Sir Charles Dunstone to Witness Launch of his New Superyacht Hamilton

Photo: IAN JONES

The founder and owner of Carphone Warehouse will, when he visits a shipyard in Southampton today, have two reasons to feel rightfully proud.


Firstly, workers at the yard will call him Sir Charles following the announcement that he was knighted last week in the Queens Birthday Honours List and secondly, because he will see his new 30 metre yacht Hamilton, the first of the new 30 metre WallyCento sailboat class, launched.


Green Marine has built this, the first boat to comply with the WallyCento class rules at its facility on the south coast of England. She is the latest innovation in the Wally lexicon of superyachts that are designed to be genuine cruiser racers.



Designed within a box rule by Judel/Vrolijk and with an interior by Design Unlimited, Hamilton is an exceptionally sophisticated composite yacht built to the most exacting weight limitations yet boasting a luxurious cruising interior with every modern convenience and comfort.


Judel/Vrolijk has been involved with the development of the WallyCento class from a very early stage, and its previous experience of Box Rules through classes such as the STP65 and TP52 was invaluable from the start in defining the design parameters for the WallyCentos.


In this case however, the racing elements of the yacht had to mesh smoothly with accommodating a full facility, though very light cruising interior. Initial studies looked at a minimum displacement model with water ballast, but while this would have delivered an extremely powerful boat it was also deemed to be excessively complex


After further work it was decided by Judel/Vrolijk and the other partners involved to forego water ballast and instead choose a lifting keel option with a maximum draft of 6.20 metres and maximum displacement of 50 tonnes in IRC measurement trim. This would deliver excellent performance at all points of sailing, and give a particular advantage upwind compared to the alternatives.



The launching of the yacht marks the completion of one of the most technically complex projects that Design Unlimited has undertaken to date. The rules that underlie all Wally yachts including these exceptionally powerful cruiser racers require that they all have full cruising interior


The owner’s requirements were for a simple interior, which would be functional for racing, but still exhibit the contemporary modern feel of a Wally and have a comfortable relaxing ambience. Dunstone also wanted a sleek thoroughbred exterior with a guest cockpit separate from the sail handling area from where his guests could observe the racing in comfort and safety and presumably not get in the way!


The yacht is expected to race in the Superyacht Cup at Cowes and then move to Porto Cervo in Sardinia.  In future years she may be supported by Shemara acting as a mothership.  Currently the 63 metre veteran yacht Shemara is being re built near Gosport