The sailboat is a 12 metre First 38s5 from the Beneteau shipyard, with a 28 HP Volvo auxiliary inboard engine. The auxiliary engine is usually used for manoeuvring when mooring, leaving and entering port, or when there isn't enough wind at sea to go it alone with the aid of the sails. Our boat sleeps 6 in 3 double cabins along with 2 more beds in the dinette, for a total of 8. The dinette is usually used by the skipper but its 2 single beds are perfectly usable. There is a bathroom with a shower, a kitchen with a gas cooker and an external shower. The cover of the First 38s5, designed by Pininfarina, doesn't have any ropes or pulleys because everything passes between the cover and a double cavity wall underneath it, this is so nothing can create an obstruction above it. The interiors were designed by Philippe Starck, which says it all really, but anyway the photos will give you a good idea of what to expect.

The First 38s5 was designed with the waterline of a regatta boat, so it has a mast of 15 metres, around 100 m2 of mainsail and genoa, and a 2 tonnes bulbous bow of about 2 metres which is necessary to go against the force of the wind on so much sail. The advantage of a boat like this is that it's able to get up to a good speed even with very little wind without having to use the auxiliary engine. The disadvantage, if there is one, is that compared to a sailboat created for the regatta, the interiors were designed by Philippe Starck who was asked by Beneteau if he could do them as if it were a cruise ship. The result is a boat which has the interiors of a cruise ship but the technical and naval characteristics of a regatta.

The dinette, which is located in the central part of the boat, is about 1m 90cm high. As are the entrances to the 3 double cabins, then, just like in all sailboats of this type, the cabins get lower to allow the crew to sit down or lie down in the berth. There are yachts or sail boats of 25 or 30 metres with king size beds, Jacuzzis and other mod-cons, but not this boat, it all depends what you're into. Paraphrasing an advert I can say: living on board, sailing, going free-diving, dining at sunset or having breakfast at dawn with the dolphins are all priceless experiences, for everything else, there's MasterCard.