amel sailboat

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Amel 50 review: An indoor sailing experience to excite even hardened sailors

• May 9, 2019

The Amel 50 is the French yard’s first sloop in over 20 years, Pip Hare takes a 48-hour test to see if the new format works

Amel has a long established following for yachts designed and built to match the needs of liveaboard and bluewater cruisers. It is reputed for its singular way of doing things and is famed for its ketches , designed for ease of sailing by a couple.

So when the La Rochelle yard unveiled this Amel 50, its first sloop since 1997, one with a broad, modern hull shape and twin rudders, it was met with surprise. Had Amel abandoned its heritage in favour for what’s in vogue?

Fortunately not. Step aboard and you quickly understand why this is a brilliant new model, one true to the brand’s DNA but versatile enough to suit everything from coastal sailing to global cruising.

Jib, staysail and main halyards are managed at the mast using a track and car system that locks the halyards in place. Photo: Jean-Sébastien Evrard

When I arrived in La Rochelle for my two-day liveaboard test, I wasn’t greeted with the sparkly weather I’d seen in Amel’s brochure. It was a dark, wet, windy and cold December morning. But, with its fully enclosed doghouse, the Amel 50 was made to take on weather like this. Would ‘indoors’ sailing leave me metaphorically cold, I wondered – surely the beauty of our sport is achieved through connection with the elements?

Setting out in a brisk westerly wind and lumpy seas that broke over the foredeck, the heat from below decks soon flowed up the companionway to fill the enclosed doghouse, bringing with it the aroma of fresh bread and coffee.

Within minutes we were punching our way confidently upwind, oblivious to the weather raging outside. I sat in the doghouse, feeling overdressed in salopettes and sea boots, and with every wave that crashed into the windscreen I felt my need to be out in the elements melting away.

Bold first impressions

The Amel’s lines follow modern trends including a blunt stem, full volume bow, high topsides, modest sheer and a beamy transom. But this latest model from the Berret-Racoupeau design team has rung some substantial changes. Amel’s first sloop in two decades, it is also the yard’s first model with twin rudders and the first built using resin infusion techniques.

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For close to 30 years Amel has favoured ketch rigs in the belief that splitting the sail area across two masts should make large cruising yachts more manageable for couples to sail. Ironically this way of thinking may have put off some sailors who actually consider two masts to be double the work, not half.

With the new 50 being the smallest in the range, the sail area was considered small enough to be comfortably handled as a sloop. Losing the mizzenmast unlocks additional benefits of reduced build costs, a larger cockpit and more below-deck versatility, making the Amel 50 an attractive package.

Absorbed or alienated?

Taking the helm for the first time I was acutely aware of my position on the boat – at the front of a central cockpit and offset to port. Looking forward, with only half the boat ahead and a small wheel in my hands I had the impression of sailing something much smaller.

The helmsman’s chair swivels and adjusts in height and there are reasonable views of the sails. Photo: Jean-Sébastien Evrard

The pillarless windscreen offers a panoramic view and the cockpit is high enough to give vision to windward, even on a starboard tack. The mainsail can be seen through hatches in the doghouse roof, while the view of the jib luff is great on a starboard tack – straight up the slot – but more difficult on port as the forestay sags to leeward. There’s a helmsman’s chair behind the steering position but I found standing more comfortable as, when seated, my arms were at full stretch.

The steering system uses push-pull cables onto the port rudder quadrant resulting in a helm that is sensitive to movement, but has little feeling. The rudders are a good size and the linkage direct, so small wheel movements have immediate impact, but as the cables do not load up no feedback can be felt through the wheel.

Once I’d acknowledged this I tuned into other performance indicators, using angle of heel particularly to guide me upwind. Immediately the helming experience came alive, I was watching for gusts, reading the waves, taking note of everything around me. Before I knew it, I was fully absorbed and unquestionably engaged with the sailing experience.

Joystick sail handling

The mainsail unfurls from the mast at an impressive speed using joystick controls in front of the wheel. The outhaul runs at the same pace on a continuous line system, which moves the clew in and out via a boom track. To avoid damage, both use a current-sensitive ‘time out’ feature – so if either is placed under heavy load they will momentarily stop, alerting crew to a potential sail jam or rope snag.

The jib sheets neatly through a wide shroud base, via coachroof tracks outside the doghouse and on to electric primary winches. Manual secondary winches allow jib cars to be trimmed while sailing. Powered-up under full main and genoa in 18 knots of wind we ploughed through waves at a decent 8.1 knots with a true wind angle of 50°, which is perfectly acceptable for offshore passagemaking.

The Amel 50 is a Berret Racoupeau design. Photo: Jean-Sébastien Evrard

Our test boat had the optional cutter rig adding a 24m 2 self-tacking staysail to the 126m 2 sail plan. Setting the staysail while beating in 20 knots gained a further 0.3 knots of boat speed, with no adverse effects to balance. Personally, I can’t imagine why you wouldn’t tick the staysail box; it adds a manageable sail area to the forward triangle, while providing a dedicated heavy weather sail.

Finally calling an end to our upwind slog, we put the bow down looking for a lunchtime anchorage in the lee of Isle de Rey. Off the breeze we waddled a little with jib alone. A furling gennaker soon saw us scooting across the waves reaching 9 knots of boat speed in 20 knots of wind. Helming required concentration, but once again it absorbed me and I unashamedly grinned at this ‘dry’ sailing experience.

In the blink of an eye, the sails were away and the anchor deployed using the remote windlass controls behind the wheel. With the cockpit table extended to full size and set with warm food on china plates the full transformation was complete and our rugged sailing experience of the morning was definitely a thing of the past.

The Amel philosophy

Over lunch I learned more of Amel’s ‘maximum enjoyment, minimum work’ philosophy, which not only covers sail plans but every aspect of design and construction. These boats are built to stand the ravages of time and the sea while incorporating details to reduce maintenance, make repairs uncomplicated and ensure life on board is simple and safe.

It seems that Amel has thought of everything, whether it is the specially extruded four-compartment mast section that keeps halyards, electrics and furler separate, the spyglass in the bottom of the hull giving direct sight of the propeller, or chafe protection at every point a locker lid might scratch the stainless-steel handrail.

The saloon table folds out to seat eight – the small tables double as stools. Photo: Julien Girardot

With every new detail I became more impressed by the Amel 50. It’s as though the everyday inadequacies and compromises I’ve grown to accept as part of yacht ownership have been wiped away in this boat.

After lunch, with the sun breaking through, I put my hosts to work; first poling out the headsail with the huge, vertically mounted jib pole, then trying the Code 0.

The white sails downwind set-up is good. There is a welded tang mid-boom that allows a preventer to be attached from inside the footprint of the deck, and the substantial jib pole, though a bit of a handful to lower in a rolling sea, is utterly fit for the job once in place.

Downwind performance was comfortable and efficient, making close to 9 knots dead downwind in 22 knots true. As the breeze died we maintained our VMG by setting a Code 0 with the jib pole. Sailing like this in the sun felt heavenly and the whole crew naturally gravitated to the aft deck, leaving the autopilot to drive while we took in the stunning islands of the Charente.

As the light faded on our first day we found a mooring buoy on the shores of Isle d’Aix and I took the controls on approach. This didn’t prove easy in the gusty breeze as there’s a lot of windage on the hull and superstructure, which makes manoeuvring the Amel 50 at low speeds tricky.

The twin rudders provide little prop wash effect to counteract any last-minute gusts so on my second attempt I resorted to the bow thruster, leaving the wheel in the centre and driving using throttle for speed and thruster for direction – this proved equally efficient when reversing into the berth at the end of the test.

From the bathing platform to the bowsprit the attention to detail on this Amel 50 is phenomenal. Photo: Jean-Sébastien Evrard

The cockpit sole lifts to reveal an impressively spacious and entirely watertight engine room, accessed via a small ladder. In line with the ‘trouble free maintenance’ approach, everything in this space is well set out with good access and room to work.

As well as the 110hp Volvo engine, the test boat housed a generator, watermaker, air conditioning unit and two inverters. Through-hull fittings have been kept to a minimum using a single inlet and seawater manifold.

All tankage is housed under the cockpit sole, including a grey water tank set in the bilge sump, which collects waste from all sinks and showers, serviced by a float switch for automatic emptying. This system ensures a dry, clean bilge elsewhere, creating extra room for storage.

Luxury for serious sailors

Below decks the Amel 50 is every bit as luxurious as you’d expect for its €790,000 price tag. The test boat finish was light oak with stainless steel details, which give a contemporary vibe, though may require endless wiping to remove finger marks.

There is a great feeling of space throughout, especially in the saloon, which, despite the raised cabin sole, has nearly two metres of standing headroom. Natural light floods from mid-height windows in the topsides and high-level coachroof hatches.

The use of a passageway galley helps to open up the spacious living area. Photo: Jean-Sébastien Evrard

A snug chart table surrounded by switchboards and repeat navigation instruments is set into the aft corner on the port side, while to starboard there is a step down to the corridor galley.

Two large sofas flank the saloon, one wrapped around the dining table to port. A couple of occasional tables can double-up as stools and provide all-round seating when the dining table is extended. These are anchored away under the folded table while sailing.

The Amel 50’s master cabin is situated aft, accessed through the galley passageway. It has a large double island bed, writing desk, sofa and en-suite facilities. Another big double in the bow shares a heads and shower with the bunk-bedded cabin to starboard. This twin cabin is disproportionately small compared to the space everywhere else, but the top bunk folds away to create a little more room if required.

Living on board the Amel 50 would be no hardship. I spent the evening in perfect comfort, eventually retiring to a fantastic night’s sleep in the forward cabin, leaving the blinds open so I could watch the twinkling lights ashore, through the large hull portlight from my bunk.

The aft island berth lifts up with stowage beneath and can be fitted with lee boards. Photo: Jean-Sébastien Evrard

Aside from the five-star hotel experience, the thing that really grabbed me below decks was how well this luxury combines with a set-up for serious sailing. All bunks come with well-fitting leeboards or cloths making even the island beds into usable sea berths.

The accommodation is separated from bow locker and lazarette by watertight bulkheads and internal bulkheads can be made watertight using clamps across the doorframes with their special seals.

The galley is large and well equipped with a proper sink, pull-out fridge and freezer drawers and plenty of worksurface. The passageway is wide enough for two people to pass, yet slim enough to brace while at sea.

The head-height storage lockers open to reveal a drawer front that slides out on tracks, keeping the contents retained when the locker is ‘uphill’ while still allowing access to the contents at the back.

The galley is overflowing with sensible and user- friendly storage. Photo: Julien Girardot

The only area that doesn’t seem commensurate with a life offshore is the passage forward from companionway steps across the saloon. This open space has few grab handles and would be a challenge to cross while pressed up on port.

The Amel team has addressed this in more recent builds by lengthening the stainless steel grabrail on the folded dining table-top, while repositioning and adding other holds at the bottom of the companionway steps.

The full sailing experience

The sun rose on the second day of our test to reveal, flat water, light winds and a cloudless sky. The change in weather gave great opportunity to try all aspects of the Amel 50 sailing experience and we spent a fun morning, hoisting and dropping every sail in the inventory.

In a wind range from 8 to 12 knots true, with a Code 0, gennaker and downwind asymmetric, no matter which way I pointed the bow, the boat performed. Speeds were less spectacular under white sails alone, so for those who like to sail until the last I’d recommend some additional offwind sail area.

The twin bunk cabin forward is a little cramped. Photo: Jean-Sébastien Evrard

Moving about the deck hoisting and dropping sails, I become more aware of the solid handrail and the security it offers. Not only is this feature higher than normal guardrails but it will take the weight of a person should they fall. The Amel teak – the company’s trademark gelcoat deck made to look like planked teak – offered good grip under foot.

The morning disappeared in sunshine and sails. Now it was warm I opened the central windscreen to get the feel of wind on my face while helming, though in these conditions it was a shame to stay ‘indoors’ and the best place on the boat became whichever pushpit seat had the sun.

With the rise in temperature the breeze died away and just when I thought we’d seen the limit of this boat’s sailing ability, it surprised me again. I have come to accept that poor lightwind performance is the trade-off to make for comfort in boats of this genre but, as the breeze died, the Amel 50 just kept going. With the jib set in just 5 knots of true wind speed we maintained a boat speed of 4.5 knots at a 60° true angle.

We were blessed with perfectly flat water and a stable wind direction, but this final flourish of performance confirmed my growing feelings of admiration for the boat and reminded me never to judge a book by its cover.

Our verdict

I can’t sit on the fence about the Amel 50; it is a brilliant boat. It’s neither revolutionary nor showy, and the unequivocal adherence to making everything maintenance light and easy-to-handle results in a boat that is not at all svelte.

I arrived with some heavy preconceptions perhaps as much about the kind of sailor I am as the kind of boat I would be sailing. I was treated to the full Amel 50 experience and my hosts did everything possible to show this boat in the best light.

But if you take away the fine food, endless espressos and crisp white bed linen, the Amel 50 still shines. It sails well, it is beautifully built and it made me smile. I left surprised and ever so slightly in love.

Specification

LOA: 16.50m (54ft 2in) LWL: 14.50m (47ft 7in) Beam: 4.79m (15ft 9in) Draught: 2.15m (7ft 1in) Displacement (light): 18,750kg (41,336lb) Ballast: 5,360kg (11,817lb) Sail Area (100% foretriangle): 126m 2 (1,360ft 2 ) Sail Area/displacement ratio: 19.9 Displacement/LWL ratio: 171 Berths: 6 Engine: 110hp shaftdrive Water capacity: 600lt (132gal) Fuel capacity: 675lt (148gal) Price from: €790,000 (ex VAT) Price as tested: €940,000 (ex VAT) Design: Berret Racoupeau Yacht Design

Novelty 2019

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EUROPEAN YACHT OF THE YEAR 2020

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EXTREME COMFORT, MAXIMUM PLEASURE

The generous volumes of this large sailboat have been designed to allow owners and their guests to enjoy life on board, while preserving the privacy: a large living space in the square, a high-end kitchen ultra-equipped, three cabins each with a bathroom, a protected cockpit, spacious and open on sunbathing inviting to relax…

+ more volume & sensations

+ more space & pleasure

In addition to its layout and refined design, AMEL 60 is rich in technical assets, such as its rig, consisting of a new carbon mast, which increases its performance and comfort at sea. Naturally, the strong values ​​of the shipyard, such as safety and ease of maneuver are needed with this new model.

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© 2019 Chantiers Amel | Legal notice – privacy policy

Anti-Waste and Circular Economy Law (AGEC)

Under the above French law, since the 1st of January 2022, each producer (company that places a product in the market) has his unique producer identifier number (Article L.541-10-13). This unique identifier number, assigned by the ADEME (French agency for the environment and energy management), proves that the placer on the market is a member of the APER (French association for eco-friendly pleasure boating) and that it fulfills its regulatory obligations. The AMEL SHIPYARDS’ U-ID number is: FR028009_18AOCF.

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• By Stacey Collins
• Updated: January 17, 2007

Like its predecessor, the Super Maramu, the Amel 54 has a conservative sail plan and hull shape designed for comfortable sailing. On a CW test sail last year, in 16 knots on the beam with choppy cross seas off Florida, the 54 logged an effortless 9 knots. Old-school cruisers will appreciate the full-skeg rudder and twin reaching poles for downwind work. Because safety is Amel’s paramount concern, the boat has four watertight bulkheads. The 54’s solid hull is laminated to the deck, which has high bulwarks and full-length stainless-steel railings for added security.

Many Amel customers are older cruising couples, so easy operation is key. “If you can lift 50 pounds, you can do everything on this boat yourself,” says U.S. agent Joel Potter. The electric furling main and genoa, electric winches, a bow thruster, and hydraulic pistons to help lift berths to access storage all support his claim.

Amel’s characteristic steering station, behind the hard windshield/dodger, has push-button controls and readouts for almost all systems, although visibility from the chair is limited.

Built-in lee cloths and ample tankage indicate a boat designed for passagemaking. In port, the sumptuous leather-and-mahogany interior makes the 54 a queen on any quay that the built-in passerelle touches. The seaworthy galley has a dishwasher and a deep freeze; a washer/dryer is standard. Ample storage for cruising gear includes a cavernous lazarette fit for an RIB.

The late Captain Henri Amel’s vision of the ideal cruising boat incorporated elegance, safety, comfort, and shorthanded-sailing ease. The new Amel 54 is a distinctive, luxurious, long-legged passagemaker of which the Captain would certainly approve.

Amel 54 Specs

LOA: 53′ 10″ LWL: 50′ 4″ Beam: 15′ 9″ Draft: 6′ 9″ Sail Area: 1,507 sq. ft. Displacement: 35,000 lb. Water: 237 gal. Fuel: 237 gal. Engine: 110-hp.Volvo Designer: Amel Design Group Price: $965,000 Chantiers Amel, (954) 462-5869, www.amel.fr

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BOAT TEST: AMEL 60 (WITH GALLERY)

(Images: J Ricoul)

Last year I organised a test of a highly respected marque, which will remain nameless. The day before the test, the forecast was for 20-25 knots. Given that the test was in the Solent and the yacht was over 40ft (12.2m), that sounded ideal. Not so; the broker said it was too breezy and the test was cancelled.

Now, I’m sure the circumstances were fair enough and I’m not having a go. I believe it was an owner’s boat etc etc, but every time I think of that manufacturer now, it seems somehow diminished in my eyes. The same certainly cannot be said of the Amel 60. The forecast for the day of the test was for 25-30kt increasing to 35-40 as the day wore on. Despite this, we headed out down the Rade de Toulon with little more than a Gallic shrug.

That is fitting, too, because Amel has built up a reputation not only for building one of the hardiest blue water cruising yachts out there, but also – surely – for being most French manufacturer of all time. The blue water argument is fairly easy to substantiate. I urge you to head to any obscure sailing outpost in the Pacific or Atlantic and it won’t be long before you find an Amel there; salt-encrusted, weathered by many miles of trade-wind sailing, yet still straining at her mooring lines and ready for the next port. The other side of my argument, that somehow this is the most French manufacturer of all time is harder to justify – but I assure you it’s true. These boats are as French as a packet of Gitanes and a glass of Pernod. To understand why, it’s important to understand a bit about founder Henri Amel, a single-minded man known to his employees simply as ‘Le Capitaine’. Amel was an innovator. He distinguished himself as part of La Résistance in the Second World War, during which time he lost the sight in one eye courtesy of a piece of shrapnel. Later, the sight in his good eye started to fade so that by the time he came to set up the company in the 1950s, he was almost completely blind.

This meant that his designs (and he designed all the Amel range in partnership with Jacques Carteau up until his death in 2005) had a strong emphasis on safety and security, with features such as solid stainless-steel guardrails, enclosed centre cockpits and offset steering wheels with a comfortable helming seat. Amel wanted to create a truly comfortable cruising yacht, one that stuck to his own uncompromising ideas of what that meant. I suppose that is what made them so French – Amel’s attitude was very much, ‘here is the boat, if you don’t like it, screw you!’ In the early days, the yard built sloops, but Amel came to favour the ketch rig, arguing that this was more manageable for a couple cruising. Perhaps the zenith of this philosophy was the iconic Super Maramu. It’s a bit glib to compare yachts to cars, but there is definite parallel with the Citroen CX. Anyway, along the way, Amel yachts picked up the most devoted, almost cultish acolytes.

After Henri Amel’s death, you might have expected the company to lose its way – and arguably it did for a few years – almost constrained and intimidated by the legacy of its founder. In recent years, though, it has sought to cut loose. The first sign of this was the Amel 50, which – shock horror – was a sloop. Now there is the 60, which follows much the same template. Designed by Berret/Racoupeau, she, too, has no mizzen, and the company has signalled its willingness to embrace change by giving her masses of beam aft, a carbon mast as standard and twin rudders – and, for obvious reasons, no skeg. Some of these things are anathema to old-school Amel owners but, in all honesty, they are in keeping with the philosophy of the company. After all, the ketch rig was introduced at a time when electric winches were not available – so, as Amel’s yachts got bigger, it made sense to split the rig for ease of handling. Nowadays, that is not an issue and a simple cutter rig makes sense for a couple, even on a 60 footer.

Blue water priorities

As soon as you step aboard, you know that this is a yacht that has been designed with blue water cruising in mind. Amel’s trademark centre cockpit is still there and, combined with the solid hard top to the sprayhood and solid toughened-glass windscreen, this is an area that feels incredibly secure – there is definitely a feel of a motorsailer here in the way you are cosseted and protected from the elements, and the solid rails reinforce this feel. There are a number of windows and hatches that open to improve the circulation of air, but there is still a far greater level of protection than on your standard cruising yacht. The only boat I can make a fair comparison with is the Sirius 40DS, which offers a similar mix of high cruising comfort married to decent performance. That, however, is a smaller boat altogether. Seating in the cockpit is very comfortable and there is a lot of nicely finished wood veneer, which gives it a warm, homely quality. At the same time, you can control almost everything from the helmsman’s seat, which is offset to port. This features a dashboard with an initially quite intimidating selection of buttons – these control everything, from the anchor to the electric outhaul and inhaul for the mainsail, staysail, genoa, Code 0 and even the mainsheet traveller. Only two lines come into the cockpit via the coachroof – the mainsheet and the sheet for the self-tacking jib. Beyond that, there are two pairs of winches set on either side of the cockpit coamings aft that can be used for the headsail, genoa and Code 0.

Under the cockpit sole is another feature that fairly shouts Amel. You can basically lift it up for direct access to the engine (a very powerful Volvo 180hp) and genset. Aft is the fuel tank, again easily accessed for cleaning etc, while there is also a solitary seacock for the cooling water intake. The engine access via the cockpit sole is not unique, but it’s something of a trademark, as is the fact that it is the only access point – you can’t lift up the steps in the saloon. The idea here is to keep the engine totally insulated and isolated from the living area. Step aft out of the cockpit and there is a traveller for the mainsheet followed by a decently dimensioned aft deck with a huge lazarette underneath. Amel eschewed the dinghy garage in favour of some distinctive black fibreglass davits. It’s worth mentioning that the hindquarters of the Amel are simply immense so this is a correspondingly huge space. Consequently, the bathing platform is broad though relatively narrow with a very expensive looking integrated stainless steel drop down ladder. The life raft is in its own cage to starboard, where it can easily be deployed, and there is even a stainless-steel emergency ladder integrated in the transom below the bathing platform. The impression is of a yacht where little has been overlooked.

The side decks are wide and there are a lot of excellent handholds. Up forward, there is a short sprit jutting out from the plumb bow that caters for both the Code 0 and a pair of anchor rollers. There are two anchor winches, a deep anchor locker and also a huge forward lazarette, which can be converted into crew quarters if an owner requests this option. A few more things to note before heading below: the look of the boat is certainly distinctive with that solid bimini; she also looks strikingly modern with her plumb bow and reverse sheer; she won’t be to everyone’s taste; and she isn’t as elegant as the old Super Maramu. Despite this, she fits the slightly cultish, individual template you’d expect from an Amel, and this is a yacht that somehow, indefinably but undoubtedly embodies the spirit of what an Amel should be. The other feature is the rig – a great towering deck-stepped stick of carbon fibre. This comes as standard, which is a bold and expensive step, and saves around 350kg up top compared with an alloy mast. That’s a big saving and considerably reduces pitching while improving overall performance.

The interior was also designed by Racoupeau – this time Mme Racoupeau, to be fair. She was responsible for the Wauquiez 42 saloon, which, for me, was one of the best out there. The 60 is equally excellent. It’s stylish without being showy or vomit-inducingly flash. The layout is very simple, with the main living area nice and open, and inclusive. The saloon features a large dining/seating area to port, with a chart table/office/technical area with control panel etc just aft of this. Behind is a simply massive TV screen, which somehow manages to blend in. You can comfortably seat eight around this saloon table, which drops down electronically to provide a double berth if required. To starboard is some additional seating, underneath which – rather randomly, if also rather usefully –is a large fridge. Aft of this is the linear galley, which features an electric induction hob (no gas), plus all the other bells and whistles (dishwasher, washing machine). The galley is a good place for cooking at sea, providing a feeling of security while ensuring everything is to hand. You also don’t feel cut off from the saloon, which is a plus. Aft of the galley is the main stateroom which, as on all big centre-cockpit boats, is huge. In fact, on the Amel 60, it’s palatial. There’s an awful lot of natural light in here, too. The en suite bathroom puts many hotel rooms to shame and there is masses of storage space.

The other two cabins are forward and are absolutely symmetrical, making you feel a bit weird if you stare at them both directly. They feature more modest doubles with the en suites forward. Amel doesn’t really do customisation, but it has been forced to compromise a little. As a result, there is an option for a wider berth to port and a slightly narrower bunk room to starboard. In addition, if you take the crew cabin option, then you lose the en suite to starboard and this becomes a smaller cabin. All in all, the space down below is essentially a really nice place to be.

As previously mentioned, it was a wild sort of a day out in the Rade de Toulon and, outside the breakwaters, the Mediterranean was also dishing up an ugly short chop, guaranteed to throw a yacht off its stride. We set out undaunted. The manoeuvring was made especially simple by the bow and stern thrusters. These are of a design especially developed by Henri Amel – telescopic in design, they drop down deeper than standard thrusters and are therefore more effective. The bow provides 13hp, which is fairly intimidating and you can pretty much spin all 60ft (18.3m) of the boat on the spot. The cruising speed of the yacht under power is 8kt and down below it was very peaceful even when we opened the motor right up and were going at 9.5kt. Sails up and with life made very simple by lots of push-button technology, we were soon pounding through the short chop with a reefed main and self-tacking jib, while the wind bounced between 20 and 30kt.

This is a 30-tonne yacht and there was something monolithic and magnificent about throwing it about in these brutal conditions. It was sort of like watching Mike Tyson taking a bit of a pummelling. With every savage gust, the Amel remained unruffled, dusted herself off and continued on her way, making 6-7.5kt hard on the wind. The twin rudders provided tremendous grip. The helm, to be fair, was a touch heavy and lifeless – although not anything like in the league of a yacht with hydraulic steering, I hasten to add. I also found that the Amel’s greatest asset – the incredibly sheltered cockpit – was also its greatest drawback, as you felt slightly divorced from the action and it was harder to get a true ‘feel’ for the wind – I steered by the wind angle indicator. Nevertheless, I felt incredibly safe and, again, this was confusing as it was gusting 30kt. Still, on an ocean passage, this is an admirable set-up. Sail-handling was effortless once you got to grips with what all of the innumerable buttons did. Everything was electric and there was even a hydraulic override for the mainsail outhaul, which provided extra power when required. Cracking the sails out and heading off the wind, things got even better. We hit 11.4kt with the big genoa unrolled and still felt in total control, despite the extremely boisterous gusts.

The Amel 60 is a very individual boat and, in that respect, it sticks to the blueprint that Henri Amel started out with. The design team has also worked hard to produce a modern yacht that retains the clever, individualistic thinking of earlier designs. The quality throughout is also absolutely superb and the attention to detail, excellent – although this comes at a price.

In terms of her sailing qualities, she inspired total confidence and also entertained in wild conditions. Ultimately, this is an individual boat and, like a rather British product – Marmite – will engender strong emotions both for and against. If you’re a serious blue water cruiser though, this is a great boat to consider.

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