In the exclusive world of luxury sailing, there are yachts that are built for comfort, those built for speed, and those built to be floating works of art. It is a rare and remarkable achievement when a single vessel manages to be all three, not through compromise, but through a singular, uncompromising vision. WHIMSEA, the 100-foot (30.48-meter) sloop from the esteemed French shipyard Construction Navale Bordeaux (CNB), is precisely such a vessel.
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| WHIMSEA |
Launched in 2009 under her original name, Chrisco, WHIMSEA is not merely a yacht; she is a manifesto. She represents a "dream project" for her original owners, a "blank canvas" for her world-renowned designers, and a "technical achievement" for her builders. She is the physical manifestation of a design philosophy that merges radical minimalism with extreme performance, resulting in a vessel that is as breathtaking to behold at anchor as she is thrilling to command in the open ocean.
To understand WHIMSEA is to understand the powerful collaboration that brought her to life. She is the product of a perfect trinity: the proven bluewater heritage and engineering prowess of CNB; the "visual silence" and minimalist genius of naval architect Luca Brenta & Co.; and the "calm, uncluttered" interior artistry of Wetzels Brown Partners.
From her revolutionary, diamond-like coachroof composed of more than 75 glass panels to her avant-garde "black and white" interior, every element of WHIMSEA has been considered, challenged, and executed to a standard that left the industry in awe. Her arrival was immediately recognized, culminating in an impressive sweep of accolades, including two prestigious International Superyacht Society (ISS) Awards for both "Best Sailing Yacht" and "Best Interior." This is the story of a yacht that dared to be different and, in doing so, set a new benchmark for contemporary sailing.
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| WHIMSEA |
The Shipyard: Construction Navale Bordeaux (CNB)
To build a dream, one must first have a foundation of excellence. WHIMSEA's foundation was laid at Construction Navale Bordeaux, a shipyard that embodies the very soul of French maritime craftsmanship. Founded in 1987 and nestled on the banks of the Garonne River in Bordeaux, CNB—a part of the illustrious Groupe Beneteau—has cultivated an unfailing reputation for building high-quality, semi-custom and custom sailing yachts designed "by sailors for sailors."
CNB's philosophy is not about mass production; it is about passion, precision, and performance. The shipyard is renowned for its mastery of advanced composite construction, a skill set that was pushed to its absolute limit with WHIMSEA (known at the yard as Construction N° 54). The challenge was immense: to construct a 100-foot yacht that was simultaneously a high-performance, lightweight racing machine and a luxurious, robust bluewater cruiser capable of taking on "heavy seas as well as... the bay of Saint-Tropez."
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| WHIMSEA |
The construction of WHIMSEA's hull is a testament to this technical prowess. It is an advanced composite sandwich, a sophisticated laminate of carbon fiber, Kevlar, epoxy resin, and high-tech coring materials like Balsa, Corecell, and Klegecell. This meticulous, vacuum-infused process creates a structure that is both phenomenally light and incredibly stiff.
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| WHIMSEA |
For the owner, this translates into tangible benefits. The lightness provides exhilarating speed and responsiveness, even in light airs. The stiffness ensures that the yacht's powerful rig can be tensioned effectively, allowing the sails to hold their perfect shape and drive the boat forward with maximum efficiency. Most importantly, this composite strength provides a profound sense of security and safety, the quiet confidence that the hull is strong and resilient, no matter what the ocean demands.
CNB's role was that of the master artisan, the engineering enabler that took the radical, avant-garde concepts of the designers and translated them into a functional, seaworthy, and reliable vessel. It was their expertise that allowed for the creation of a carbon-fiber structure strong enough to support a coachroof made almost entirely of glass, a feat of engineering that would become WHIMSEA's most defining feature.
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| WHIMSEA |
The Architect: Luca Brenta & the Philosophy of "Visual Silence"
The exterior of WHIMSEA is the work of Milan-based design studio Luca Brenta & Co., a firm legendary for its pursuit of minimalist, elegant, and "fast-cruiser" designs. Luca Brenta's design language is one of reductionism—not for the sake of simplicity, but for the pursuit of "visual silence" and "effortless grace." The goal is to create a yacht so clean, so uncluttered, that the experience of sailing is elevated to its purest form.
With WHIMSEA, this philosophy was executed to perfection. The yacht's lines are long, taut, and aggressive, with a plumb bow and a wide, powerful stern that hints at the speed lurking beneath. The deck is a vast, open teak landscape, a "radical reduction" of traditional yacht design. There are no garish lines, no visual clutter, no extraneous hardware. This is not just an aesthetic choice; it is a functional one, born from a deep understanding of safety and practicality at sea.
How is this achieved on a 100-foot sailing machine, a vessel that must harness thousands of square feet of sail and withstand millions of pounds of force? The answer is technology, brilliantly and invisibly integrated. All maneuvering devices are hidden. The complex array of hydraulic winches, sail controls, and line-stoppers are concealed below deck, with all lines led aft through internal channels to the twin helm stations. The result is a deck that is completely free of obstruction, a safe, open-air living room where guests can relax, and a clean, efficient workspace for the crew.
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| WHIMSEA |
The cockpit itself is a masterclass in spatial design. It is effectively split into two zones: a forward "living" area, protected by the coachroof's overhang and featuring large sun loungers and tables, and an aft "maneuvering" area, where the twin carbon-fiber steering wheels, navigation pods, and sail controls are clustered. This intelligent separation ensures that guests can lounge in complete comfort and safety, entirely removed from the technical operations of sailing the yacht.
But the pièce de résistance, the "aesthetic signature" of WHIMSEA, is her coachroof. Rejecting the idea of a traditional "cabin top," Brenta and CNB created a futuristic, faceted structure that resembles a "precious diamond." It is an engineering marvel, composed of more than 75 (some sources cite 78 or "almost 100") individual, flat, "peeled" glass panels, each supplied by the specialists at TILSE GLASS®. These panels are bonded to an underlying carbon-fiber framework, creating a structure that is both immensely strong and ethereally light.
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From the outside, the coachroof gives the yacht a "futuristic configuration," its dark, reflective facets in stunning contrast to the white hull and teak decks. From the inside, it transforms the main saloon into a breathtaking, light-filled atrium, offering 360-degree panoramic views of the sea. It is a defining feature that required immense confidence from the builders and a visionary client, perfectly encapsulating the yacht's blend of high art and high technology.
The commitment to this lightweight, high-tech philosophy is evident in every detail. The deck hardware, pulpits, and stanchions are crafted from titanium, a material prized for its superior strength-to-weight ratio and corrosion resistance. The removable hardtop, which provides shade to the cockpit, is also carbon fiber, as is the sleek bowsprit. This fanatical dedication to weight-saving and clean lines is the essence of Luca Brenta's genius.
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| WHIMSEA |
The Interior: Wetzels Brown Partners' "Calm, Relaxing Heaven"
If the exterior of WHIMSEA is a statement of futuristic performance, the interior is a sanctuary of avant-garde tranquility. The original owners approached the Amsterdam-based studio of Wetzels Brown Partners, led by Gillian Brown and architect Rob Wetzels, with a "white paper"—a blank canvas on which to realize a dream they had been nurturing for decades.
The brief was as simple as it was bold: a "black and white" theme. Wetzels Brown Partners, known for their "clean modern lines," "practical flexibility," and ability to create deeply personal spaces, embraced the challenge. The result is an interior that is nothing short of breathtaking, a "light spacious feel" that instantly sets a "calm and relaxing" tone.
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| WHIMSEA |
The most audacious and impactful decision was the "black" element. Instead of hiding the hull, the designers chose to celebrate it. The dark, curved, carbon-fiber shape of the hull is left visible, forming the outboard walls of the main saloon and cabins. This "bold" move creates a dramatic, graphic counterpoint to the "white" elements—the bespoke, custom-designed furniture, soft bulkhead panels, and light-colored flooring. The contrast is electric, a "harmonious blend of technology, design, and personal expression" that feels more like a modern art gallery than a traditional yacht cabin.
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| WHIMSEA |
The main saloon is the heart of this vision. Flooded with natural light from the "diamond" coachroof above, the space is open, airy, and stunningly beautiful. The layout is intelligent and flexible, providing distinct zones for lounging, dining, and navigation without the use of obtrusive bulkheads. The "amazing open feel" is palpable, a direct result of the light, the color palette, and the glass superstructure that blurs the line between inside and out.
The dedication to bespoke design is obsessive. In a perfect example of the project's no-compromise philosophy, the design team could not find an existing chair that looked as good from the back—the view one would have from the sofa—as it did from the front. Their solution? They designed and 3D-printed a new, unique chair specifically for the yacht. This piece, with its two "snapped-together" shells—an exterior hand-polished and lacquered, an interior covered in soft leather—is a work of art in itself and a microcosm of the entire project's ethos.
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| WHIMSEA |
The accommodation spaces continue this theme of minimalist luxury. WHIMSEA sleeps eight to nine guests in three remarkable staterooms. The full-beam owner's suite, located forward for maximum privacy, is a true "heaven," featuring a large dressing room and a spacious en-suite head. A VIP cabin and a third guest cabin (which includes a double and a bunk, allowing for the flexible "up to nine" guest count) provide luxurious and equally stylish accommodations for friends and family. A separate, professional crew area aft for four ensures that service is seamless and guest privacy is absolute.
This interior is a "calm" space, "uncluttered" and refined. But "calm" does not mean "cold." As Wetzels Brown Partners themselves noted, onlookers at the launch speculated that the black-and-white theme might feel sterile. Yet, everyone who stepped onboard "felt the light airy welcome feel." It is an interior that proves minimalism can be warm, personal, and profoundly comfortable.
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| WHIMSEA |
Performance & Legacy: A Multi-Award-Winning Icon
WHIMSEA was not built to be a static piece of art. She was built to move, to cross oceans, and to deliver exhilarating performance. Her "extremely fast" hull, combined with her powerful, push-button-controlled rig and 474 square meters of sail area, makes her a true "sailor's yacht."
The integration of advanced sailing systems, such as the Cariboni "Magic Trim" mainsheet and automated hydraulic winches, embodies the "effortless grace" central to her design. This technology allows a 100-foot superyacht to be handled with a level of ease and precision that belies her size and power. Under power, a single 350-400 hp Cummins diesel engine provides reliable and quiet propulsion, giving her a comfortable cruising speed of over 10 knots.
The world of yacht design took notice. In 2010, just a year after her launch, WHIMSEA (as Chrisco) dominated the industry's most prestigious awards. She won not one, but two of the highest honors from the International Superyacht Society (ISS): "Best Interior Design" and "Best Sail 24m-40m." It is exceptionally rare for a single yacht to win both of these top categories, a fact that speaks to her perfect balance of form and function.
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| WHIMSEA |
She was also a celebrated finalist at numerous other ceremonies, including the World Superyacht Awards and the ShowBoats Design Awards, where she was nominated in nearly every conceivable category: Naval Architecture, Exterior Design, Interior Design, and even Bespoke Furniture. The industry's message was clear: WHIMSEA was a triumph.
She was the result of an "enviable team game" between a visionary owner, a boundary-pushing builder, and two of the most forward-thinking design studios in the world. She has been "meticulously maintained" ever since, undergoing significant refits in 2016 (which included new teak decks) and again in 2021-2022 to keep her systems and aesthetics at the cutting edge.
Today, WHIMSEA continues to be "one of the most striking sailing superyachts of her generation." She is a timeless testament to the power of a bold idea, a floating paradox of "visual silence" that makes an incredibly powerful statement. She is a reminder that in the world of luxury, the greatest achievements are not just built—they are dreamed.