Sailing the stunning 110ft superyacht ‘Zemi’ with her designer

Sailors make a beeline for the tiny Caribbean island of St Barth each March to hitch probably the most hotly anticipated occasions within the superyacht racing calendar. The Bucket Regatta is famous for its crusing and socialising, however think about participating on a ship you’d really drawn your self. Properly, for the famend yacht designer Malcolm Mckeon, that is no mere fantasy.

“I feel I’ve been going to the Bucket Regatta for nearly 20 years,” he informed us. “Crusing situations are perfect for racing superyachts with attention-grabbing programs across the outlying islands. For many of these Buckets, I’ve had the pleasure to race on yachts I designed. I’m very often invited on the newly launched yachts as I’ve already constructed up a relationship with the consumer.”

This yr was no exception, as Mckeon was invited again by the proud new proprietor of 110ft Zemi, delivered by Baltic Yachts late final summer time. It was solely the second outing on the racecourse for a high-performance bluewater cruiser that Mckeon had conceived with a marked flip of pace and a full carbon fibre layup. And like lots of the massive yachts on the Caribbean circuit, she’d participated within the Superyacht Problem in Antigua only one week earlier.

“I’d have already been aboard for the ultimate sail trials – so it’s not as if I haven’t been on the boat earlier than,” says Mckeon. “Becoming a member of a consumer aboard their yacht after supply is extra a social factor, actually. But it surely’s good to see how the boats compete on the racetrack and the way effectively they’re sailed.

“You actually get a a lot better really feel for the way the boat performs than on sail trials – I suppose the sail trials are extra about ensuring that, inside purpose, the boat performs as per the design and as meant. However when you begin racing, it’s extra about fine-tuning efficiency.”

Mckeon was extra of a visitor than a member of the race crew, invited, he says, to advise and accompany an proprietor who’s himself an skilled sailor. “I are inclined to keep away from getting concerned in any manoeuvres these days,” the designer says. “I used to run ahead and assist get the kite down, however I really feel I’m getting in the best way now – these guys are a lot larger and stronger! But when I see one thing that’s snagged or a line that wants coiling, in fact I’ll assist.”

Getting concerned

However that didn’t imply he was sitting quietly amongst Zemi’s afterguard sipping tea. The truth is, Mckeon admits he discovered it exhausting to not converse up at occasions.

“You don’t need to get entangled with questioning the boat or the navigators and the way they’re selecting to sail the boat tactically. You don’t need to step on their toes. However actually, as regards to how the boat is being sailed by way of sail trim and weight, shifting the burden round on the boat, and even the extra technical side of rudder angles, heel angles, and many others, it’s exhausting to not remark. I solely need to assist – everybody has their very own manner and technique!”

Mckeon was fairly clear that the mainsail could possibly be trimmed in a manner that higher suited Zemi’s design. And he improved the fore-and-aft trim of the boat by inserting the crew in optimum places in keeping with the climate situations. Whether or not his recommendation made the distinction or not, at her Antigua debut, Zemi got here third of three in her class, whereas at St Barth, she was third out of 5.

Malcolm Mckeon on the helm of Zemi, a yacht from his personal drafting board.

“The boat carried out as anticipated and I used to be pleased with the outcome – we got here in behind the 2 J-Class yachts and forward of the 2 different 34m to 35m fashionable sloops,” he says. “I don’t suppose we may have carried out any higher, actually, in opposition to the boats in our class. We additionally obtained lots of feedback in regards to the elegant look of the boat and the way effectively she sailed. To me that’s all the time essential.”

Zemi units a prodigious amount of sail: 360m2 for the pinhead major, 276m2 for the blade jib – each in North Sails moulded 3Di composite – and an epic 1,110m2 for the large A2 gennaker. Set in opposition to that’s the righting second from a 28-tonne telescopic keel that may lengthen the draught to five.8m. In sea trials final yr, the yacht achieved crusing speeds in extra of 25 knots – fairly hair-raising for a monohull. However regardless of her extremely technical lay-up in carbon composite, Mckeon says the transient was all the time for a cruising boat.

Cruising first

“Whereas the proprietor needed to partake in regattas, racing was by no means the precedence,” he says. “The intention was to cruise for 3 years or so and be a part of some regattas after that. Considering forward, nevertheless, the boat has been designed to hold a square-top major and greater sails for racing. Their entry into the Antigua Superyacht Problem was a little bit of a last-minute determination, however they loved it a lot that they determined to hitch the Bucket too.

“With regatta participation, you push the boat a bit bit greater than you’d do if you’re cruising, so really I feel it’s actually good for the crew to have had the chance to check the boat on this manner – to do one thing like this, forward of a world cruise, generally is a massive confidence builder, each with regard to their skill and the boat’s. When Zemi returns to regatta competitors, with racing sails, I count on to see even higher efficiency.”

And relaxation! The extra elegant and alluring cruising mode of Zemi at anchor

This yr’s Bucket noticed optimum climate situations for the large boats, Mckeon says. “At earlier Buckets I’ve raced in, it’s received fairly windy at occasions, fairly gusty and with a lumpy sea. However this yr was good – 12 to 16 knots, which is good for superyacht racing, with fairly flat water. We didn’t use any heavier-air sails, however we used the Code 65, gennaker, blade jib, the primary and our staysail. In abstract, that’s the entire sail stock!”

The racing was measured, with constant outcomes. Following the same old sample of staggered begins with the slowest-rated yachts first, Zemi crossed the road on the finish of the pack for the 2 round-the-island races, and across the center for the downwind begin of the “Not So Wiggley” race on day two. Although out-performed by the Js Velsheda and Hanuman, she was sooner than the 34m Dykstra yacht Aurelius and the 40m Baltic Perseverance, taking third place within the first two races.

But it surely all modified with the closing race on day three. “Within the closing race, there have been some massive wind shifts across the again of the island which made for some shut tacking duals with different yachts in our class and an in depth run to the end line,” Mckeon remembers. Sadly, it additionally made for an infringement on the race course for Zemi with a 30% penalty, and he or she got here in final for the race.

She nonetheless took third general in her class, and the mishap didn’t dent the environment of pleasure aboard – significantly not for the proud proprietor. “He helmed each observe day and each race,” says Mckeon. “He beloved racing his personal boat. He did a terrific job and after the prizegiving, all of us went out for a crew dinner the place he mentioned how delighted he was with Zemi’s efficiency and the way a lot he beloved it. He’s satisfied to bits along with her.”

Teak decks gently overlapping the transom is now signature Mckeon. Notice the steps beneath. Photograph: Michael Kurtz

Nordic stylish

The proprietor is Swedish, so naturally sufficient Zemi showcases an achingly cool inside design from Stockholm-based Andreas Martin-Löf Arkitekter. Full of mild, it’s the kind of styling usually described as Nordic stylish – all pure supplies in muted tones and with out extreme ornament or decoration. I ask Mckeon what he fabricated from it.

“If you’re in ‘race mode’ all the inside luxuries, the cushions, every thing’s off the boat,” he says a contact regretfully, “so that you don’t actually get the impression of how good it’s when it’s arrange for cruising.”

Pure supplies and muted tones styling by Stockholm-based Andreas Martin-Löf Arkitekter, usually described as Nordic stylish

However, Zemi has been conceived as a formidable bluewater yacht, with 4 visitor cabins, a stern tender storage and a multifunction seaside membership aft. Underneath the pores and skin, she has been engineered to deal with excessive latitudes and the tropics according to her proprietor’s three-year cruising plan, which has already taken her as much as the Svalbard archipelago at 80°N, and is setting sights on the Pacific islands subsequent.

Energy capabilities embrace a robust 247kW Danfoss electrical motor powered by a pair of 129kW gensets, and the flexibility to regenerate energy underneath sail for zero-emissions cruising. The tender storage door opens in two sections to minimise slamming in greater seas, and the bimini and foldable dodger can face up to 50 knots of wind.

Eating with a view. Photograph: Kristofer Johnsson

From the dock, Zemi gives a stunning spectacle along with her metallic bronze topsides and a low coachroof with curved vertical glass home windows. Extra hanging nonetheless is Mckeon’s flowing teak decking, which follows the sculptured strains of the boat from the coachroof down into the cockpit and on to the transom. Not for nothing has this been known as ‘teak as an artform’.

“Clearly, I just like the look of the boat!” solutions Mckeon after I ask him what parts he’s proudest of. “I feel Zemi seems to be fairly up to date; totally different from different boats we’ve got designed. I used to be more than happy with the efficiency, too. I additionally just like the open plan design, and I feel it really works effectively for racing and cruising.”

Mckeon has a busy yr forward, engaged on a flurry of motoryacht designs signed late final yr. His Apex 850 idea with Royal Huisman for the world’s greatest sloop (it will have a 107m rig) stays on the drafting board, however he has simply signed a consumer for an 81m Huisman-built sloop (see above). And there are nonetheless prospects circling his crusing supercat designs, from the jaw-dropping MM751 to the 30m Blackcat.

Delicate luxurious beneath. Photograph: Kristofer Johnsson

Considering a yr when no new Malcolm Mckeon crusing boats are as a consequence of be delivered, the designer’s thoughts is popping to a few of his earlier tasks and the potential for a reunion at subsequent yr’s Bucket (13-16 March). “The older boats I designed just like the Kokomo’s, and the Mondango’s – the unique house owners have all moved on now,” he says. “These are second, generally third house owners, so I don’t have that relationship with them. However I’d like to step again aboard and see how my earlier work is holding up!”

Zemi specs

LOA: 33.50m 109ft 11inLWL: 31.20 m 102ft 4inBeam: 7.60m 24ft 11inDraught (lifting keel): 3.80-5.80m 12ft 6in-19ft 0inDisplacement: 95 tonnesBallast: 28 tonnesDesign: Malcolm Mckeon / Andreas Martin-Löf ArkitekterBuilder: Baltic Yachts 2023

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