From the world premiere of the Lagoon 47 to a new generation of ownership — inside Lagoon’s Cannes vision with Tomas Gailly and Armin Dressler
Cannes in September has its own rhythm. White sails move across the horizon. The Vieux Port fills with polished hulls and familiar faces from the international yachting world. At Port Canto, conversations move effortlessly between design, destinations, investment and the next yacht someone is dreaming of.
But at the Cannes Yachting Festival 2026, Lagoon was talking about something beyond the yacht itself.
It was talking about how we want to live at sea.
At the Lagoon stand, Tomas Gailly, Brand Director Lagoon, was presenting the latest chapter of one of the world’s best-known catamaran brands. Nearby, Armin Dressler, entrepreneur, investor and founder of Morii, was introducing a collaboration that takes the idea of yacht ownership into a new territory: shared ownership, professional management and curated experiences across some of the world’s emerging luxury destinations.
The mood was less about owning a boat for the sake of owning a boat.
Lagoon is about owning access to a lifestyle.
THE LAGOON 47: A NEW GENERATION AT SEA
The star of Lagoon’s Cannes presence was undoubtedly the Lagoon 47, making its world premiere at the festival.
At first glance, it has the familiar generosity that has become part of the Lagoon language. But step aboard and the thinking becomes more apparent.
The new 47 was developed through an unusually direct dialogue with owners and dealers, with the idea of translating their experience into the next generation of cruising. Lagoon describes it as a process of co-creation — listening to what people actually want from life aboard before turning those desires into architecture.
One of its defining details is the door connecting the saloon directly with the forward cockpit. It sounds simple. But it changes the experience.
The forward cockpit becomes less like a separate outdoor space and more like another room of the yacht — approximately 12 square metres that can become a place for breakfast, conversation, sunbathing or simply watching the sea.
Above, the flybridge opens toward a 360-degree horizon.
And below, a flexible Smart Room can become an office, additional cabin or adaptable private space depending on the owner’s life.
This is the direction in which modern catamaran design is moving: not simply creating more space, but making that space work harder for the people who live in it.
The Cannes Yachting Festival itself selected the Lagoon 47 among its world-premiere sailing multihulls for 2026.
And immediately after the show, the new model moved from presentation to reality, with testers taking her out on the water.
The real review, as always, belongs to the sea.
BEYOND THE 47
The Lagoon 47 was only one chapter.
Across Cannes, the brand presented a broad expression of its range, from the Lagoon 38 and 43 to the Lagoon 55, Lagoon 60, SIXTY 5 and the extraordinary EIGHTY 2 and EIGHTY 3.
The EIGHTY 2 remains an entirely different proposition. At around 25 metres, it occupies the territory where a catamaran begins to feel less like a sailing yacht and more like a private floating residence.
Its architecture creates the possibility of multiple lives happening simultaneously: guests gathering on the flybridge, someone disappearing into the privacy of the owner’s area, another group swimming from the expansive aft platform.
It is precisely this type of yacht that makes the collaboration with Morii particularly interesting.
Because once the yacht becomes a destination in itself, the question becomes:
How often do you really need to own it alone?
TOMAS GAILLY & THE LAGOON PHILOSOPHY
For Tomas Gailly, Lagoon’s approach is increasingly about the complete ownership experience.
The product remains fundamental — design, comfort, reliability and the pleasure of sailing — but the relationship between the brand and its community is becoming equally important.
This philosophy is visible in the evolution of Club Lagoon, the brand’s owner and enthusiast community, created to connect Lagoon owners and future owners around experiences, services and the wider catamaran lifestyle.
The idea is simple but powerful.
A Lagoon is not meant to end its story when it leaves the shipyard.
Its life continues through its owners, destinations, events, journeys and the community around it.
And Cannes was the perfect place to introduce the next layer.
ARMIN DRESSLER & A DIFFERENT IDEA OF OWNERSHIP
Enter Armin Dressler. The Swiss entrepreneur and founder of Morii Group approaches yachting from a slightly different angle.
Rather than separating the yacht from travel, hospitality and real estate, Morii connects them.
Its emerging lifestyle network brings together yacht management, charter, shared ownership, destinations, residences and private expeditions.
At Cannes, Morii introduced its Lagoon Shared Ownership Programme, powered by Morii — a concept designed to make larger catamaran ownership more accessible through fractional ownership, professional management and curated use.
The proposition changes the traditional equation.
Instead of asking an owner to commit to one yacht, one berth and one cruising area for the entire year, the concept is designed around access, flexibility and professionally managed time on board.
Morii’s network connects destinations including Palma de Mallorca and Amaala in the Red Sea, creating the possibility of moving between different cruising environments while maintaining a consistent level of service.
It is an approach that reflects a broader transformation already visible in luxury travel.
The new luxury is not necessarily about having more things. It is about having better access to experiences.
IMLADRIS: THE FLAGSHIP OF THE IDEA
Dressler is also closely connected to Lagoon’s flagship world through Imladris, his Lagoon EIGHTY 2.
The 25-metre catamaran represents the physical expression of the Morii philosophy: a yacht conceived not simply as a vessel but as a floating environment for hospitality, exploration and connection.
Morii describes Imladris as the pinnacle of its fleet, with extensive living spaces, private suites and a professional crew. The yacht is now part of Morii’s wider charter and experiential ecosystem. And the philosophy behind it is deliberately understated.
Rather than traditional yacht glamour, Dressler’s vision is closer to quiet comfort — space, privacy, exceptional food, thoughtful service and the freedom to decide what happens next.
The yacht becomes a platform. The destination becomes part of the experience. And the journey becomes the luxury.
NEO: GIVING A LAGOON A SECOND LIFE
There was another important story at Cannes — one that looks backwards in order to move forward.
Lagoon’s NEO Refit programme is designed to give existing catamarans a second life rather than automatically replacing them with new yachts.
The programme is part of Lagoon’s broader Sailing for Change sustainability initiative. Refit work is carried out through specialist facilities in Canet-en-Roussillon and Bizerte, following Lagoon’s standards, with technical systems, rigging, sails, interiors and other elements renewed according to the chosen package. Lagoon also provides a 24-month warranty on the refit work.
It is an important shift in thinking. Sustainability in yachting is not only about building a more efficient new yacht. Sometimes it is about asking whether the yacht already in front of us deserves another life.
FROM THE MEDITERRANEAN TO THE RED SEA
Morii is taking this idea of access even further.
Its operations extend from Mediterranean cruising into the Red Sea, where the company is developing a new luxury charter ecosystem around destinations such as Amaala.
The Morii fleet currently includes Lagoon catamarans including the EIGHTY 2 Imladris, Lagoon 55 Valinor and Lagoon 51 Eldamar.
The Red Sea represents a very different kind of luxury landscape — remote, dramatic and still relatively new to many international yacht travellers.
For Morii, it is not simply another charter destination. It is part of a larger vision in which sailing, private aviation, hospitality and exploration can become one continuous journey.
THE FUTURE OF THE CATAMARAN
Standing in Cannes, with the Lagoon 47 attracting its first generation of visitors and the enormous EIGHTY yachts overlooking the harbour, the contrast was striking.
One yacht represents the future of accessible cruising. Another represents the upper edge of luxury sailing. And between them lies an increasingly sophisticated question about ownership.
Perhaps the future of yachting will not be defined only by what yacht you own.
Perhaps it will be defined by where that yacht can take you, who you share it with, how effortlessly it is managed — and how many different lives it can become part of.
Tomas Gailly and Lagoon are building the yachts. Armin Dressler and Morii are exploring what happens around them. And Cannes, as always, provided the perfect stage.
Because when the sun begins to fall behind the masts, the harbour becomes less about boats and more about possibility.
A catamaran waits at anchor. A new destination appears on the map. And suddenly, the most luxurious thing imaginable is not possession.
It is freedom.
