This is usually the time for taking stock.
The Christmas break is a natural opportunity to rewind the tape, slow down, and take a step back from the frenzy of daily routine, work commitments, and constant travel. It is the right time to pause and reflect on the most significant moments of the year that is coming to an end.
For once, instead of stubbornly looking ahead, there is room to look back and reflect on the milestones that have really left their mark. And there is no doubt about it: 2025 has been an intense year, full of emotions and extraordinary experiences.
Above all, the one that led me to climb aboard the Magic Carpet. It is not easy to describe the sensations I felt at the helm of the new maxi yacht, strongly desired by Sir Lindsay Owen-Jones: words struggle to keep up with what you really feel at sea.
Whatever the point of view, from the waterlines to the sail plan, from the interiors to the hydraulic and plant systems, right down to the choice of materials, it is clear that this is something completely new. Not just a boat, but a vision: a project that not only opens a new chapter, but propels sailing directly into the future. This is what Magic Carpet gave me as we sailed, propelled by a 12-13 knot breeze, on an April day in the waters of the Gulf of Saint-Tropez.
These emotions were rekindled a few weeks later in Naples, at the press conference that officially announced the city as the venue for the 38th edition of the America’s Cup in 2027. The level of participation and involvement was such that this choice seemed almost natural, perfectly consistent with the scale of the event. There is still a long way to go, of course, but after the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan-Cortina, it is nice to imagine that the world’s most prestigious sailing trophy could find such a deeply human and geographical setting as only Naples can offer.
The story of 2025 would not be complete without the reflections shared by Pierre Casiraghi in a long interview given on the eve of his first, unforgettable Admiral’s Cup.
At the helm of Jolt 6, the vice president of the Yacht Club de Monaco won the decisive points in the last leg of the Fastnet Race to take the Monegasque team, which also included Peter Harrison, CEO of Richard Mille EMEA, to the top step of the podium, winning one of the most coveted sailing trophies internationally.
And the 2025 album of memories also includes another extraordinary feat: that of Alessia Zecchini, who freedived to a depth of 113 meters, her 40th world record, sealing a simply incredible career.
These are different stories, but they are united by a common thread: achievements that inspire emotion, highlighting talent, determination, and human ingenuity in a unique context such as the sea. These are stories of vision, courage, and the future, which we seek to make tangible through words, images, and testimonials.
This is the course that Top Yacht Design and Sea Time follow every day, in print and online: transforming extraordinary experiences into narratives that leave their mark, just like the waves left behind by a boat sailing with its sails unfurled.
Matteo Zaccagnino
Editor-in-Chief
