On board the SW96 yacht Liberty with her owner

As he moved around the world for his career, first in engineering and then in finance, the owner continued to enjoy holidays afloat. Then, a few years ago, he chartered a Southern Wind and loved it.

Together with friends, he bought Ammonite, a SW82. Also a Farr design, this family cruiser was built and launched in 2016 for Marcus Blackmore, an Australian businessman and a hugely experienced racing sailor who had his yacht meticulously prepared for long-distance cruising and racing. It was a quick design fitted with a lifting keel to allow it to explore places most other performance yachts its size cannot reach, and it featured an interior refined by Nauta Design.

“Ammonite sails very well, and we really loved the experience. I started to partake in some Mediterranean regattas, which I truly enjoyed, so in 2021, we sold out, and I decided to order a new Southern Wind,” he says.

As technology continues to advance, there were many new options to consider. The deck plan for Liberty is similar in arrangement, but it has a very powerful new hydraulic system designed by MYT Systems. “The more power, the better,” is Liberty’s owner’s mantra.

The building experience was “more intense than I anticipated,” he says, “and partly because I enjoyed being actively involved in almost every aspect. The build of a yacht is way more complex than building a house, plus you have all the technology inside and outside of it as well as putting together a crew.”

Southern Wind made his involvement easy, he remarks. “The yard is incredibly user-friendly. They are a group of passionate sailors who love their jobs and are very service- and customer-oriented. I would say I know more than 20 people quite well by now and we are on very good terms.” One thing the owner was careful not to do was to hire a captain until the later part of the build.

“Another owner once told me: ‘Don’t hire a captain for the build because he’s going to build his boat, not your boat.’ That is one of the challenges in the industry. So, I engaged as an adviser to someone who’s been organising regattas for me, I would say he’s now a friend. When the specs were pretty much finalised, I hired a captain to supervise the construction and sail the boat from Cape Town to the Med.

“Now I have a new captain who is going to follow me in this new phase. You do need to be prepared to bring the right people in at the right time in the process.”

The interior of Liberty is a careful reflection of the owner and his wife’s tastes, and great effort was devoted to getting the details just right. They employed South African firm Ebony Design to help with the interior.

“I noticed with a lot of boats that people spend quite some money building an amazing boat and the furnishing looks basic for this sort of asset. This is not a house nor an hotel, it is still a boat and it should look as such, but there are certain things you can do with the interior detailing, choice of materials and lighting that can bring the whole interior to the right level. I think we’ve done a very good job with Ebony Design helping us with the overall interiors design and the final touches that really make a difference.”

Yet to be added is artwork by American fine art photographer Jeff Conley, with his striking black and white images drawn from seascapes and landscapes.

Liberty’s first race outing was at the Giorgio Armani Superyacht Regatta in Porto Cervo in June, within which Southern Wind held its own rendezvous. The crew found themselves duelling with SW105 Kiboko, SW82 Grande Orazio, SW100 Padma and near sister SW96 Nyumba, which delivered in 2022. Despite it being their maiden regatta and debut, Liberty won the final race against rivals with experienced and well-seasoned regatta crew, and was awarded the prize for Best Performance.

The owner says he enjoys being hands on, whether in a race or when cruising. “I’m almost always at helm no matter what. When racing, I’m a decently good helmsman and surround myself with pros to concentrate on driving. On a boat like this, where the loads are in the tens of tonnes, you really can’t afford to make mistakes and need a properly sized crew.”

He is keeping an open mind about the plans for Liberty. “The one thing I learned with a new build is that you need to move in incremental steps. Don’t try to do too much too fast because you need to get to know the boat first,” he says. “We will have some cruising trips with family and friends. We are not going to be able to use the boat as much I would like to for now.

“I’d like to do maybe two or three races a year. The professional crew have all been giving me a range of ideas: some say the Middle Sea Race is perfect for this boat, or ‘You should do the Caribbean 600, you’ll love it.’ I am still forming a plan, but I am going do the Ibiza JoySail in September. We did Les Voiles de Saint-Tropez before selling Ammonite and it remains a favourite. The Giraglia is also an exciting combination of inshore and offshore races.”

Distant oceans are possible, if time permits. “This boat is incredibly pleasant to sail and if you want to take it a leisurely pace, you can comfortably cross the Atlantic or go around the world,” he says. “I’ll think about that when the time comes. I’m not going to stretch things for now, but we’ve just started, so let’s see where we get.”

The hopes behind Liberty are given away in the name and logo: a white bird taking wing. This is a yacht that embodies the dream to be set free.

First published in the September 2024 issue of BOAT International's Life Under Sail. Get this magazine sent straight to your door, or subscribe and never miss an issue.