Tony Castro: Generate fresh ideas and create something new in every project

He was born in Lisbon, his full name is Antonio Maria de Lancastre de Mello e Castro, and the sea is his native element

He has been keen on sailing since he was seven, started racing at 8, and won his first “adult” national championship at 12. He won a lot of junior championships while he was still a teenager, and after he moved to England he raced in different classes and once even won the Admiral’s Cup as a member of the British national team. In fact, he still doesn’t mind taking his "dragon" to sea.

It is not surprising that when he started designing yachts, he could understand the aero- and hydrodynamics of a vessel not only in theory, but at some instinctive level, with a gut feeling. Talking about the laminar flow of his hulls, he could easily say something like “The water will be happy”. 

After Tony got his degree in engineering, he spent some time working for Ron Holland, and in 1980 he set up his own Tony Castro Yacht Design. And that is when his rich racing experience came in really handy. Castro made some bold changes and modified the keel of the very first sailboat that he worked on, although she was designed by a really venerable designer. After this the boat’s speed exceeded all expectations: Moonduster held the Round Ireland monohull record for nearly 15 years!

Since that time many of Tony Castro’s yachts have set world records and won prizes at the most significant regattas. It is easy to find a really long list of his winning yachts, starting from Justine III that won the One Ton World Cup in 1981 and is still the only yacht to win the One Ton Cup with all five straight first place victories.

Today his studio’s portfolio can boast not only yachts, but also cars, buildings, jet and helicopter interiors, watches and even clothes. The marine field of its activity is really wide, too: sailing and motor vessels  (including speed boats) from micro to megayachts, fully custom projects and entire classes (e.g. a sport one-design keelboat like SB20). Over 10 thousand boats designed by Tony Castro have been launched. His long-term collaboration with shipyards like Beneteau, CS Yachts, Focus, Galeon, Jeanneau, Jongert, KM Yachtbuilders, Laser, Neptunus, Palmer Johnson, Royal Huisman, Williams and others has been going on for years. 

Castro is especially keen on expedition boats, as he himself is really fond of travelling off the beaten paths. And his favourite destination is the Antarctic. For the round-the-world traveller, Skip Novak, famous for exploring polar waters, Castro created two unique sailing expedition boats: Pelagic 77 and Pelagic Autralis, both built at KM Yachtbuilders yard.

Not long ago the designer came up with a new concept named “Yachts for Science”: “New technologies have been implemented in order to deliver more environmentally-conscious yachts that are self-sufficient, reliable and extremely durable, their design itself should ensure that marine life is not harmed by any overboard discharges or even anchoring. Such "Yachts for Science" will allow inquisitive owners to take part in scientific research on the oceans, collecting data with minimal disturbance to fragile ecosystems. Fostering this momentum will drive innovation in the industry and accelerate the development of important regulations and infrastructure needed to protect areas”. 

Castro admits that as opposed to his colleagues, he does not want his studio to develop a “signature Tony Castro style”. He does not feel like repeating the hackneyed designs for years. It is so much more exciting to understand a particular customer’s preferences and to create something new every time – exactly what the customer had imagined.