Silvertip

Silvertip was built in 2001 by Yachting Developments in Auckland to a design by Dubois, and a year later she took the International Superyacht Society award for the best sailing yacht between 23 and 36 metres. Her keel lifts: lowered, she draws 6.9 metres and points well upwind; raised, 4.3 metres, which lets the captain tuck into bays a fixed-keel boat of her size would skip.

The deck is arranged so that guests can be part of the sailing without getting tangled in it. No working lines cross the guest cockpit, a spray hood over the companionway takes the edge off the wind while keeping the view forward, and a bar sits close at hand for long reaches. Below, Agnes Comar's interior is plain and bright, with a dining table and lounge lit by hull windows and skylights, so lunch can move indoors when the midday sun is too strong.

There are berths for seven in three cabins: the owner's cabin aft spans the full beam with an island double, then a second double and a twin with an extra berth. Parents with two or three children fit naturally. Six sets of dive gear with a compressor, kitesurfing equipment and a flyboard give teenagers plenty to do at anchor.

One practical point should be checked before anything else. Silvertip works under a special EU customs regime for commercial yachts, known as YET. In practice, the person who signs the charter must be resident outside the European Union, and in the Mediterranean the trip has to begin in Corsica, Monaco or on the French Riviera. For families from the United Kingdom, Switzerland, the Americas or the Gulf spending the summer on the Riviera, that is no obstacle; anyone resident in the EU cannot charter her.

She is the right boat for a family or a small group who enjoy sailing and want an experienced, well-tested yacht without the price of a larger one. If you are after a big saloon, a jacuzzi or space for a dozen friends, look at something bigger.