DAKOTA

Fitzroy built fewer than twenty yachts before the yard closed, and the ones that survive are sought after for a specific reason: the New Zealand aluminium work was among the best in the world, and it has aged without complaint. DAKOTA is one of them – 38.9 metres, launched in 2006 to a Dubois design, and given a full interior rebuild by H2 Yacht Design in 2022.

That refit is what makes her interesting now. The hull, rig and deck layout are pure mid-2000s Dubois: a dark flush-decked sloop with a deep, powerful sail plan and the long low profile that made those boats quick without looking like race yachts. The interior behind it is sixteen years newer. H2 stripped the accommodation back and rebuilt it in dark timber against pale linens, grey wool and soft curved seating, so the yacht reads as contemporary below and classic above.

She has two saloons, which for a sailing yacht of this length is genuinely useful. The upper saloon sits immediately inside the cockpit doors, with a marble bar, settees and windows at eye level – the room you use in the day, half in and half out. The lower saloon is a different proposition: pale carpet, a long curved sectional, a television and no view of the weather. Guests migrate between the two without anyone having to negotiate.

On deck, the cockpit is the centre of the charter. A varnished table sits under the hardtop, laid with flowers and glass and sheltered from sun and spray, with settees running outboard. Forward of the mast the deck opens into a foredeck lounge of oversized cushions and beanbags on teak, which is where the afternoons happen. The hydraulic drop-down swim platform aft turns the transom into a beach for swimming, tender boarding and the toys.

Accommodation is four ensuite staterooms for nine guests. The full-beam master sits on the lower deck with a king berth, a dark timber dressing surface and a long hull window at bed height. The VIP takes an island berth with a settee alongside. The remaining two cabins are flexible – one converts between queen and twins, and the twin has two singles either side of a bedside cabinet. The bathrooms are marble and DAKOTA-monogrammed linen, and there is one for every cabin.

Under sail she is the reason to take her. Dubois hulls of this generation carry their sail plan easily, and at 38.9 metres with a professional crew of six she will hold double figures reaching without anyone working hard. Under power she cruises at eleven knots and tops thirteen. She moves between the Mediterranean in summer and the Caribbean in winter, which suits charterers who want to sail rather than motor between anchorages.

She carries Starlink for guests who cannot fully disconnect, and a crew who have kept her to a standard that shows in every locker. For nine people who want a real sailing yacht and a modern interior, without the compromises that usually force a choice between the two, DAKOTA is an unusually clean answer.