Increasing interest in the mini-maxi racing circuit and perceived gaps in the market either side of the likes of Swan and Wally have led to this impressive looking 82-foot high performance cruiser from the board of Simon Rogers. She’s being built for British owner Brian Benjamin and was unveiled earlier today at the Monaco Yacht Show.

Rogers Yacht Design, whose involvement with the Artemis Open 60 project, Class 40 campaigns and some hot IRC designs, has equipped them with the latest in fast boat thinking, reckons this new Goetz built, all carbon sloop will be 10 tons lighter than current performance cruisers of equivalent size and is predicted to sail upwind at 10.5 knots in 18 knots of breeze.

The yacht will weigh in at 30 tons in race mode but can be re-configured to cruise converting a massive lazarette into a garage capable of housing a 3.25m RIB. The entire sail wardrobe of about 20 sails, together with other race equipment can be stowed in the lazarette for re-positioning, avoiding the need for a support container.

Brian Benjamin currently owns the Luca Brenta 65 Aegir built by Maxi Dolphin and the new yacht will bear the same name. Benjamin has specified that the 82 should perform dual roles of cruising and racing and by keeping the yacht relatively simple with a fixed bulb keel she should be an easy yacht to handle and maintain. She will be fitted with a versatile lightweight but luxury accommodation with the owner’s quarters accounting for almost the entire forward half of the yacht.

Simon Rogers has been careful to keep her long enough to make her eligible for superyacht regattas but small enough to get involved with the increasingly popular mini maxi regattas which race under IRC and which are planning a world championship next year pending approval from ISAF.