TAHINA

TAHINA — St. Francis 50 Catamaran Fifty feet of South African-built catamaran, launched by St. Francis in 2008 and brought back up to standard with a refit completed in 2021. St. Francis has a long-standing reputation for building bluewater cruising cats that behave properly at sea rather than simply looking the part alongside — and TAHINA reflects that lineage. She cruises at 7 knots, with 10 knots available when the schedule asks for it. The multihull layout is what makes a yacht this size work for six guests. Accommodation is arranged across three cabins: two with a queen-size bed and one with a double bed, each with its own en-suite facilities. That means real privacy for three couples or a family group, without the compromises usually imposed at fifty feet — and the wide beam of a catamaran keeps the shared spaces genuinely social rather than merely adequate. Above deck, the appeal is the same one that draws experienced charterers to catamarans in the first place: level decks, shallow draft, and the ability to lie comfortably at anchor where a monohull would roll. It is a formula that suits both of her operating grounds — New England through the summer, where the pleasure is in island-hopping and quiet coves, and the Bahamas in winter, where shallow water is the point rather than the obstacle. A crew of two runs the yacht, which sets the tone for the week: attentive, unhurried, close at hand without being formal. On a yacht of this scale the relationship with the crew is a large part of the experience, and TAHINA is set up for the kind of charter where the pace is set by the guests and the day's plan can change over breakfast. A straightforward, well-judged catamaran for those who would rather be in the right anchorage than on the largest yacht in the bay.