About — Wind Voyage | Founder Paul Madden, VPLP Design

Who We Are

A New Generation
of Explorer Yachts

Wind Voyage was founded on a single conviction: that an explorer yacht can be built to be genuinely eco-efficient using technology that already exists — applied with intent rather than gesture.

We brought together the team who built the world's fastest racing multihulls, the engineers behind the most advanced wind-assisted commercial vessels in service today, and over twenty-five years of experience delivering serious explorer yachts for UHNW clients.

The result is the Wind Voyage range — a cohesive family of wind-powered explorer yachts from 80 to 120 metres, designed to reach any anchorage on earth while consuming a fraction of the fuel required by conventional yachts of comparable capability.

The 110-metre flagship, the Wind Voyage 110 (codename Project MG), is under contract for delivery in late 2028 — the world's first wind-assisted hybrid expedition yacht.

Our Partners

The Names Behind
The Engineering

Paris, France · Founded 1983

VPLP Design

The most credible name in modern sail-powered design. VPLP Design has spent four decades at the intersection of performance sailing and naval architecture — from America's Cup campaigns to the 121-metre wind-assisted cargo vessel Canopée, which proved that the Oceanwings® system works at commercial scale, in the open Atlantic, every day.

VPLP Design and Wind Voyage co-own the intellectual property on the Wind Voyage designs. Every yacht in the range is a VPLP Design, refined through tank testing at MARIN in the Netherlands and extensive CFD simulation. There is no subcontracting of the core engineering.

✦ Banque Populaire record-breaking trimarans
✦ Multiple America's Cup campaigns
✦ Energy Observer — first hydrogen & wind ocean vessel
✦ Canopée — 121 m wind-assisted cargo vessel, in service
✦ Oceanwings® co-developer & IP co-owner

VPLP Design.FR →

Spain · Netherlands · Germany · Turkey

The Shipyards

We work with top shipyards in Spain, the Netherlands, Germany, and Turkey — yards building to commercial class standards with the metallurgical rigour required for polar-capable steel hulls and the craftsmanship that custom yachts at this scale demand.

Yard selection is made against the specification, the delivery window, and the owner's priorities — not a standing arrangement. Every yard we contract with is one we have visited and audited under our own name. The 110-metre Wind Voyage 110 (Project MG) is under formal contract, signed at the Monaco Yacht Show in September 2025, with delivery scheduled for late 2028.

✦ Wind Voyage 110 — 110 m under contract, delivery 2028
✦ Commercial-grade build standards throughout
✦ Polar-class steel hull capability
✦ European engineering certification

Leadership

The People Behind
The Programme

Founder & Chief Executive

Paul Madden

Paul has spent twenty-five years at the highest levels of luxury and explorer yacht sales, new builds, and conversions — representing Blohm+Voss, CRN/Ferretti Group, and Camper & Nicholsons across the Americas, generating more than $200 million in first-year shipyard sales and overseeing $500 million-plus in lifetime brokerage transactions.

As principal of Xplorer Yachts in Newport, Rhode Island, he advises a select group of UHNW clients on commercial-to-expedition conversions and complex new builds — the work that gave him a precise understanding of what serious expedition owners actually require. That understanding is what the Wind Voyage range is built around.

A lifelong offshore sailor — he has competed in the SORC, Newport–Bermuda Race, and multiple transatlantic crossings. He is the producer of The Yacht Channel, one of the most-followed independent maritime channels on YouTube.

Former Americas Representative — Blohm+Voss (ThyssenKrupp) & CRN/Ferretti Group

Former Vice President — International Superyacht Society (ISS)

MBA with Honors — Boston University, Brussels overseas programme

Member — Royal Thames Yacht Club, London

FAA Commercial & Instrument-rated pilot

Producer — The Yacht Channel (YouTube · 4.5M+ cumulative views)

$200M+

First-Year Sales

$500M+

Lifetime Brokerage

25 yrs

Expedition Expertise

110 m

Project MG

In His Words

Powered by Wind & Solar — The Vision

Offices

Two Coastlines.
One Programme.

Americas Sales

Newport, Rhode Island

Our Americas sales office is based on the East Coast, in the historical home of competitive ocean sailing in North America. Client meetings, project reviews, and brochure presentations originate here.

Build & Owner Visits

At the Yard · By Project

Owner inspections, technical reviews, and milestone meetings happen at the building yard — Spain, the Netherlands, Germany, or Turkey, as the project dictates. A Wind Voyage project office operates on site for the duration of each build.

Wind-Powered
Explorer Yachts

A New Generation
of Explorer Yachts