If boot Düsseldorf has to be cancelled due to the coronavirus, as was the case last January, the Yachting Festival Cannes almost automatically takes over the function of the world's leading trade fair for water sports. And the showcase of shipyards and equipment suppliers that opened this morning fulfils this function without any ifs or buts.
The range of yachts on offer here is impressively complete. Both in terms of width and depth. Small, specialised providers such as Django, Gunboat, JPK or Tofinou can be found in the completely filled harbour basin, as can the new products from the large series manufacturers - from Bavaria, Dehler and Hanse to the local heroes Beneteau, Dufour and Jeanneau, along with almost all multihull brands.
Cruising and performance catamarans in particular are rarely found in such numbers and variety - which is why we will shortly be dedicating a separate article to the most important new products in this segment.
What was already noticeable in previous years: the yachts, especially the premiere models, are getting bigger and bigger. Apart from the Dufour 37, which actually measures just under 33 feet in length, new models around ten metres in length are rare exceptions. Nothing is happening under ten metres this year. However, new developments in the 40 to 60 metre range are booming.
The new Dufour 37
Grand Soleil easily tops this with the new 72 - an excitingly designed boat that lies between the luxury and performance segments and features many exciting details. Of course, its little sister, the Grand Soleil 40 from the Italian shipyard's performance programme, is no less interesting. Like the First 36, the Elan E6, the Italia 12.98 and the spectacularly beautiful Solaris 50, it has been nominated for Europe's Yacht of the Year. All five models are moored here on the same pier, with just 100 metres between them all.
The Grand Soleil 72- Top model from Cantiere del Pardo
It's hard not to go into raptures in the face of so many novelties, and yes: also in the face of so many treasures that are unaffordable for most sailors. These include the Swan 55 from Finland, the latest model from the luxury brand Nautor. It sits alongside the Swan 58, which made its debut here last year, and it offers little less.
On the contrary: at the insistence of shipyard owner Leonardo Ferragamo, she was given a unique bathing platform. It not only opens up the stern, but also the aft part of the deck, creating a kind of private beach club - large enough for two or three sun loungers. An elaborate mimicry with actuators concealed in the stern flap turns the Swan into a kind of Sesame Open You. A gimmick? Perhaps a little bit, but above all spectacular.
The Swan 55 in detail
The Swan 55 is also surprisingly customisable to the owner's wishes in other ways. In front of the mast, you can choose a guest cabin on the port side, or alternatively a TV lounge that opens out into the saloon - or you can incorporate the area into the owner's cabin and have a spacious boat office set up. The options are so convincing that it seems impossible to make the wrong decision.
The Swan 55 also has plenty of room for manoeuvre on the port side aft: here you can choose to accommodate a workshop, a pilot's berth with washing machine and plenty of storage space or even accommodation for two crew members accessible from the cockpit if you don't want to sail the boat without help. There is a choice of four types of wood for the entire interior: oak, light oak, dark oak or walnut. Teak, on the other hand, is on Nautor's index because it is no longer available in the only quality acceptable to the shipyard (1st grade). The shipyard is still looking for alternatives for the decks and, according to YACHT information, is also examining cork rod decks. However, a decision has not yet been made.
The topic of sustainability is playing an increasingly important role in yacht building everywhere. This was already the case last year, albeit more on a rhetorical level. Not much more than promises and prototypes were on show back then. This time, too, you have to look closely to find environmentally conscious solutions. But one senses that the time of mere promises is over.
Sunreef is showing a mega-cat with solar cells glued almost everywhere in the hull, superstructure and mast. Beneteau is offering the Oceanis 30.1e, its first series boat with Torqeedo pod propulsion, and will soon be showing the first First 44 with a hull and deck laminated from recyclable resin. Fountaine Pajot and Dufour are underpinning their goal of completely CO2-neutral production by 2030. There are solutions for this. But there still seems to be a long way to go - especially as the majority of the exhibits at this year's Yachting Festival Cannes were hardly or not at all designed according to sustainability principles. Nevertheless, the big players in the industry have realised that things can't go on like this.
