Yacht Kiboko 4 Owners Will Cross the Atlantic for First-Time Adventures

“This yacht represents an evolution for me,” one of the owners of the yacht Kiboko 4 shares. It’s not only because this is the fourth sailing superyacht the family has built at Southern Wind Shipyard. In fact, Kiboko 4 is their first performance yacht, with an eye toward competing in regattas. Just as important, though, they’re eagerly planning to sail from the Med to the Caribbean for the first time.

Christened on November 21, the sailing yacht is hull number two in the SW108 series, also known as a Smart Custom series. “Smart Custom” refers to the broad leeway clients have in requesting personalized engineering and creature comforts. As such, the yacht Kiboko 4 follows in the footsteps of the yacht Gelliceaux. Notably, Gelliceaux’s owners wanted a spirited cruiser capable of holding her own against other performance cruisers. She did just that by winning the St. Barths Bucket earlier this year, her first time competing in the regatta. Similar to Gelliceaux, Kiboko 4 has a lifting keel, along with a sailplan and rigging package “which I hope will make her highly competitive in regattas,” the owner says. To convey her serious intent further, she bears a dark hull and mast, another change from her three predecessors.

Even with her racing days, the yacht Kiboko 4 mostly will be a “family boat,” the owner notes. Still, this family boat needed “her own personality,” explains Marco Alberti, Southern Wind’s CEO, “much like the three previous yachts the owner commissioned from us.” Weight optimization was as key for ensuring the family enjoys their time aboard as much as the yacht is capable of competing. Of course, the interiors, from Nauta Design, were important, too. Although images aren’t yet available, the overall look is light and airy, with a Mediterranean aesthetic.

As much as Southern Wind Shipyard understood the family needs from having built several yachts for them, the yard credits the captain’s contributions. On site in Cape Town, South Africa throughout the construction, he especially conveyed certain systems, mechanical and otherwise, should be aboard.

The yard further credits the family for coming back for yet another project. Four yachts for the same clients is “an honor,” Alberti says. An even bigger honor, however, is “the opportunity to deepen our friendship,” he adds.

That friendship will sail to new heights, figuratively speaking. Besides heading to the Caribbean, the owner says, “I also dream of taking her to Maine someday.”

Nauta Design nautadesign.com

Southern Wind Shipyard sws-yachts.com