Antique and classic sailing yachts are wooden-hulled vessels from the late 19th and early 20th centuries, along with their modern replicas and new builds in traditional style. The type is defined by its presence in classic regattas — Les Voiles de Saint-Tropez, the Panerai Classic Yachts Challenge series — where schooners, sloops, and ketches with gaff or bermuda rigs race together across all sizes and ages.
Most original classics have been restored by their owners — a labour-intensive process that involves rebuilding wooden hulls and spars plank by plank. By buying a well-known classic yacht, a new owner takes on responsibility for its racing programme and social life: established boats come with permanent crews and regatta calendars. Living conditions aboard originals are basic by contemporary standards; seamanship requirements are higher than on modern production yachts.
Modern shipyards also build new yachts in classical style — typically limited-production or one-off commissions using traditional lines with updated construction and systems. These new classics participate in the same regattas as originals and cruise under their own programmes. Replicas of historically significant designs also appear in the classic fleet, built to period specifications or with modern materials beneath a traditional exterior.
