Adèle is the dream I nurtured during many years that now has come true. She represents beauty, speed and adventure.

Named after my mother, Adèle is bursting with energy to live each day to the full, and she is sharing her adventures with all who come into contact with her. Conceived for world exploration and to fearlessly storm into remote places, where many never may approach, she changes the perspective of life for ever for all of us who step on board.

 Adèle combines the classic lines of yachts like the early 20th century J-class yachts, the Prince’s of Wales Britannia and Kaiser Wilhelm’s Meteor with a contemporary rig and underbody ensuring fast ocean passages. The long overhands, low freeboards, flush deck and tall masts represents beauty to me, and she is so large that you get this beauty without compromising on the comfort she provides.

She carries a huge sail area on a narrow, easily driven hull. And all that power is at your hands, when you stand at the wheel! Her two masts give her many sail combinations and make her well balanced in all winds. Downwind we can easily set a mizzen staysail or, if we want to really feel the elements, the red and white spinnaker.

Adèle is my home and a home with immense character. We live on board during extended periods with family and friends. Down below, the library, with raised and fielded mahogany panels, just forward of the fireplace, provides a womb-like retreat from the action on deck. And the three deck houses offer a possibility to withdraw but still be part of the action.

When the Prince of Wales (later King Edward VII) commissioned Britannia towards the end of the 19th century, he stipulated that she should be a fast racing yacht, but he also requested that he should be able to enjoy a hot lunch when on board. Adèle provides both speed and comfort and can offer both owner and guests more than a hot lunch!

The first Adèle was and will always remain my mum. She encouraged me to explore both the world and my inner self and she provided the safety and security I needed when extending the boundaries of my world. She held my hand, not to restrain me but to support me.

Design Considerations

Her draft of 4.80 m ending in a bulb, 250 cm wide at its widest point, gives Adèle a good upwind performance. The keel was tested and compared to traditional keels as well as wing keels and the bulb configuration was selected because of its combination of low leeward drift and limited risk for damage.

The draft is however a compromise between upwind performance and ability to reach more shallow harbours. Adèle’s length will in itself prevent her from entering very small harbours and it was felt that 4.80m was a good balance between those demands. A centreboard was not an option due to the risks at grounding.

The demand for worldwide explorations means redundancy in a lot of equipment (like 3 generators, 3 tenders, 2 radars, 2 watermakers etc.). It also means reasonably large tanks for diesel and water and all in all prevents the design from being extremely lightweight. Together with a V-formed bottom it provides a smooth ride even during long voyages in tough circumstances, but it reduces her ability to surf downwind and will slightly reduce her performance in very light winds.

Adèle is ketch rigged (two masts, with the aft mast shorter than the mainmast forward) and is, through wind tunnel testing, designed to be sailed both upwind and downwind with both genoa and staysail, and both main and mizzen. The two masts provide an ability to carry a substantial sail area downwind without either exaggerating the risks or the size of the crew. It has been the choice of several large superyachts lately like Marie Cha, Windrose, Salperton and Borkumriff IV.

A sloop-rigged yacht would also have had a mast that would be too tall to fit underneath the Bridge of the Americas (the Panama Canal Bridge). This was an important consideration for having two masts.

We have elected to have only one engine to minimize the weight and to centralize the weight on the keel. One propeller gives much less drag and is more protected behind the keel and a single engine takes up much less space in the engine room. Reliability during long voyages has been met by selecting a very reliable proven engine (Caterpillar 3412E DITTA -1000 hp) and by carrying a considerable amount of spare parts.