TIDE

The autumn colours of Europe glow like a Caribbean sunset: maybe it’s our minds drifting, calmly waiting in anticipation until we have the Antiguan sand between our toes again. Whatever it is, we couldn’t help but take you with us within the latest pages of TIDE, in time for the winter sailing season. Besides secluded beaches, hidden restaurants and warm waters, the Caribbean brings with it a full Big Boat racing schedule. This year it kicks off with our own soon-to-be launched Pursuit Superyacht Invitational, based off the blissful white sands of Hermitage Bay, when invited yachts will soak up two days of sailing and socials on the waters north west of Antigua, taking in Barbuda and Mr De Niro’s wonderful Nobu Barbuda. Then comes the Superyacht Challenge, set off…

Daniele Macis captured our cover image for this issue, starring the latest Swan to take to water. Here we share the story of the shot Leading Nautor Swan’s big boat charge this season is Superyacht Be Cool, aptly named after the 2005 Quentin Tarantino film starring Thurman and Travolta. In this special portrait she sits in a cove off Spiaggia di Cala Brigantina, an idyllic spot in the Maddalena Archipelago, on the eastern side of the island of Caprera, Sardinia. The long and cosy cove offers shallow waters teeming with marine life. Sardinian Drone Pilot and Photographer Daniele Macis worked on the project with Milan-based Studio Borlenghi. “Our idea was to sail the yacht to Caprera Island,” Macis says. “It sets the tone so well, with the blue, blue water…

It is fair to say that the vast majority of Superyachts are generally sailed at half throttle. This is hardly surprising, given that their primary purpose is leisure, pleasure and relaxation. But it is a funny irony that this same tendency, to sail such giants conservatively, is also what makes the Superyacht racing scene so compelling. The handful of regattas held throughout the year, bringing together some of the biggest sailing yachts in the world to do battle, are priceless. All of a sudden, the handbrake is off and the sight of these titans being sailed full speed is a compelling blend of power and beauty. Few are in a better position to talk about the topic than Mike Sanderson, President of Doyle Sails, who has a pedigree in big…

Since cutting his teeth in yacht design with a 36-foot Swan, Andrew Winch has been involved in the design of more than 50 sailing yachts – from his first Superyacht, Cyclos III in 1990, to a full production line for Jeanneau Yachts in 2015. And despite his always-strong sailing credentials, Winch also recognised early on that for Winch Design to succeed long-term, it needed to diversify. That opportunity came with the design of the award-winning motor yacht White Rabbit in 1995, which marked a turning point in his career. Since then, the studio has gone on to craft some of the most iconic yachts in existence – from the 156m Dilbar to the award-winning 80m Excellence, alongside countless custom yachts that have helped shape the modern fleet. Over the years,…

Kos Evans was a meme before memes existed: a petite blonde woman with an indefatigable smile, typically found hanging upside down from the top of a 200-foot mast with a long-lens camera in her hands. “All in a day’s work,” one might caption the scenes. For 40 years, Evans has been synonymous with yachting and action photography, the go-to choice to capture an America’s Cup final or the opening sequence of a Bond movie. She’s been described as having the “adventurous spirit of a stuntwoman and the eye of an artist”, an apt line for a photographer who loves a challenge, be it finding stillness from the bow of a powerboat or astride a horse. “When you have a camera in front of your face, you feel immortal,” Evans tells…

Like many a series-starting big yacht, the new Swan 128 developed out of the owner’s desire for more space. He had bought the first of the Swan 98 line back in 2020, but quickly outgrew it. Loving the boat, however, he returned to Swan and its long-standing designer German Frers to build a bigger one. The result is the largest by volume that Swan has ever built. “We decided to go for a larger size, because the family was not so happy with the interior on the Swan 98, coming from a motor yacht background,” explains the owner’s representative, Odo Giordo. The bigger boat was designed for family needs. “We started from the Swan 120, but with the idea to do a completely new design – a very flush deckhouse,…