SMART EVOLUTION

Repeatable designs are where the safe money is being spent in sailing superyachts today.

While some custom yards are still attracting one-off orders, in recent years it has been designs such as the Swan 115 and the Hoek Truly Classic 128s that have secured multiple orders. And in the 80-110ft sector, Southern Wind has long dominated this market.

We were given the chance to trial a prime example of its latest design in ideal conditions off Palma, Mallorca. Kiboko Tres is the third Southern Wind for this particular owner and shows the benefits of consistency and reliability that using a tried and tested recipe brings.

But what about the pizzazz, the magic? Some might wonder if, on a yacht this size, the helmsman can still feel that connection to sailing that a yachtsman craves. However, as I was very happy to discover, to stand at the windward wheel when heeled to a gunwale and fully powered up, is to feel on top of the yachting world. It may be superyachting, but it is most definitely still real sailing. And that is the essence of what the serial yacht owner of Kiboko Tres wanted when he upgraded from a SW94 to this SW105.

PERFECTING THE RECIPE

The brief was for a performance-oriented yacht for superyacht regattas and family sailing, but which should be easy to handle. Southern Wind