Performance Yacht Review | 2026

BY BEN COOPER

I’ve spoken about this before, so it won’t come as much of a surprise that I am terrible at maths – not adding up commission, very good at that, but complicated maths, sums (sorry ‘number sentences’) with letters in.

What I do know, though, is that the whole is much better than the sum of the parts. This is a widely known phenomenon across all walks of life and certainly rings true in the brokerage world. Sadly, it seems that we are unique in the yacht brokerage world, but we are proud to be different in this way.

Being a team player in our offices means sharing knowledge, supporting colleagues, and putting clients first. In each department and office, from sales and marketing to administration, we all work closely to deliver a seamless experience. Open communication, mutual respect, and a willingness to help each other ensures that expertise flows freely across the business. By collaborating, we solve problems faster, strengthen our reputation, and build lasting client relationships. We know that when everyone contributes their strengths, the offices operate efficiently, professionally, and with the shared goal of excellence and continuous improvement together.

Being truly international means that our expertise is wide-ranging. VAT, title, foreign flags, and offshore closings are well known to us, and we can advise accordingly. This is truly important in an eternally changing market. In the cruising world, we are seeing that clients are keener at present to explore yachting without skippers, to run the yacht themselves, albeit with shoreside pit crew when the yacht lies dormant.

Traditionally, for a sporty yacht, this self-regulating size was in the region of 50–55 ft, but now, with clever design for shorthanded sailing – for example with retractable thrusters, in-spar furling, and sail controls led back to the cockpit – this limit is increasing to in the region of 60 ft plus. Draft is now a more common limitation than size of rig and all that.

With the advent of ORC as well as IRC in the world of racing, the cruiser/racer genre is once again flourishing. ORC is a much more complicated handicap system, but as it is potentially more equitable, the yachts with comfortable interiors are now much more competitive. With a suitable sail package, and diligent removal of fenders, tenders, and Uncle Tom Cobley, the family weekend chariot can put on the lycra and compete alongside the best on a reasonably equal footing.

Those who have managed to get more than a paragraph through my previous rambling will understand the differentials between performance cruiser and cruiser/racer, and I do think that ironically, the pendulum is swinging back into an amorphous genre, where yachts can do both. Of course, there are more suitable boats either side of the equation, like the wonderful Pegasus 50 – not in the least designed for racing, but with a displacement of around 11,000 kg, is sailing in 5–6 knots, and offers fast and fun cruising with a quite unique and open-plan layout. The other side of the equation is amongst the new X-Yachts offering of the XR41, and Swan 43, with comfortable interiors for ‘glamping’, but once on deck there is no hiding the fact that the racecourse is the playground.

The world of racing is in rude health. Admiral’s Cup has fired up the world’s hardest hitters; the first of the new iteration was a glowing success, measured not necessarily by volume, but by the quality of entry. The 2027 event will undoubtedly grow on this success; custom new builds are advancing, and professional sailing now has many pathways and structures set up for future generations. France continues to lead the way in showing how offshore sailing can be a commercial success, with amazing media from the Southern Ocean never seen in such detail before.

However, domestic and continental regatta sailing is the bulk of the market. As previously mentioned, ORC is breathing life into the cruiser/racer, and coastal racing is also well received by the market, who are a little jaded with the W/L (or sausage, for the older generation) courses and like to sail a little less mob-handed and have something to look at and a destination.

The performance market has been moving well, from the adventure side of large trimarans to the smaller coastal cruising sporty yachts, and we have been kept very busy. Our marketing team are working hard at producing excellent content, and once given a free rein, continue to amaze me with creativity and passion – please do have a look at the video of OUI FLING (Spirit Yachts 52R) sold recently. If reading this in print, you will have to go to the internet and ‘Google’ ‘YouTube Berthon OUI FLING sea trial’, and push through the Screwfix advert for a few minutes of pure sailing eye candy.

We continue to push ahead. AI is coming to upset the norm of the web portals, and having a strong website is key, which we are very pleased to have spent considerable time updating. Pressure is now on the online portals, who will undoubtedly find that price hikes without adding value are very counterproductive and a dangerous growth strategy.

Looking out of the sunny window, 2026 is shaping up to be a very good one. The enquiry rate is good, having stabilised after the Covid flurry, and although smaller on both sides of the equation, the market is still strong. As ever, well-priced yachts, in sensible locations, in good condition will find their next custodians quickly.

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