Red Hackle has changed her name to Saemias but no matter what she is called now she is still the most beautiful of all the Mystic 60 sailing yachts that were ever built.
It’s kind of spooky when a boat you have loved, and in the past owned, suddenly comes up on the market for sale again. Somehow you find yourself inescapably drawn into the brokerage pages checking it for errors and at the same time reliving all the happy times you had on board.
As the only ketch rigged version of the 12 yachts in her class and still sporting her pillar box red hull, Red Hackle was always and remains the most instantly recognisable bluewater cruising yacht anywhere in the world.
The hugely talented and highly successful German Frers designed the Mystic 60 having had a conversation with the British yacht broker Alan Morgan in the late 1980’s. It was while they were sailing together in the Fastnet Race that they set out to define what would in their minds be the ideal yacht.
They agreed she had to be fast and elegant, to have a nice motion at sea, be responsive and lively but at the same time strong and comfortable. Perhaps at the time they were dreaming of a hot shower and cosy dry berth, a galley where to cook and a big comfortable saloon because they threw that in too.
Allen insisted she have functional deck so that she could be handled as easily as the racing boat we were sailing, but without a large crew. A lot of time was dedicated to arguing about pros and cons of the centre cockpit versus the aft cockpit without being able to come to a conclusion. Adding up everything they arrived at the conclusion that the hull had to be between 55 and 62 ft, long, with moderate draught and spade rudder.
Alan was so enthusiastic with the results of our discussion that he and Frers decided there and then these were to be the basic parameters to be used for the design of the new Mystic 60.
Originally built as Sassenach for a hugely experienced yachtsman, whose professional skipper spent 6 months overseeing her build and fit-out, individually selecting all the interior teak. He also had many updates included in the yacht over and above her sisterships to make her ideally suited for serious sailing.
We purchased her named her Red Hackle and enjoyed six happy years sailing in her, crossing the Atlantic and wintering in the Caribbean. In the summer to dodge the hurricanes we took her south to Trinidad one year and Venezuela the next. Later summers where spent in New England.
When it came time to sell her on there really only was one sensible solution. We brought her back to the UK and engaged Berthon International to place her on the brokerage market where she quickly sold
She subsequently circumnavigated the globe and in more recent ownerships, as Saemias she earned a 2nd place finish in the famous classic PANERAI Transatlantic race in 2012. More recently, Saemias has led an altogether more relaxing life, cruising around the UK and now the Mediterranean where she has her home on the beautiful island of Porquerolles, just a short taxi and ferry ride from Toulon-Hyeres airport.
Saemias benefits from a system of electric winches for sail handling, making her straight-forward and rewarding to sail, whilst keeping minimum complexity to reduce maintenance downtime. She has exceptional accommodation for her size, and is easily handled by a crew of two.
Since purchase by her current owner, Saemias has benefitted from a comprehensive refit lasting from 2020 to 2022, and costing in excess of Euro 300,000, leaving her fully equipped with everything from watermaker to linens. Everything a yachtsman could need is on board, with all equipment overhauled, serviced or replaced.