Performance cruiser: How Beneteau wants to take off with the First Yacht 53

It's as if Apple hadn't released a new MacBook Pro for what felt like an eternity. It's as if Canon didn't develop the EOS-1Ds professional SLR camera for years. Or as if Porsche took an art break with the 911. Beneteau's long pause with the First series, which amounted to a kind of creeping death of the once legendarily successful sub-brand, almost seemed like a denial of identity, a self-denial.

For decades, the shipyard based in St Gilles on the Atlantic coast had defined itself through its fast yachts in particular. The sporting and commercial successes of the First 40.7 or, much earlier, the First 30 are unforgettable.

Ten years ago, Beneteau tried once again to build on the glory days - with the First 40 and the First 30 designed by Juan Kouyoumdjian, both presented within a year. But the revival failed. The new boats came onto the market at a time when demand for performance cruisers was heading south overall. And they were unable to reverse the trend - too heavy, too conservative.

Now the global market leader wants to do it again. It is the express wish of Madame Roux', the Chairwoman of the Supervisory Board and granddaughter of company founder Henry Beneteau. This is why the shipyard took over Seascape last summer, whose trailerable boats have since formed the basis for the First range. And this summer, the upper house will also be prominently occupied.

The First Yacht 53 is set to make its debut at the Cannes Yachting Festival in September - as the first model in a series of luxury performance cruisers. It is the result of a design competition organised by Beneteau boss Gianguido Girotti more than two years ago. Four prominent design studios took part, all without payment. In the end, two Italians won the race: Lorenzo Argento, who has already worked as a stylist for Wally, among others, and Roberto Biscontini, who has long been active in the America's Cup as a designer.

At first glance, the design of the 53 does not look very spectacular. The hull has quite full lines, with a long and also wide cabin superstructure, which is an indication of generous interior dimensions. One is almost reminded of a pure cruising boat. However, Beneteau has only released one illustration so far, which also conceals what makes the design unmistakable: the open stern section, where the cockpit and deck merge seamlessly into one another.

It is interesting to note that Lorenzo Argento has given the boat some quotes from earlier First series - such as the partially covered superstructure windows at the top or the high proportion of moulded furniture elements below deck. This, we hear, went down particularly well with Beneteau.

A carbon fibre rig will be part of the standard equipment of all large Firsts, which can be recognised by the "yacht" suffix. This is new in this class and should also give the boats a performance boost. This is because they can carry significantly more sail area with the same amount of ballast. If this added value is taken into account, the shipyard promises that the First Yacht 53 will be "at least 30 per cent cheaper than the nearest competitor". That is quite an announcement. Beneteau is thus positioning itself very confidently against the competition from Grand Soleil, Ice, Mylius, Solaris and X-Yachts.

And it will not stop at this one premiere. At the same time, Gianguido Girotti and his team are already working on a smaller First, which will be around 35 feet in size and more mainstream orientated. It is intended to act as a link between the trailer boats taken over from Seascape (First 14, 18, 24 and 27) and the higher-priced First yacht series.