We had entered a race. But it was no ordinary race. I wanted a boat. But it was no ordinary boat.

For almost two years my heart had been set on having a Spirit yacht.  I had seen them on the water and I had also met the extraordinary Karen (Underwood, Spirit MD), legendary Sean (McMillan, Spirit designer), and members of the Spirit family at last year’s boat show and at the Spirit boatyard in Ipswich.  Stephen, my husband, took more persuading. He had been hankering after a completely different boat, much to my disappointment.  But after seeing Io at her berth in Dartmouth, he was convinced that she was the boat for us.  She had been lovingly built and beautifully maintained by Stuart, her owner.  Stephen and I fell in love with her on the spot!

This was the first Spirit yacht ever to enter the Fastnet.  The conditions, as many sailors know, are unpredictable and sometimes punishing.  Less experienced yachtsmen are warned away from some of the waters in the most benign of conditions, never mind a Force 8 or 9.  I am not a natural sailor who has grown up on boats.  I love being on the water and cherish our crews, but I am also horribly sick and rely on copious pills.

2023 was a special year:  it was the 50th edition of the Fastnet.  But this year’s race was tough from beginning to end.

Saturday 22nd July

We began the race on Saturday 22nd July at 2pm.  We were a crew of eight and had organised ourselves into two shifts of four on; four off on a rota of: three, three, three, three, six, six hours.  This rota system worked well throughout the whole race.  Having six hours off during the day meant that we had good quality rest, preparing us for the three hours on and off at night.

We knew the start would not be easy.  With a south-west force of 7-9 against an ebb tide, the Solent was challenging. The funnelling effect at Hurst made for extremely lumpy seas.  Within two hours of the start a boat had sunk right next to us.  We even saw the boat’s dan buoy float past.  The two sailors, having issued several Maydays, were eventually rescued in their life raft.

Three of us, despite swallowing everything anti-nausea, were very sick.

One of our crew members, Charlie Palmer, noted his experience:

‘36 knots of breeze. A third of our class has now retired and one sunk right next to us. All ok. We heard them over the radio stepping onto the life raft. We had a surreal view of Yarmouth’s Severn Class lifeboat crashing through the waves behind us through the Needles and the coastguard helicopter off our port side. The weather looks calmer for the remainder, so good to have put the boat through the paces close to home with no issues. Next on to Land’s End!’

Sunday 23rd July

Io was fine. The crew were fine, albeit a little fragile and wet. The big problem was that we had not remembered to tighten the hatches so the bedding at the front had soaked through. This did not dry out for the rest of the week. We are still trying to dry it out now!

Sunday was the day the dolphins appeared by our side. And they didn’t leave us for the duration of the race.

Monday 24th July

By Monday afternoon we were doing a very respectable nine knots through the water. The wind was a steady 24 knots and had turned to the north, which was a little chilly but manageable, even though our clothing was rather damp. We heard the friendly Cornish fishermen over the radio as the wind pushed us towards the Isles of Scilly.

Tuesday 25th July

Two days after the start of the race, we sailed south past the Isles of Scilly and then north past the last shipping exclusion zone.

The Isles of Scilly during the day seemed at the same time magical and menacing. This was even truer when we passed them in the moonlight two days later. Famous for its wildlife, fortresses, shipwrecks and lighthouses – and threatened by rising sea levels – these isles are a sober reminder of the past, present and future.

We had come through rough seas, nine dismastings, one sinking, and many retirements. Io was still going strong. And still the dolphins were with us. We felt Neptune’s blessing.

But then the wind died. We were becalmed for eight hours.

In Charlie’s words:

‘It’s a rather odd feeling being in the middle of the sea and not sure what the next weather front will do.’

To those watching from the land (and thank you to you all who were cheering us on and looking out for us all the way), it looked ominous.

Launched last year, the first Spirit 72DH Anima II will be at this year’s Palma Boat Show from 27th to 30th April. Now available for charter in the Mediterranean, Anima II was designed for bluewater cruising and occasional regatta racing.

Nearly a year into ownership of his new Spirit, we caught up with the owner of Anima II to find out why he chose a Spirit yacht, the inspiration behind a contemporary interior, and he shares his memories from the first season onboard.

What attracted you to Spirit Yachts?

I will start with the old saying “The path is the true destination”. I was on a 20 year journey to find Spirit Yachts. It was always a dream of mine to buy a sailing yacht and circumnavigate the world. Yes, of course you can do this with many mass production yachts, but why do you want to do something with an ordinary yacht, when you might be able to afford something special. So, the first book I bought was the Bruce Roberts-Goodson Complete Guide to Metal Boats. The book put me on a journey to visit sailing yachts and shipyards across the world. I visited shipyards such as Tayana or Hylas in Taiwan, yachts in Australia and Thailand, boatbuilders like Contest in the Netherlands or Wauquiez in France. The visits brought me to Ukraine, Turkey, the USA and the UK. I learned about all different boat building materials from steel, to aluminum, to fiberglass and carbon, sandwich compositions and even cement yachts. Of course, I knew the wonderful designs of Spirit Yachts before. Only when I understood during my journey that a wooden yacht might be even more stiff and would have the same maintenance challenges as other yachts, I truly started to consider wood. So what was the attraction? Well, I don’t know many people who don’t like wood. If you then take the Spirit craftsmanship and how they make out of wood a piece of art, then it becomes very difficult to resist. Honestly, you need to see, feel and smell the shipyard. We were sold when we set our first step into it. A new three year journey started from that moment.

What was the inspiration for Anima II?

My wife and I have travelled the world and lived with our family for many years in Asia. We moved several times into different houses. Some of them we built and others we bought and made major renovations. All our homes had distinct characters; they all had a lot of open space and light in common. Space to live and space to breathe – room to allow the inner self of us and our children to unfold. We created an environment with a lot of soul. We wanted a sailing yacht which also would provide this and so it became our inspiration when we started the project. We worked with the Spirit Yachts team and used the deckhouse concept for the outside but opened the inside to create space. The galley is not a galley – it’s a meeting point like in all our houses. We love wood, especially the beautifully varnished mahogany and we wanted to use wood as a feature, not just as a material. Life is full of contrasts with shadow and lots of light, so Spirit added hull windows and large fan windows to invite the sun into our yacht. We chose a white finish and light blue fabrics to contrast with the wood. Harmony of materials was important to us to echo what Anima stands for: soul and a little bit of air to breathe.

You and your family and friends did the delivery sail from the UK to the Mediterranean, how was this experience for you all?

As you can imagine, this first trip on Anima was a very unique trip for my wife and I. Our daughter, Kira Karina, who I have sailed with since she was 10, joined us on the first leg. For me, it was very special and very emotional. We first sailed non stop from Guernsey to Gibraltar (1,100 NM) and then from Gibraltar to Malta (another 1,100 NM). For both legs we needed about six days. We had quite a few days where Anima did more than 200 NM in 24 hours. As on many long passages, we had it all: snow, rain, heavy seas, cold, warm, sun, lots of wind, no wind… you name it. Put simply, it was a wonderful trip and a wonderful experience with wonderful people. Anima is a new home for us and a wonderful yacht, which proved to be a great sailing yacht on her first 2,500 NM.

Spirit Yachts has launched its highly anticipated 34m sailing yacht, the Spirit 111. Lowered into the water for the first time at Spirit Yachts’ waterside headquarters in Ipswich, Suffolk, the sloop-rigged yacht is the largest single-masted wooden yacht to be built in the UK since Shamrock V in the 1930s.

At the request of her overseas buyer, the Spirit 111 has been designed and built in-house by Spirit Yachts to be one of the most environmentally friendly sailing superyachts ever created.

Spirit Yachts worked collaboratively with leading marine and automotive suppliers to deliver on the owner’s eco brief. A Torqeedo electric propulsion system using a 100kW motor will propel the yacht silently for up to 40nm at eight knots from battery power alone. Whilst sailing, the propulsion system will regenerate the four BMW lithium battery banks by rotating the propeller shaft whilst the yacht is under sail. All power-consuming components have been carefully selected to be highly efficient and will use minimal energy without impacting performance or comfort.

Spirit Yachts managing director Nigel Stuart explained: “It is important to the owner that he can spend the majority of his time away from marinas enjoying sailing and anchoring in bays. Using electric propulsion to regenerate the batteries whilst sailing, the yacht will be able to operate for up to four days without having to plug into shore power or start the two onboard generators. When the yacht crosses the Atlantic, as long as there is adequate wind, she will not need to consume any fossil fuels.”

Nigel continued: “By partnering with suppliers and challenging ourselves to create customised solutions using the latest energy-saving technology, we have created one of the world’s most sustainable superyachts. From construction using responsibly sourced timber to carbon-saving systems whilst in operation, the Spirit 111 sets a new standard for reducing the impact sailing has on our environment.”

The interior of the Spirit 111 was created in partnership with Rhoades Young, which is Spirit Yachts’ first collaboration with an external design agency. Rhoades Young developed the initial concept for a unique, curved interior, which Spirit Yachts’ design team developed and brought to life together in the final plans.

Rhoades Young partner Jonathan Rhoades commented: “It was a joy to work with a client with an absolute passion for design. The brief was a combination of his love for furniture and organic architecture. The client had recently visited Antelope Canyon in Arizona and this was the catalyst for the idea of the warm soft flowing walls creating unique focal points within the room. Whilst appearing simple these twisting forms are co-ordinated perfectly with the beautiful skylights above creating a calm and tranquil ambiance. These elegant forms not only twist and peel to create counters but uniquely create the intimate back drops for the highly detailed ‘steam pieces’ which blur the line between furniture and sculpture. It has been an absolute privilege to work on this project with the client and the craftsmen and women who created it.”

Spirit Yachts head designer Sean McMillan commented: “The Spirit 111 has been completely customised throughout and as a result her interior is totally unique. The design is a never-ending swirl of organic shapes, encompassing the practicalities necessary in a yacht but in a highly imaginative way.”

Down below, walls and bulkheads flow in an ‘S’ shape through the interior, which has a natural look and feel thanks to the combination of exposed Sipo, teak and American Walnut timbers on show. A bespoke, curved American Walnut seating arrangement takes centre stage in the open plan saloon-galley and C-shaped arrangements created from steamed timber curve over the beds in the owner’s and VIP cabins. Discreet doors with hidden, sensor-activated recesses, rather than visible door handles, ensure smooth lines and a contoured look throughout.