SAIL FAST AND FREE | SW96 Liberty

Written by Boat International | Life Under Sail

Few boats get the shakedown that Southern Wind Shipyard gives their new yachts. To deliver the new 31-metre Southern Wind SW96 Liberty to her owner, she was sailed over 7,500 nautical miles from the yard in Cape Town to the Med.

This sophisticated new yacht is demonstrably capable of putting any ocean behind her. The polished, contemporary Farr design is aimed primarily at comfortable family cruising, but it can cover long passages rapidly and pack a serious punch on the racecourse when needed.
Liberty is also a testament to the owner’s experience as an engineer and as a sailor. He carefully oversaw the customisation of the design and specification of systems, and the complexity of the project was a chief reason for commissioning a new build.

The owner, an Italian businessman living in London for the last 20 years, has sailed on and off for most of his life. “I’ve been sailing since I was a kid,” he says. “We used to spend the summer at the beach in Italy where I grew up sailing dinghies and windsurfing – the usual kind of starting point. As a teenager, I went on to advanced sailing courses and have been sailing on and off all my life, but I never got into racing.”
As he moved around the world for his career, first in engineering and then in finance, the owner continued to enjoy holidays afloat. Then, a few years ago, he chartered a Southern Wind and loved it.

Together with friends, he bought Ammonite, a SW82. Also a Farr Design, this family cruiser was built and launched in 2016 for Marcus Blackmore, an Australian businessman and a hugely experienced racing sailor who had his yacht meticulously prepared for long-distance cruising and racing. It was a quick design fitted with a lifting keel to allow it to explore places most other performance yachts its size cannot reach, and it featured an interior refined by Nauta Design.

“Ammonite sails very well, and we really loved the experience. I started to partake in some Mediterranean regattas, which I truly enjoyed, so in 2021, we sold out, and I decided to order a new Southern Wind,” he says.
After selling Ammonite, Blackmore moved up to an SW96, again with the intention of alternating bluewater passagemaking with regattas and races. The choices he made to his hull No 3 in the limited semi-custom series interested Liberty’s owner, who was also attracted by the larger design, its distance capabilities and enhanced comfort.
“I was so impressed by how Ammonite, the SW82, was sailing and by the choices that the prior owner made for the 96 together with the yard and his adviser, that I thought: ‘Well, let’s start with that brief and work from there’.”