Review: The Spirit 100 Boat International Spirit 100

Take a swift, sideways look at this 30.6 metre Spirit Yacht, Gaia, while she is beating and there is the immediate sensation of simplicity, purity and and impression that you are watching a very elegant, very large and very powerful Edwardian pond yacht.  The 411 metres square of plain white spectra from Quantum Sails GBR carried upwind combined with a single, fixed backstay, the absence of any guardrails or port holes, the immaculately clear decks and extravagant overhangs invariably draws a respectful silence from onlookers as the yacht creams past.  Classic yacht styling always looks good on the water, but Spirit Yachts have taken this ideal to new levels. 'We started building Spirits 14 years ago with the premise that we would produce yachts that we would really like to have ourselves,' explains Sean McMillan, head of the company based in Suffolk on Britain's east coast. 'Thankfully, there are enough people with whom they strike a chord.'

While the yacht attracts attention on the water, in port Gaia becomes a magnet for the curious when her true scale becomes apparent.  Although large, custom built, carbon fibre racing and cruising thoroughbred superyachts are a frequent sight in marinas around the world, the classic heritage, craftsmanship and styling of a new Spirit yacht is extremely rare and, is arguably, more familiar and appealing than a conspicuously high-tech, high performance sailing yacht.

Spirit Yachts have produced a range of custom built yachts from 14 metres to a little over 23 metres and Gaia is the largest to date, providing a significant landmark for the company while she is also an historically important boat.  'She's the first 100 foot yacht that Spirit Yachts have built,' her skipper, Loz Marriott comments, 'and she's also the largest, traditionally built, single-masted, wooden hulled yacht to be built in the UK since the Second World War.'  Not all superyacht owners would choose to commission a piece of modern maritime history: 'The owner's previous boat was a Wally and had some very radical interior and exterior design work and fittings,' says Marriott. 'So, the idea was not to follow the usual big boat route and buy a production yacht, but find something with a little bit more character.  The thinking was not just a new boat, but an entirely new design and completely new ground.'

Moored alongside a pontoon, the yacht's relatively modest freeboard brings the rail to mid-thigh height, allowing an uninterrupted view fore and aft with the raised, gently and organically curved and varnished combing surrounding the open cockpit as the main focus.  Consequently, the team on Gaia have quickly become seasoned at fielding casual inquiries ranging from the uninformed: 'Is she a J Class?' to the slightly more enlightened  'How many coats of varnish?'

 But its below deck that the yacht breaks most of the rules.  As soon as you step down the companionway you enter an area flooded with light from four clear panels in the coachroof.  Initially, this seems a poor budget of space, but actually it provides access to the galley, the skipper's cabin, two guest cabins, all areas forward and includes the yacht's chart table and navigation station. The galley to port is separated from the entrance hall by a serving hatch and is also lit naturally by deck lights.  Traditional, varnished louvred doors let into the wooden storage cupboards continue the classic theme on board and a total of six gas rings suggest formidable entertaining capability.  Aft from the galley, the skipper's cabin with en suite shower suffers from the size of the hallway and is a tight fit, but includes easy access to all the back up systems for the generators, fire control, battery management and Raymarine systems on board.

To starboard of the entrance area, a double cabin aft and a single cabin share a roomy en suite shower room.  Moving forward, the saloon is filled with light from three further glass panels overhead and is totally devoid of any unnecessary frills.  A comfortable tan leather sofa and a dining table opposite are all that is needed.  However, there is a flat screen television hidden away, and surround sound music in all areas of the yacht.  Forward of the mast, the owner's cabin stretches across the full beam with two large beds, a dressing table and an en suite shower.

Throughout the yacht's interior, the boat builder's skill is exposed for inspection: many of the 24 laminated sapele ring frames are visible in the cabins, galley and saloon and the laser cut, stainless steel backing frames installed to strengthen the areas around the mast and chainplates provide decorative, delicate shapes that disguise their true purpose.  The detailing and craftsmanship below decks avoids any necessity for paintings or artwork with the simple, but perfectly executed air vents producing a subtle and eye catching pattern that breaks up the expanse of painted woodwork.

Spirit Yachts encourage clients to give as much design input as possible and McMillan found the perfect owner when building Gaia: 'He is very clear about what he wants in stylistic terms,' he explains, 'but he's also very realistic about the practicalities,  he would give very clear guidance in specific areas, but was willing to listen to all sorts of other ideas, particularly in the field of sailing performance and construction.  He was a joy to work with.'  Marriott agrees that the yacht is a total success: 'No short cuts have been made with the boat,' he confirms... 'obviously, the crew don't have their own space or a crew mess as such, but that is the whole ethos of the boat.'  It is this aspect of Gaia that sets her apart from many other sailing superyachts.  'The whole ethos behind the boat is family orientated,' continues the skipper. 'The owner doesn't want to sit stern-to on the dock in Monaco and feel like a goldfish, so we'll be anchoring off when guests are on board.  The idea is to entertain the entire family on board for supper combined with nice, gentle sailing.  If you look at the cockpit layout and the layout down below, it will be a ''pass your plates on, please'' style of service, so she is a very relaxed boat, without the silver service approach.'

For Spirit Yachts, Gaia represents an entirely fresh approach: 'It's the biggest boat we've ever built,' admits McMillan. 'This now puts us in the superyacht bracket and to do this with such a flexible and easy owner has been a pleasure.'  McMillan also discovered a boat building paradox: 'One of the things I've discovered about big boats is it's actually much, much easier to build a big boat,' he claims.  'It sounds daft, but it's true.  You have the space to do everything properly and space for all the systems, all the electrical and the mechanical components on board.  You also have the space for all the teams to work.  You can put 20 people on board working without them falling all over each other.'  One key factor also eased the company's début in superyachts: 'Lastly, there is also the budget,' McMillan continues, 'which enables us to really do the job properly and attend to all the details.'

Sitting in the highly varnished, Brazilian mahogany cockpit, the expanse of clear deck space forward is breathtaking, broken only by the nest of gleaming Andersen 78ST and 68ST winches at the foot of the mast.  Look over your shoulder and the quarter sawn teak aft deck rolls off far into the distance behind the custom Hercules mainsheet track.  The absence of deck clutter forces the eyes to search out details: the boat's name etched into the huge Andersen 110ST primary and secondary winches, or the small, stainless steel covers for the winch hydraulic buttons in the deck that snap shut with a reassuringly expensive click.

Gaia will spend little time moored stern-to in the Mediterranean's marinas as she is being shipped to the Caribbean this winter, even though she is quite capable of doing a transatlantic on her own bottom.  'Christmas and New Year will be in the Caribbean and we'll finish the season with Antigua Classic Week,' says Marriott. 'We'll be back in the Mediterranean next May and hopefully take part in the Superyacht Cup and then a trip through the Greek Islands before finishing off the season at Les Voiles de Saint Tropez.'  Her skipper's background is in inshore and offshore racing, so Gaia will be a serious contender in the Spirit of Tradition class.

A key element of the yacht's performance and classic style continues with the choice of mast from carbon spar specialists, Nordic Masts in Rødekro, Denmark.  The design is customised with Spirit Yachts and the owner providing input at the early design stage specifying stainless steel fittings and a mirror finish to all carbon surfaces. 'The classic appearance was vital,' say Lasse Rekless, 'and this was achieved using a small section to the mast tube.  Also, the fine taper of the topmast and the length of mast above the cap shrouds adds to the overall effect.'  Constructed using a female mould autoclave and working closely with Spirit Yachts, Quantum Sails GBR and hydraulic specialists Meridian Technologies, Rekless and the team at Nordic Masts refined all aspects of the rig to produce a unique, practical and highly effective one-off spar package.

For Spirit Yachts, Antigua Classic Week is a great prospect: 'We've been to Antigua in the past with smaller boats,' McMillan explains, 'and had a lot of fun watching the J Class yachts chomping about and we always thought it would be wonderful to go and have a play with them. So, now, Gaia will be out there in the thick of it.  Putting one of our boats into that environment and to compete with that level of competition and the extraordinary wealth of sailing heritage is just marvellous.  We are aware that we are utterly modern usurpers in one sense, but luckily the Spirit of Tradition concept has been very happily embraced by most regatta and event organisers.'  For the sake of Gaia and other modern classic, maritime masterpieces, this attitude of understanding will continue.

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