With megayacht racing on the rise and Wally’s experience in this niche, it was only a matter of time before the builder introduced a pure racing yacht, the Wally Otto. But the Wally Otto isn’t a typical racing megayacht. She’ll run with fewer crew and therefore require a smaller financial commitment on the part of her owner.
At 80 feet LOA, the Wally Otto should be able to be handled by about a dozen crewmembers, judging from the illustration here. (Though it’s tough to see, there are 13 people spread across the deck.) Wally is also designing the yacht to have limited sail inventory. By comparison, some racing megayachts carry upwards of 30 crewmembers to handle maneuvers and the substantial square footage of sails. Luca Bassani Antivari, founder and president of Wally, underscores the difference: “This intelligent, flexible design dispenses with the ownership challenges normally associated with a traditional ‘pure’ racing yacht.”
Related to this, the Wally Otto kicks off a new One Design class, the One Design Maxi. In simple terms, One Design means a racing class comprised of just one sailing yacht design or model. During races, the first one across the finish line is declared the winner. Because of the strict specifications making the yachts essentially identical, One Design also helps keep ownership costs down.
While Wally says the Wally Otto can also convert for traditional cruises, featuring three staterooms, the yacht is intended first and foremost for competition. In either situation, dedicated space aft for guests means they can watch and take part in the action without getting underfoot.
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