Sarissa wins “Sailing Yacht of the Year” at the prestigious World Superyacht Awards 2024 in Venice during last weekend’s ceremony. She also became the winner of “Best Sailing Yacht of 40m and above”. Congratulations to her owner and of course an honor for her.
Sarissa wins “Sailing Yacht of the Year” at the prestigious World Superyacht Awards 2024 in Venice during last weekend’s ceremony. She also became the winner of “Best Sailing Yacht of 40m and above”. Congratulations to her owner and of course an honor for her.
Sarissa represents the next chapter in the owners’ love of sailing and passion for family adventures and exploration. Their first 43m / 140ft Sarissa opened their eyes to what else was possible. In 2012 the owners started dreaming about today’s Sarissa, which was launched in 2023 has become 17 metres / 55 feet longer. The challenge was to envision a yacht that was a step up from one they already loved. The owners spent many years developing her, and it is not by accident that the shipyard and designers achieved spectacular results.
From the report by the jury: “Three sailing yachts, including one inventive catamaran and two monohulls built by Royal Huisman [Nilaya and Sarissa], were named nominees in this category. […] Both Royal Huisman builds were deemed ‘superb boats’ by the judges – but Sarissa stood out for being ‘more exciting’ and was described by the judges as an ‘astonishing boat’.
With a focus on weight savings and corrosion prevention, carbon fibre was used for the superstructure, hull doors, deck furniture, hatches, mainsheet arch, sail storage drums, steering consoles and captive winches. All the stanchions are titanium and lifelines are lightweight Dyneema. A multi-faceted approach to eco-friendly cruising includes wind-driven propulsion, hydro generators, waste heat recovery and wastewater treatment. Most notably, she has an advanced […] propulsion system, and Royal Huisman installed the first forward-facing retractable electric azipod propulsion for redundancy, efficiency and improved performance under sail. Inside is a chic, flowing interior by Liaigre. Each cabin is unique, corridors gently curve, stairs are set off the centreline, and the hull shape is visible so you truly feel you’re on a sailing boat. As one of the judges said, “Guillaume Rolland from Liaigre is not just a designer, but also a sailor thus understanding life on board of sailboats.”
The judges’ comments about why Sarissa is the Sailing Yacht of the Year winner: “…it was Sarissa, with her groundbreaking propulsion system, state-of-the-art sails and rig and exquisite interiors by Liaigre, that almost unanimously won out among the judges for the honour of Sailing Yacht of the Year. The high-performance sloop represents many firsts for her builder and the sailing superyacht fleet writ large. All […] innovation, along with her clean lines, holistic design, organically flowing interior and creative layout with an abundance of exterior living spaces not usually found on a sailing boat made Sarissa a clear choice for Sailing Yacht of the Year.”