Sailing I

Competitive Spirits

WORDS: SAM FORTESCUE | IMAGES: LUKE DOREY & HANNAH GOLDSMITH

Some boats provoke stronger reactions than others. Few more so than the aptly named Spirit Yachts, whose flush decks, gleaming brightwork and extensive overhangs anchor them in the aesthetic of the Golden Age of sail. So, when the two largest Spirits in the fleet came head-to-head during the summer of 2024, the emotion was palpable. “It’s an experience that I will never forget – I still haven’t metabolised it yet,” exclaimed the owner of 2020-born Geist (32.9m) as he stepped ashore after two days of match racing in Sweden. Gaia (30.6m) was the other protagonist – the more mature of the two, having been launched in 2007.

Together, these two grandes dames sparred among the “rock soup” of the Stockholm archipelago in near perfect sailing conditions of around 20 knots and flat seas. Spectators by the pontoons at the summer home of the Royal Swedish Yacht Club in Sandhamn were audibly enchanted by the sight of the two 100ft-plus wooden boats squaring up. But not all of them will have realised that they were witnessing history in the making. It was the first time that wooden-hulled yachts of this scale had gone head-to-head in nearly a century – a novelty in the modern era. Not since the J-Class Shamrock V in 1930 had a larger wooden sloop with a single-part mast been launched.

“This was the first time that we could really go and put the two boats to the test,” says Geist’s owner. “It’s quite important to understand that there is not much competition for a modern classic that is this fast. Being able to match the two boats up against each other was an opportunity I couldn’t miss.”

For all that, the race was somewhat providential. An earlier date for the Spirit Yachts regatta in Guernsey had been missed. But Gaia was based in Stockholm, and Geist had been gravitating towards the region for some time, so the idea quickly hatched. The rules of engagement were hammered out between the Skippers to create maximum enjoyment for minimum risk. Day one would see three races along a standard 2nm windward-leeward course off Sandhamn, followed on day two by a three-leg passage race into the centre of Stockholm, on the inshore route of the Round Gotland race, only in reverse.

“We designed it so it wasn’t full contact like in match racing – more of a choreographed dance,” says Gaia Captain Erik Malmberg. Remarkably, this is his first command, although as a former engineer for Seldén Mast AB, he has plenty of experience in racing yachts. “We had a five-metre safety rule (not 40m as in Superyachts), but it was all very well managed, with absolutely no contact. Both boats reach away from the line, and you choose whether you want to be leading in or chasing in. It’s good for your nerves with one minute to go!”

Gaia’s owner arrived hot foot from a classic regatta in a smaller boat, and threw himself straight into the match race. Luckily, there was relatively little preparation required, because the boat is kept in day-sailer readiness with minimum inventory and clutter aboard. This was less the case with Geist, which is cruised and raced vigorously from the Med to the Caribbean.

“The furniture stays – it’s not removable,” says Captain Justin Pope of the extraordinary organic teak and walnut interior that made Geist an instant cover model and garnered several design awards. “But anything not mission-critical for racing comes out: anchors, radars, lazarettes, all the spares. If it’s not bolted down, it goes on the dock! We need three containers for Geist – with one specifically for racing.

“The boat is powerful, fast – no slouch – and she feels dynamic. We’ve topped out doing 17.7 knots in a pretty serious seaway going downwind,” Pope continues. “Anything more than 10 knots and the boat really starts getting lively. Wind in the mid-teens, and she’s doing everything she needs to. She doesn’t heel too heavily – it’s pretty cool stuff. It is very hard to put the rail under, even with that low freeboard.”

Both owners helm their boats, and it’s clear that they love the sensation. “The way that the boats are close to each other, and the opportunity to be really pinning the boat like you pin a dinghy is stunning,” enthused Geist’s owner after the regatta. The boats can match wind speed up to 10-12 knots and sail short-handed, although both lay on a race crew of 16 to 18 people.

Seeing them in Sweden, jockeying at the start and locked in tacking battles between the granite skerries, you’d be forgiven for thinking that they were built to race. It’s true that Spirit turns a slippery, efficient hull, but both boats were really conceived more as family cruisers with an occasional racing brief. Geist, in particular, has spent time and money to boost performance. The boat may have only been launched in 2020, but after being bitten by the racing bug, her owner has had her back ashore in Mallorca for a far-reaching refit. This covered simple things such as better electronics and a more sensitive wind sensor at the masthead, but also major work including replacing the keel, remodelling the rudder and stiffening the mast.

“When the boat evolved slightly more into racing, we started hanging code zeros and it became apparent there was too much fall-off on the rig,” says Pope. “So, we put in a diamond jumper set up to give us about 60 per cent more strength. We also ripped out a cruising hydraulic system and upgraded it to deliver three times the amount of power as previously with twin 400V race pumps. This enabled us to upgrade the primary winches and dial everything up to 11.

BAR Technologies put a whole new keel on the boat and designed the fastest bulb and skeg for her. Pope’s team also added a new carbon rudder with a far deeper draught, and a racier profile which, all combined, according to Pope, has made a dramatic improvement. “She is far more responsive and balanced, and goes upwind far better than she used to.”

It’s a fact that Gaia can attest to. As the longer yacht, Geist should always have been able to win in Stockholm on the strength of waterline length alone, and she did – convincingly. Gaia was strong around the start and also took two of the three passage legs, with a win on the sixth race back into the picturesque centre of Stockholm. But she found it hard to compete in a straight line.

“The start was the highlight, and we did quite well there, even though Geist was pushing us hard,” says Malmberg. “Just sailing in 20 knots and flat water, they could basically do whatever they wanted with us, because they had the boat speed and could point higher. I think we won the match racing starts, though.”

It has given Gaia’s owner the appetite to undertake his own racing surgery. Malmberg is cagey when I ask him for details, but he admits that the boat is laid up at Baltic Yachts in Finland, where she is getting more than just her annual varnishing session. “This winter is an opportunity to do more, especially after talking to Geist and learning how they improved the boat,” he says. “It’s quite a bit to do with balance, quite a bit to do with rating and how the boat is set up. You have to tread carefully, because this is a 30m-long wooden instrument – you can’t just do whatever you want.”

Spirit Yachts is supporting the engineering efforts. “Unlike many production cruisers, Spirit ‘cruising yachts’ are usually at a good base point for racing with their carbon mast and spars, often electric winches, and a quality suit of sails and running rigging,” says Spirit Yachts Production and Design Director, Julian Weatherill. “It just shows that you don’t need to be in a carbon maxi or a foiling IMOCA 60 to enjoy fast-paced competitive racing. Several of the crew members on both boats have raced at the top level and all said how fantastic the match race was.” Pope says that it can be a challenge to find equal competition. “We’re a modern classic, but we get matched up with the maxis. That means we’re going out against the Wally Centos, so we do well to hold our own. We got a third in St Tropez in the maxi class – if we can get on the podium, we’re pretty happy.”

So, when Gaia emerges from her Finnish cocoon in a new racing shape, she will be a welcome addition to the field. Like Geist’s, her owner seems keen for a rematch – it just remains to agree when and where. Malmberg won’t say for sure, but he strongly hints at a Mediterranean backdrop. “It would be nice with a bit of warmth this time.

Spirit Yachts built Gaia in 2007 and Geist in 2020 – its two big boats to date. But there is a tantalising hint of more to come from the yard in Ipswich, England. “We can’t reveal too much at this stage, but we do have a project in the pipeline in collaboration with Ker Yacht Design,” says Weatherill. “Our core Spirit design DNA will remain at the heart of everything we do, but we are excited about the potential for performance. Watch this space for details.”