Guillemot

Before she became Guillemot she was Gimla, and she closed a run of three consecutive 140-footers at Vitters; the earlier two were Whirlaway and the boat now called Red Dragon, first launched as African Queen. The three are the same size and very different inside, because each owner chose a layout and a style; Guillemot ended up the most contemporary and the lightest of the trio. Ed Dubois' studio drew the lines, and the yard still describes her as a comfortable world cruiser.

Below decks is where she leaves the strongest impression, thanks to the work of Dick Young Designs. It is deliberately quiet: rotary-cut birch with a matt finish, limed birch beams overhead, satin-brushed steel trim, and teak floors finished in oil, with a slim dark stripe of wengé separating each plank. In the bathrooms, stone sinks glow from concealed lights and sit on teak tops that seem to hover off the wall. The effect is closer to a Scandinavian house than to the varnished mahogany many people expect on a large sailing yacht.

The saloon is split in two. Up top, meals are taken at a table with fixed bench seats and a view out through the deckhouse glass; a few steps down there is a desk, a media corner and an L-shaped sofa for the evening. The principal cabin is likewise spread over two floors, and squeezes in a private lounge, somewhere to dress and, unusually, its own sauna. Crew quarters, galley and mess sit forward, and the guests have the aft half, reached by a private passage that leads up to the deck.

When the wind fills in, the cockpit is the place to be, for lunch, a drink or just watching the crew of seven trim. At anchor there are seabobs, e-foils, kayaks and water skis, and divers will find ten sets of equipment and a compressor on board.

She suits couples, families and friends who want real sailing between islands, whether in the Adriatic in summer or the Leeward Islands in winter, and who like a modern, uncluttered space. A large group that wants a beach club, a gym and level floors under way would be happier on a motor yacht.