Class CHeavy displacementCruiser/Racer

First 30 (Berret)

Beneteau · Jean Berret · 1982

Updated 30 September 2026

The First 30 (Berret) is a 9.27 m heavy displacement racing yacht designed by Jean Berret and built by Beneteau, first launched in 1982. It races in Class C.

Length

9.27 m

30′ 5″

Beam

3.23 m

Draft

1.71 m

Displacement

3.5 t

Sail area

47 m²

This design does not carry a Race Edge. The speeds below still come from measured boats.

Compare with another design

On the podium

Where a First 30 (Berret) finishes when she goes racing.

On the podium

14%

of 102 starts by 4 boats

Wins

Wins2%2

Seconds2%2

Thirds10%10

Off the podium86%88

Read from 102 starts by 4 boats between 2018 and 2026, counting races with six boats or more.

Recent regattas

The latest events where a First 30 (Berret) was on the start line, named as the organisers publish them.

9ο Κυπελλο Καλλιθεας2026
"Αγκιστρι 2026"2026
43ος Ιστιοπλοικος Αγωνας Κορφος ΄262026
¨16ο Athens Trophy 2026¨2026
"Λαγουσσες - Φλεβες 2026"2026

Raced one we are missing?

Report a regatta

Round the buoys, or offshore

A short windward-leeward and a night at sea ask different things of a boat. Here is how this one does in each.

Round the buoys

11%

of these races end on the podium

35 races of 10 NM or less

Offshore & coastal

15%

of these races end on the podium

59 races over 10 NM

Level across both. Plenty of designs fall away once the course gets long — a light hull that thrives round the cans can struggle through a night at sea. This one does not.

Who she races against

The designs a First 30 (Berret) actually lines up with, most often first. The bar shows how those meetings ended.

This design aheadRival ahead

First 31.731%ahead in 36 of 115 meetings, 68 races

Dufour 3069%ahead in 45 of 65 meetings, 44 races

Atlantic 3167%ahead in 52 of 78 meetings, 43 races

Discovery 30064%ahead in 35 of 55 meetings, 43 races

First 36.735%ahead in 14 of 40 meetings, 40 races

Dufour 34 (Dufour)98%ahead in 44 of 45 meetings, 40 racesalmost always ahead

Nereis 3088%ahead in 35 of 40 meetings, 39 racesalmost always ahead

Moody 3489%ahead in 39 of 44 meetings, 38 racesalmost always ahead

Hanse 315100%ahead in 38 of 38 meetings, 37 racesalmost always ahead

Sun Odyssey 4042%ahead in 16 of 38 meetings, 36 races

Sun Fast 3251%ahead in 22 of 43 meetings, 34 racestoo close to call

Dufour 32553%ahead in 18 of 34 meetings, 33 racestoo close to call

Carter 3756%ahead in 19 of 34 meetings, 33 races

First 35 (Berret)58%ahead in 21 of 36 meetings, 32 races

Comet 10539%ahead in 12 of 31 meetings, 31 races

Bavaria Holiday 3568%ahead in 32 of 47 meetings, 31 races

Sun Fast 3735%ahead in 11 of 31 meetings, 30 races

First 3847%ahead in 21 of 45 meetings, 29 racestoo close to call

Sun Shine 3658%ahead in 18 of 31 meetings, 29 races

First 45 (Briand)11%ahead in 4 of 36 meetings, 28 racesalmost always behind

Sun Odyssey 34.263%ahead in 19 of 30 meetings, 28 races

Feeling 92069%ahead in 20 of 29 meetings, 27 races

Grand Soleil 34 (Finot)43%ahead in 12 of 28 meetings, 27 races

Oceanis 39381%ahead in 26 of 32 meetings, 26 racesalmost always ahead

Oceanis 38197%ahead in 29 of 30 meetings, 26 racesalmost always ahead

Grand Soleil 46 (Carkeek)9%ahead in 2 of 23 meetings, 23 racesalmost always behind

Catalina 32083%ahead in 19 of 23 meetings, 23 racesalmost always ahead

First 26045%ahead in 10 of 22 meetings, 22 races

First 45 (Farr)55%ahead in 12 of 22 meetings, 21 races

Feeling 3986%ahead in 18 of 21 meetings, 21 racesalmost always ahead

Dromor 2658%ahead in 21 of 36 meetings, 21 races

Contest 25083%ahead in 20 of 24 meetings, 20 racesalmost always ahead

Grand Soleil 37 (Design)52%ahead in 11 of 21 meetings, 20 racestoo close to call

Sun Odyssey 33 (Andrieu)90%ahead in 18 of 20 meetings, 20 racesalmost always ahead

Bavaria 365%ahead in 1 of 20 meetings, 20 racesalmost always behind

Elan 3475%ahead in 15 of 20 meetings, 20 races

Dufour 39065%ahead in 13 of 20 meetings, 20 races

Stag 3256%ahead in 10 of 18 meetings, 18 races

First 3265%ahead in 15 of 23 meetings, 18 races

First 44.744%ahead in 8 of 18 meetings, 18 races

Some of the boats it races against

How the First 30 (Berret) has fared against each of them, boat against boat on corrected time. Ordered by how often the two meet, not by who wins.

First 30 (Berret) vs First 31.7ahead 31% of 115 head-to-heads

First 30 (Berret) vs Atlantic 31ahead 67% of 78 head-to-heads

First 30 (Berret) vs Dufour 30ahead 69% of 65 head-to-heads

First 30 (Berret) vs Discovery 300ahead 64% of 55 head-to-heads

First 30 (Berret) vs Bavaria Holiday 35ahead 68% of 47 head-to-heads

Speed at every angle

The shape of this design's speed, drawn from the measured fleet. Pick a wind and watch it stretch.

Upwind VMG

4.50

40°

Beam reach

7.23

90°

Broad reach

7.88

135°

Downwind VMG

6.97

170°

Speed in knots at 20 knots of true wind. Green marks the angles that pay: the closest useful beat and the deepest run worth sailing.

Where it wins and where it pays

Every boat is judged against its own measurements — length, weight, sail area. The quicker those say it should be, the more it has to deliver just to break even. Going fast is not enough: it has to go faster than its own numbers promised.

This design is even-tempered. It rewards preparation and crew work more than it rewards picking the right day.

Where it gains

Its best ground is downwind once the breeze fills, where it outruns what it looks like on paper. It holds that advantage upwind as well, so the gain is not down to one leg of the course.

Where it pays

It falls short cracked off once it pipes up, giving away time it never gets back. That is weight that has to be driven rather than released.

Above the line it delivers more than promised and gains on the fleet. Below, it falls short. Move the wind: plenty of boats sit on one side in the light and the other when it blows.

True wind

Upwind+0.07 kn

Beam reach+0.07 kn

Broad reach+0.06 kn

Downwind+0.04 kn

Full width is 0.4 kn either way.

At 10 knots this design makes back more than its rating asks on the upwind.

How fast is a First 30 (Berret)

Boat speed in knots, by true wind angle and wind strength.

Angle	6 kn	10 kn	14 kn	20 kn
Beat VMG	2.98	4.08	4.45	4.50
52°	4.58	5.94	6.31	6.45
60°	4.84	6.11	6.48	6.65
75°	5.00	6.25	6.64	6.98
90°	4.90	6.32	6.78	7.23
110°	4.89	6.43	7.04	7.68
120°	4.71	6.34	7.02	7.95
135°	4.25	6.06	6.84	7.88
150°	3.65	5.56	6.56	7.50
Run VMG	3.16	4.85	6.01	6.97

How they are set up

The range each sail spans across the fleet.

Mainsail19 m² – 27 m²

Headsail22 m² – 28 m²

Spinnaker46 m² – 57 m²

Roughly half carry a folding propeller. Crew weight is declared around 370 kg.

Rigging

First 30 (Berret) rig and sail dimensions

A First 30 (Berret) carries 10.01 m of mainsail hoist on a 3.40 m boom, a forestay 11.30 m above the deck. Typical figures across the 7 boats measured under the current VPP, with the range each one spans.

Rig

Mainsail hoistP10.01 m9.80 – 11.45

Boom lengthE3.40 m3.31 – 3.73

Forestay heightIG11.30 m10.70 – 11.49

Fore triangle baseJ3.38 m3.31 – 3.47

Spinnaker hoistISP11.31 m10.74 – 11.62

Boom above deckBAS1.37 m1.33 – 1.50

Sails

Mainsail21.3 m²19.1 – 26.6

Headsail25.3 m²21.7 – 28.4

Spinnaker55.1 m²46.0 – 57.2

The spinnaker spreads widest of all — 46 to 57 m² depending on bowsprit and set-up. Before ordering a sail, read the figure on your own measurement record rather than the typical one for the design.

Other designs under the same name

The name has been carried by more than one design. They are different boats.

First 30 (Mauric) · 1977 First 30 (Kouyoumdjian) · 2010 First 30 · 2025