THE ABILITY TO GET SAILING QUICKLY, EASILY AND ENJOYABLY IS WHAT MAKES THE Y9 SO APPEALING, SAYS TOBY HODGES AFTER SAILING BELLA
Time. You may not be able to buy it, but some may be fortunate enough to buy the things that let you use it most efficiently.
It was mid afternoon on a sweltering day in late June, Mallorca. I’d just come ashore from the Superyacht Cup Palma.
With the rush hour traffic looming, roadworks stifling the city centre and the oppressive heat, there was surely no chance of any meaningful sail on the new Y9 that day, as it was located in Port Adriano, 25km along the coast.
Hitching a ride on Ulli’s (YYachts’s Hans-Ulrich Heisler) unnervingly powerful moped, we weaved through the city, avoided the motorway standstill and tailback and arrived at the Philippe Starck-designed marina within half an hour to be welcomed by Bella’s crew, ready to depart.
Just 15 minutes later we were out of the marina and hoisting full sail via push buttons in a perfect Force 4 evening breeze.
Bella heeled onto her wide powerful lines and we were straight into double figures, sailing at 10 knots in 13.
I was slightly dazzled by it all, and certainly impressed. This is no 25ft daysailer, rather a contemporary superyacht and yet the speed and ease with which we could get sailing with minimal fuss yet maximum pleasure is quite something.
However, this should perhaps come as no surprise to anyone familiar with Michael Schmidt’s background.
A veteran racing sailor, his esteemed boatbuilding career is latterly built on making large yachts fun but crucially manageable to sail short-handed.
He saw a gap in the market to create premium yachts in the 70-100ft sector, built in series production to help offer value.
His YYachts yard build light and fast carbon sandwich yachts with a ‘keep it simple’ philosophy.
They are the creation of top designers, who are tasked with ensuring they look good, sail well, and are easily handled.
The Y9 has a 90ft Bill Tripp-designed modern hull shape with the volume of a 100-footer, and is also available as a Pilot House and a Custom version (which we saw last year in the stunning Prevail with its prominent squared deck house).
Bella launched in time for the Cannes Boat Show last autumn, and as I soon discovered when skipper Iloy Van Berk offer
