Europe’s biggest on-water boat show returns this week (Sept 7-12), and we’ve picked the best of the monohulls due to be at the 2021 Cannes Yachting Festival

The 2021 Cannes Yachting Festival has been a long time coming with the majority of 2020’s Boat Shows cancelled due to Covid-19.

In fact, it has been fully 20 months since we last saw a major boat show in Europe with Boot Dusseldorf 2020 taking place just before the global shutdown.

Hundreds of sailing yachts will be at the show, including a number of World and European premieres, more than anyone could hope to visit in the 5 days of the show.

We’ve picked out what we think are the five most interesting monohulls at the 2021 Cannes Yachting Festival.

Some are big luxurious yachts such as the ICE 70, others are interesting in different ways, such as the J/45, which is the first yacht from the cruiser-racer focussed brand that is aimed squarely at the cruising market.

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Elan GT6

The Elan GT6 is a contemporary, sporty cruiser with all the styling bells and whistles needed to make it stand out in any waters. It is enjoyable to sail at a respectable pace and practical to cruise short-handed.

It offers the space and comfort for spending holidays aboard, which it suits more than long-distance/ocean voyaging. And it is designed to maximise the enjoyment of your chosen cruising grounds, whether on deck, below, or on the helm.

The GT6 has a level of refinement that comes with expert industrial design thanks to a collaboration with Porsche. The stark, contemporary styling, broad sections and high freeboard, which certainly made it conspicuous in Greenoch marina, will not appeal to all. But the attention to detail and design throughout keeps growing on you and sets this model apart.

Read more about the Elan GT6

J/45

The J/45 is a new performance cruiser intended as a long-distance yacht that’ll be fun to sail, as well as being enormously civilised when spending extended periods of time on board.

It’s the result of a three-year collaboration between the north American and French arms of the company. In addition, Isabelle Racoupeau brought her interior design expertise to the project.

Read more about the J/45

Swan 58

Nautor’s is expanding at an enviable rate – turnover doubled between 2017 and 2019 and the company shows no sign of wanting to rein in its ambition, with around a dozen new models from 48ft-125ft announced in the past three years with the Swan 58 and Swan 55 the latest models.

The cancellation of last winter’s boat show season meant we were not able to see the Swan 58 at Boot Düsseldorf, but the first boat is now on the water and photos taken during sea trials show it to be another stunning model.

Read more about the Swan 58

Hallberg-Rassy 50

The Hallberg-Rassy 50 is the fifth new generation twin-rudder model from the Swedish yard. As with its immediate predecessors – the 340, 40C, 44 and 57 – the new boat retains many of the brand’s hallmarks that make these boats such a popular choice for longer term cruising.

The additional volume the new hull shape provides makes the Hallberg-Rassy 55 that was produced from 2012 to 2017 the yard’s closest comparator to the new model.

Even then the waterline length of the 50 is 0.5m longer than the older boat, maximum beam is 33cm wider and the width at the transom more than 1m greater.

Read more about the Hallberg-Rassy 50

Ice 70

The Ice 70 is a gorgeous Umberto Felci design and has been conceived for fast cruising and racing at the highest levels, both with full and reduced crews and promises to combine elegance with the latest technologies, high performance and versatility.

The result is beautifully crisp styling and a clean aesthetic, with huge unobstructed deck areas and a very low profile coachroof.

Read more about the Ice 70


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