up the miles, looks gorgeous, is
bulletproof and offers every home
comfort. What’s not to like?
‘The later 43 Pilot Saloon has
the build quality of the 48-footers
and still offers three cabins, saloon
and two heads. Being smaller,
all the gear is that bit easier to
manage and shallower draught
has its advantages. Wauquiez
never built a Centurion version of
this model but she is an excellent
sea boat and very capable of fast,
comfortable, long-distance
passage-making.’
To this day, Dubois’ Wauquiez
boats have many attractions.
Their design gives above-average
performance while the interior
finish and quality are well ahead
of other French production yachts
from the same era.
In addition, Dubois’ Deck
Saloon versions combined sleek
styling with wonderful panoramic
views that can be enjoyed from
a warm, dry and comfortable
environment. In many ways they
look like small Oysters.
On the racing scene, designs
were commissioned by high-
profile owners such as Peter
de Savary (Victory of Burnham)
and Brian Saffery-Cooper
(Dragon). This dynamic duo
formed part of the UK’s 1981
Admiral’s Cup team that walked
off with the coveted cup.
Superyacht world
But perhaps his most important
new design commission, Dubois
says, was the 37.4m (123ft) yacht
Aquel II in 1985. She was the first
big Dubois boat to be built in New
Zealand – and she revolutionised
the look and interior comfort of
the so-called superyacht.
Dubois told me ‘The owner, Bob
Milhous, gave me free rein. He
wanted something different – with
an interior more
along modern
motorboat lines.
‘Externally, he
wanted a sleek sailing yacht
with clear decks. All the
hydraulic winches were hidden.
The interior was more open-plan,
and a pilot house accommodated
split-level living areas.’
Aquel II reinvented the genre and
catapulted Dubois into the exotic
world of superyachts. He never
looked back. Now there’s even
a thriving biennial regatta for
Dubois-designed superyachts
held in Porto Cervo.
Aquel ll’s striking modern
looks also attracted the
attention of Neville Crichton, who
commissioned Dubois to design
him a new 106-footer. Esprit was
the first of 23 successive projects
designed by Dubois and built by
Alloy Yachts.
Indeed, Dubois brought so much
work to New Zealand yards that in
2005 he became the first person to
receive the New Zealand Industry
Award. This was in recognition
of the US$400 million worth of
Dubois yachts (sail and power)
that had been built there. Now
this total is up to US$800 million.Wider interests
This breakthrough into the
superyacht world did not,
however, distract Dubois from
designing pure race boats. His
8 Metre design Gefion won theWorld Cup in 1988 then continued
her magical victory tour on both
sides of the Atlantic, taking the
honours at six more World Cups.
The 1989 and 1990 Dubois-
designed 8s Sarissa and The
Natural also won World Cups.
Another pivotal point in Dubois’
ever-widening sphere of influence
occurred in 1987. Up to then, all
his designs had been for sailing
boats – from quarter tonners
to superyachts. He was
commissioned to design a 21.3m
(70ft) motorboat, and this was
built in New Zealand. In 1989, he
graduated to 50m (164ft) and
Turquoise was the first of manylarge motorboats to be built by ex-
NATO suppliers Gurnay – renamed
Turquoise Proteksan. Since then,
they have built several more
Dubois-designed motor yachts.
Nowadays, motor yacht designs
represent about 30% of Dubois’
turnover in value, and 20% in
numbers. But he qualified this by
saying that any sailboat over 40m
has to offer motor yacht comfort
and facilities.Pick of the yachts
When I asked Dubois to single out
a few memorable superyachts, he
said: ‘The more notable in recent
years include Nirvana, launched in- She won the “Yacht of the
Show” at Monaco
in 2008 – the
best boat in any
category (sail or
power). This was quite something
as it’s very rare that a sailboat is
chosen, there being so many
more motor yachts.
‘Nirvana (53m/174ft) is unusual in
that she has a centreboard and a
minimum draught of just 3m. The
boat sails upwind beautifully and
reaches well. The interior design
by Josep Juanpere Miret is
exceptionally attractive and
complements our layout perfectly.
‘Since then, the 2011 Aglaia
(66m/217ft) ranks highly for
her size and speed. The
2013-launched Ganesha
(46m/151ft) is also a special
boat for her speed and grace.
‘On the motor yacht side, Como
(46.2m; 166ft), built by Feadship, is
a very special vessel. She won
practically every award going in
2014 – Feadship told us that no
boat has ever won more awards in
the history of yacht building! Of
course, the awards thing is a little
bit subjective – but it’s much better
to win than not!
‘Como is different because we
had to grab the owner’s attention
(in 2011) to get him to build
something in what were still
the recession years. She has a
sweeping inflected sheerline and
a more upright stem to look
both eager and stylish, giving a
feeling of movement even when
stationary. The shape is practical
and has a harmony of line,
matching function with form.
‘As a side note, 10 years ago our
two large sailing yachts Drumbeat
and Tiara (both 53m/174ft) were
first and second in the Rolex
Transatlantic Race from New York
to England in 2005. This had a
huge impact. It showed that large
yachts like these could be raced
safely and successfully.’
And as a crew member on
Drumbeat, Dubois won
another Rolex watch to add
to his collection.Still done by eye
Unlike many of his peers, Dubois
draws the initial lines for every
design by hand.
‘You can put your head down
➜Aglaia, 2011, ‘ranks highly for her size and speed’ Ganesha, 2013, ‘a special boat for her speed and grace’Como: Feadship maintains that no
boat has ever won more awards‘The shape is practical and
matches function with form’