The VPLP-designed VMG 53 is a whole new breed of high performance cruising trimaran

VMG

After 30 years writing about yachts, I’ve been lucky enough to interview countless entrepreneurs who are also passionate yacht owners. Some, like Shahid Kahn (who owns the 400-foot-long superyacht Kismet that charters for $3 million per week), or Carl Allen (who’s owned a fleet of yachts and also owns his own island in the Bahamas), or Herb Chambers (the owner of the distinctly styled superyacht Excellence), are successful entrepreneurs who simply have the yacht (or yachts) of their dreams designed and built for them. In fact, superyachts being designed and built for extremely successful entrepreneurs is hardly new.

But, when it comes to designing and building a revolutionary new trimaran design, one particular successful, American, boat-loving, entrepreneur is making news because he’s doing way more than just ordering a custom boat for himself. His name is Mike Schwartz. He’s assembled an international team of rock-star designers, engineers, sailors and boat builders to create a whole new type of high-performance offshore sailing trimaran. And he believes so strongly in the need for a new breed of trimaran, he’s pouring his blood, sweat, resources, and considerable entrepreneurial acumen into his company that’s designing and building an innovative, high performance offshore cruising trimaran that’s unlike anything that’s been built before.

The idea was born when Schwartz sailed a particularly challenging offshore sailing race with fellow crewmate (and multihull expert) Karl Reed. They clicked almost immediately and the conversations they had revealed they shared a vison of what the ideal performance-cruiser trimaran could be. And that no one was building it, yet.

But, since Schwartz has more than 25 years of experience in product development and manufacturing. And since he’d already built and scaled multiple businesses across industrial, food production and cycling sectors, it was almost inevitable that he and Reed would join forces to bring their vision to reality.

According to Schwartz, the company they started not too long after those initial conversations is called VMG Industries (short for “Velocity Made Good”) because in sailing, nothing is more important than VMG—the measure how efficiently a yacht converts speed into meaningful progress towards a destination.

And they could not have found a more respected firm (that knows all about the importance of VMG) than the legendary naval architecture studio VPLP Design to partner with on the overall design. The French firm is known for designing some of the fastest ocean-racing multihulls ever built. In fact, I’m a little surprised (and quite impressed) that two relatively unknown American guys who’d never designed or built an offshore trimaran before were able to convince such legendary French yacht design firm to design the 53-foot-long high performance trimaran that’s currently being built in South Africa.

But after getting to know Schwartz and witnessing his relentless work ethic and almost boundless energy, I’m not surprised. “I was pretty excited just to get our initial meeting at VPLP,” Schwartz says. “The fact that they understood what we were trying to achieve, and then signed on to do the design work was huge for us. We are literally starting at the top.”

And lots has happened since that initial meeting. Construction of hull #1—the VMG 53—is well underway. And lots of the design ideas that inspired Schwartz and Reed to tackle such a tough project have come to life.

“From the beginning, our goal has been to create the yacht we wanted to own ourselves," he says. "We believe that we have the unique opportunity to combine world-class design, practical cruising capability and true sailing performance in a way that hasn't been achieved before in a production trimaran. Through the VMG 53 and our future models, we aim to make the most cutting-edge trimaran technology accessible to all.”

The VMG 53 is unique in several ways. It’s the first cruising trimaran in this size range to be equipped with two auxiliary engines, one in each outer hull. “Two engines make the VMG 53 much more maneuverable under power than one mounted in the hull. And the redundancy and added safety of having two engines makes my wife much happier as well,” Schwartz says with a smile.

Schwartz also called for the VMG 53 to be built of high tech carbon fiber and E-Glass composite construction at Evolution Marine Manufacturing in Cape Town to ensure that it will be lighter and perform better than other cruising trimarans. He says it’s more expensive and more complicated to build that way. But the stiffness and weight savings achieved in construction makes it possible to hit the aggressive performance goals that Schwartz has for the boat while also being a safe and comfortable cruiser. And the interior layout by renowned designer Christophe Chedal Anglay is innovative as well.

But you don’t have to take my word for it. Schwartz and Reed have already invited prospective owners see hull #1 that’s being built in Cape Town for themselves. And they’ve organized a long list of experiences (helicoptering in to tour Klein Constantia and Steenberg Farm wine estates hosted by Cape Town wine expert Shaun Terry, exploring the The Silo Hotel and Zeitz MOCAA museum, dining at some of the hottest restaurants in Cape Town and paragliding off the top of Signal Hill) so guests can enjoy the journey as well as see the VMG 53 come to life too.

And it’s coming to life quickly. The first VMG 53 is scheduled to launch in Cape Town in December. Watch this space.