A fleet of Wally yachts belied their name this autumn when they took St Tropez by storm. David Glenn sailed aboard Wally B, the biggest of the new breed of stylish, all-carbon superyachts.

There may not have been a regata called La Nioulargue in St Tropez this year, but the event that took its place witnessed a remarkable revolution in large sailing yacht design.
Wally is the current word on the lips of those who follow the growing number of big boat regattas in the Mediterranean and, at the Coupe de la Ville de Saint Tropez this year, no fewer than seven of these all-carbon, minimalist machines were lined up stern-to the quay.
Their dramatically different shape, super clean decks and towering rigs made the maxi yachts of the 1990s look like dinosaurs on the point of extinction.