The wind may have taken a while to show up for the race around the Isle of Wight during the Panerai British Classic Week in Cowes, UK, but when it did it gave Boat International the perfect opportunity to put Spirit Yachts’ new launch Spirit of Galatea through her paces.
We were first aboard the exquisite 22.4m superyacht, which has taken nearly two years to build at the Spirit Yachts yard in Suffolk, UK. She is a superb example of the very best of real craftsmanship – woodwork down to the finest detail and stunning styling making her a yacht that, as her owner’s representative said, ‘makes you leave her in the tender with a smile, knowing she’s yours’.
Like all Spirits, the yacht is a custom design with naval architecture by Sean McMillan of Spirit Yachts and an interior designed by McMillan and the owners. The layout is based on a brief for a yacht optimised for the Mediterranean, with a forward master double cabin, midships crew/guest cabin and aft twin cabin, but the highlight is the open plan central saloon complete with fan-shaped skylights which are a first for Spirit Yachts.
Sailing her is a dream, and testament to the knowledge and skills of McMillan who couples classic yacht styling with carbon rigs and modern performance underwater profiles. She ghosted in anything from around 5 knots of breeze, but when the wind kicked in she flew. Hard on the wind she trucked along at over 9 knots, making light of the overfalls south of the Isle of Wight in the process, while reaching and off the wind she raced along at up to 12 knots with just a full main and goosewinged jib.
Look out for our full report of this sailing masterpiece in a future issue of Boat International magazine.