Despite a UK air traffic control meltdown grounding flights at the start of the week, September's Cannes Yachting Festival drew crowds to the French Riviera for nearly 120 world premieres across more than 500 boats, from nimble dayboats to full-blown superyachts.
The loudest story was multihulls — now the fastest-growing corner of the sailing market. Oyster Yachts led the charge with the C60, the British builder's first bluewater sailing catamaran in its 50-year history. Developed with naval architects Berret-Racoupeau, it's pitched as a proper ocean-crossing yacht that just happens to have two hulls, answering owners' demands for apartment-style, multigenerational space. Company chairman Richard Hadida described the owner wishlist as flat sailing near shore with New York-apartment living.
Oyster had company. The Excess 11, a 37-foot hybrid cat, took Best Innovative Boat at the show's Innovation Route Awards for its space and sailing fun. Prestige's 65-foot M8 power cat gave the owner a cabin spanning the full 29-foot beam, and Sunreef's new 88 impressed with its Ocean Lounge — enough to convince tennis champion Carlos Alcaraz, who signed for the third hull.
Ferretti Group skipped cats but brought 22 yachts to the party, with four world premieres across Riva, Itama and Custom Line. The Riva 56 Rivale Super turned heads with its crystal windshield and metallic denim-blue hull, while the Itama 70 put the cockpit at the centre of onboard life. The star of the Custom Line stand was Goal, the first Navetta 35 — an evolution of the popular Navetta 33 that adds 10 gross tons of interior volume and moves exterior staircases to the sides, freeing up serious deck space for entertaining.
There were notable debuts from owner-led projects, too. Sirena Marine's first Sirena 118, named Ikigai, belongs to the company's president and chairwoman İpek Kıraç, and features a maximalist interior inspired by past ocean explorers — riveted hulls, vintage navy portholes and a duplex owner's suite. Azimut's Grande 44M won a Special Jury Innovation Route Award for its carbon-fibre superstructure cutting weight by up to 30 percent, and Benetti's Oasis 36M was shaped directly by owner feedback.
Why care? Even if a superyacht is out of budget, the trends on show trickle down fast: catamarans are becoming the go-to for charter groups and sailing families who want space without heeling, and cabin layouts, walkaround decks and light-filled interiors pioneered on these flagships appear in production boats within a few seasons. Anyone eyeing a crewed cat charter in the Caribbean or Med over the next couple of years will be sailing the direct descendants of what launched at Port Canto and the Vieux Port this September.