To Infiniti and beyond

A Bermuda dinghy skipper has been testing a pioneering, high-performance luxury yacht design dubbed ‘the future of sailing’.

John Nicholls, who sails out of the Royal Hamilton Amateur Dinghy Club, is friends with one of the leading lights behind Infiniti Yachts, producers of an innovative, carbon fibre racer-cruiser model that, at its core, features a ground-breaking Dynamic Stability System.

This system uses retractable foils at the side of the boat to reduce heel angles and provide progressive dynamic lift. In short: it’s quick — and when the foils are extended it provides stability as well as speed.

Nicholls was involved in the launch of the first boat and was recently in Palma, Spain, racing and testing a 36ft version, only the second one made and which cost 300,000 euros to produce. 

He said: “It was only the fourth time these boats have been tested but the first time for this second one.

“One of the main things is the speed – it averages very, very fast and because it’s very simple to sail it’s great for cruising. A family of four could sail a 36-footer — it’s very complementary. 

“When the foil is out it’s very stable — you can walk around no problem unlike some of the racing yachts when everyone’s sitting on each other!”

The long-term goal of the designers is to crack the high-end, racer-cruiser market and its design is very much ‘a gentleman’s day boat’.

The model Nicholls, Infiniti Yachts’ Bermuda Rep, sailed and raced in Spain at the PalmaVela — with a pro crew led by Neil Pryde — is already making quite an impact in sailing circles. 

“The research and development testing these guys have done is exemplary,” said Nicholls. “Anyone who knows anything about sailing gets on the boat and is like ‘wow’.”

Moulds for a 100-footer have already been commissioned by makers Danish Yachts and there has been interest from clients. 

The high-end 80ft-up market — bigger boat equals greater profit margin — is the long-term target but there are plans to fit and race the DSS into a mini for the class’ transatlantic race.

“You could take it [DSS] into a modern race cruiser and retro-fit it and you would see some benefit but obviously not as much as on one that’s custom fitted,” he said

The DSS design has been called ‘the future of sailing’ but Nicholls admitted: “Like a lot of good ideas around the world sometimes it takes a long time to get down.” 

For more details on Infiniti Yachts log on to www.infinitiyachts.com