Benetti 67mt Seasense

“I never understand that,” says Cor D Rover, designer of Benetti’s custom 67 metre Seasense. The subject of his bemusement is superyacht design that stacks big volume interiors on to the world’s finest vehicles for appreciating the outdoors. “This is a client in real estate in New York. He spends his weekdays in air-conditioned skyscrapers; finally you go out at sea for the weekend and you’re going to sit inside again in an air-conditioned environment?”

Absolutely not, was the answer from this particular owner, Charles C Cohen, whose portfolio of real estate, fashion, film and wine businesses makes him amply qualified to comment on matters of lifestyle. “I wasn’t interested in a ship that had a lot of enclosed living areas with low ceilings and dark wood,” he says. “I wanted it to be light, I wanted it to be airy, I wanted to have ceiling height. I wanted to celebrate the outdoors.”

This synergy of purpose between owner and designer has resulted in a yacht that doesn’t simply maximise exterior spaces — it uses them as a starting point for the entire design.

The project was sparked five years ago when Benetti asked a selection of top designers to pen concepts for the Italian yard, presented with fanfare at the 2012 Monaco Yacht Show. These became a book — a fantastical brochure for Benetti clients — and when Cohen leafed through its pages, Cor D Rover’s pool-centric drawing stood out.

“You see a lot of superyacht swimming pools,” says Rover, “but some of them are even in the lower deck, which means you are swimming without any ray of sun, which I think is sad.”

Cohen, who has owned three Rivas and appreciates feeling the elements while at sea, was entirely on board with this idea. In fact he wanted no obstacles at all to sunlight glinting off his aft deck water feature. “Originally part of the pool was under the overhang of the deck above it,” he says, “and I worked with Benetti on pulling that out from the shadow into the sunlight, which resulted in the boat being stretched in the rear.”

The proportions of the pool itself also necessitated that lengthening. “We started with a six by three metre pool, but the owner wanted it bigger,” says Rover. At 10 by 3.6 metres, with a depth of 1.2 metres at its deepest point, the result feels exceptionally large.

Consider this: Oceanco’s 2007 Alfa Nero is 15 metres longer, but that yacht’s famous pool (the first of its kind) is only 1.6 metres longer than Seasense’s, and is almost the same width.

Supporting 27,000 litres of water was another task facing Benetti. While project engineer Marco Coiatelli plays down the difficulty — “we are not building rockets” — the scale of this feature did require beefing up its surrounds.

“That swimming pool is part of the hull, so it is made of steel; it’s not something inserted in the structure of the hull,” says Coiatelli. “We had to strengthen the bottom of the pool to withstand the forces coming both from the water inside the pool and the interaction between the hull and the sea.”

And it does tricks too. The water drains into a dump tank below to avoid wasting fresh water overboard, but it can also stay in the pool during navigation without sloshing about or causing stability problems. “We decided to ask MARIN [Maritime Research Institute Netherlands] to tank test the boat, to understand the behaviour of the pool with different headings, wave periods and sea states,” says Coiatelli.

The results showed no problems in reasonable sea states, with due consideration from the captain. Their technical work reduced the free surface of water — so it can’t build up momentum to create a big wave that will spill over the edge.

When it’s empty, the crew can transform the pool into a basketball court using 22 panels stored in lower deck lockers, in an operation that Rover estimates will take half a day (they haven’t tried it yet). A basketball hoop affixes to the deck overhang at the forward end of the pool. “Benetti thought that might be an interesting idea and my three sons love basketball, so I thought why not?” says Cohen.

When the pool is in use, this is still one spectacular playground. Teak decking runs athwartships rather than fore to aft, emphasising the breadth of the space — and giving a luxurious feeling of sprawl. The fact that you can walk all around the water does the same job — it is a lavish use of space — and also visually underlines an intellectual point, that this pool lies at the centre of the design.

Teak louvres along the sides of the aft deck can be adjusted to shade lounging guests from sunshine pouring on to the pool, as do broad pagoda-like umbrellas by Yachting Line, while misters keep things cool.

Forward of the pool is a teak-decked dining area with a table that stretches athwartships (again, emphasising the beam) and forward again a television lounge. Two sets of massive sliding doors can divide the pool/dining area/lounge into two or three spaces, or, when left open, create one sprawling indoor-outdoor space that runs for about half the length of Seasense — more than 30 metres.

“There are a lot of blues on there and they might look alike, but they’re different,” says Walt Thomas, joint principal of AREA, the LA-based architecture and design firm that penned the yacht’s decorative theme — its first yacht project aside from one of Cohen’s Rivas.

The sort of interior design schemes commonly seen on the dock in Monaco were out of the question — as Thomas puts it, what they had seen was either “boring or over the top, like way over the top”. The owner wanted something that was different, “but at the same time would still feel comfortable, contemporary and timeless,” he adds.

But that was not the only principle in play. “We’ve done a couple of residences and a lot of office projects with Mr Cohen. I think his mantra for every project is that he doesn’t want to ever see something repeated. Every room has to be different — you can’t repeat any finishes and you can’t repeat colours or fabrics. Everything has to be unique,” says Thomas.

AREA, then, had to create a cohesive theme, the materials and tones of which would change in every space. How was it done? Partly by eye, and partly by continuing one neutral element throughout. “We used a white [dyed Tanganika Frise] wood for all the bases, all the trims, the doors and all the door frames. That is the only thing that is repeated consistently.”

The resulting décor is, as Thomas accurately describes, like a jewellery box: lapis lazuli velvet and leather furniture by Holly Hunt and Chai Ming Studios among others, with silky, mottled blue carpets by Tai Ping in the television lounge, as well as in the upper saloon, where the palette is spiked with the pinks, golds, limes and emeralds of the owner’s artworks. It’s a colour scheme that could be overpowering in smaller spaces, but the scale of this boat can take it.

“The most unusual element in the interior is the headroom,” says Rover. “The owner is used to New York apartment buildings with phenomenal headroom. So we’ve got 2.7 metres in all the spaces, but more than three metres in the owner’s suite. Which is like a cathedral; it gives a very airy feeling above the bed.”

The owner’s suite, situated forward on the main deck, is huge and glamorous, from the monolithic marble bath in the en suite to dressing rooms and a long grey wood desk. The design also makes the most of the recessed ceiling over the bed, with a mirror-polished stainless steel chandelier by Studio Roso that glints in the light.

Aft of the suite is a VIP perfectly positioned for family members, while what is quite correctly labelled on the GA as the “grand entrance” sits aft of here. Down via a marble staircase, or the lift that centres it, lie four guest cabins with the same breathtaking height.

Crew accommodation and the galley on the lower deck, as well as the main deck pantry and upper deck captain’s cabin, benefit from this vertical freedom too. The engine room and technical spaces, meanwhile, have such spacious surrounds that some bits of kit look like exhibits in a modern art gallery.

The effect of vertical space on the profile — making it taller — is offset by the sheer length of Seasense, as well as the tapering of that aft deck, the size of which reduces the overall volume of superstructure. The plumb bow and purposeful exterior style also lend themselves well to high ceilings. “We were looking for almost a friendly version of a navy or a frigate style of boat, very white, giving the appearance of masculinity and safety,” says Rover.

But this was not the only knock-on effect. The special height of the owner’s cabin meant “we had to sacrifice the seating arrangement in front of the wheelhouse”, Rover says. But the pool area has rejigged the way that one would expect all the exterior decks to be used.

“A lot of boats have a sundeck far up and a beach club far down, almost in a sad place, very dark and tucked away, perhaps with a lot of technical stuff around it,” says Rover. “We brought the beach club up one deck and the sundeck down and we combined these two in this aft deck beach area.”

The superyacht sundeck is now a private spot for family breakfasts, sweating it out in the gym or soaking in the superyacht spa pool up front. And while the main deck is traditional for formal dining, on Seasense the upper deck is in play: a custom circular table by AREA straddles the line between the upper saloon and its aft deck, combining a blue Sodalite stone top and a Blue Eucalyptus Frise veneer.

Curved sliding doors enclose or open up this dining area as desired. With this owner, it seems likely those doors won’t be closed very often. And why should they be? It’s a lifestyle at sea that makes perfect sense.



Benetti

( www.benettiyachts.it )

Benetti 63mt 11.11

Timing is everything. When the original owner of Benetti hull FB265 walked away from the project 10 months before delivery, an opportunity was presented, of the kind the boat’s new owner has made a living out of exploiting.

“Let’s just say there was a clear opportunity for a mutually beneficial deal to be done,” he says when we meet on board 11.11. The British businessman had been in talks with Benetti throughout the summer of 2014 about a new project, and when FB265 was left ownerless two-thirds of the way through construction, he made a list.

Cons: layout was largely fixed and engineering installed to a different owner’s specification. Pros: he’d get a brand new boat in less than a third of the time it takes to design, commission and build a new one. He spent the rest of that summer weighing it up.

“11.11 is only the second bluff-bowed boat Benetti has ever built, after 65 metre Nataly,” the owner says. “I was on a boat in Porto Cervo in 2014 and Nataly was there. I just kept looking at her and asked for the tender to take me around the boat. I grew to love the shape more and more. It was exactly what I wanted, so I was sold on the exterior design of FB265.

The question was whether we could turn her interior into something which would suit our family, from a design, style and functionality point of view.” The fit-out was about 40 per cent complete when the commissioning owner walked away and some of his choices were a little eccentric.

“There were no bars,” 11.11's owner says, “and it was designed for a Rolls-Royce Phantom to be kept in the tender garage! I didn’t need any of that. The sundeck was all wrong – everything was too small, the Jacuzzi, the seating. Inside it was like a Russian tsar’s palace. I’m not saying that’s bad but it’s not my family’s style. It was too heavy, too classical and it was quite dark. We needed to de-wood it, basically.”

Delivery, too, was a consideration. If he bought it he wanted it for the tail-end of summer 2015, an aggressive schedule that had a few people at Benetti sweating. “I lost a bit of hair,” Benetti project manager Marco De Cosmo jokes. “But the owner is such a nice guy – it’s difficult to say no.”

The deal was eventually signed in October 2014, spurred on by news that one or two other buyers were circling, and a delivery target was set for 11.11: July 2015, giving the Livorno shipyard just 10 months to turn a palace into a home.

“I had to make a quick decision – go for it or pull out. I was actually in Hong Kong airport on my way home from a business trip and I said ‘let’s do it’. The deal was closed at the airport,” the owner recalls.

Delivery was nudged back throughout the transformation and FB265 emerged from the yard just weeks before the 2015 Monaco Yacht Show, where the yacht was introduced to the world as 11.11. “If you compare the finished boat with the initial renderings we did for the first client, you would not say they were the same boat,” De Cosmo says.

It’s hard to imagine she was ever anything but the monochrome masterpiece she became. Where it was impossible to change styling left over from the first owner, such as the dark, patinated wall panelling throughout, it was made to look deliberate: the dark wood was offset with lighter colours to create a sort of deco-lite interior, for instance.

“We wanted that kind of look anyway,” the owner, whose company also designed the interior, says. “Our home in Los Angeles is art deco, too.” Splashed throughout is artwork from the owner’s collection, including, much to his daughter’s delight, interactive butterfly displays by Dominic Harris in the main saloon that flutter at your touch.

“We’ve had great feedback on those,” the owner says. “I had a guy building a 90 metre at Lürssen on board and he said: ‘I have to have that for my boat.’ Everyone’s stealing my ideas!”

The art animates spaces on board 11.11 that could otherwise get a bit two-tone and one piece stands out above all: a Tracey Emin neon perfectly located behind the bar in the upper saloon that says: “Move me”. A very close second, however, are works from Hans Kotter, Helmut Newton and photographer David Yarrow.

Defying the modern trend for hard, minimalist edges, the main living spaces of 11.11 offer softness and comfort. Part of this comes through the owner’s desire to create a home on the water, but also because it was built into the contract that the boat had to be child-proof: curves are preferred to edges at toddler height and the two main seating areas in the lower and upper saloons cluster around coffee tables you can bounce off, or fall asleep against “while watching Peppa Pig”, the owner smiles.

It’s the kind of attention to functionality that comes from having owned boats previously; 11.11 is the owner’s third superyacht, after a 45 metre Benetti and a 62 metre. “I’ve made mistakes in the past. I’ve designed stuff which looks great, but then you sit on it. My wife told me: ‘I’m not sitting on another sofa that’s uncomfortable,’ ” he says. “Functionality and comfort are the most important things.”

The owner’s wife was heavily involved in the design of 11.11 throughout and it was a collaborative decision to take the major step of restructuring the sundeck, the biggest job on Benetti’s to-do list once terms were signed.

With the transom garage housing a custom Benetti limo tender (the first one it’s ever built) and RIB instead of a beach club, 11.11’s top deck is the pre-eminent leisure area. “It was our first project when he bought the boat,” De Cosmo explains.

The pool was initially placed where the seating is currently but the new owner wanted it all the way aft, surrounded by sunpads. “The deck was completely redesigned, destroyed and rebuilt,” the project manager adds.

To avoid welding and other “hot activities” so close to delivery, the pool structure was built in fibreglass, and painted to make it blend in. Comfortable seating was added along with an Italian stone-clad bar and a gym was replaced by an intimate seating area and kitchenette – a favourite spot of the owner and his young family. “We tend to end the day up here, with afternoon tea,” he says.

The mornings are spent around the second spa pool on board 11.11 – forward of the superb panoramic owner’s suite on the upper deck. Despite being out the front and feeling a little exposed, it remains a private area and can’t be seen from the bridge above, making it an exclusive little enclave.

It wasn’t always obvious that this would become the owner’s deck. It’s got the view but the VIP on the main deck has the beam – all 10.8 metres of it. “It came down to outside space in the end,” the owner says. “You have a boat because you’re going to spend a lot of time outside, and it’s great to see our little baby daughter running around the front, which is all enclosed.”

Lucky guests, then, who get quartered in the VIP suite, with its vast acreage, private study, walk-in dressing room and six huge portrait windows. The rest of the guest accommodation is on the lower deck – two twins and two doubles feeding off a central lobby. Each is dressed in the same art deco style, with Italian marble in the bathrooms – personally selected by the owner’s team at the quarry – and Lalique taps.

The design throughout 11.11 offers a “polycentric experience”, the owner says. “It’s all about your senses coming alive, in what you see, hear, touch and feel. That’s when you’re going to have the best experience of your life, and hopefully we’ve managed to achieve that with this interior.”

The exterior charges a few of those senses, too, and will inspire comment wherever 11.11 sails. She’s not built on the same platform as Nataly but the similarities are clear, although whereas Nataly’s design was from the boards of Redman Whiteley Dixon, 11.11’s exterior is identifiably Benetti’s work.

The decks bubble up behind that long nose, which ends in a near-vertical blade. A significant spray rail runs aft, to keep water off the decks – a common problem on boats with such an upright stem.

The hull’s efficiency gains are still to be properly recorded but the captain, Vaughan Hill, is happy so far, reporting engine loading of just 65 per cent at her cruising speed of 15 knots.

“We got her up to 17.5 knots on the run to Monaco from Livorno,” he says. “We had a head sea, with two metre swells. She stayed nice and buoyant and rode over the top, rather than falling into the holes.” Not that he has to worry about anyone getting seasick – the owner’s wife was a sufferer but she was treated by famous British hypnotist Paul McKenna and hasn’t had a dose since.

The benefit of 11.11's bow is more volume forward, and this has been well used in a big bosun’s locker and mooring area on the main deck, and generous crew quarters down below.

The yacht runs with 16 crew currently and the happiest of all is surely the chef, whose main deck playground puts the galleys of much bigger boats to shame. It’s also a superbly finished space, with – to the chef’s delight – big windows over the water and a central island.

The owner didn’t spend a huge amount of time at the yard overseeing the finishing of this and other spaces, relying instead on his design team, but did make one very important visit towards the end of the build. “I flew from LA to London to Pisa for a single day, just to see 11.11, and went back to LA the next day. I wanted to see it before my family got on board – I’m a perfectionist,” he says.

As soon as 11.11 was handed over, he snuck in some holiday time before the Monaco Yacht Show, visiting Capri, where music mogul and friend Simon Cowell was a visitor. “We had a nice day with Simon in Positano, and then after headed up to Cannes, Monaco and St Tropez.”

The owner’s winter cruising ambitions extend to the Caribbean – and might include the latest hot destination, Cuba. Plans could then include a tour of the Bahamas, Exumas (“so my daughter can swim with the pigs” - a Caribbean bucket list favourite), St Barths and Mustique before heading back across in 2016 for the start of the Med season.

It’s a trip that wouldn’t have been possible this year had the owner not seized the opportunity of buying a part-built boat. The timing was auspicious, like the name of the yacht itself. The 11th of the 11th is the owner’s daughter’s birthday, but 11 is also considered a “master number”, emanating all sorts of positive vibes. It’s definitely doing its job so far – doubly so.

Benetti Yachts

( www.benettiyachts.it )

Benetti 55mt Ocean Paradise

Recently launched at the Benetti Livorno shipyard, 55 metre superyacht Ocean Paradise is firmly set at having people talk about her at her debut during this year's edition of the Monaco Yacht Show. This bold and modern vessel will present the industry with her unique sense of style, refreshingly different approach to design and a quirky and confident personality that showcases a pleasant, bubbly sense of fun. From her lush contemporary interior designs, generously spacious onboard ambiance and playful sense of luxury, Ocean Paradise will surely become the talk of the town. With a distinct and personable sense of design and full collection of luxurious amenities, she is surely ready to comfort all her future charter guests in style.

Her exterior shows strong features, with a sleek silhouette, sharp curving lines and an overall look that is largely sportive, subtly futuristic and all elegant. With her white hull and superstructure, Ocean Paradise boasts a crisp clean look with bold confidence, strength and grace. She combines ample personality with eloquent Italian charm, an appealing blend that is surely inviting to take a closer look.

What becomes instantly apparent upon boarding, is that Ocean Paradise offers her guests a unique sense of style, boasting designs that blend shapes, colours and materials with a few daring details here and there. This forms an overall scheme that is rich and stylish, intriguing and fresh. There is a pleasant sense of openness and contemporary glamour everywhere onboard, with surprising dashes of eclectic colours and patterns spicing up her overall soothing lounge atmosphere. This results in a pleasant playfulness, showing that Ocean Paradise is all about seducing her guests with some serious fun.

Starting off with the main aft deck, a spacious and modern cockpit presents a fitting introduction to Ocean Paradise's light, airy and modern style. With a large U-shaped lounge sofa aft, a set of modern coffee tables and several large poufs, this area makes perfect use of impressive panoramic surroundings with a light, personal sense of style. Guests can lounge, relax and enjoy an informal style, which is inviting and fresh. Bubbly and colourful upholsteries are easily combined with crisp white fabrics, a perfect mix of serene and passionate. Black high-gloss superstructure walls and large sliding glass doors add a touch of glamour while the spacious, teak-clad deck spaces give off a luxurious, breezy vibe.

Downstairs aft, the transom opens up and folds out to reveal a generously sized swimming platform and beach club area. White modern wicker loungers accompanied by hockers are paired with black wicker, glass-topped side tables and a bright, flowery pattern for poufs and cushion upholstery. Again, there is a pleasantly airy and informal ambiance, a delightful combination of perfect privacy, enchanting vista views and the luxury of a refreshing dive in the sea at one's fingertips. Relaxation is just a plunge away. This spacious area, with exterior shower, offers a stylish, cozy and welcoming environment where ample hours will be filled with luxurious enjoyment and stylish fun. Ocean Paradise obviously offers a complete collection of toys and tenders, assuring every guest any sportive activity and pastime imaginable.

Inside, the main saloon presents the contemporary cool, gentle extravagance that is the key to Ocean Paradise's generous style. From the attractively textured flooring of brushed bleached white oak, to the large, plush and extravagantly curvy sofa-elements, and from the clean white textured wall paneling to the rich burgundy carpet, cushion and chair upholstery, the main saloon gives off a brightly welcoming, exquisitely contemporary vibe that is both chic and informal. The open plan saloon consists of a spacious lounge aft and formal dining fore. The lounge, with modern transparent chairs and a large, organically shaped white lounging element, offers a great, light ambiance. With large windows supplying ample natural light, the elegant light design is emphasised, while floor-to-ceiling cabinets aft not only offer storage space, but supply some cozy privacy as well. Here, natural light flows in through the skylight.

Fore, the dining area is visually separated from the lounge by contrasting flooring, with high-gloss natural stone with inlaid framing opposite the rougher bleached oak of the lounge. The modern, high-gloss dark dining table is surrounded by classic dining chairs in black wood and off-white upholstery. A modern centrepiece lighting fixture, consisting of three rows of 12 round lights, bathes the dining area in pleasant illumination, while RGB LED lighting hidden throughout the saloon offers colourful dashes of light in every thinkable colour.

Overall, the main saloon is a chic, contemporary and surprisingly different room, with cool and welcoming style, shapely furnishing and light, luxurious palettes of colours and materials. Large windows supply perfect views, while there is still a pleasant sense of privacy throughout.

Moving fore through the equally light and airy main foyer, the master suite can be reached. The spacious foyer houses a soothing zen garden, which offers a delicate contrast to the chic design of this bright space. One is welcomed into the wonderfully spacious master suite through the master entrance.

Here, a large daybed and flatscreen television offer a great private retreat, perfect for intimate movie nights. The full beam master stateroom is lush, spacious and contemporary, with high contrasts in colour and material palettes. Predominantly white and black, the sleek stateroom offers several surprising design features that turn the room into a rich area that combines cool style with lightness and perfect privacy. The crisp white carpeting boasts a high-relief texture that is instantly reminiscent of virginal sandy beaches, greatly appealing to every guest lucky enough to feel this lush softness on their feet every morning. Large floor-to-ceiling bedside mirrors house an organically shaped, integrated lighting element, with additional lighting framed along floors and ceilings. For added colour, LED-lighting frames around the bed allows for a personal touch, influencing the colour and ambiance of this cool stateroom at the touch of a button.

Large, column-shaped windows port side add some panoramic glamour while maintaining a sense of intimacy, while starboard there is one of the master suite's most enticing features in the form of a large private balcony. Sliding glass doors lead outside, onto a terrace that is truly a gem. Picture perfect panoramas from the privacy of one's own suite are simply a dream come true and it's very easy to imagine guests enjoying a lovely private sunrise breakfast and sunset cocktails before bed here. In any case, taking in some fresh air and lounging about in the white wicker hammock chair, reading a book or enjoying the view, this balcony is one of the master's most appealing assets. Inside, a large glass wall separates the stateroom from the bathing section of the en suite, which offers a big central shower cove, large oval tub, separate toilet area and a big dressing room with ample storage space. This full beam en suite, with white marble as key design ingredient, is light, lavish and contemporary, an stylish and soothing space that is the perfect extension of the master stateroom. In total, the impressive master suite offers lightness, modern style and luxury galore, all in a cool an breezy ambiance.

Ocean Paradise offers lush accommodation for a company of up to 14 guests. Belowdecks, there are four luxury guest suites to be found, two doubles and two twins, the latter each with an extra Pullman berth. All guest suites offer the superyacht's high contrast colour scheme of ample white with black detailing, and added vibrant colours in the lighting throughout. Plush carpeting, ample natural light and a contemporary look and feel welcome all guests for a stay that will be luxurious and stylish every single time. Guest en suites are of a warmer colour scheme, with darker materials offering sleek dwellings in eloquently modern designs. All guest accommodations offer big en suites with large shower areas, bright, luxurious staterooms and ample storage space.

Upstairs, an upper deck VIP suite offers extra guest accommodation, equally well appointed, stylishly designed in a blue and white colour palette and with a warm ambiance. A spacious en suite turns these quarters into a convenient extra guest space, easily accessible right adjacent to the sky lounge.

The sky lounge is a grand, open and soft space where relaxing and informal lounging is key. With a large grey L-shaped sofa, white bar and a games table with chairs present as main ingredients, the sky lounge offers a soft modern coziness in a colour palette of white, black and grey.

Plush upholstery and carpeting, soft shapes, panoramic vista views and an actual games-table, with integrated screen and built-in joystick, are some of the many appealing amenities in the sky lounge. Large round lights in the ceiling add a playfulness, making this space into a wonderfully casual casual lounge.

Outside, there is an impressively spacious aft deck veranda, open, airy and wonderfully flexible. From the bar and al fresco dining table to the port side lounging daybed, starboard U-shaped lounge sofa and aft panoramic seating, the veranda hosts an impressive luxurious feel with exquisite vistas framing the area's magnificent deck space. Perfectly flexible, this is a wonderful deck space for any social occasion for a company of any size. The high-gloss contemporary dining table is surrounded by black and white chairs, located on top of the main saloon's skylight.

It's obviously apparent that Ocean Paradise offers an amazing array of luxury amenities, great contemporary style and a wonderful, welcoming ambiance, so her massive sun deck is simply icing on the cake. The large panoramic lounge area offers an eclectic selection of lounge furniture, ranging from a sofa and wicker chairs to a big, round daybed. Guests have many possibilities, but perfect relaxation is simply guaranteed. A large lounge bed, in the familiar brightly coloured floral pattern upholstery, is centrally located and a perfect spot for relaxing, soaking up some sun and enjoying each other's company. Moving fore, there are two symmetrically placed lounging spaces, each with a big L-shaped sofa accompanied by a side table and a set of comfy poufs. Lounging here, right next to the fully equipped bar which offers an integrated flatscreen television, guests are presented with anything they want for a day of perfect relaxation. Fore of the bar, a large Jacuzzi tub, surrounded by big sun pads and magnificent views, perfectly completes Ocean Paradise's impressive sun deck.

Ocean Paradise offers a complete array of luxurious amenities to successfully accommodate every company of charter guests. With her cool style she is never cold and always hospitable. Minimalistic but never boring, she welcomes her guests into an oasis of glamorous style, offering everybody onboard chic accommodation, spacious ambiance, ample amounts of luxury amenities and a few surprising design features. There simply couldn't be any other name more appropriate for her, other than Ocean Paradise.

Benetti Yachts

( www.benettiyachts.it )

Diamonds Are Forever Benetti 61 mt

Benetti has launched the 61 metre Diamonds Are Forever at the state-of-the-art Benetti shipyard in Livorno. Hull FB253 is built for a highly experienced owner who always names his yachts after James Bond movies.

This sophisticated Benetti superyacht holds all of the elegant and characteristic design elements of a Benetti but with a personalised signature from her owner.
Mr. John Staluppi, an avid fan of the inimitable James Bond saga, joined the crew and builders of this superyacht to christen Diamonds Are Forever under the Tuscany sun.

The ceremony began with speeches and presentations by Benetti’s CEO Vincenzo Poerio, Chairman Paolo Vitelli and head of project management Nicola Nicolai, followed by a rendition of the James Bond theme tune and an acrobatic enactment of a daring Bond fight scene; complete with Aston Martin and superyacht.

Her elegant external lines are based on the expert Benetti naval architecture and engineering which produce a balanced combination of traditional design elements and modern innovative style solutions that distinguish the long established and respected Italian shipyard throughout the world.

Her concept and layout have been meticulously designed crafted as her spacious interior comprises of two panoramic master suites and four guest staterooms, a guest elevator to all decks, a full beam sky lounge and vast open and shaded spaces.

A design element of particular note is the additional top deck, located above the sun deck, which is also served by the central elevator. The aft part of the sun-deck also allows easy access to touch and go helicopter operations.

Diamonds Are Forever is capable of accommodating up to 12 guests in 6 cabins, consisting of 4 cabins on the lower deck, a split level VIP suite come 2nd Owners suite at the front of the main deck and the master Owners suite forward on the upper deck, both with an 180 degree sea view and Evan K Marshall interior throughout.

After receiving the traditional blessings and feted with champagne, the yacht is now set for her maiden charter voyage in December and will be available in the Caribbean for the coming season and the Mediterranean later on in 2012.

Benetti Yachts
+39 0584 3821
( www.benettiyachts.it )