First Impression: Rafoly

Date toured: December 2009

The size of sailing catamarans available for charter is increasing at rates never before seen. Generally speaking, 40- to 60-foot cats have been a staple in the Virgin Islands fleet for the better part of the past decade. Now, sailing cat designs are being pushed to twice those lengths, and beyond, for charter opportunities worldwide. Sunreef Yachts recently began promoting the 102-foot Ipharra, its largest-ever sailing catamaran that will launch and become available for charter in the Mediterranean during summer 2010. Burgess Yachts, meanwhile, is marketing the 145-foot Hemisphere, which will launch and become available for charter in the Caribbean during winter 2010-11 as the largest private sailing catamaran in the world.  
    It’s in this context that Monaco Yacht presented the 94-foot sailing catamaran Rafoly for inspection at the December 2009 Antigua Charter Yacht Show. That’s where I got aboard—after being told by a good number of reputable charter brokers that Rafoly was among their favorite yachts in the entire show.
    I, too, was impressed. It turns out that Rafoly was built in 2008 as a custom design at Blubay shipyard in France from plans by the same architect who created the 99-foot sailing catamaran Allures. Engineer Fred Heinimann told me that Rafoly shares a good deal of Allures’ construction attributes but has a different interior layout, one that makes fantastic use of the yacht’s massive 43-foot width to provide large guest spaces.
    A good example is the guest cabins that are at the forward end of each of the yacht’s hulls. On smaller catamarans, cabins in these spaces tend to have double-size beds with small bathrooms. Aboard Rafoly, there are tapered queen-size beds with large bathrooms that include rain showers, plus a wealth of drawers for storage and good-sized windows that make the cabins feel light and airy. A separate staircase leads to the master cabin on the yacht’s starboard side, and yet another, separate staircase leads to the crew quarters (which is unusual for a catamaran).
    Outside, the guest features are also impressive. A swim platform raises and lowers hydraulically to launch Rafoly’s tenders, and can be left at water level to serve as a “teak beach” when guests are swimming. There is a hot tub on the flying bridge deck, and the aft deck is quite spacious with dining for eight as well as additional guest seating.
    Rafoly was used exclusively by her owner until summer 2009, when she became available for charter and did about six weeks’ worth of bookings in the Mediterranean, Heinimann said. The crew are all French, and Monaco Yacht says languages spoken aboard include French, English, Italian, and German.
Heinimann told me the captain and stewardess rotate every four months, so there is a different crew in place during winter charters than during summer charters. Any reputable charter broker can tell you more about which crew will be onboard during your charter dates.
    Rafoly is expected to finish the current winter season in the Caribbean before spending the spring in the Bahamas and summer 2010 in the Mediterranean. Her lowest weekly base rate is €47,000 for eight guests with four crew.—Kim Kavin