{"id":162470,"date":"2026-04-09T06:32:57","date_gmt":"2026-04-09T05:32:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.yachtingworld.com\/?p=162470"},"modified":"2026-04-20T08:54:37","modified_gmt":"2026-04-20T07:54:37","slug":"worlds-coolest-yachts-12-metre-ikra","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.yachtingworld.com\/homepage\/worlds-coolest-yachts-12-metre-ikra-162470","title":{"rendered":"World’s Coolest Yachts: 12 Metre IKRA"},"content":"\u201cIkra is probably the most formative yacht in my career. I was 18 and it was the first \u2018big\u2019 boat I ever raced on,\u201d recalls Barrier.\r\n\r\nLaunched as Kurrewa V, Ikra was built in Scotland as a potential challenger for the 1964 America\u2019s Cup before becoming part of Baron Bich\u2019s French Cup campaign. Her duel against Pride initiated \u2018La Nioulargue\u2019, now the Les Voiles de Saint-Tropez regatta.\r\n\r\n\u201cI was involved in tactics and strategy, and sometimes responsible for trimming the headsails and spinnaker \u2014 which, on a 12 Metre, means serious power and loads moving fast.\r\n\r\n\u201cAs a petite 18-year-old, it could have been intimidating. But I wasn\u2019t intimidated, I was confident. That confidence came from our skipper, Olivier de Rosny. He trusted me and that trust changes everything when you\u2019re 18. I wasn\u2019t trying to prove I was strong enough \u2013 I was simply doing my job. From Olivier, I learned that leadership is not about volume \u2013 it\u2019s about trust. That lesson stayed with me forever,\u201d says Barrier.\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_162472\" align=\"alignnone\" width=\"630\"]\"\" Photo: Gilles Martin-Raget[\/caption]\r\n

IKRA stats Rating<\/h2>\r\nTop speed: 19 knots\r\nLOA: 21.06m\/69ft\r\nLaunched: 1963\r\nBerths: 0-6\r\nPrice: \u20ac550,000\r\nAdrenalin factor: 75%\r\n

Alexia Barrier<\/h2>\r\nAlexia Barrier is a French ocean racer who competed in the 2020\/21 Vend\u00e9e Globe, finishing 24th. She has raced in the Mini Transat, Figaro and Class 40 fleets, was a top match racer, and has crewed superyachts such as Sojana. She skippered The Famous Project, for the first all-female Jules Verne attempt \u2013 see full story from page 22.\r\n\r\n
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\"\"<\/a>If you enjoyed this\u2026.<\/h2>\r\n
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","excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u201cIkra is probably the most formative yacht in my career. I was 18 and it was the first \u2018big\u2019 boat I ever raced on,\u201d recalls Barrier. Launched as Kurrewa V, Ikra was built in Scotland as a potential challenger for the 1964 America\u2019s Cup before becoming part of Baron Bich\u2019s French Cup campaign. Her duel against Pride initiated \u2018La Nioulargue\u2019, now the Les Voiles de Saint-Tropez regatta. \u201cI was involved in tactics and strategy, and sometimes responsible for trimming the headsails and spinnaker \u2014 which, on a 12 Metre, means serious power and loads moving fast. \u201cAs a petite 18-year-old, it could have been intimidating. But I wasn\u2019t intimidated, I was confident. That confidence came from our skipper, Olivier de Rosny. He trusted me and that trust changes everything when you\u2019re 18. I wasn\u2019t trying to prove I was strong enough \u2013 I was simply doing my job. From Olivier, I learned that leadership is not about volume \u2013 it\u2019s about trust. That lesson stayed with me forever,\u201d says Barrier. IKRA stats Rating Top speed: 19 knots LOA: 21.06m\/69ft Launched: 1963 Berths: 0-6 Price: \u20ac550,000 Adrenalin factor: 75% Alexia Barrier Alexia Barrier is a French ocean racer who competed in the 2020\/21 Vend\u00e9e Globe, finishing 24th. She has raced in the Mini Transat, Figaro and Class 40 fleets, was a top match racer, and has crewed superyachts such as Sojana. She skippered The Famous Project, for the first all-female Jules Verne attempt \u2013 see full story from page 22. If you enjoyed this\u2026. Yachting World is the world’s leading magazine for bluewater cruisers and offshore sailors. Every month we have inspirational adventures and practical features to help you realise your sailing dreams. Build your knowledge with a subscription delivered to your door. See our latest offers and save at least 30% off the cover price. Note: We may earn a commission when you buy through links on our site, at no extra cost to you. This doesn\u2019t affect our editorial independence.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":447,"featured_media":162471,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[1633,2135],"review_manufacturer":[],"acf":[],"introduction":null,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.yachtingworld.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/162470"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.yachtingworld.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.yachtingworld.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.yachtingworld.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/447"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.yachtingworld.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=162470"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.yachtingworld.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/162470\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":162473,"href":"https:\/\/www.yachtingworld.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/162470\/revisions\/162473"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.yachtingworld.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/162471"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.yachtingworld.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=162470"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.yachtingworld.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=162470"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.yachtingworld.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=162470"},{"taxonomy":"review_manufacturer","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.yachtingworld.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/review_manufacturer?post=162470"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}