We ask top sailors and marine industry gurus to choose the coolest yachts of our times. This month Clarisse Crémer nominates the Mini 6.50
“My Mini 6.50 was a Pogo 3,” recalls Crémer, who raced as a ‘bizuth’ or ‘rookie’ in the 2017 Mini Transat, making an impressive ocean racing debut in the pint-sized class that races from France to the Caribbean.
“It was my first single-handed offshore racing boat, the first time I did a transatlantic and the first time I spent a night at sea by myself. The boat was brand new when I got it, so I got to name it and make all the small modifications I could to make it better and faster.”
Mini 6.50s are short and beamy, nearly half as wide as they are long (just 21ft). The Verdier-designed Pogo 3 is a comparatively simple ‘Series’ class, though extremely powerful.
“I have so many wonderful memories on this boat. The first leg of the Mini Transat in 2017 was absolutely amazing. I could have done a Moitessier, and if someone had thrown me some water and food, I’d have kept on going forever. It was just so beautiful and such an adventure. And on top of it all I finished 2nd – a very nice result.”
Make sure you check out our full list of Coolest Yachts.
Photo: DPPI Media/Alamy
Mini 6.50 stats rating
Top speed: 17 knots
LOA: 6.5m/21ft 4in
Launched: 2014
Berths: 1
Price: €15,000-€100,000
Adrenalin factor: 85%
Clarisse Crémer
Clarisse Crémer is a solo ocean racer who finished 12th in the 2020 Vendée Globe Race (recording the fastest solo circumnavigation by a woman), and 11th in the 2024 race when she was in the first trimester of pregnancy. Prior to racing in the IMOCA class she competed in the Figaro and the Mini 6.50 classes.
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