P-Yachts: How America's luxury classics are celebrating their comeback in Europe
YACHT
· 11.04.2026
Text by Craig Davis
Over the last decade and a half, a class from the Universal Rule has experienced a revival, almost unnoticed even by long-time connoisseurs of the scene. These are yachts with a P in their sails. Gradually, four of these sailing gems have been brought back to life. They had all been more or less forgotten in the USA and would have been scrapped sooner or later.
Today, these P-yachts race around the Mediterranean as if they had just been launched. They date from the years 1911 to 1913: the "Joyant", the "Olympian", the "Chips" and the "Corinthian". The fact that they were saved is thanks to two men in particular: the Frenchman Bruno Troublé and the Briton John Anderson.
The former Olympic participant and America's Cup skipper Troublé not only tracked down the boats. He also knew how to get interested parties interested in them. Anderson, in turn, took on the neglected boats and rebuilt some of them from the ground up on behalf of their new owners.
P-Yachts: Icons from the USA
- The class was originally designed and built in the USA.
- It was mainly sailed in the Long Island Sound, before Newport and north of Boston in the Marblehead area
- The boats come from from the pens of some of the most famous designers of their time - including William Bradford
- William Starling Burgess and Nathanael Herreshoff were also enthusiastic about the P-Class.
A coincidence led to the revival of the P-Yachts
However, it all started with a Q-class boat. One day, Troublé observed the "Falcon II", which John Anderson had restored together with his father-in-law. Troublé was enthusiastic about the boat - and unexpectedly became a yacht broker. The "Falcon" was to be sold, and Troublé knew that one of his friends, Pascal Oddo, would want to buy her immediately.
Oddo brought the boat to Europe and took part in regattas in the Mediterranean. He recruited his brother Philippe as part of the crew. However, he did not want to settle for the role of co-sailor for long and was soon on the lookout for a similar boat. The only condition: It had to be bigger than his brother's.
P-Yachts find number one: The "Olympian" from Wisconsin
Philippe Oddo and Bruno Troublé finally found what they were looking for in Wisconsin. There they came across the P-class yacht "Olympian". It had been designed by William Gardner in 1913. They flew in John Anderson to take a look at the boat and assess the scope of the necessary conversion work and the cost of dismantling the rig. The "Olympian" had sailed most of the time on the Great Lakes in the north of the USA. Her owner had maintained her to a certain extent and had even installed a carbon fibre Marconi rig.
Philippe Oddo bought the boat and had it transported to Anderson's shipyard in Warren, Maine. He was to build a gaff rig, as originally intended by Gardner. The red deck also had to be replaced. On this occasion, the aft-mounted engine was also moved to the centre of the ship for better weight trim. And Anderson trimmed the deckhouse, which had been enlarged at some point over the course of time, back to its original dimensions.
Two years of work for the European debut
The work took two years. In 2014, the time had finally come: the "Olympian" was the first of four P-Yachts to arrive in Europe. The Oddo brothers Philippe and Pascal were finally able to take part in the classic regattas, each with their own boat. However, they were not able to compete directly with each other, as one was sailing a Q yacht and the other a P yacht. Philippe Oddo in particular found this unsatisfactory. So he took action and persuaded a friend, Bernard Liautaud, to also set out in search of a P-class.
This time they found the "Chips", which had been launched in 1913 as the "Onda", a boat that had spent most of its time in Newport. It had been designed by Starling Burgess and built at his shipyard in Marblehead, the designer of three America's Cup yachts in the 1930s.
Anderson and Troublé came into play again. They travelled to Newport to take a look at "Chips". Although the owner's family had sailed the boat from time to time and carried out some maintenance work, she had never been looked after as well as a centenarian would have deserved. Anderson's assessment was drastic: A complete refurbishment was absolutely necessary.
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"Chips" - P-Yacht in the intensive care unit
Every frame in the boat was broken, the keel rotten. Bernard Liautaud was not deterred by this. He had lost his heart to "Chips". So she too was transported to John's shipyard in Maine. "We re-planked her. Only three intact planks on each side could remain. We used Sipo instead of the original yellow pine and also bolted the entire boat instead of using screws," says Anderson, proud of his work.
A new engine was also installed, the cabin roof was reduced in size and the large brass portholes were replaced with smaller, bevelled glass windows. "Fortunately, the mast was still in good condition, but we lengthened it. Bruno was of the opinion that a larger sail plan would do the boat good. So we added about 1.80 metres to the foot of the mast."
Duels between the P-Yachts caused a stir
When the work was completed, the "Chips" was also shipped to France by its new owner. That could have been the end of the story, but Philippe Oddo's dream had come true. He now faced an equal opponent at regattas. But things were about to get better: The duels between the two P-Classes attracted the attention of a third friend.
So once again, Bruno Toublé set off in America in search of another forgotten beauty. He had learnt that there was another one in Connecticut, the "Corinthian". She had been built two years earlier than the other two yachts, in 1911, by Nathanael Herreshoff.
"Corinthian" - Herreshoff's forgotten P-Yacht
The ship passed through several owners' hands and travelled from the US East Coast to Michigan on the Great Lakes, from there south to Louisiana on the Gulf of Mexico and finally back to Connecticut. The "Corinthian" soon lay ashore there for 20 years, awaiting her fate. Troublé was able to persuade her owner to part with her. John Anderson's time had come for the third time.
In his shipyard in Warren, the P5 underwent a total refit, just like the "Chips" before it. She was lifted from her keel and stripped down to the cedar interior panelling. A new frame was fitted, the planks replaced and the rotten deck replaced. The old engine also had to make way for a new one.
Barely restored, the "Corinthian" also embarked on its journey across the Atlantic. In 2021, three P-Class yachts sailed against each other for the first time at the Voiles de Saint-Tropez. By now at the latest, the international classics community was taking more than just notice of the trio. And so it is hardly surprising that the enthusiasm of the previously purely French owners spread to sailors of other nationalities.
Stephan Lobmeyr, an Austrian living in Paris, was to become the next P-Class owner. He had previously sailed 420s and 470s and later switched to smaller keelboats. After sailing with his neighbours on their restored P-class yachts, he was hooked. Another one had to be found.
P-Yacht star "Joyant": the largest and fastest caused a stir back in 1911
This time they came across the "Joyant" designed by Herreshoff. She too had experienced a chequered history, including a sinking. But above all, with an overall length of 58 feet and a waterline length of around 35 feet and 6 inches, she was larger, but also heavier than her sisters who were taking part in regattas at the time. As a result, she carried around 19 square metres of additional sail area.
After her launch in 1911, she was so dominant that other designers demanded a change in the valuation rule: displacement and sail area should be included in the calculation in proportion to the length.
Revitalisation is an arduous undertaking
When Bruno Troublé found the "Joyant" on behalf of Lobmeyr, she was in a similarly disastrous condition as the three yachts before her. The most time-consuming task proved to be the removal of the GRP coating that a previous owner had given the hull to reduce the annual maintenance costs.
The rigging also had to be modified to bring it into line with the other P-Yachts. And an engine was needed, as the old one had been removed at some point. Since the arrival of "Joyant" in Europe in 2024, there are now four P-class boats that regularly meet in the Mediterranean and make for impressive images.
John Anderson, who has restored them all, also knows what it means to tame the ships, which are fitted with lavish gaff rigs. "The mainsails alone cover an area of around 92 square metres. There are also large, asymmetrical spinnakers, two jibs and a 135 per cent genoa," he explains.
"You first have to get that much power on the right track."
Sailing P-Yachts: Pure power - and not for the faint-hearted
However, the expert is not surprised that the P-Class yachts are basically over-rigged for sailing on open and choppy seas. Anderson: "The boats were originally built for regattas in the comparatively sheltered and sometimes windless Long Island Sound and off Marblehead.
When the wind off the Côte d'Azur sometimes blows at 15 knots or more, the boats can easily be overpowered." What's more, there is no railing for the P-Class yachts. "That doesn't make sailing manoeuvres any easier for the crews," says Anderson.
Bruno Troublé confirms this, but emphasises: "I love sailing with the P-Class. Even if the boats seem heavy or even sluggish at first glance. You just have to follow one basic rule: Build up and maintain speed, almost at all costs! Once these yachts are up to speed, they are a dream despite their enormous displacement. Then you can even sail them very high upwind without losing control," explains Troublé. And adds enthusiastically:
"Once you've experienced this yourself on a boat like this, you'll know that no other boat can offer you this feeling!"
P-Yacht owners dream of their own class
The owners of the P-Yachts are currently endeavouring to make their boats more comparable. Stephan Lobmeyr: "We currently meet at seven to eight regattas a year, mostly in the Mediterranean, and maintain a thoroughly friendly atmosphere. As our boats are each designed slightly differently, we have agreed to make adjustments in terms of sail area and weight distribution."
However, her main aim is to find a few more boats - along with interested parties who would buy them, restore them and sail them just as enthusiastically as she does. "Our dream would be to be able to compete in regattas as our own construction class at some point."
Where P-Yachts still slumber
Theoretically, this would certainly be possible. There are still some boats, albeit few, waiting for a second spring. One of them is in Italy. It has been due to be restored to its original condition for some time, but work has not yet begun.
There is another P-Class in New York. However, it has been converted into a ketch by one of its previous owners. John Anderson has already proven several times that he knows how to restore the yachts to their original gaff rig. However, this would be both a costly and lengthy endeavour for a potential buyer.
The most likely addition to the existing quartet could be a yacht located in Nova Scotia. According to Bruno Troublé, it is apparently in quite good condition. However, it is questionable whether its current owner would even sell it.
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Four P-Yachts among themselves - for the time being
So it remains to be seen how long "Chips", "Olympian", "Corinthian" and "Joyant" will remain among themselves. Perhaps this is not such a bad thing, as it will allow the four owners to quickly agree on urgently needed remuneration rules. The details of these rules will be derived from the experience that the crews gain during the regattas in which they meet. The more often this is the case, the more exciting not only the races will be in future.
The class itself is also likely to become even more popular. On the other side of the Atlantic, where the P-Class was only a shadow of its former self, many a connoisseur of the scene will be rubbing their eyes in amazement at the development to date.
