Nick Burnham: The new Cranchi Sessantasette 67 was a wow, the Majesty 120 superyacht was Gulf Craft doing what it does best, and the M48 catamaran was Prestige doing what it has never done before
Lastyear’s autumn boat shows felt like a tentative return to normal. This year however, it was full steam ahead!
First Cannes, perhaps my favourite show. Fairline was exhibiting its fabulous looking and wonderfully detailed new Phantom 65, plus the new F//Line 33 alternative seating layout, which turns a good boat into a near perfect one. The new Cranchi Sessantasette 67 was a wow, the Majesty 120 superyacht was Gulf Craft doing what it does best, and the M48 catamaran was Prestige doing what it has never done before. I toured a 110ft 40-knot(!) Sanlorenzo, Grand Banks’ new 85, and a rather lovely Extra Yachts X96 Triplex. Twenty-two films in the can and it was home for an intensive week of editing before...
Southampton. Princess was showing off its new F65, proving, yet again, its utter mastery of the flybridge cruiser. The owner of the very first Dale Classic 37 had been in touch, as had Dale’s boss Mike Reynolds, both keen to get me aboard their new baby. It didn’t disappoint – it’s an utterly gorgeous craft. The aluminium Archipelago 47 catamaran was fascinating, the new layout of the Botnia Targa 47 intriguing, the Galeon 510 Skydeck, with its power retracting flybridge tonneau, had me wondering why more boats can’t be like this, and the Aquila 44 showed why power cats might just be the way forward. There was just time to thoroughly explore the Oyster 595 sailboat before racing home with 24 more videos in the bag to edit.
Next up was Monaco Yacht Show. A chauffeur-driven
Mercedes S Class was waiting for me and Marianne a
