Six days, two harbours, 101 yachts over 24 metres. That is BOAT International's BOATPro count for the 49th Cannes Yachting Festival, which ran from 8 to 13 September across Vieux Port and Port Canto. Twenty-six were making their show debut. The biggest of the debutants was the Azimut Grande 44M. Average length across the show fleet was 32.3 metres. Worth noting: another 36 yachts lay at anchor in the bay.
Yards that never went above three decks are stacking up another one. The A125, still a project, is Arcadia's first four-decker; Maiora's 49.8-metre Supernova 50, already in build, has five; and Azimut put a fourth deck on the Grande 44M and moved the wheelhouse to the very top. Carbon has stopped being an upgrade line at Azimut — over half the Grande 44M is built from carbon-fibre composite. The Italians brought the most boats by a wide margin, Sanlorenzo alone showing 16. And Axopar assembled a three-model range on one hull, the clearest platform play of the show.
The count: 101 yachts over 24 metres and a $500 million brokerage fleet
The brokerage fleet of 43 yachts sat at Port Canto and was worth more than $500 million in total. Over at Vieux Port, four yards took up much of the pontoon space:
| Yard | Boats on display |
|---|---|
| Sanlorenzo | 16 |
| Azimut | 11 |
| Sunseeker | 8 |
| Benetti | 6 |
Organiser RX France published its own numbers beforehand: more than 700 boats from 5 to 50 metres, around 150 world premieres, some 56,000 visitors expected. This edition ran under a new show director, Constance Brément.
Superyachts: Azimut's carbon flagship, Arcadia's first four-decker
Azimut Grande 44M
The Grande 44M, afloat at the show days after delivery, opened the show on 8 September and took the Innovation Route special jury award for a Carbon-Tech superstructure the yard says removes up to 30 percent of the weight. A Hull Vane foil and a Dual Mode hull account for a claimed CO₂ cut of up to 30 percent. The fourth-deck solution could become a template for other yards: the wheelhouse has moved to the top, and the whole upper deck goes to the owner.
Federico Lantero, head of product design at Azimut: "Once the upper deck space is freed up, designers can play more with the layout."
Arcadia A125
Arcadia went the same way. The A125 is 38 metres, 299 GT, ten guests and seven crew — the largest yacht the Italian yard has drawn and its first with four decks. It is a project: what Cannes saw was a first render, and the first hull is due in 2028. Founder Ugo Pellegrino calls it "just a first glimpse".
Maiora Supernova 50 and M|53
Maiora unveiled two models, both at project stage, at a press conference held aboard the Exuma 36. The first is the Supernova 50: 49.8 metres over five decks, 499 GT, 16 knots flat out, 4,150 miles at 11 knots — a project already in build in Pisa, launch due in the second half of 2028. The M|53 is longer still at 53 metres, with an owner's suite over 100 square metres inside and out. For now it is a concept: no hull in build and no delivery date announced. Both are steel and aluminium, the first the yard has built that way, and the move into metal followed the group's purchase of the metalworking firm SIMAN.
Sunseeker
Sunseeker spent the week rebranding around a platform called The Original Mavericks. CEO Scott Millar: "Sunseeker became one of the most admired names in yachting by refusing to follow convention." The Manhattan 94 (28.60 m) was afloat at the show for its world premiere. The 86 Ocean Enclosed (26.17 m) is a concept so far: first details only, no build date. The 45M, announced on 11 September, is a project — the yard's largest model to date at 440 GT, construction from the third quarter of 2027, delivery in the second quarter of 2029, and a letter of intent signed on hull one.
Ferretti Group and Sirena
Ferretti Group had three world premieres afloat — the Pershing GTX90, the Custom Line Navetta 35 and the Riva 96' Argo Super. Sirena had the 36-metre 118 Ikigai on the water for its world debut.
Benetti
Benetti announced the Oasis 36M — a project on paper, no hull in the water yet — with a new bulbous bow the yard says cuts resistance by more than 10 percent at 10 knots. Afloat, the yard showed the Oasis 34M Aitana, the Oasis 40M Lady Sarah and the B.Yond 37M Jules. Its bigger news came from outside the show: the first B.Neos 40M, also a project and not yet built, has sold, through broker Manuele Thiella of Royal Yacht International, for delivery in spring 2028; the line itself was shown at Cannes in 2025. That 40.6-metre hull carries MAN's Smart Hybrid as standard.
Mid-size fleet: Magellano 27M, Princess X90, ICONA 70
Azimut also had the Magellano 27M afloat — the first hull of the third model in that series. It is 26.2 metres on twin MAN V12s of 1,650 hp, cruises at 16 to 18 knots and tops 24. Roughly 30 percent of the exterior surfaces are carbon, and amidships there is a glazed Mediterranean loggia.
Galeon had the 800 FLY on the water for its European premiere: a 25.71-metre flagship, full-beam owner's cabin amidships.
Sanlorenzo had the SHE afloat, 25.5 metres of sixties styling in its Heritage line.
Princess had the X90 on the water for its global debut and promised at least two new models a year for five years, after a £60 million profitability gain in 2025. Nautor Swan had the first Swan 80, Elvi, on the water. A new brand, ICONA — set up by EFFEBI New Project, the Balducci family's venture with Stefano Arlunno, and built to Overmarine Group standards — opened with the 21.3-metre 70 — for now a concept, with Igor Lobanov styling and a targeted top speed of around 36 knots. GranOcean had the W-72 on the water and announced the W-86 at a press call: a 26-metre power catamaran with a 12.3-metre beam, a project with the first hull already committed.
Small boats: Axopar's platform, Brabus at 60 knots
Axopar rounded out its 38-foot range with the Cross Top, afloat at Port Canto for its world premiere: €197,800 with twin 300 hp Mercury V8s, €212,770 with twin 350 hp V10s, both before VAT, past 45 knots either way. All three 38s — XC Cross Cabin, Sun Top, Cross Top — share one hull, one deck layout and a modular interior. Co-founder Jan-Erik Viitala says the aim was "to build one platform capable of serving genuinely different ways of boating".
Brabus Marine, Axopar's performance partner, works the same platform: its Shadow 38, also on the water at Port Canto, runs to 55 knots in 850 XC trim and to 60 in the 1000 XC. Both take Simrad's new NSO 4, a 16-inch helm display without physical buttons.
Also on show
- Cantiere Navale Patrone Moreno had the first 14-metre 45' Convertible on the water for its world premiere, a modern Ligurian gozzo by Tommaso Spadolini.
- Aquila had the 14.3-metre 45 Sail afloat for its world debut.
- Oyster showed its first catamaran, the C60, as a concept: no yard chosen and no production date.
- Navan opened the show with the C38 on the water at Port Canto.
- Cantiere del Pardo had Bianca II afloat, the first completed Grand Soleil Plus 80 Long Cruise, with its new Forlì factory due by the end of the year.
Awards: five Innovation Route winners, Best of Boat finalists only
Six judges worked through 47 entries and picked five winners on 8 September:
- Best Navigation-Enhancing Equipment — Smart Mooring by BlueNav, app-controlled berthing
- Best Sustainable Product — Suzuki Edge Ecoat, anodising for outboard parts that halves curing-oven CO₂
- Best Innovative Boat — the Excess 11, a 37-foot catamaran with optional hybrid drive
- Best CSR Initiative — Biohuts, fish-nursery shelters in marinas, from D-Marin and Ecocean
- Special Jury Award — the Azimut Grande 44M and its Carbon-Tech superstructure
The Best of Boat Awards, judged by a panel from 15 countries, named finalists only. Winners come later.
Brokerage: Christina O at €52 million after a €38 million cut
The big name anchored off Port Canto was Christina O, the 99.1-metre former Onassis yacht, now asking €52 million after a €38 million cut. The priciest boat otherwise for sale was Heesen's After You, 55 metres at €32.5 million, ahead of Benetti's Jules at €24.9 million and Rossinavi's Flying Dagger at €23.5 million.
We set out what to expect before the show opened. This is only part of what we took away from Cannes.
Photo: J. Kelagopian / Cannes Yachting Festival (RX France). Source: BOAT International, BOATPro, Marine Industry News, RX France, Nautic Times, Sand People.
