40m Wally BLACK SAILS Returns to Market at €8.9m

A new brokerage announcement for a familiar Wally

Bernard Gallay Yacht Brokerage has issued a 20 October 2026 announcement presenting BLACK SAILS as a newly listed 39.95-metre Wally 130. The stated asking price is €8.9 million with VAT paid, making this a current brokerage development rather than a yacht launch or a completed sale. The yacht was built in 2009 and remains an established member of the high-performance sailing fleet.

BLACK SAILS has appeared in previous market reporting, so the significant fact here is the broker's renewed October sales announcement and its present price. The new listing should not be portrayed as a first-ever appearance on the market. An interested purchaser would need to establish the current appointment, inventory and transaction conditions directly with Bernard Gallay before making any commercial assumptions.

Carbon construction and the design team

The shipyard used advanced Carbon Nomex materials for the hull and superstructure, with a teak deck contrasting against the yacht's dark exterior. Naval architecture is credited to Javier Soto Acebal and exterior styling to Amanda Levete. That combination gives BLACK SAILS an unmistakably low, purposeful silhouette quite different from the raised-deck profile of a typical cruising motor yacht.

Composite construction offers the potential for a lighter structure suited to performance sailing, but it also places particular importance on specialist survey methods. A prospective owner should commission inspection of the composite structure, attachments and repairs, rather than concluding that low weight automatically delivers a lower-maintenance ownership experience. The broker's photographs show the design; they are not an engineering condition report.

A rig arranged for serious sailing

The yacht carries a Hall Spars carbon mast and boom, a super-high-modulus masthead arrangement and EC6 carbon standing rigging associated with Future Fibres. The broker also lists sails from North Sails, Evolution Sails and One Sail. The published sail areas are 764 square metres upwind and 1,497 square metres downwind, underlining the demands that large sail loads place on deck equipment.

Her most recent dismasting and rig service took place in 2024, according to the broker. That is valuable information for a surveyor but should not substitute for written rigging inspection records, service invoices and confirmation of the present sail inventory. A yacht being sold for both cruising and regattas requires careful assessment of winches, hydraulics, structural load paths and safety systems.

A deck that changes between entertaining and racing

Rather than filling the deck with permanently fixed furniture, BLACK SAILS uses seating and dining pieces that can be removed for events or competitive sailing. An awning can cover the open social area, while the transom gives guests a lower platform close to the water. The layout therefore supports markedly different uses without claiming to make a grand-prix racing yacht into a conventional floating residence.

The practical balance matters. Removable furniture must have secure stowage, and an owner considering racing must understand what crew size, sail handling and insurance arrangements would be appropriate. Guests may value the uncluttered space at anchor, yet passages in rough weather require a different approach to movement and securing equipment than the images from a calm-weather photo session.

Four guest cabins and earlier refit recognition

Accommodation is advertised for up to eleven guests in four cabins, supported by five crew. The broker credits Harrison Eidsgaard with interior work associated with an earlier refit at Lürssen, which received a World Superyacht Award in 2011. A further refit is reported at Hinckley Yachts in 2013, leaving a layered history of design and technical changes.

The award belongs to that historic refurbishment; it does not certify the present machinery or interior condition. Potential buyers should inspect how the cabin arrangement works for their own parties and whether the crew spaces, galley and service routes can support the intended itinerary. In a performance-oriented sailing yacht, the accommodation brief necessarily interacts with deck equipment and weight distribution.

What the 2024 work addressed

The October listing identifies new lithium service batteries, replacement engine and generator batteries, updated air-conditioning units and new keel cylinders as part of the 2024 programme. It also records hull sandblasting followed by a modern treatment, together with the rig-related work. These are tangible categories of expenditure rather than merely a refreshed decorative scheme.

A technical due-diligence team would want to identify manufacturers, capacities, installation certificates and dates for each system. Lithium installations call for particular attention to charging control, ventilation and fire precautions, while keel hydraulics and the rig carry high operational loads. The broker's summary is a useful starting point, but individual service and survey documents determine what maintenance may still be necessary.

Performance figures and cruising geography

For auxiliary propulsion the published specification names a single 450hp MAN engine, an advertised cruising speed of 11 knots and a range of roughly 1,700 nautical miles. The yacht measures 7.90 metres in beam and has a substantial draught, factors that may narrow the choice of berths and anchorages compared with a shallower motor yacht of similar length.

Range figures depend on fuel load, speed and equipment use; sailing performance depends still more on weather, sails and crew judgement. The listing places BLACK SAILS in Cannes, France. Any plan for extended cruising or regatta participation should therefore include an itinerary-specific review of the keel, rig clearance, insurance conditions and local marina restrictions.

How to assess the €8.9 million offering

The new broker announcement brings together a recognisable Wally design, high-specification sailing gear, accommodation for an owner-led programme and a documented list of 2024 works. For a purchaser looking specifically for a large fast sailing yacht, those characteristics are materially different from the volume, propulsion and operating patterns of a forty-metre displacement motor yacht.

The €8.9 million price remains an asking figure and no purchaser or completed deal has been announced. Buyers should compare recent survey findings, equipment life, VAT documentation and likely future capital expenditure with other yachts before deciding whether the sales proposition is competitive. The verified October news is the renewed listing and published specification, not a change of ownership.