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Spirit 65DH, SPIRIT OF JOSEPHINE

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REALISING THE DREAM

World cruising, once in a lifetime adventures, sailing in style.

Designed for ocean crossings, island hopping, and everything in between, the Spirit 65 is a yacht for making memories. Incorporating all the necessary components and sailing stamina for long distance passages, the Spirit 65 is a proven bluewater cruising yacht that turns heads wherever she goes.

Her exterior showcases the iconic Spirit design hallmarks of clean flush decks, long overhangs, and the elegant fan light windows in her classically styled coachroof. Her large deck areas and spacious cockpit offer plenty of choice when it comes to relaxation and socialising. Down below, the option for a custom interior allows clients to be creative with fabrics, fittings, and finishings to create a real home from home on the water. With accommodation for six and additional pilot berths for overnight passages, the Spirit 65 is set up for family sailing, entertaining, and much more.

Whether you fancy relaxing in the crystal blue waters of the Caribbean or exploring Scandiavia, the Spirit 65 can do it all in style and comfort. Where would you take her?

SPIRIT C65 AT A GLANCE

Specification & features.

  • L.O.A 64'10" / 19.8m
  • L.W.L 46'11" / 14.3m
  • Beam 14'1" / 4.3m
  • Draft 9' 2" / 2.8m
  • Lightship Displacement 16 tonnes
  • Ballast Ratio 40%
  • Propulsion 2x 30kW electric pod drives
  • Upwind Sail Area 150 m2
  • Rig Fractional Bermudan Sloop (optional yawl)
  • Keel Iron Blade 2180kg – Lead Bulb 4320kg
  • RCD Category A (F8 winds 4m waves)
  • RCD Max Persons 8

TIMELESS ELEGANCE

Spirit Yachts’ contemporary, elegant design style is world renowned. Subtle variations on 1930s classic yacht design with long overhangs, low profiles and smooth lines, married to contemporary underwater profiles, are synonymous with Spirit’s modern classic performance yachts.

Spirit Yachts are designed to be as beautiful in 100 years as they are today.

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Spirit 65DH (SPIRIT OF JOSEPHINE) - Yacht for Sale

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SPIRIT OF JOSEPHINE

Pleasure craft, current trip, stratton hall.

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The current position of SPIRIT OF JOSEPHINE is in North Sea with coordinates 52.04875° / 1.16186° as reported on 2024-03-04 18:07 by AIS to our vessel tracker app. The vessel's current speed is 0 Knots and is currently inside the port of IPSWICH .

The vessel SPIRIT OF JOSEPHINE (MMSI: 232035356) is a Pleasure Craft It's sailing under the flag of [GB] United Kingdom .

In this page you can find informations about the vessels current position, last detected port calls, and current voyage information. If the vessels is not in coverage by AIS you will find the latest position.

The current position of SPIRIT OF JOSEPHINE is detected by our AIS receivers and we are not responsible for the reliability of the data. The last position was recorded while the vessel was in Coverage by the Ais receivers of our vessel tracking app.

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Spirit 65DH (SPIRIT OF JOSEPHINE) Sea Trial Footage, with Sue Grant - Yacht for Sale - Berthon Int.

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Berthon UK (Lymington, Hampshire - UK) Sue Grant [email protected] 0044 (0)1590 679 222

Berthon France (Mandelieu La Napoule, France) Bruno Kairet [email protected] 0033 (0)4 93 63 66 80

Berthon Scandinavia (Henån, Sweden) Magnus Kullberg [email protected] 0046 304 694 000

Berthon Spain (Palma de Mallorca, Spain) Simon Turner [email protected] 0034 639 701 234

Berthon USA (Rhode Island, USA) Jennifer Stewart [email protected] 001 401 846 8404

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FPB Motor Yachts

The Berthon Sales Group works with Steve and Linda Dashew supporting the FPB fleet. FPB, which is short for ‘Functional Power Boat’ has been described as a paradigm shift for motor yachting.

FPBs offer exceptional sea keeping and vast range – the FPB series has been developed from the original 83 foot FPB WINDHORSE which Steve and Linda designed and built for their use after the sale of their iconic record breaking 80 foot ketch BEOWULF. They cruised her for over 60,000 nautical miles and used their experience aboard her to develop other FPB models.

FPBs offer range, the ability to surf, recovery from capsize and are ruggedly built to withstand punishment in high and low latitude as well as providing a comfortable and well ventilated platforms in the tropics. Their oversized stabilisers are effective at sea, housed in separated coffer dams for security and allow the yachts to dry out when needed. All have Great Rooms that offer 360 degree vision in a space that is used for relaxing, eating, food preparation and from which the yacht is controlled.

The FPB programme has now closed because Steve and Linda have retired and there will be no new FPBs built. The complete FPB fleet comprises 18 hulls – 11 x 64s, 2 x 70s, 3 x 78s, 1 x 83 and 1 x 97. We work with Dashew Offshore to offer the definitive brokerage service for these yachts. We also hold all the plans – lines and all technical drawings as well as the original design notes written by Steve and Linda. We are organising these into an archive for the future and to offer a resource to the owners of the FPB fleet members.

The future of FPB Motor Yachts – with MD Sue Grant & designer Steve Dashew

The FPB 64 fleet is well proven and is the perfect tool for a couple with guests to cruise far aboard. They provide a safe and reliable platform for their owners and guests with a range of over 5,000 nautical miles.

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FPB 64, JACK

Class: FPB 64, Year: 2012 Location: Ventura, CA, USA Price: US$1,950,000

The most recent FPB design – the FPB 70. They were developed for family cruising with guests providing a bridge between the FPB 64 and the larger FPB 78, which has the potential to carry crew, to deliver an owner-driver yacht with flexible guest accommodation.

FPB 78 #1 was built for Steve and Linda Dashew and launched in June 2016. She was followed by 2 further FPB 78s. These yachts are easy to handle, with volume enough for dedicated crew quarters.

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FPB 78, GREY WOLF II

Class: FPB 78, Year: 2017 Location: Guernsey, United Kingdom Price: US$6,500,000

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FPB 78, COCHISE

Class: FPB 78, Year: 2016 Location: Lymington, Hampshire, United Kingdom Price: US$6,500,000

The first of the Functional Power Boats from Dashew Offshore, the only FPB 83 was built for Steve and Linda Dashew, to be operated easily by two people but with good accommodation for six.

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FPB 83, WIND HORSE

Class: FPB 83, Year: 2005 Location: Beaufort, NC, USA Price: US$3,750,000

The largest and fastest of the FPB fleet to launch the FPB 97 provides effortless transatlantic ability at over 12 knots.

Forever a concept yacht – the FPB 130 demonstrates how the qualities of the FPB brand can be successfully scaled in order to deliver a crewed yacht with enormous range, speed and extraordinary seakeeping.

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Spirit 72DH review: latest modern classic stunner

  • Toby Hodges
  • November 2, 2023

A multipurpose design, a dual purpose yacht. Toby Hodges sails Spirit Yachts’ latest stunner, the Spirit 72DH and finds a new benchmark in modern classic quality

Product Overview

Price as reviewed:.

Clear the headland three miles south of Guernsey’s St Peter Port and the depth and conditions can change abruptly, as you transition from sailing around tidal banks into the English Channel proper and realise there’s suddenly nothing between you and 2,000 miles of North Atlantic swell. This became quickly apparent as we headed out on a reach, the Spirit 72DH Gwenyfar II in full stride at double figures, and I noted the rapidity with which the waves were building.

These soon became 3-4m ocean rollers, as thick as they were tall but with a goodly period between each crest. The Spirit took it effortlessly, the motion kind enough to become quite addictive. Heeled over at full waterline, her spoon bow cut through the swell and speed remained steady. When we then tacked and had the swell on our quarters she remained well behaved, just more sporty, the lightweight side of her modern spirit of tradition build coming into play.

It was a performance as graceful and intoxicating as her bewitching looks.

While it was the performance and handling which really transformed this yacht in my eyes, it’s no doubt the aesthetic attributes that will put the majority under a Spirit’s spell. A Spirit’s looks have long been their talking point – you don’t twice get to be a Bond yacht based merely on practical merits. The Ipswich yard has since found a sweet spot in this larger size range, in particular this Spirit 72DH design, for which it is currently building its third hull. While it still allows for plenty of flexibility with interiors, having the design and engineering in place creates a known base, a yacht which the yard knows it can reproduce to the highest standards.

The Spirit 72DH is also designed to appeal to a broad spectrum of experience and sailing preferences, with systems and layout options that allow for a paid hand. The deck layout is deliberately uncluttered, while intuitive push-button hydraulics and a tidy winch layout help make it manageable with a small number of crew.

The first example, Spirit of Anima , launched a year ago, is used for Med family cruising and charter and has a bright, modern interior with separate crew cabin. This second is more classic Spirit in style inside and lets the craftsmanship reign. It’s a dual-purpose boat, designed to be competitive with a full race rig and sails, yet be capable of both comfortable local cruising and an Atlantic circuit. And the third is a cross between the two layouts but reportedly with a starkly different interior finish.

spirit of josephine yacht

The 72DH at full pace, upwind. Photo: Waterline Media/Spirit Yachts

All in the eye

Despite their different visions, the proud owners of both the first two Spirit 72DHs have talked of how their yachts share an inherent ability to relax them when on board.

In fact, as we made our way down to St Peter Port, it quickly became clear the owner of Gwenyfar II is infatuated with his yacht, despite having owned a Spirit before (a Spirit 63DH). He’d already moved the boat out to a neighbouring anchorage that morning, perhaps because we may have struggled with the depth over the marina sill. But maybe, I wondered, because first impressions and the ability to see a yacht’s lines really count, particularly when the sheer – the line it all started with for this owner – is so important.

I have rarely met someone so passionate about his yacht. We sat together in the whisky drinking armchairs in the saloon, as he pointed out the details and features, the fixtures and finishes, even the movement, smell and noise which brings this timber creation to life. It appeals to all the senses.

In particular, he wanted the finish to be kept minimal to expose and highlight the woodwork artistry. The hull’s sipo ringframes and yellow cedar planking are displayed wherever possible. So this yacht is very much in line with the original Spirit ethos, with an oyster white hull, gleaming mahogany brightwork and this uncluttered architectural interior. Or is it? While the majority of Spirit owners have raced as well as cruised over the yard’s past 30 years, Gwenyfar II ’s owner wanted to turn the dial up on the yacht’s competitive ability.

spirit of josephine yacht

Under spinnaker the Spirit 72DH proved engaging to sail at a variety of angles and sea conditions. Photo: Waterline Media/Spirit Yachts

Five years ago his Spirit 63DH stole the show at its Southampton debut, a yawl which was commissioned purely for cruising. Having owned a handful of thoroughbred cruising yachts until that point, he the got the taste for racing. The first Gwenyfar (meaning ‘white spirit’ in Welsh) was not set up for that nor easily modified, so a longer, comparatively lighter and faster Spirit beckoned.

‘ GII ’, as she became affectionately dubbed, needed to be a dual purpose boat. “She is built around the capacity to race, look good and go fast, and then transform to cruising,” the owner explains.

The rig is pivotal to achieving this. The high modulus carbon Hall Spars mast is super clean, with just one VHF antenna and the mast wand permitted, and sports a Park Avenue boom and EC Six carbon rigging. And then there are the sails – stacks of them – all built by OneSails. She carries a set of white heavy duty radial cut HydraNet sails for cruising (which we sailed with) or a full wardrobe of black 4T Forte composite race sails. In the words of skipper Simon Hughes, “we were allowed to go to town with the rig and sails”.

A carbon spinnaker pole helps allow for a range of symmetric spinnakers, plus there’s a remotely controlled high speed padeye for a Code 0. A removable inner forestay rigs to a padeye on the forward watertight bulkhead, and provides the option for a soft hanked staysail to help reduce the sailplan centrally in the most efficient manner. “The staysail makes a big difference,” says the owner, adding: “We had a storm jib up for 10 days on our return trip across the north Atlantic on GI.” Another neat feature is the extra track which extends into the mainsail track to allow a storm trysail to be rigged.

Hughes helped skipper the previous 63DH, particularly on long passages, and was instrumental in the commission of the Spirit 72DH with regards to the rig, systems and electronics. He also helped put together a friendly race crew, some of whom joined us for our sail.

spirit of josephine yacht

Signature styling: low, curved deckhouse with integrated fan windows on top helps provide light and space inside. Douglas fir decks and gleaming brightwork make for an elegant deck. Photo: Waterline Media/Spirit Yachts

With full main set and genoa unfurled in 15-19 knots north-westerly we set out at pace in the flat water between Guernsey and Herm. Reaching off to the south we were soon into that impressive ocean swell, making 9.5-10 knots at 110º to the apparent wind, with waves heading across our starboard bows.

Pleasure sailing the Spirit 72DH

There were nine of us in the cockpit and I wondered why so many were aboard. But it was during that first leg as we hit open water and I caught their collective expressions of unmasked joy that it dawned on me – they were coming out for the sheer pleasure of sailing this yacht (granted, it also gave us the option of flying a spinnaker).

This deep cockpit provides security. The Spirit has the length and shape to handle those conditions with ease and carries her way through the waves, putting you at ease. I imagine it would have felt distinctly different out there on a smaller, flightier yacht with modern full bow sections.

While the Spirit 72DH’s cockpit benches are really wide and may be better suited for sun lounging than sitting comfortably, the vertical coamings allow you to sit up high and from here or the helm there is good visibility forward over the low deckhouse.

spirit of josephine yacht

To be as rewarding to sail in both directions is rare. Photo: Waterline Media/Spirit Yachts

As we tacked to reach off back towards Sark, I appreciated the ability to control the main easily from the wheel. The speedo, which had varied between 8.5-9.5 knots depending on the tide when fetching, rose to double figures when broad reaching and hit 11.5 knots with wave assistance.

The Spirit 72DH boasts good balance and communication. While I’ve enjoyed sailing many Spirits on the breeze, it’s rare to find a design that’s as rewarding to sail in both directions. The large mahogany wheel, sunken into a well in the cockpit sole, is directly linked to the carbon blade and stock via chain and wire. I preferred to sit to windward at heel, straddling the wheel with a foot braced on the pedestal, as it’s a bit of a stretch to see the telltales from within the cockpit to leeward.

The aft winches are dedicated to the mainsheet, the central winches for the spinnaker and the forward ones for the jib or guys, with the latter kept manual to avoid over tensioning. The hydraulic Cunningham, vang, backstay and outhaul are all controlled on a pushbutton panel by the mainsheet trimmer/winch or on a remote control. A hydraulic cylinder under the cockpit bench moves the traveller, and the helmsman can easily reach the controls for this and the mainsheet winch. The central winches also have foot switches so the kite trimmer can stand and trim. Halyards, meanwhile, all exit at the mast base on to two powered winches each side on GII, including a high speed three-speed model.

We plugged in the masthead spinnaker in the Little Russel channel and squared the pole back so the big white kite could pull us along at graceful 9 knots (up to 11 knots SOG) in 16 knots, running at 160°apparent. It felt like a timeless classic yacht scene, yet it was also clear to see how such a sail could be handy when racing in these notoriously tidal waters, as it allows you to run so much deeper. But it does need many hands to get it up and down!

spirit of josephine yacht

The wheel is crafted from sipo, as is the binnacle, which has instruments flush mounted. Note the traveller track and mainsheet controls each side, plus the displays set into the deckhouse windows. Photo: Waterline Media/Spirit Yachts

We dropped the kite through the companionway as it started to get lumpy in the larger swell, with Hughes proving an expert influence, calmly directing proceedings.

Decks are kept particularly clean with the aid of removable padeyes. In its continued search for a teak replacement, Spirit has tried Lignia decks and is currently using Douglas fir, traditionally favoured for its straight grain, which looked like a commendable alternative on GII.

The guardrails are also removable for classic style racing. Handrails had yet to be fitted on the coachroof but were due to be added before the Southampton Boat Show debut. Even so, the side decks are narrow by the deckhouse and have a camber to them which makes it a little unnerving moving forward.

A retractable bow thruster is offset to port and uses a neat 48V pancake motor Lewmar adapted to fit the boat’s sail locker. The starboard side of this locker is large enough for the trysail, staysail and spinnaker. Meanwhile, two lazarette lockers under the aft decks form the bulk of the deck stowage. There’s enough space for a couple of spinnakers on one side and a F-Rib tender to the other, while both feature useful outboard trays for spare lines.

spirit of josephine yacht

Huge, deeply fiddled central work surface of the galley forms a social heart. Photo: Waterline Media/Spirit Yachts

Tranquil experience

The fun of sailing this yacht is arguably matched by the pleasure of just being aboard. Whether gathering for drinks in the cockpit, socialising around the galley or soaking up the peace in the saloon, it is a boat you are happy to linger on. ‘Tranquil and simple’ was the brief for the interior. Gwenyfar II is designed to be at anchor in this part of the world. The owner has no interest in Med sailing – he might do a Baltic and Caribbean season, but otherwise it’s for local cruising and racing.

Other than the aesthetics, it’s the layout, particularly in the deckhouse, and the attention to detail that stand out. Typically a deckhouse may accommodate a pilot berth or raised navstation. Here it forms the social heart of the boat, a galley area around which people can congregate as they would in a modern home, and still provides a proper chart table with views.

The signature fan windows built into the deckhouse pour natural light over the galley, the traditional butterfly deck hatch does the same for the saloon, adding ventilation at anchor too. And the lighting, including indirect and subtle uplighting, helps celebrate the planking.

Obviously there are compensations that need to be made with a classic shape with long overhangs. So they haven’t tried to pack in the accommodation; instead, the three cabins are inviting and well appointed. The question for prospective owners concerns how much they want to sail with a paid hand and whether to accommodate them in these cabins or in a separate crew cabin and thereby lose some valuable deck stowage.

spirit of josephine yacht

A practical chart table to starboard. Photo: Waterline Media/Spirit Yachts

The overhangs also restrict mechanical space. So the engine is contained under the galley unit as its shaft exits the hull in front of the companionway steps. This helps centralise weight, while the layout around this engine bay and the tanks each side of it has been done intelligently. A day tank gravity feeds the engine, while the fuel filter and manifolds are easy to access quickly.

Smart details are numerous, while behind the scenes and in the bilges everything is sealed and finished properly, down to wooden trays below the fuel filters to prevent any diesel drips fouling the locker. A surprising niggle then is the lack of soft closing mechanisms on drawers and lockers.

The items that can be removed, such as crockery and cutlery, have all been designed to lift out easily in one unit. When racing, the companionway doors fold away flush, the galley taps are removable and the whole area is protected by custom covers, allowing the crew to pull spinnakers down through the companionway without fear of damaging the woodwork.

GII has the larger galley option. To stand looking out at a horizon view through the deckhouse windows while making a brew or preparing food is special. Watch our full video to see all the details and features such as the customised knife drawer, the marinised Miele induction cooker and a bespoke tea tray for kettle and mugs which fits neatly into a locker.

Directors’ chairs can join the saloon table to help seat 10, with stowage for them in a locker below the bulkhead cabinet. The two comfortable leather armchairs, separated by a lift-top cabinet for the single malts, are the choice place to sit and admire the structures. Spirit used carbon fibre to help support the highly loaded areas, which helped shave 1,200kg in stainless steel around the ringframes.

spirit of josephine yacht

The spectacular forward master. Photo: Waterline Media/Spirit Yachts

Another two reading chairs in the forward master cabin offer privacy, and there is also a writing desk with fold out mirror to help it double as a vanity table. The owner points out the marquetry and neat pen stowage built within: “I didn’t ask for it but Spirit takes it upon themselves to go the extra mile.”

At 6ft 3in he has full standing headroom up to a double berth, which can be separated by lee cloths when cohabiting with other crew. Otherwise furniture was deliberately kept to a minimum. No full wardrobes for example, just half height lockers and deep drawers. The ensuite is a good size, with rainfall shower, low wattage towel rail, and a bevel-edged mirror neatly set into the front face of the locker.

The excellent navstation has good visibility of the sails and a nice mix of modern and traditional systems. There is touchscreen control for the C-Zone digital switching plus a manual switch panel for primary systems. GII also has a full B&G H5000 racing system, the 12in Zeus touchscreen for which can double as the house computer.

Power management is based around Victron’s Quatro smart inverter charger, which specialises in distributing power when and where needed, says Hughes, in this case from the 1,000Ah lithium battery bank (below the forward saloon berth). It also helped enable the choice of a more compact genset below the companionway.

spirit of josephine yacht

The identical aft cabins both have generous ensuites with separate showers. Photo: Waterline Media/Spirit Yachts

GII’s traditional fossil fuel based system seems noticeably at odds with Spirit’s recent launches and drive for renewable power. The yard has recently produced a foiling electric motorboat, the extraordinary 111 Geist with electric drive, and a 65 and 68 with hybrid drives.

“We probably wouldn’t even do a 44 or 52 now with a diesel drive,” says marketing director Helen Porter. However, those doing ocean cruising still tend to choose more traditional power systems.

spirit of josephine yacht

The ‘row away factor’ of the Spirit 72DH is significant. Photo: Waterline Media/Spirit Yachts

Spiritual world

The Spirit 72DH is the definitive modern classic. It has gorgeous traditional lines mixed with modern materials and appendages to make it relevant, fun and practical today, and crucially the layout and systems to make it repeatable. GII is also used just as the classic gentleman’s cruiser once was, when owners raced with friends or crew who valued the experience of sailing such a yacht, then cruised with family or friends.

The true spirit of this Spirit design is all about how it affects you personally. For me the 72DH shone from behind the wheel at sea. From past experience a Spirit revels in flat water, but going through, across and with an Atlantic swell showed this yacht has special qualities. For Gwenyfar II ’s owner it’s all about how it made him feel.

That’s what the beauty of wood and Spirit’s master craftsmen and women bring: lines you’ll never tire of, joinery that calms you and that added quality that gives the yacht a soul.

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Spirit 46 yacht James Bond film No Time to Die

No Time To Die: How Spirit Yachts became the official boat of James Bond

Related articles.

With a Spirit 46 making an appearance in the latest James Bond film, No Time To Die , Spirit Yachts founder and CEO Sean McMillan gives an insight into the 007 filming process. 

In the recently-released James Bond film No Time To Die , Daniel Craig’s 007, now retired from active service, is cruising the waters of Jamaica on board his own Spirit 46 sailing yacht . Bond is well known for appreciating the finer things in life and his choice of a Spirit 46 aligns the builder with the likes of Aston Martin cars and Omega watches.

“I think it suits the Bond character very well,” says Spirit Yachts chief executive Sean McMillan. He emphasises that, unlike the gadgets Bond is given on the job, the yacht he sails reflects the agent’s personal taste.

“While appreciating the very best of everything, and having had on many occasions access to the very best of everything, when it comes to making his own personal decisions [I think] he would choose to have something that was exquisitely good, that was probably very beautiful, but there was nevertheless an extremely practical expression of what he wanted to do in his life,” he says.

Casino Royale

So how did the Ipswich-based shipyard become a staple of James Bond’s discerning taste? The journey began back in 2006 when production company Eon Productions was working on Daniel Craig’s first foray into the Bond role - Casino Royale . “We just got a telephone call one morning which was a little surprising,” recounts McMillan. Once he was reassured that no yachts would be harmed in the making of the film, McMillan was on board.

“As luck would have it, we happened to have one yacht that was brand new and fitted the bill, so off we went,” remembers McMillan.

The yacht McMillan refers to is the 16.4 metre Spirit 54’ Soufrière, which hosts Bond and Vesper Lynd as the couple cruise through Venice. Filming took a total of six months and involved shipping and cruising the yacht to various locations. The yacht even made history as the first sailing yacht to go up the Venetian Grand Canal in 300 years.

During filming McMillan was charged with directing Craig on board and ensuring Bond appeared a convincing experienced sailor.

At times, this involved McMillan lying on the floor – out of shot – barking instructions up to Craig as the cameras rolled. “By the time you've got cameras, cameramen and soundmen on a very small boat, there's not much room,” says McMillan. He adds however that “everybody just muddles on and gets along with it. There's no real difficulty about it at all because everyone wants the same end goal.”

Technicalities of the Casino Royale filming process also involved removing and replacing the yacht’s rig 10 times to ensure the yacht could fit under multiple canal bridges. “That was tricky, but the end result was two minutes in the film, and it did absolute wonders for us,” says McMillan.

The spotlight cast on Spirit Yachts thanks to Casino Royale affected the company “very favourably”, says McMillan. As a direct consequence of the 2006 film, the company sold three boats and benefited from “considerable” interest. One buyer even contacted Spirit immediately after watching the film. “He told me he stayed right through the credits to find out who made the boat and rang us up the next morning,” says McMillan. The story has a happy ending, directly resulting in the sale and delivery of a Spirit 60.

No Time To Die

It wasn’t long after work got underway on the much-anticipated No Time To Die that McMillan received a familiar phone call. It was Eon Productions approaching McMillan for Spirit’s involvement in Daniel Craig’s Bond finale. “The whole process started again,” McMillan says.

The production team wanted a boat small enough to be sailed independently by Bond but still looked “used and well-loved”. They landed on a 14m modern-classic Spirit 46, which was due to undergo a winter refit. “[Eon] said, ‘no, leave it like that, with that slightly end of season, slightly used look about it’,” McMillan says. “They didn't want her to be pristine, although we did of course.”

The yacht was shipped over to Jamaica where McMillan once again joined Craig at the helm. “He hadn’t forgotten anything at all,” he says, describing Craig as a “capable chap.”

“I think once he’s learned something, he doesn’t have to relearn it at all,” added McMillan. The Spirit founder reminisces fondly on the experience, recounting that, with the sailing instruction in hand, he was even able to “enjoy the sunshine and drink a bit of rum.”

The Spirit 46 is now back with her owners, who recently cruised her around the Long Island Sound. Spirit Yachts, meanwhile, has been enjoying the attention from the film release, with McMillan suggesting that it will once again have a positive impact on enquiries and brand awareness.

As for the future, McMillan hopes the partnership will mean more appearances on screen “I think it would hopefully mean that every now and again, we will certainly be involved,” hints McMillan, adding that the partnership “is a very nice accolade to have.”

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