It is a special time of year for sailing enthusiasts, as the jewel in the Caribbean superyacht season sees an elite line up converge on the beautiful backdrop of St Barths for the return of the Bucket!
While it is defined more by good-natured racing than all-out competition, the line up at the Bucket is always fascinating—demonstrating what superyachts can be when visionary owners with a passion for yachting meet the world’s best designers and boat builders. These endless possibilities are reflected in the range of yachts involved, each with its own distinct personality, but all supremely designed—the absolute cream of the crop.
Amongst this exclusive club, the vast majority opt for composite rigging from Future Fibres. While many will not race for much of the year, the world’s leading composite rigging supplier is still the obvious choice, even when considering its benefits purely for family cruising, or for charter programmes.
Future Fibres is renowned for durability and reliability. An assurance that makes the world’s most popular composite rigging – ECsix – as attractive to the IMOCA 60s that will take on the Vendee Globe this year, as it is to the yachts we’ll see in the Bucket this week. Future Fibres pushes aerodynamics to the extreme and maximises weight saving, with characteristics which bring benefits beyond the racecourse—delivering smoother, safer, more comfortable sailing.
The best technologies empower their owners to have the experiences they envision. The Bucket is a rare showcase of the fact that some technologies let you do it all—smooth, luxurious cruising, and near grand prix performance when the time comes to really let loose!
Most of the yachts in this year’s Bucket will be sailing with Future Fibres, but let’s take a look at a select few…
Gelliceaux
One of the most anticipated debuts at this year’s Bucket is the new Southern Wind 108 Hybrid ‘Gelliceaux’. Gelliceaux is the first in Southern Wind’s “Smart Custom” series – which treads perfectly between luxury yachting and the efficiency demands of the 21st century.
Along with its hybrid engine, Gelliceaux is also equipped with some of the most advanced wind propulsion technology on the market—its trusted performance Hall Spars rig, and its ECsix multistrand rigging from Future Fibres. Of course, maximising the power of the wind doesn’t just make for the most efficient cruising passages, it’s also the key to unlocking optimal performance.
With the clear brief: “To build a fast race-cruiser that is exciting to sail but could also cruise comfortably and safely around the world”, the team at Hall Spars were in their element. The Hall Spars design library has been developed to balance these precise qualities—delivering elegance and reliability for all kinds of sailors.
To boost ease-of-use and performance, Future Fibres also provided ECtorque flexible furling stays. Allowing Gelliceaux’s crew to furl away sails quickly and consistently, ECtorque should pay dividends in the Bucket by speeding up the handling of headsails during mark roundings. ECtorque also allows removal of the head foil, reducing aerodynamic drag by up to 67% and weight by more than 50%, compared to a traditional system.
Gelliceaux levels up even further with Synapse digital load monitoring integrated through the rig package. This not only allows her to maintain safe loading levels, but with custom displays showing exact targets and optimal settings, Gelliceaux’s crew can use real-time feedback and intuitive analytics to gain a competitive edge. Synapse takes the synergy between the technologies within our group to a new level, tying the system together and empowering sailors to get the most out of every element.
Maximus
The 2024 Bucket will not only be Maximus’ Bucket debut, but her racing debut altogether. Combining modern technology with classic aesthetics on an epic scale, the Frers 59, constructed by Vitters Shipyard and launched in October 2023, is ready to make her grand entrance.
Maximus follows most of the performance superyachts around the world by choosing ECsix—dramatically saving weight for racing, while also minimising pitching and rolling. Its flexible, durable multistrand construction provides peace of mind that pushing hard doesn’t mean pushing rigging over the edge.
Maximus is also fitted with a carbon fibre foil from Future Fibres. Drastically reducing weight aloft, when compared to conventional aluminium foils, Future Fibres’ CF foils provide more stability for enhanced comfort and performance.
Our sister company Southern Spars manufactured two 65.7m custom high-performance rigs for this project, constructed from hybrid-modulus carbon fibre. Maximus is also equipped with a full running rigging package designed inhouse by our partners at RigPro, including custom connectors and RigPro’s own custom moulded lockstrops.
RigPro Global General Manager Hamish Miller and Southern Spars Group Sales Director Vincent Guiot will also have the pleasure of joining Maximus’ crew throughout the Bucket.
Perseverance I
Probably the standout debut from last year’s Bucket, it should come as no surprise that Baltic 117 ‘Perseverance I’ is back for more! As her name might suggest, Perseverance is equipped for unshakable reliability, with ECsix guiding her towards a second Bucket.
The 35.8m Custom Classic sloop from renowned Dutch designers Dykstra Naval Architects is another yacht that embodies a classic style, but with a modern approach to efficiency and performance. Her efficiency features include: ‘smart’ cabins, designed to automatically minimise power consumption when unoccupied; air conditioning energy waste re-cycled to heat water; and an electric propulsion system powered by a lithium-ion battery bank and able to operate in ‘silent’ mode for long periods.
Perseverance is perfectly designed for global cruising at the height of luxury and relaxation, but seeing Boat International’s Sailing Yacht of the year 2022 switch up a few gears alongside her peers at last year’s Bucket was something special.
With a Hall Spars trusted performance carbon rig, her beautiful mast and boom exude experience and quality craftsmanship, with traditional, elegant aesthetics on the surface, and modern performance power built in. Delivered with Hall’s unique manufacturing techniques, smooth edges and aerodynamic lines make for seamless functionality, wherever her cruising programme takes her, also making her ready to race when the starting gun sounds.
With some of the most beautiful aesthetics you’ll see, even with the line-up of attention-grabbing yachts in St Barths this week, Perseverance is guaranteed to turn heads, and will be a feast for the eyes in this irresistible setting.
Last year, Perseverance had Hall Spars’ Project Manager Alex Runciman in the crew. For a rundown of how things went click here.
There are plenty more superyachts harnessing Future Fibres technology to deliver their own blend of performance and elegance in St Barths.
For more details on the likes of J-Class ‘Velsheda’ and Truly Classic 128 ‘Vijonara’, visit the Southern Spars website and learn how these graceful classics and modern classics harness the world’s highest-performing rig and rigging technologies.
If you have questions about the technology or services provided by our group, get in touch, we’d love to hear from you.
Get in touch with our yachting expert Marco to find out more about Future Fibres rigging and which product is most suited for you.
Marco Sevilla
Head of Sales
[email protected]
+34 619 558 300