ICE 66 rs: here’s how perfection is made. First sailing impressions and exclusive images

The suite that the ICE 66 rs reserves for its owner is yet another clear example. Here, the bow tapers significantly, yet once again, this design of tone-on-tone, warm colors that gradually cool as they ascend, remarkably expands the spaces. The King Size bed is centrally placed and adorned with changes in elevation and exquisite lighting, highlighting woodworking craftsmanship that I haven’t seen in a long time.

The galley forms a U-shape around the carbon fiber mast, intentionally left exposed, seamlessly blending with the surrounding environment and reflecting its forms on its glossy surface. Onboard the ICE 66 rs, the work surfaces seem endless from every angle, as do the large storage volumes. Expertly concealed within high-quality furniture are refrigerators, induction cooktops, and such a quantity of cabinets and lockers that undoubtedly equip the ICE 66 rs for long summer cruises (or ocean crossings), earning it the full title of a blue water cruiser.

ICE 66 rs Sea Trial

We leave the harbor while the sailmakers are still hoisting the mainsail, the boat packed to the brim, clearly set up for pure cruising. The ICE 66 rs sails around 6 knots with the engine just above 1300 RPMs, its hull smoothly gliding through the water, leaving barely a trace. I ask Roberto Innocenti, my close friend and captain, to accelerate a bit to understand our cruising speed under motor. He pushes the throttle forward, and at 2400 RPMs, we reach ten and a half knots. I glance back at the wake, still clean, the stern refusing to dip—promising signs indeed. We’ll see…

It takes quite a while for the sailmakers to hoist the mainsail, the lock acting up. Meanwhile, the legendary thermal wind of the Gulf of La Spezia, which reliably gives us 10-12 knots nearly every day, like clockwork, starts to fade. Fortunately, the jib quickly sets, a perfect 103% and ideal for simple cruising.

We turn off the engine when there’s very little true wind, the gauge optimistically showing 4.9/5 knots. We bear away, and to our surprise, the boat heels, creates its apparent wind, and immediately accelerates. In no time, we’re above 5 knots, then hitting 5.7, but it’s time to tack.

We’re inside the breakwater, on a close reach, exiting by Portovenere. To avoid sailing too close to the red beacon at Punta Santa Maria, we need to be fast. Mentally noting the standard but optimistic 90° angles, we tack and change sides. I’ve done this tack a thousand times; it’s usually impossible with just one tack when there’s little wind, especially with the mussel buoys… Yet, the ICE 66 rs effortlessly tacks without slowing down, disregarding the lack of wind signs on the water, and swiftly sets on the new tack at an incredible angle, accelerating to over 5 knots again.

We smoothly navigate past the mussel farms, the boat gliding like a train, passing by other sailboats and drawing astonished looks from fellow sailors who are almost stationary with their sails dangling. Damn, this ICE 66 rs sails like a dream.

Reluctantly, I step off the boat and switch to the support boat to launch the drone. It takes off just as they’re hoisting the gennaker on the ICE 66 rs, a large, red sail spanning 450 square meters of beauty. Once again, I’m skeptical; we’re behind Palmaria and there’s less pressure here.

Yet, the sail catches the wind, and I see on my monitor that the boat begins to move—first slowly, then gaining speed as it creates its own apparent wind. I position myself beside it, flying at the same speed as the ICE 66 rs. The GPS on my drone reads 11/12 km/h, approximately 6 knots—amazing. Shifting the drone to the stern, I observe the wake, which inexplicably remains flat and clean.

It’s a magic that only a design studio like Farr Yacht Design could make possible, a magic that I must, indeed want to, experience again when there’s more wind because I am now certain that this ICE 66 rs has many more surprises in store.