with the same equipment as in 2019. “The crew was very good, the tactician was very good – so we won,” explained Ferrari. “I believe that this is the best class and between everybody the racing is close.”

Victory has inspired Ferrari to compete with Cannonball again in 2022. “The boat is fast enough. We haven’t done anything this year to make it faster. With new sails and changing a few things we could be more competitive, so why not? The nice thing about this class is that you improve every year.”

Sharing tactical duties this week on Cannonball were both Michele Ivaldi and Vasco Vascotto. Of their victory. “For sure it is surprising because we know how strong the other guys are, but this week we did everything nice and smooth,” said Vascotto. “We made some mistakes but not many and this is still a very good boat.”

This was Vascotto’s first win in the class having previously come second three times.

Some of the closest racing has been in the Maxi class for 80-100 footers where an unprecedented six 100 footers were competing plus the new Swan 98 BeCool. Ultimately, the 100ft Wallys tied up the podium with Sir Lindsay Owen Jones’s Magic Carpet Cubed coming out on top, two points ahead of Claus-Peter Offen’s older Y3K, in turn two ahead of David M. Leuschen’s Galateia.

For Owen Jones, one of the longest term supporters of both the Maxi Yacht Rolex Cup and the International Maxi Association, this was the seventh time he has won this event in his various Magic Carpets, the last being in 2016.

“I am very happy,” he said. “None of us had the faintest idea how it would work out against all these incredible boats that have won the Rolex Fastnet Race or Sydney Hobart, etc [ie Rambler 88, Comanche and ARCA SGR] but Magic Carpet is a well rounded boat that does most things pretty well. The other boats do some things extremely well. That is reflected by how we didn’t win any races but were always up there which you can only do if you sail the boat well.”

On the final race day, Irvine Laidlaw’s Highland Fling XI was enjoying a commanding lead in the Maxi class until her forestay broke.

Impressively, the team moved heaven and earth to get a new carbon fiber forestay sent out from Carbolink in Switerland aboard Laidlaw’s private jet. Once arrived last night, the stay was tensioned on the dock using hydraulic rams and then cured by running electric current through it – a process taking just five hours, before it was reinstalled.

Highland Fling XI ended the regatta in fourth, designers Reichel/Pugh having drawn three of the top four in the Maxi class.

For Wendy Schmidt, owner of Deep Blue, this Maxi Yacht Rolex Cup was a great relief. Although her Botin 85 was launched in February 2020, due to the pandemic this was the first race for her ‘Maxi 72 on steroids’. Deep Blue finished fifth in the 12 boat fleet.

“This was our maiden voyage, finding out about the boat and its modes. We had great competition to do that with, so we have nowhere to go but up,” said Schmidt, who raced here previously with her Swan 80 Selene. “It was a great event, wonderful for our crew to get back together and to tune the boat up.”

There was also great diversity in the boats at the top of Mini Maxi 2, where Jean-Pierre Barjon’s Swan 601 Lorina 1895 claimed Tuesday’s race, IMA President Benoît de Froidmont’s Wallyño ended up fourth while the two overall leaders were longer – Luciano Gandini’s Mylius 80 Twin Soul B taking second to Alessandro Del Bono’s immaculate Reichel/Pugh 78 Maxi Capricorno, originally built in 1995 as Morning Glory.

Del Bono’s Capricorno is a family affair, his father (with a young Alessandro on board) having raced in Admiral’s Cups, while today Alessandro’s own son Rinaldo races on board.

Del Bono last competed at the Maxi Yacht Rolex Cup in the early 2000s and despite Capricorno being old, it has been thoroughly modernised, reducing draft from 4.5 to 4m with optimised rig and sails. “We knew we were competitive and in the end we achieved the result we fought for,” del Bono explained. “The races were very good.”

Racing took place from September 6 to 11 for the fleet of 44 yachts competing in three maxi classes (Mini Maxi 60-80ft; Maxi 80-100ft; Super Maxi 100+ft) with all three divisions further subdivided based on their performance characteristics.

Event information – Results – Photos

Source: IMA

Tags: Maxi Yacht Rolex Cup

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Racing in the Waters off the Coast of Sardinia

World of sailing..

• Writer Sandra Lane
• Photographer Carlo Borlenghi

“There’s a problem with this event—it’s too perfect.” So goes the joke shared by habitués of the Maxi Yacht Rolex Cup , held in Porto Cervo, Sardinia, every fall. It’s hard to disagree. We are on board Alix, a magnificent 90-foot (27-metre) Swan maxi yacht that’s serving as Rolex’s hospitality boat—not racing, but following the fleet.

The sun is warm, the sky and sea a medley of brilliant blues—a complementary contrast with the apricot-coloured rocks of the surrounding islands. The breeze is exactly the right strength to make the racing exciting, and our ride both fun and comfortable. Paul Cayard , seven-time world champion, veteran of multiple America’s Cups, winner of the Whitbread Round the World Race, and a Rolex Testimonee is on board. He explains the tactics of all the boats as they jockey for position on the line.

Held in the first week of September, the 2019 edition of the Maxi Yacht Rolex Cup attracted a fleet of 53 of the world’s biggest racing yachts (a maxi is more than 60 feet (18.3 metres) long, with no upper limit). Established in 1981 as a biennial event, the regatta has been supported by Rolex since 1985—the same year that the brand established its partnership with the event organizer, Yacht Club Costa Smeralda (YCCS). Since it became an annual event in 1999, it has grown to what must be the largest gathering of big race boats anywhere in the world.

They are attracted by a unique combination of factors: a tightly organized racing program and intense competition on the water, matched by tremendous camaraderie on shore, with the added attraction of Costa Smeralda’s world-class hotels and restaurants.

Tied up to the docks that fan out in front of the yacht club, the racing fleet is a spectacular sight. Representing a combined value of well over $100 million, it’s a fitting complement to the strong contemporary architecture of the yacht club building. (No ordinary clubhouse, it houses valuable collections of maritime memorabilia, contemporary art, and prehistoric fossils—amassed by the club’s founder, the Aga Khan—and has a terrace featuring one of the most glamorous swimming pools in the Mediterranean.)

Observing the Maxi fleet, you can trace the entire evolution of yacht design over the past 90 years—examples of how hull shapes have changed from gracefully narrow and curvy to aggressive-looking wedges; the evolution of materials, from polished teak and brass to carbon fibre and titanium; the change in sail technology—with most yachts now using NTPT, the high-performance thin-ply technology material developed and patented by North Sails, and recognizable by its dark colour. Billowing white canvas is now the stuff of nostalgia.

Maxi yachts run the gamut from those designed primarily for cruising (built for owners who also like to race) to pure, stripped-down racing machines, and even J-Class—beautifully restored examples of the yachts built for the America’s Cup in the 1930s, and their modern replicas. Being separated into eight classes, with an intricate handicapping system, allows boats with different designs and performance to compete in the same race.

Today, yachting is one of the key pillars of Rolex’s sponsorship activities. However, the brand’s relationship with the sport goes back to 1958 when it formed an association with the New York Yacht Club. In 1966–67, throughout his record-breaking solo around-the-world voyage, Sir Francis Chichester wore a Rolex Oyster Perpetual. A sextant, charts, and a very accurate timepiece were essential for navigation in those pre-GPS and pre-satellite phone days.

Just as the yachting community has been a leader in raising awareness of the need for marine conservation, Rolex’s philanthropic initiatives in that area go back several decades—latterly brought together under its Perpetual Planet umbrella. The YCCS itself took a significant initiative in 2017, celebrating its 50th anniversary by establishing the One Ocean Foundation. YCCS commodore Riccardo Bonadeo (a two-time winner of the event himself) considers it part of an “obligation to show gratitude to the sea,” emphasizing the importance of “action rather than just awareness.”

Today, Rolex’s yachting activities span the globe, encompassing partnerships with many of the world’s most prestigious yacht clubs and classic sailing events. As well as YCCS and the New York Yacht Club, the partners include the Royal Yacht Squadron (UK), Cruising Yacht Club of Australia, and Yacht Club de Monaco. Rolex partners with some 15 major yacht races and regattas, ranging from offshore classics such as the Sydney Hobart, the Middle Sea Race, and the Fastnet, to the 52 Super Series and SailGP.

But there’s nothing quite like the Porto Cervo Maxis—as it is known colloquially. “If you’re into sailing and you have the kind of money to own a big boat, Porto Cervo is your target,” says Cayard. “We all take the other [Maxi regattas] seriously, but this is the big one—this is the Rolex. You have the prestige, the history, the amazing weather and sailing conditions—it’s like a world championship.”

As you might expect at this level of any sport, things can get pretty intense—and here, the weather plays a significant role. That mistral day on the chase boat, we were lucky—we just got completely soaked by waves and spray. Others were not so fortunate: in the intensity of racing—as the top limit of safe wind speed imposed extreme loads on the yachts’ rigging—sails were blown out, a mast was broken, sailors were injured. All this for no reward other than the passion for racing.

Given the demands of racing yachts at this level, one of the most remarkable things about the Maxi Yacht Rolex Cup is that there is no prize money; for the yacht owners, it’s all about the thrill of beating their peers. An unusual feature of the regatta is that, although owners are allowed to hire professional crew, they must helm their own yachts for the great majority of races. When they cannot, the substitute helmsman must be classed as an amateur and the yacht receives a penalty on the result of the race.

Instead of money, the winners receive a trophy and a Rolex watch—this past regatta, a Rolex Rolesor   Yacht-Master. The engraving on the caseback is unique: proof that they have achieved supremacy in a sport that they are passionate about, by steering their yacht throughout one of the world’s most prestigious regattas. A regatta that is unlike any other.

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Cruising the Moskva River: A short guide to boat trips in Russia’s capital

There’s hardly a better way to absorb Moscow’s atmosphere than on a ship sailing up and down the Moskva River. While complicated ticketing, loud music and chilling winds might dampen the anticipated fun, this checklist will help you to enjoy the scenic views and not fall into common tourist traps.

How to find the right boat?

There are plenty of boats and selecting the right one might be challenging. The size of the boat should be your main criteria.

Plenty of small boats cruise the Moskva River, and the most vivid one is this yellow Lay’s-branded boat. Everyone who has ever visited Moscow probably has seen it.

This option might leave a passenger disembarking partially deaf as the merciless Russian pop music blasts onboard. A free spirit, however, will find partying on such a vessel to be an unforgettable and authentic experience that’s almost a metaphor for life in modern Russia: too loud, and sometimes too welcoming. Tickets start at $13 (800 rubles) per person.

Bigger boats offer smoother sailing and tend to attract foreign visitors because of their distinct Soviet aura. Indeed, many of the older vessels must have seen better days. They are still afloat, however, and getting aboard is a unique ‘cultural’ experience. Sometimes the crew might offer lunch or dinner to passengers, but this option must be purchased with the ticket. Here is one such  option  offering dinner for $24 (1,490 rubles).

If you want to travel in style, consider Flotilla Radisson. These large, modern vessels are quite posh, with a cozy restaurant and an attentive crew at your service. Even though the selection of wines and food is modest, these vessels are still much better than other boats.

Surprisingly, the luxurious boats are priced rather modestly, and a single ticket goes for $17-$32 (1,100-2,000 rubles); also expect a reasonable restaurant bill on top.

How to buy tickets?

Women holding photos of ships promise huge discounts to “the young and beautiful,” and give personal invitations for river tours. They sound and look nice, but there’s a small catch: their ticket prices are usually more than those purchased online.

“We bought tickets from street hawkers for 900 rubles each, only to later discover that the other passengers bought their tickets twice as cheap!”  wrote  (in Russian) a disappointed Rostislav on a travel company website.

Nevertheless, buying from street hawkers has one considerable advantage: they personally escort you to the vessel so that you don’t waste time looking for the boat on your own.

Prices start at $13 (800 rubles) for one ride, and for an additional $6.5 (400 rubles) you can purchase an unlimited number of tours on the same boat on any given day.

Flotilla Radisson has official ticket offices at Gorky Park and Hotel Ukraine, but they’re often sold out.

Buying online is an option that might save some cash. Websites such as  this   offer considerable discounts for tickets sold online. On a busy Friday night an online purchase might be the only chance to get a ticket on a Flotilla Radisson boat.

This  website  (in Russian) offers multiple options for short river cruises in and around the city center, including offbeat options such as ‘disco cruises’ and ‘children cruises.’ This other  website  sells tickets online, but doesn’t have an English version. The interface is intuitive, however.

Buying tickets online has its bad points, however. The most common is confusing which pier you should go to and missing your river tour.

“I once bought tickets online to save with the discount that the website offered,” said Igor Shvarkin from Moscow. “The pier was initially marked as ‘Park Kultury,’ but when I arrived it wasn’t easy to find my boat because there were too many there. My guests had to walk a considerable distance before I finally found the vessel that accepted my tickets purchased online,” said the man.

There are two main boarding piers in the city center:  Hotel Ukraine  and  Park Kultury . Always take note of your particular berth when buying tickets online.

Where to sit onboard?

Even on a warm day, the headwind might be chilly for passengers on deck. Make sure you have warm clothes, or that the crew has blankets ready upon request.

The glass-encased hold makes the tour much more comfortable, but not at the expense of having an enjoyable experience.

Getting off the boat requires preparation as well. Ideally, you should be able to disembark on any pier along the way. In reality, passengers never know where the boat’s captain will make the next stop. Street hawkers often tell passengers in advance where they’ll be able to disembark. If you buy tickets online then you’ll have to research it yourself.

There’s a chance that the captain won’t make any stops at all and will take you back to where the tour began, which is the case with Flotilla Radisson. The safest option is to automatically expect that you’ll return to the pier where you started.

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The Comprehensive Guide to Moscow Nightlife

• Posted on April 14, 2018 July 26, 2018
• by Kings of Russia
• 8 minute read

Moscow’s nightlife scene is thriving, and arguably one of the best the world has to offer – top-notch Russian women, coupled with a never-ending list of venues, Moscow has a little bit of something for everyone’s taste. Moscow nightlife is not for the faint of heart – and if you’re coming, you better be ready to go Friday and Saturday night into the early morning.

This comprehensive guide to Moscow nightlife will run you through the nuts and bolts of all you need to know about Moscow’s nightclubs and give you a solid blueprint to operate with during your time in Moscow.

What you need to know before hitting Moscow nightclubs

Prices in moscow nightlife.

Before you head out and start gaming all the sexy Moscow girls , we have to talk money first. Bring plenty because in Moscow you can never bring a big enough bankroll. Remember, you’re the man so making a fuzz of not paying a drink here or there will not go down well.

Luckily most Moscow clubs don’t do cover fees. Some electro clubs will charge 15-20$, depending on their lineup. There’s the odd club with a minimum spend of 20-30$, which you’ll drop on drinks easily. By and large, you can scope out the venues for free, which is a big plus.

Bottle service is a great deal in Moscow. At top-tier clubs, it starts at 1,000$. That’ll go a long way with premium vodka at 250$, especially if you have three or four guys chipping in. Not to mention that it’s a massive status boost for getting girls, especially at high-end clubs.

Without bottle service, you should estimate a budget of 100-150$ per night. That is if you drink a lot and hit the top clubs with the hottest girls. Scale down for less alcohol and more basic places.

Dress code & Face control

Door policy in Moscow is called “face control” and it’s always the guy behind the two gorillas that gives the green light if you’re in or out.

In Moscow nightlife there’s only one rule when it comes to dress codes:

You can never be underdressed.

People dress A LOT sharper than, say, in the US and that goes for both sexes. For high-end clubs, you definitely want to roll with a sharp blazer and a pocket square, not to mention dress shoes in tip-top condition. Those are the minimum requirements to level the playing field vis a vis with other sharply dressed guys that have a lot more money than you do. Unless you plan to hit explicit electro or underground clubs, which have their own dress code, you are always on the money with that style.

Getting in a Moscow club isn’t as hard as it seems: dress sharp, speak English at the door and look like you’re in the mood to spend all that money that you supposedly have (even if you don’t). That will open almost any door in Moscow’s nightlife for you.

Types of Moscow Nightclubs

In Moscow there are four types of clubs with the accompanying female clientele:

High-end clubs:

These are often crossovers between restaurants and clubs with lots of tables and very little space to dance. Heavy accent on bottle service most of the time but you can work the room from the bar as well. The hottest and most expensive girls in Moscow go there. Bring deep pockets and lots of self-confidence and you have a shot at swooping them.

Regular Mid-level clubs:

They probably resemble more what you’re used to in a nightclub: big dancefloors, stages and more space to roam around. Bottle service will make you stand out more but you can also do well without. You can find all types of girls but most will be in the 6-8 range. Your targets should always be the girls drinking and ideally in pairs. It’s impossible not to swoop if your game is at least half-decent.

Basic clubs/dive bars:

Usually spots with very cheap booze and lax face control. If you’re dressed too sharp and speak no Russian, you might attract the wrong type of attention so be vigilant. If you know the local scene you can swoop 6s and 7s almost at will. Usually students and girls from the suburbs.

Electro/underground clubs:

Home of the hipsters and creatives. Parties there don’t mean meeting girls and getting drunk but doing pills and spacing out to the music. Lots of attractive hipster girls if that is your niche. That is its own scene with a different dress code as well.

What time to go out in Moscow

Moscow nightlife starts late. Don’t show up at bars and preparty spots before 11pm because you’ll feel fairly alone. Peak time is between 1am and 3am. That is also the time of Moscow nightlife’s biggest nuisance: concerts by artists you won’t know and who only distract your girls from drinking and being gamed. From 4am to 6am the regular clubs are emptying out but plenty of people, women included, still hit up one of the many afterparty clubs. Those last till well past 10am.

As far as days go: Fridays and Saturdays are peak days. Thursday is an OK day, all other days are fairly weak and you have to know the right venues.

The Ultimate Moscow Nightclub List

Short disclaimer: I didn’t add basic and electro clubs since you’re coming for the girls, not for the music. This list will give you more options than you’ll be able to handle on a weekend.

Preparty – start here at 11PM

Classic restaurant club with lots of tables and a smallish bar and dancefloor. Come here between 11pm and 12am when the concert is over and they start with the actual party. Even early in the night tons of sexy women here, who lean slightly older (25 and up).

The second floor of the Ugolek restaurant is an extra bar with dim lights and house music tunes. Very small and cozy with a slight hipster vibe but generally draws plenty of attractive women too. A bit slower vibe than Valenok.

Very cool, spread-out venue that has a modern library theme. Not always full with people but when it is, it’s brimming with top-tier women. Slow vibe here and better for grabbing contacts and moving on.

High-end: err on the side of being too early rather than too late because of face control.

Secret Room

Probably the top venue at the moment in Moscow . Very small but wildly popular club, which is crammed with tables but always packed. They do parties on Thursdays and Sundays as well. This club has a hip-hop/high-end theme, meaning most girls are gold diggers, IG models, and tattooed hip hop chicks. Very unfavorable logistics because there is almost no room no move inside the club but the party vibe makes it worth it. Strict face control.

Close to Secret Room and with a much more favorable and spacious three-part layout. This place attracts very hot women but also lots of ball busters and fakes that will leave you blue-balled. Come early because after 4am it starts getting empty fast. Electronic music.

A slightly kitsch restaurant club that plays Russian pop and is full of gold diggers, semi-pros, and men from the Caucasus republics. Thursday is the strongest night but that dynamic might be changing since Secret Room opened its doors. You can swoop here but it will be a struggle.

Mid-level: your sweet spot in terms of ease and attractiveness of girls for an average budget.

Started going downwards in 2018 due to lax face control and this might get even worse with the World Cup. In terms of layout one of the best Moscow nightclubs because it’s very big and bottle service gives you a good edge here. Still attracts lots of cute girls with loose morals but plenty of provincial girls (and guys) as well. Swooping is fairly easy here.

I haven’t been at this place in over a year, ever since it started becoming ground zero for drunken teenagers. Similar clientele to Icon but less chic, younger and drunker. Decent mainstream music that attracts plenty of tourists. Girls are easy here as well.

Sort of a Coyote Ugly (the real one in Moscow sucks) with party music and lots of drunken people licking each others’ faces. Very entertaining with the right amount of alcohol and very easy to pull in there. Don’t think about staying sober in here, you’ll hate it.

Artel Bessonitsa/Shakti Terrace

Electronic music club that is sort of a high-end place with an underground clientele and located between the teenager clubs Icon and Gipsy. Very good music but a bit all over the place with their vibe and their branding. You can swoop almost any type of girl here from high-heeled beauty to coked-up hipsters, provided they’re not too sober.

Afterparty: if by 5AM  you haven’t pulled, it’s time to move here.

Best afterparty spot in terms of trying to get girls. Pretty much no one is sober in there and savage gorilla game goes a long way. Lots of very hot and slutty-looking girls but it can be hard to tell apart who is looking for dick and who is just on drugs but not interested. If by 9-10am you haven’t pulled, it is probably better to surrender.

The hipster alternative for afterparties, where even more drugs are in play. Plenty of attractive girls there but you have to know how to work this type of club. A nicer atmosphere and better music but if you’re desperate to pull, you’ll probably go to Miks.

Weekday jokers: if you’re on the hunt for some sexy Russian girls during the week, here are two tips to make your life easier.

Chesterfield

Ladies night on Wednesdays means this place gets pretty packed with smashed teenagers and 6s and 7s. Don’t pull out the three-piece suit in here because it’s a “simpler” crowd. Definitely your best shot on Wednesdays.

If you haven’t pulled at Chesterfield, you can throw a Hail Mary and hit up Garage’s Black Music Wednesdays. Fills up really late but there are some cute Black Music groupies in here. Very small club. Thursday through Saturday they do afterparties and you have an excellent shot and swooping girls that are probably high.

Shishas Sferum

This is pretty much your only shot on Mondays and Tuesdays because they offer free or almost free drinks for women. A fairly low-class club where you should watch your drinks. As always the case in Moscow, there will be cute girls here on any day of the week but it’s nowhere near as good as on the weekend.

In a nutshell, that is all you need to know about where to meet Moscow girls in nightlife. There are tons of options, and it all depends on what best fits your style, based on the type of girls that you’re looking for.

Related Topics

• moscow girls
• moscow nightlife

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