Six American Palm Beach Motor Yachts owners had a front-row seat to something rarely witnessed at this scale. Off Shark Island, with the port C-foil deployed, Palm Beach XI accelerated smoothly under sail before lifting clear of displacement mode altogether, transitioning into something genuinely new: a Supermaxi foiling across flat water with control and stability. An ambitious concept had become demonstrable reality.
The programme behind that moment has been driven by Palm Beach Motor Yachts founder and CEO Mark Richards, who set out to do considerably more than refresh an ageing racing yacht. Working from the keel up, Richards and his team approached Palm Beach XI as a complete reinvention for a new era of offshore competition.
Richards spoke about how the journey unfolded: "Just making the start line of the 80th Rolex Sydney Hobart was an achievement, and even then we knew there was more to prepare for. What that race confirmed was the boat's structural integrity in tough conditions. Seeing Palm Beach XI foiling now, with control and stability, validates our decision to breathe new life into this Supermaxi as we look ahead to the Newport to Bermuda Yacht Race."
To bring that vision to life, Richards assembled a team capable of matching the ambition of the project. Designer Juan Kouyoumdjian of Juan K Naval Architects and builders McConaghy Boats worked alongside the yacht's own engineering and sailing crew, combining specialist expertise across every stage of development.
The newly fitted C-foils are engineered to generate dynamic lift, cut drag, increase effective righting moment, and extend Palm Beach XI's performance across reaching and downwind legs. Integrating foiling technology into a yacht of this size remains genuinely uncommon, and places Palm Beach XI at a meaningful frontier in high-performance offshore design.
For the six American Palm Beach Motor Yachts owners aboard during the trials, the outing offered something beyond spectacle. Watching Palm Beach XI lift and accelerate in real conditions gave them direct insight into the performance philosophy underpinning the brand, where innovation is measured against the water rather than validated on a drawing board.
With the C-foils proven and the broader design vision now taking tangible form, attention turns to what comes next. Palm Beach XI's next significant test will be the Newport to Bermuda Yacht Race in June, where she will compete fully race-ready, carrying the gains of her recent development into offshore conditions once more.
