Amels 67mt Aurora Borealis

Nobody likes waiting for the arrival of a new purchase. Superyachts are no exception –a quick delivery is the most common demand of a new-build owner despite the numerous practical limitations. For the seasoned owner of 67.6-metre Aurora Borealis, for example, it was important that he have his new boat in time for the 2019 summer season. This would put pressure on Amels to deliver what has become its first Limited Editions 220 in just 32 months, which is four months – yes, four months – faster than the listed time.

“I received a call from the owner mid-July 2016, which turned out to be the trigger for the project,” recalls Fraser sales broker Antoine Larricq, who was en route to meet Andrew Winch of Winch Design to discuss New Secret, one of Amels’ Limited Editions 242 projects.

“It was the second hull that was under construction at the shipyard at the time, following the delivery of Plvs Vltra, so I took him to see the project in build.” While the owner liked what he saw, it quickly became clear he didn’t want a motor yacht above 70 metres, ruling out the 74-metre 242 platform. However, the Dutch shipyard had a smaller model that would offer greater length and volume than his previous yacht, 52-metre Latitude, while remaining under 70 metres. The solution was the 65.7-metre Limited Editions 212. Well, almost.

Although the 212 was a good boat, it hadn’t been as commercially successful as some other models in the Amels range, such as the 55-metre Limited Editions 180, Larricq tells me. So the shipyard worked up new drawings with designer Tim Heywood and modified the package to evolve the 212 into something more appealing. The changes would give life to what the shipyard calls the Limited Editions 220, a 67.1 metre with a distinctive beach club – a key requirement for Larricq’s client – and slightly different exterior. “The Amels 220 draws on pedigree and in particular the design of her predecessor, the Amels 212,” explains Victor Caminada, the shipyard’s head of marketing.

“She is strong, athletic, feminine and sleek,” adds exterior designer Tim Heywood. “The fluid lines, particularly aft, flow through the design and I particularly like the long shape of the wing stations.” Caminada goes on to explain how the design captures the essence and tradition of luxury yachting. “It is an evolution of an existing proven and successful design – one that has evolved to meet today’s yachting lifestyle,” he says. “What distinguishes her is the updated and elegant design with elongated decks and large windows for lots of natural light.”

As we stand on the transom, Larricq and Captain Paul Bickley reveal some of the reasons for extending the standard 220’s length by 50 centimetres to 67.6 metres. “When we measured a sun lounger, it sat very close to the edge of the swim platform. The boss wanted a bit more length in order to allow a person to safely and easily walk past it,” explains Bickley. “We’ve opened the transom to give a greater feeling of space, which has been helped by pushing the passerelle outboard. Also, the previous 212 model had these ears on the aft extremities [of the swim platform], which we got rid of to create a smooth curved transom.”

“These customisations were also important in order to make the space child friendly, as the owner has young kids,” adds Larricq. The additional 50 centimetres have allowed for a steam room – decorated with a handmade Italian pietra dura mosaic artwork and a fibre-optic starlight ceiling – and an ice fountain spa and shower. Aft of this is a bar with a Giallo Silvia Oro stone top and a panel of subtle sycamore diamond marquetry below. These light colours, together with sycamore-panelled walls, create a relaxed space, highlighted with oil paintings by British artist Heather Duncan. “A calm, harmonious, refined and restrained Scandinavian-influenced design is enlivened with touches of glamour and intricate details,” says Greig Jolly, associate at Winch Design, as he describes the theme and vision for the interior, realised by German outfitter Metrica.

As we make our way forward into the garage, it is clear the team has included the largest tenders possible. “Initially this was built for charter, like our previous boat,” says Bickley. “We had 380 days of third-party charter over nine seasons, which was possible because the owner rarely used the boat. We wanted to repeat that success on this boat, and to be able to load up with toys. It would have been good to have more space down here.”

Tenders supplied by Pascoe International are stowed with only centimetres to spare between the forward and aft bulkheads. The first is an 8.3-metre Beachlander, while the second is an 8.3-metre Landau Open, which is finished in the same anthracite colour as the superstructure and won Best Tender Design in the 2019 BOAT International Design & Innovation Awards. “Pascoe came to us and said, ‘Can we run with this idea?’ and I said yes, and on seeing the finished boat I’m really pleased with it,” says Bickley. “She has a James Bond feel with a carbon fibre champagne bucket among a number of features. It isn’t enclosed – there is a spray hood should you need it – but this is really ideal for enjoying places such as Porto Cervo and St Barths.”

Forward of the tender garage is the engine room, home to a pair of workhorse Caterpillar 3516C engines. “Mechanically, underway, she is like a Swiss watch, silent and very fast,” Bickley says. “These engines work best at 90 per cent load and are unhappy under 75 per cent load.” This, in turn, means the most efficient way to run the boat is on one engine, achieving a cruising speed of approximately 13 knots and a top speed of 17 knots. “Being the first Amels 220, Aurora Borealis had to be comfortable,” adds Caminada. “She offers unrivalled stability, low noise and vibrations, plus the perfect arrangement for the classic yachting experience at the highest level.”

Amidships is a staircase that extends from the tank deck up to the sundeck, while a glass lift runs from the very top to the lower deck. Backing the staircase is a vertical stretch of backlit cloud-cut honey onyx, the steps and handrail finished with tan buffalo hide and macchiato cowhide. The lobbies on each floor are variations on a circular theme, with the most engaging found at the main entrance on the main deck.

“The floor is grey oak with polished almond gold inlays arranged in a circular pattern inspired by sunrays and Saturn’s rings,” says Jolly. Above this is a custom ceiling lamp with illuminated gold leaf on the inside and a straw marquetry finish on the outside. The repeated circular pattern varies along the main deck companionway, from the saloon aft to the owner’s suite and office forward. A full circle inlaid with mother-of-pearl in the owner’s vestibule visually connects it with the owner’s office. The latter has been finished with bleached rippled sycamore and includes silver highlights and polished almond gold accents.

“Foot-worn oak floors and pale sycamore timber walls create a calm, cool atmosphere,” explains Jolly of the main saloon. The circular motif in this space is achieved through a hand-tufted silk carpet by Tai Ping that defines the sitting area, mirrored above by a circular lighting fixture, and through the 14-guest round dining table, centred with petrified prehistoric wood. The saloon is also home to a pair of stunning curved, starburst straw-marquetry panels that sit opposite each other and visually separate the dining area from the saloon. In front of each panel is a European walnut credenza with Italian Botticino Fiorito marble top, while a third unit between them is finished with straw marquetry.

Aurora Borealis sleeps 14 guests, the most striking suite being the owner’s, forward on the main deck. “The full-beam owner’s suite with a central bed features two bespoke bleached-oak loungers beneath large, full-height windows,” says Jolly. “A spectacular five-metre-long landscape artwork of gold-leaf divides the sleeping area from the master bathroom.” The master suite includes an enclosed head and shower with a centrally located oval bath carved from a single block of crema liria stone. In front of it is a high-gloss capiz shell panel from Nature Squared with polished almond gold inlays, while behind it is a striking petrified wood panel concealing a secondary (emergency) exit.

Drop one deck and you find a twin and three double en suites. “Each cabin has a different theme – earth, air, water, fire – which is reflected in the subtle variations in the choice of fabrics, carpets, artwork and accessories,” explains Jolly. While these cabins feature silk carpets, good storage and marble vanity units, the VIP suites on the bridge deck are not only bigger, but they also have a penthouse feeling when combined with the upper saloon, just a few steps away towards the stern. “The two cabins are themed around the concept of the North and South Poles with subtly different colour schemes, fabrics and artwork,” says Jolly.

At the top of the staircase is a skylight flooding the stairwell with natural light. Forward is a spa pool with a gym and shower aft, leading out to an open deck area with sunbeds and Summit sun loungers, as well as a table for al fresco dining and a projector for entertainment. Another modification was the deletion of the helipad aft on this deck. Despite having met the owner’s wishes, Aurora Borealis is for sale. Now complete, she is perfect for someone looking for a new fully loaded superyacht. At the time of writing, she had an asking price of €83.5 million including the owner’s supplies – and of course that priceless attribute, the absence of a waiting time.


Amels

( www.amels-holland.com )

Amels 58mt Volpini 2

Most superyachts are the outcome of a design exercise. The 57.7 metre Volpini 2, however, is the result of an unexpected convergence of a business plan and an environmental edict. In 2011 a globally mandated reduction in engine pollution known as IMO Tier II came into force. For large yachts, it required a simple enough switch to low-sulphur diesel fuel and perhaps a few tweaks to combustion. It also laid the groundwork for adopting the next stage in cleaning up maritime diesel emissions, a massive 70 per cent reduction in nitrogen oxide (NOx) gases, the main cause of smog and acid rain. This was slated to come into effect in 2016.

There was a collective gasp in shipping and yacht building. This next stage, Tier III, was not so simple: it would take more than improved fuel quality – the equipment for meeting this regulation did not exist. The response from some quarters and countries was to push for postponement of Tier III to 2021. Some yacht builders began laying extra keels so that the vessels that would eventually attach to them could be exempt (the regulation would apply only to keels laid after the date decided). Some stood on the sidelines unsure of what to do.

At Dutch builder Amels, the business focus in 2012 had turned to developing a new Limited Editions model, one that could fill a market gap between its 180 (at 55 metres and 671 gross tonnes) and the 199 (62.4 metres, with its scimitar bow and hefty 1,131 gross tonne volume). “We wanted to bring the feeling of space, refinement and many of the features of our larger yachts to the segment around 1,000 gross tonnage,” says Victor Caminada, Amels’ brand and communications manager, adding that initially at least the yard zeroed in on a boat of less than 60 metres, with moderate beam but a noticeable increase in interior space.

But then in 2014, just as yacht and shipbuilders had begun to think that an objection by Russia would effectively postpone Tier III implementation to 2021, a Danish compromise began to win international support, bringing the new NOx standards into play for all vessels over 500 gross tonnes with keels laid after 1 January 2016, but phased in through certain zones at first, notably both coasts – out to 200 nautical miles – of the US and the US Caribbean.

For Amels, it was clear that because of its begin-construction-in-advance business model, both design and technology needed to be worked on at the same time – and the subject would be its nascent 188. “It would make no sense to introduce the first Amels 188 and then on subsequent builds of the design to make drastic engineering changes to comply with the Tier III regulations,” says Caminada.

With the support of its giant shipbuilding parent company Damen, Amels set to work to make the new build Tier III compliant. That was easier said than done. “We discovered that the solution wasn’t just about engines or fuel or exhaust tubes or catalysts or scrubbers alone but about all of them working in tandem and seamlessly,” says Caminada. Individual OEMs could not introduce one component without knowing what other equipment would be in the system, nor could they design parts without knowing space constraints. “We had to get our arms around them and lead them to a solution together.”

While container ships and 100-metre-plus yachts may have room for huge exhaust catchment devices called scrubbers that capture and incinerate NOx and particulates, Amels chose another path to attain cleaner emissions. This was Selective Catalytic Reduction, an exhaust after-treatment methodology pioneered by the trucking industry. However, marine fuels, the much larger horsepower at play and the marine environment in general required new kit, says Caminada. The solution would require class approval, but there was no consensus on assessment and approval for that new equipment.

Proactively, Amels’ engineering department corralled its subcontractors – MTU, Veth and exhaust supplier Hug – plus the classification society Lloyd’s Register, to hammer out a solution. Confident that one could be found, Amels unveiled the design for the 188 at the Monaco show in September 2015 and laid the yacht’s keel before the end of that year. “Our head start through voluntary compliance explains how we were the first yacht builder to deliver a Tier III compliant yacht,” says Caminada.

It’s impossible to enter the Limited Editions 188’s engine room without noticing refrigerator-sized silver boxes wedged between the MTUs and the exhaust tubes. This is where the magic happens: a 40 per cent urea solution, also known as diesel exhaust fluid (DEF), is injected into hot exhaust gases from the gensets and main engines in the presence of a ceramic-based metal oxide catalyst. Here, the pollutant transforms into harmless nitrogen, water and minute amounts of CO2. The unavoidable size of the catalytic converters and the urea tank (in this case 2,000 litres) led me to ask exterior stylist Tim Heywood whether Tier III equipment necessitated a change in his design.

“Not at all,” he says. “From the beginning, we wanted to create a boat with high ceilings – 2.2 metres on all decks – and a fifth tank deck for extensive provisioning. Amels gave me the blocks of space for the luxury interior area and the machinery spaces and it was my job to create a flowing line over them while keeping the profile as low as possible.”

Heywood has penned the “flowing lines” of every Limited Editions exterior since day one. The 188 is his sixth design for the range – and Amels has since confirmed that all future 188 hulls will be stretched to 60 metres, with most of that extra space going to the beach club and stern. “No other designer has gotten so much freedom as I have with Amels. I’ve had such pleasure working with them,” Heywood says.

In listening to him talk about the styling features of the boat, it becomes apparent that he also appreciated the intellectual exercise of working out tricky design to make the yacht work as smoothly as it looks. In fact, some things that look like styling features are engineering solutions, such as the curved buttresses holding up the deck overhangs that also conceal ducting and deck drains, and stacking the aft deck staircases to preserve space while at the same time creating a little drama with stainless-steel supports and handrails.

“Each of the editions is unique, but you can tell it’s from the same hand,” says Heywood. Yes, but Heywood pushed the 188 in a slightly different direction. It emulates the style of the 199 series, which Heywood says is his favourite, but while the 188 could be built with a similar scimitar bow, hull No 1 at least has the same flared bow as most of its stablemates. What it doesn’t have are the characteristic, almost signature, Heywood wing stations. Instead, the exterior is smooth with curves and twists subtly inboard and expressed on such things as the bowed support columns aft, the form of the owner’s suite windows and the dynamic mast. The wing stations are neatly tucked inboard on the Portuguese bridge while a subtle bulge or eyebrow on the side of the deck above gives slight cover to anyone who might be using them.

In profile, the Amels 188 has a sporty look. The downward slope of the main deck bulwarks towards the stern pairs with the side deck fashion plates sweeping up and transitioning to the overhead on the bridge and sundecks, creating an arrow form. This motion is accented by sleek railings that angle outward at the stern. “In all my work I draw on the natural world as an inspiration and it can be remarkable to see that materialise,” says Heywood. “In fact, my partner, Vanessa, was very observant when she mentioned how my drawings [for this yacht] resembled a cruising swan ruffling its wings.”

The sportier look to the 188’s profile is carried into the interior as well. Amels held a competition for the interior design of the spec yacht, providing firms with a basic GA featuring a large folding balcony in the owner’s suite, a lift and central stairway, interior access to the stern beach club and a VIP suite on the bridge deck. Reymond Langton, a design firm that had not worked with the yard before, impressed the builder with an “inspirational” and highly detailed design and a “level of refinement more common on 70-metre yachts”, says Caminada. Amels proposed Reymond Langton’s renderings at that 2015 Monaco Yacht Show and, after receiving positive feedback from clients, decided to build the interior according to the studio’s concept.

“I begin designs with the lower deck – that is the start, the heart of the boat,” says Pascale Reymond. “Amels said they wanted something different, more sporty. We were not told a specific budget but they asked me to be sensible. I asked if I could use certain stones and you will see they agreed,” she says, pointing out the Crema Marfil marble, green onyx, Azul Cielo from Brazil, white Thassos and white, grey and gold Calacatta marble on our tour.

On the lower deck are four cabins off a fore and aft corridor at the bottom of a sweeping column of oak stairs that sets a new standard for indirect lighting. The treads are lit underneath as is common, but the steps themselves don’t quite meet the surrounding walls, allowing light to escape and softly wash the leather wall surface. It’s a lighting design theme that repeats throughout the yacht. Walls appear not to touch ceilings and cabinets so that light spills through the gaps, creating shadows and shapes and the illusion of even more space. In the owner’s office, leather wrapped walls are opened to create interesting pockets of light. The floating ceilings add layers. Leather – the main suppliers of which are Foglizzo, Sinn Living and Studioart – covers many of the interior surfaces as well as bedside tables and headboards, showcasing a double stitch trim detail.

Just as Heywood hid drainpipes and ductwork outside, Reymond Langton hid features such as doorways, lamps, televisions and wardrobes inside. It brings a sense of calmness to the spaces, as does the absence of any gloss lacquer. As previously suggested, this yacht, as the first of the range, was started on spec. In September 2017, less than a year before its anticipated delivery date, an owner stepped forward to claim the yacht as his own. Interestingly, it wasn’t the boat’s environmental advances that attracted him at first, but the lift that connects the three interior decks with the sundeck. He was the owner of a 49.3-metre Amels custom built in 2004 as Larissa, which he bought on the brokerage market in 2014, refitted and renamed Volpini, which means “little fox” in Italian. By sheer coincidence, both Reymond and her partner Andrew Langton worked on the Larissa project while they were in the employ of that yacht’s principal designer, Donald Starkey.

When the owner stepped into the 188 project, the designers and shipyard prepared themselves for design tweaks. “That is always quite a nervous time for designers; you worry if they are going to want to change wood or colours or reject your work entirely,” Reymond says. “Their old Volpiniwas quite classic.”

The nerves were all for naught as the new owners of what is now Volpini 2 embraced the light taupe colour scheme with its splashes of blue and aqua recalling the sea. The only structural change requested was to remove the wall and door between the owner’s sitting room on starboard and bedroom on port. Now bookcases with open shelving are all that divide the space, allowing the light from the open balcony to grace the bedroom as well. In the adjoining office, dark wood and leather furniture by Minotti creates a distinctive look. Emanuela Chirieleison, from Reymond Langton’s team, worked with the owners to manage the interior changes and accessorise the boat.

In the months since her launch and delivery, Volpini 2’s owners cruised the Med extensively, enough for the yacht’s chief engineer, Paul Vickery, to get a handle on how the hybrid electrical system, a first for Amels, and the emissions reduction package were working. Vickery kept extensive records on the exhaust output with and without the catalytic converter in operation at various loads and engine temperatures. He showed me tables reflecting reduction in NOx with the catalytic system in use. “Here’s one run with the exhaust entering the catalytic chamber at 647ppm of NOx and leaving the chamber at 66ppm. That’s a 90 per cent reduction in my book. We are only required to use it in America now, and soon the Baltic, but for the good it does, it’s definitely worth the engine room space and I plan to use it as much as possible.” The urea tankage on Volpini 2 allows for 1,500 nautical miles of NOx-reduced cruising, although Amels says it has room to fit enough storage for a 5,000 nautical mile range. “If it [DEF] was accessible, I’d use it all the time,” he says, noting that the fluid was difficult to find in the Med last summer. “We shipped it in from Germany.”

Amels also undertook to reduce total power consumption aboard the yacht, “as part of a focus on sustainability and lowering the cost of ownership”, it says. The builder analysed fleet data from existing Limited Editions yachts to create a holistic approach with waste heat recovery, dividing auxiliary power generation into one large and one small genset, and adding a compact (56kWh) battery bank for peak load shaving and shedding. The system, developed by Amels and Alewijnse Marine, works in the background to manage hotel loads, automatically adjusting the balance of engines and battery power. The system is expected to save, conservatively, €100,000 in operating costs per year.

Volpini 2’s captain, Nathan McFadyen, says: “In eight weeks’ cruising this summer we noticed that we have about the same fuel consumption on Volpini 2 as on our previous yacht, despite the new yacht being significantly [about 50 per cent by volume] larger.” I guess you could say that Volpini 2 is helping to preserve the environment by being a little foxy.


Amels

( www.amels-holland.com )

Admiral Yachts 73mt Planet Nine

From the quay, Planet Nine all but obscures the sight of Mount Vesuvius, which looms over the Gulf of Naples. With her high bow and broad helipad aft, she appears the very essence of an explorer yacht: purposeful and uncomplicated. Elegant, for sure, but designed for more serious cruising.

Her long passerelle is like a slender bridge to another world. Behind me are stuttering mopeds and the sing-song arguments of local fishermen and contractors crowding the dock at Marina Molo Luise; ahead is calm, serenity and hugely welcome air con. And as I’m about to find out, it’s all underpinned by some effortless-looking interior design, which balances comfort and looks, without jeopardising the boat’s go-anywhere vocation. “The core idea was to build the best of Europe,” says skipper Rob Williamson, who also represented the owner for most of the project. “We wanted German machinery combined with an Italian build.”

This 73.2 metre explorer yacht, now reluctantly for sale with Fraser (and for charter with Edmiston) owing to a change in family circumstances for the owner, has been some time in the making. The bare hull took shape at Cantieri San Marco in La Spezia, before moving a few miles down the coast to The Italian Sea Group for the interior fit-out and finish. “The client was very demanding in terms of quality, style and for the interior,” says The Italian Sea Group’s vice-president Giuseppe Taranto. “But the result has been excellent.”

Ice classified 1D by Lloyd’s, Planet Nine has been built with thick hull plates, strong frames and bulkheads, and careful protection for her seawater intakes, to protect them from ice and the very cold temperatures encountered in high latitudes. “That is why the owner went to a shipyard [to build the hull], not a yacht builder,” says Williamson. It means she can deal with sea ice up to around 15 centimetres thick, making charters to Greenland or the Graham Land peninsula of Antarctica a possibility.

To ready her for Antarctic waters, the helipad has been very carefully designed with a lifting platform, so that the aircraft can be stowed away safely in a hangar when not in use. What this means is that the yacht can accommodate two choppers – one in the hangar and one on deck; so there will always be one free to take on board an ice pilot, for instance. “We can effectively operate a heliport,” says the captain.

“Guests can arrive by chopper, while the owner’s machine is on board.” And not just any chopper, either. The design team chose to scale everything to fit an AgustaWestland AW109 Grand – preferred for its large seven-passenger capacity. It also has a maximum weight of 3,175kg, so the helipad has been designed to support at least 10 tonnes. The boat’s current helicopter is an MD Explorer 902.

She’s undoubtedly a capable yacht but to characterise Planet Nine as an explorer alone is to do her a real disservice. Exterior designer Tim Heywood is adamant that there’s no contradiction between go-anywhere abilities and real luxury. “Planet Nine displays a constant state of great comfort and elegance,” he tells me. “The fact that she is wrapped in an ice-class hull only adds to her luxury.”

At 73.2 metres overall, any yacht would be impressive enough in its own right. Add in high latitudes looks and there is really no need to go over the top on the design. With an experienced owner taking a close interest, Heywood responsible for the lines and London-based studio Mlinaric, Henry and Zervudachi (MHZ) styling the interior, Planet Nine is a study in purposeful restraint.

“The client was looking for a 73 metre world cruising yacht with a crisp, timeless style in the design language of another of my designs, the motor yacht Ice,” Heywood explains. “I am extremely pleased with the proportions of the yacht, the overall form and the subtle sculptural features.” He singles out the trademark wing stations and mast structures, not too big, and the forward roof shapes. “All have been built as I imagined. “There is a really harmonious balance to the way the helipad and hangar have been accommodated using the same exterior styling as the main guest decks.

The superstructure is a relatively modest three-storey affair, but huge volume has been created within the hull’s tall topsides. All the tankage and machinery have been relegated to a single technical deck below the waterline. “By putting the engine room on what would traditionally have been the tank deck, we have completely freed up the lower deck,” says Williamson.

This, in turn, has been given over to five guest cabins and a staff cabin, opening off a long central corridor that connects to the beach club aft. “You don’t see that often and it’s tough to engineer,” he adds. “It is really quiet in the guest cabins, because the builders used the right materials for soundproofing. And guests can get directly to the beach club.”

Nearly the entire main deck above is given over to the owner’s suite of rooms, which total an agoraphobia-inducing 250 square metres. These include a huge bedroom with acres of sofa space and a pop-up television (the owner tolerates rather than embraces television so everywhere on the boat screens retract into elegant wooden pedestals). Sliding doors give access to the side decks, which are in use only for docking manoeuvres and therefore largely private.

Then there’s a library and conference space, lined from floor to ceiling with books, a further double bed and a separate office. It’s a space that would feel grandiose in a townhouse, but on a yacht it is an extraordinary luxury. “The owner was very active in business at the time and wanted private rooms away from the guests,” explains interior designer Tino Zervudachi. For my money, though, the VIP suite on the wheelhouse deck is the favourite. It is smaller, of course, but cosier, with a dressing room and ensuite bathroom. And the real draw is its own private aft deck, complete with sofa-style sunpads and an intimate dining area.

There are two lifts on board serving the five decks – one for the owner and guests (handy to get from the cabin to the sundeck) and a smaller one for the crew, which is used mainly for ferrying supplies from the store rooms below to the galley. “I was sceptical at first about the crew lift,” says Williamson. “I wanted a young, fit crew that suited the adventurous nature of the boat. But it’s proved its worth for the galley.”

The finish is meticulous, with much of the furniture built by German luxury outfitter Fitz Interior. At its workshop in Bavaria, the company built each space for a detailed walk-through and to make any changes, before the whole interior was dismantled again and shipped to Italy for installation. “We built the interior based on our substructure system, which allows every owner of the vessel to change the wall, ceiling or furniture cladding in no time,” says Fitz project manager Markus Jechnerer.

Zervudachi led the interior design, based on experience gained during work on several of the owner’s homes. “There were a few words, not a proper brief,” he says. “I understand him very well, and he made it clear that the boat had to be extremely comfortable, but masculine and streamlined.” They sourced exotic woods and fabrics from across the globe, in reference to the yacht’s go-anywhere capabilities. The finish in each cabin is different, creating a subtle variation: American elm, tropical olive wood and wacapou. Each bathroom features glass panelling, again with varying tints to it. “We decided we didn’t want any marble on board,” says the designer.

Elsewhere in the boat there is a wealth of textures and finishes that sit very comfortably together thanks to the restraint of MHZ. These range from the owner’s suite’s coveted African fabric for upholstery, woven in Dakar for Aïssa Dione, to a silk-linen blend from Twill Textiles on the walls in the guest cabins. Then there’s hand-woven abaca (from a Philippine banana palm) on the walls and ceiling of the main and upper decks, while limed oak and mutenye woods also appear in the wheelhouse and staircases.

And the door to each guest cabin has a different colour of rich Garrett leather on the corridor side “to help guests more easily identify their own cabins – and to keep the interiors from being too serious”, explains Dennis Pyle of MHZ.

The feature is repeated in the so-called boot room, where the lower deck meets the beach club. Here guests can leave shoes and personal items when going for a swim or preparing to go ashore. The opening transom has lights set into its teak surface, to illuminate the beach club when open. It’s the sort of detail that only an experienced team would think to include. Or, as Heywood puts it, “a truly international team of engineers with, possibly, more experience between them than any other yacht builder.”

The boat has an interesting double personality. On the one hand she is set up for the maximum comfort of the guests, with more than 20 crew, copious lounging space, top-notch audiovisual, spa and steam room, spa pool and bar on the sundeck and a super-surround sound cinema, with 11 speakers and two subwoofers, on the main deck. But on the other hand, she has a no-nonsense feel and a kind of restless desire to get stuck into some bad weather, to explore off the beaten track. “She is a true world cruiser,” says Heywood, “designed and built to withstand the harshest conditions, to cut through savage seas and not skirt bad weather. She was built with a confidence that is infectious!”

Bridging the two is a really comprehensive package of toys and watersports equipment, clearly pitched at the charter market. Besides the two businesslike 10 metre Rupert RIBs (one set up for watersports, the other with a little cabin for inshore work), there is a brace of Seabobs, more wetsuits and dive kits than you can shake a stick at, a pair of Sea-Doo personal watercraft, water skis, paddleboards and more. I suggest a small sailing boat, which skipper Williamson likes the sound of. At one point, he throws open a cupboard door on the side deck to reveal a beautifully designed rack containing a pair of heavily sidecut skis – for snow, not water. And why not? If you’re visiting far-flung polar regions and your primary tender is an Agusta Grand, heli-skiing is definitely on the menu…

At her cruising speed of 14 knots, Planet Nine has a range of more than 6,000 nautical miles – thanks to the 340,000 litres of fuel she can carry. Slow her twin Caterpillar 3516 engines down to a perfectly respectable 10 knots and that range rises to more than 10,000 miles, enough to cross from Sydney to Ushuaia and on up to the Caribbean, without halting for fuel.

“That’s including fuel for the generators,” says Captain Rob Williamson, who oversaw the redesign of the power systems to reduce the hotel load to a single 275kW Cat genset, although there are three aboard. Couple that with her ice class hull, 9,000 litres of aviation fuel (“around 10 times the range of an Agusta Grand”, says Williamson), 40,000 litres of fresh water, plus the ability to make around 18,000 litres more per day, and you can see she has phenomenal range and autonomy. Perhaps the limiting factor is fresh food. There is plenty of cold storage on board, down on the machinery deck in the bow, including several cold rooms and a walk-in freezer. “We can store luxury food for about a month,” says the captain. There’s storage for plenty more but after that you’d start relying more on tinned and ambient stored produce. So the effective range is a matter of taste for the owner or his guests.



Admiral Yachts

( http://admiral-yachts.com/ )

Amels 83mt Here Comes The Sun

The co-owner of Here Comes The Sun does not enjoy shiny surfaces and you will find few on board his gargantuan new toy – except for the gold discs hanging on the wall of his office. These records, The Beatles’ Let It Be and John Lennon’s Imagine, slip through the net for sentimental reasons: they are they names of his two previous yachts, 47 metre Heesen yacht Let It Be and the 65 metre Amels Limited Editions 212 yacht Imagine (since renamed Infinite Shades). Here Comes The Sun is also named after a Fab Four track, but this a project on an amplified scale.

Amels' new flagship measures 83 metres and packs in 2,827 gross tonnes of volume (compare that with 99 metre Madame Gu’s 2,991GT and 95.2 metre Kismet’s 2,700GT). But the combined experience of owner and yard meant that this team knew exactly how to use every inch of the space on board Here Comes The Sun. “Imagine was heavily used. We did 60,000 miles,” says owner’s representative Yavor Nenov, so they learnt what they needed and wanted on board – and what they didn’t.

The aspects they wanted to take to the new boat were clearly defined. “Most important for me and my partner was an owner’s private deck and open beach club and a bigger number of guest cabins in order to accommodate our families,” says the co-owner.

They wanted, as interior designer Andrew Winch puts it, “a home, a floating island” – hence the increased length of Here Comes The Sun. But height was also important. “They are both tall, the owners, so one of the signatures of this boat from Imagine is the higher ceilings, the feeling of more air, bigger spaces,” says Winch. “When you look around, a room feels nicely proportioned.”

Nenov used to work as chief steward on Let It Be – and his influence is evident in the design, as a keen interest has clearly been paid to how the crew will circulate and function. Examples include a crew staircase that runs all the way from the tank deck to the superyacht sundeck, a wealth of pantries, and hidden doors from crew areas into the main lobby on every level of Here Comes The Sun.

Amels was also a keen collaborator in this endeavour. “When we asked for some shelving in the bosun’s locker we said it could just be bolted in there,” recalls Nenov. Amels responded that it would go one better than that and measured the shelving to the bosun’s specifications, designed it, welded it and repainted the whole area.

In the engine room, Nenov says, “one of the big highlights is space, how the engineers can really work”. The generators have a separate room to contain noise and protect crew in case of emergencies. The integrated bridge, meanwhile, is covered in a glass panel and interfaced so it can be operated by touchscreen; there’s also good visibility and a comfortable seating area for owner and guests. There were upgrades from the previous boats in terms of soundproofing and they doubled the satellite domes to create two identical systems so one could operate even if the other was knocked out by a storm.

The design pairing of Tim Heywood and Winch Design is a combination tried and tested on Imagine – as well as the owners’ private jets. Andrew Winch’s studio has designed the interiors of eight other Limited Editions, while Heywood has penned the exteriors of this entire family of Amels boats. “I try to repeat some details that I’m particularly fond of,” says Heywood, “but give them a new twist and make a little change here and there to make it more original and make sure that the clients feel that they’re getting something completely different.”

For example, on Here Comes The Sun, the first Limited Editions 272 (although there are likely to be more to come), Heywood changed the beltline’s angle of descent. “It’s a more gentle curve, swept right the way round the back and into the stairwells and back outside of the stairwells, round the swimming pool.” The superstructure is oyster white, with a muted “castle” tan for the hull.

Inside, the co-owner wanted “a calm, beachy atmosphere, light materials and soft colours – a relaxing atmosphere”. Winch responded with a palette of warm browns, cream fabrics, goldtoned lighting, bronze panels with a brushed finish and antiqued patina, and furniture in curving shapes. Rather than glossy, this decorative scheme is tactile, with carved silk and wool carpets, mottled leathers, natural oak panelling and smooth “footworn” floors.

The theme of practical solutions, cleverly implemented, is also evident throughout the interior design of Here Comes The Sun; for example, press one of the sections on the smart leather-clad pillars in the main and owner’s saloons and the pillar swings open, revealing a storage cabinet.

There are plenty more happy surprises on board this yacht. The greatest is perhaps the bridge deck galley (there’s also a bigger main galley on the lower deck), which has a large opening on to the aft deck, where there is a bar and dining table for up to 24. From here guests can speak directly to the chef as he works, make little extra requests to be whipped up in front of them, or decide what they want as they sit down and describe it directly to the chef.

“You are basically in a restaurant, upstairs,” says Winch. “The chef is so good that he can do everything simultaneously and there are no service issues, no hot plates issues.” Alongside the galley, also open to the aft deck, is a small “grotto” that could be used as a smoking room or a cosy spot to retire to during inclement weather.

The sundeck above, the perfect place to recover from overindulgence, holds its own surprises. The superstructure to each side sweeps back in long curves, the aft sections of which are shaded glass. Behind these, Heywood has designed individual sunpad nooks, where guests can relax in shade and privacy.

His curving pillars aft – a tricky-to-build Limited Editions signature that Amels produces with skill – add style and have been rigged with lights and to hold awnings that can cover the aft sunbathing space. The covered central portion of the deck holds another long dining table that can be set up for glamorous dinners, while forward there’s a bar and spa pool with sunpads and cabanas.

Down on the main deck is another jewel of the exterior spaces, the pool. They wanted to avoid an ungainly ladder set-up that would make it hard to access, or giving it a height that would make the space feel cramped. “We had to modify the superstructure of the yacht, lower the whole pool to drop it down to recess into the ceiling of the beach club without sacrificing the height,” says Nenov. The result is a long, low pool that’s easy to dip into and the superyacht beach club below – something Imagine didn’t have – does not feel compromised.

This stylish space includes a central seating area with fold-down platforms to either side and aft of here, beyond a sauna and steam room, there’s an enormous amidships tender garage set up for side launching (this also stores an inflatable slide that runs all the way down from the sundeck, for thrill-seekers with a head for heights).

But the owners’ deck is arguably the most spectacular space on board Here Comes The Sun. At the aft end there’s a large lounge with a television that slides seamlessly up from a coffee table, and a broad aft deck and forward of the lobby – a highly individual cabin arrangement. To port is the owner’s wife’s cabin, and, forward, a large mirror-clad dressing room and shower room.

The style is glamorous and feminine, with cream toned fabrics and white marble, but the most exciting feature is the superyacht balcony – accessed via full height glass doors from the cabin. This broad space that curves out from the superstructure feels like an al fresco extension of the interior. “You can see the whole boat when you are standing here,” says Victor Caminada, marketing manager of Amels.

It’s the first time the yard has done this on a Limited Editions but it makes aesthetic sense to the exterior lines as well, echoing the bulge of the wing stations on the deck below. To starboard the owner’s office benefits from a similar balcony set-up, but the tone is warmer, with more natural oak, an eel skin feature wall behind the bookshelves and pony skin on the ceiling.

The owner’s cabin forward is accessed via its own corridor to starboard, lined with glass cabinets full of antique silverware and ancient artefacts. This personal museum runs past a dressing room and shower room – with carved perrera marble walls and a vanity unit in brown maron pinta marble – to the cabin, with its massive central bed and textured, dark wenge back panel. The foredeck conceals a MOB tender and a small crew tender, and can act as a touch and go superyacht helipad, but when not in operation it’s a clean, private-feeling space for the owner.

Down on the main deck of Here Comes The Sun, guests have impressive spaces of their own. The main saloon comprises, to aft, a circular dining table for 16 with curving full height glass doors to the aft deck, a central seating area with a long bar and a piano forward. Large windows throughout this deck flood the interior with light.

Forward of the lobby is a spectacular on-board cinema. The audio system combines a powerful ADA Suite Premium Home Theatre Preamplifier and a Lexicon DD-8 amplifier, plus Sonance speakers. For visuals there’s a full HD 3D JVC beamer with Vutec 123-inch projection screen and an 85-inch Samsung full HD 3D TV. The whole system is controlled by a Crestron system that uses an Apple iPad mini as the user interface.

There are five guest cabins on the same corridor, the central two of which have sitting rooms that can be shielded from the cabins by sliding soundproof doors – in this mode the sitting rooms can be converted into cabins, bumping up the total to seven.

As the backbone of an unusual general arrangement, Here Comes The Sun’s lobby is a synecdoche of the overall decorative theme. Surrounding the central lift by Dutch company Lift Emotion, monochrome marble stairs wend up from lower deck to sundeck, accompanied by a stone feature wall carved with a vine (the co-owner owns a vineyard).

On every level dark, intricately carved walnut panelling from Georgia provides a warm flourish. The effect is glamorous without being flashy – but when you’ve got all this to show off, you don’t need shiny finishes to catch the eye.



AMELS

( www.amels-holland.com )

Amels 73,50 mt Plvs Vltra

Amels’ Limited Editions concept is one of the superyacht industry’s great success stories. Each boat in the range offers a high degree of interior customisation and there’s just enough in Tim Heywood’s curving exterior lines to make a yacht feel individual, while a shared technical platform hacks time and cost off a project. And, with every repetition, the process gets smoother, the unknowns diminish.

Heywood maintained the Limited Editions signature look, which he says is “strong and functional”. “It complements the flowing lines very well, which I describe as athletically feminine,” says Heywood. “I must admit that these curves are not necessarily the easiest forms to build, but Amels rose to the challenge.”

The paint — jet black between Matterhorn white decks — gives Plvs Vltra a dose of individuality. “I also added those curving jet black highlights to echo the curve of the wing station and then reversed it in the superstructure,” he says. “That form is echoed again in the mast structure. And finally the marlin blue waterline stripe.”

The owners previously had the Limited Editions 180 yacht Step One, which was also project managed by Moran Yacht & Ship and delivered in 2012._ "The owner and his family greatly enjoyed _Step One and he decided to build a larger yacht with Amels as he was happy with the shipyard and struck up a strong rapport with sales director Rob Luijendijk," president Rob Moran adds. The Plvs Vltra project was managed for the owner by Moran Yacht & Ship.

But lifestyle needs meant the layout required a thorough rethink for Plvs Vltra. “The main requests were a large swimming pool on the main deck, two 10 metre tenders, a large master suite forward on the upper deck, a huge spa with all of the features of a top class facility, and large exterior areas to enjoy with friends and family," Moran continues.

“They want their family to be with them and they want to spend a lot more time on board”, says Andrew Winch of Winch Design, who penned the interior. “They said, ‘At this size, we don’t really want to get off’.”

In short, the owners wanted a full-time residence, not a holiday boat. That informed every aspect of the design, splitting Plvs Vltra’s accommodation into an owner’s deck, two VIPs on the main deck and three guest cabins on the lower deck, so that three generations can have their own space or come together as desired.

But as Winch puts it: “The spa was where it kicked off at the beginning.” This lower deck, amidships space incorporates a spectacular central spa pool, massage area, steam room, bar and sauna with a window on to a broad, fold-down balcony to starboard.

There’s an elaborate mosaic of a dandelion by Sottoriva on the wall of the steam room and, on the floor, mystery white and rosa egeo marbles curve out from the superyacht spa pool in a shell pattern. Above the pool there’s an artwork of gilded porcelain shells by Valeria Nascimento. All this enhances the feeling of it being a space to linger in, rather than a utilitarian area to use and then leave.

“It’s quite normal for them to go there for four or five hours,” says Winch. “They can have an oil massage on the bed and when they’ve finished have their hair done. And when they leave the spa they are ready to put a dress on and go and party. It is a sequence of functions that are all about pleasure. Each area is a passage of time.”

The superyacht balcony, with an inflatable watertight seal, is positioned high enough that even stray waves that did make it to this part of Plvs Vltra would be unlikely to worry guests — but there are prodigious drains inside, just in case.

Routeing has been thought about carefully, with a smooth-running glass-fronted lift that whisks the owners down here directly from the lobby aft of their upper deck suite. There’s also a side-boarding ladder from the main deck to the fold-down balcony that means children can spend whole days outdoors, padding from Plvs Vltra’s aft deck swimming pool, with its counter current jets for lap swimming, extensive sunpads and bar, down to the superyacht spa.

But the position of the space is arguably Plvs Vltra’s greatest asset. “It was a deliberate choice of Amels to put the beach club in the middle, or tipping point, of the ship,” says Konings. “It is the most comfortable place to be at any time at sea. So when it gets a bit rough, the Jacuzzi can stay filled and guests can actually use the spa area.” This position also leaves the aft of the boat as a purely functional garage for tenders and toys.

Another consideration towards creating a more residential feel in Plvs Vltra is the absence of long corridors — a feature usually distinctive of planes, trains and boats. Where possible, the design eschews them in favour of more useful or atmospheric spaces.

Outside the main deck VIPs, for example, the area is divided into a circular lobby with painted, lacquered blue and white panels designed by Canadian artist Peter Gorman. Just aft, there’s a small library with two armchairs. “The two windows are lined up with the two windows in the ship’s hull, so you have natural light,” says Konings.

Slanting windows flood the VIPs themselves with light while the lower deck guests get spectacular marble en suites — and the head height throughout is excellent.

Décor was just as vital to the project as layout. “If you take a look at some of the hotels in the South of France, such as the Hotel du Cap, they are classical and they are about wonderful sea views with very light interiors,” says Winch. “They wanted, architecturally, a classic interior, classical mouldings, classical selections of marbles and furniture. They wanted variety and individuality to the boat.”

It’s a highly decorative design, with intricately veined marbles, stained woods and plenty of crystal but, thanks to the blend of neutrals with soft Cote d’Azur tones of blue and yellow, the effect remains light and relaxing — and more like a house than a boat.

In Plvs Vltra’s main saloon, there are substantial pillars, hand laid with moon gold leaf, customised Italian upholstery in ivory velvet by Pozzoli of Milan, crystal-based lamps with silver leaf and silk shades by Baldi, as well as a bespoke silk and wool carpet by Winch Design with Tai Ping.

The mosaic in the main deck lobby is as much a work of art as the bronze Alexander Krivosheiw sculpture that stands over it — slivers of marble in mystery white, blue jeans, labradorite weiss, golden spider, calcite azzurra and cream Valencia in an intricate pattern by Winch Design, created by stone artisans Magma in Sicily.

Other aspects of this detailed residential effect were a particular challenge. “We have never been asked before to do chandeliers that appear to be free-hanging,” says Winch. “If you go back to Victorian yachts, they would have free-hanging chandeliers but here you can’t afford a rattle, something to be tinkling or breaking.”

The solution for these fittings, in the main and dining saloons, was fixing the hundreds of individual crystal droplets with tiny metal pins. They were penned by Winch Design and manufactured by Czech crystal specialist Preciosa.

Up in the owner’s lounge things are more relaxed, with blue-stained sycamore panelling, loungy seating in front of a concealed cinema screen and full-height windows that open on both sides, for a breeze that runs all the way through.

Forward, there’s a limited edition Parallèle piano by Hilton McConnico and aft, a backlit rock crystal bar, behind which the wall is clad in pearlised lacquer with copper brick inlays. Back again on the long aft deck there’s a dining table and bar.

The full-beam master suite forward on the upper deck has a central bed and access to the foredeck from doors either side of the windows. The palette of green, neutrals and metallics is repeated in the organic patterns of the silk and wool carpet, again by Tai Ping and Winch Design, as well as lustrous Rubelli curtains.

The most spectacular piece is a hand-painted and embroidered silk wall covering of birds on a blossoming tree, penned by Winch Design and produced by Fromental.

All of this interior refinement was achieved on a pre-agreed budget, as Moran explains: “The biggest challenge our team faced, was that the client would not accept any cost changes. We accepted this gamble and we met our promise. Andrew Winch, who is a very good designer, is not known for his frugality, but we managed to provide an exquisite interior that came within the budget. Such a task has never been previously achieved on an Andrew Winch designed yacht.”

Aft of the master cabin, a corridor was necessary to lead between his and hers en suites to the bedroom, but it has been enhanced as far as possible. “Because of the way we planned the positions of the showers, with their own windows and inboard curved walls in glass, you get light through both bathrooms and into the middle of the corridor,” says Winch.

Those en suites are as decadent as they come, with sand-etched, curved glass panels enclosing massive showers with every bell and whistle, as well as glamorous vanities with rock crystal fronts that glow in the sun.

The owner’s office, off the lobby between owner’s suite and lounge, strikes a very different note from the rest of Plvs Vltra’s décor. It is dark and serious: black stained Newood, red lacquer, gold leaf panels and an ebonised timber desk with gilt detailing and an oxblood red leather top. “It’s a more male space,” says Winch.

Up on the bridge deck things are far brighter, with a much-used superyacht gym that leads out to a sprawling combined aft deck and touch-and-go helicopter pad, with an oversized elliptical sofa for watching films on the screen that drops down from above the gym door. Plvs Vltra’s sundeck has a spa pool and sunpads made ultra private by a position forward of the mast.

Heywood really went to town on the mast, with a sculptural form and decorative stainless steel touches. Other less glamorous aspects of the build have been thought through carefully, too. “We have a main stairwell and right on the back of it there is a stairwell for the crew, so the crew can service the whole ship without ever being seen by the guests,” says Konings.

A full-beam crew mess on the tank deck leaves the whole nose of the lower deck for crew accommodation, while a good-sized galley sits amidships on Plvs Vltra’s main deck.

Apart from consulting Damen Research to reduce noise and vibration through calculation and simulations, the generators are insulated in their own room — an idea taken from another Amels 74 metre, Ilona — giving better maintenance access than by boxing them in, while protecting the eardrums of those who work in Plvs Vltra’s vast engine room all day.

“It surprised everybody. The sound of vibration is phenomenal, unbelievable,” says captain Simon Truelove. “Plvs Vltra’s a big boat, she’s got a lot up top as well, but she’s got stabiliser systems that balance out. The 180 is a great boat and standing on the bridge this seems exactly the same — but actually there’s another extra 20 metres on the back of her and you’re higher up.” It’s one aspect in which the yard will be pleased to know that two of its Limited Editions can’t be told apart.


Amels

( www.amels-holland.com )

Feadship 101mt Symphony

The largest Feadship ever built, the 101 metre superyacht Symphony, has been delivered. New photos show her leaving The Netherlands on her way to the Mediterranean for summer cruising season.

Symphony, formerly known as Project 808, was launched in January 2015, at which time engine room commissioning and work on her upper deck was completed.

She is the first Feadship yacht to exceed the 100-metre mark, surpassing the builder's previous flagship, 99-metre Madame Gu, launched in 2013. It's also the first Feadship yacht built to be fully compliant with the new Passenger Yacht Code (PYC) regulations, which allows for pleasure yachts to carry 13 to 36 passengers. Building with PYC has allowed for a custom interior that makes use of veneers, leathers and exotic materials that are compliant with the new rules. She is also certified for chartering with helicopter operations.

The yacht features exterior design by legendary yacht designer Tim Heywood with naval architecture by Feadship De Voogt Naval Architects. Her accommodation is spread over six decks, with up to 20 guests hosted in six staterooms, including one full-beam VIP cabin, double owner’s stateroom and additional guest cabins on the lower deck.

Symphony is kitted out with a gym, a beauty salon and massage room and carries no less than three custom Pascoe tenders of 9.6, 8.3 and 7.85 metres, as well as two wave runners, two Seabobs, windsurfers, watersides and various inflatable toys. Her layout includes an observation lounge, bar and Jacuzzi on the sun deck, while the bridge deck features a terrace and outdoor cinema. The main deck hosts a six-metre contraflow, glass-bottom swimming pool with waterfall, and below the pool on the lower deck is a lounge, beach club and wellness centre, as well as an ultra-high-definition megayacht cinema.

The owner's deck boasts a full-beam stateroom, his-and-hers bathrooms, dressing rooms and a sauna, a private office and study, and a forward terrace with Jacuzzi. The owner's aft deck hosts al fresco dining for 20.

Powered by four MTU 16V 4000 M73 engines, she is anticipated to reach a maximum speed of 22 knots and achieve a range of 5,000 nautical miles.

Symphony made a quite a stir when she was moved from the Feadship Van Lent yard earlier this spring to start her sea trials. She cast off in darkness and wintry conditions, heading south through the Zweiland and canals past Leiden to the North Sea port. The beamy superyacht had to slip through narrow locks and waterways, one that went over a highway, giving us the amazing shot seen above.

The 14 metre beam of the steel-and-aluminium, twin-screw project 808 was a tight fit through the bridges on the way out to sea. The Feadship Fan Club Facebook page reports, “The passages of the bridges were a close fit. The shore support even had to use thin mats instead of the common fenders.” The page also reports that despite the late hour of the move, mid-winter, many Feadship fans were riverside to watch the superyacht make her way seawards.

Feadship

( www.feadship.nl )

Lürssen Yachts 98mt Carinthia VII

When Heidi Horten, the widow of department store owner Helmut Horten, heard about Limitless she was apparently furious with Jon Bannenberg for creating a copy of ‘her yacht’. Clearly she needed to build something larger and finer. Returning to Lürssen, the Bremen shipyard that had built Carinthia VI for her late husband, she was permitted to peep at Tim Heywood’s preliminary drawing of the yacht that was to become Pelorus. Heywood had previously worked at the Bannenberg studio and been fully involved in the design of Limitless, but the Pelorus sketch showed a quite different style, with a bold, raised forebody and a sheerline that sweeps downwards towards the stern in what is termed ‘reverse sheer’.

Mrs Horten decided to follow this style and ordered a new yacht to be designed by Heywood and built by Lürssen. Crucially, its overall length had to be 98 metres – 2 metres longer than the hated Limitless. In the event, her order was quicker in build, so the new yacht, which she christened Carinthia VII, was launched in 2002, a year before the inspirational Pelorus.

Heywood used some clever visual tricks to achieve the incredibly powerful profile of Carinthia VII, the most obvious being that, viewed from a distance, the main deck appears to have no windows. In fact, with darkened glass and black frames, they are set back into what at first appears to be a continuous hull side and only become obvious close to. The deep blue hull colour, which the makers, Awlgrip, now market as ‘Carinthia Blue’, helps to create this trompe l’oeil effect. Aiming for a profile that was as clean and uncluttered as possible, Heywood replaced the usual stanchions and handrails with glass bulwarks set in slim steel frames that do not catch the eye. Some necessary technical features such as the bridge wings and air intakes became smoothly moulded bulges in the superstructure and assumed an almost feminine character.

Echoes of the earlier Carinthia remain, including the forward lean of the transom matching the outline of the stem. Another Bannenberg touch is the style line along the after part of the topsides at main deck level, formed by a large radius moulding. Forward-facing windows in the superstructure are shaded by the characteristic brow that looks like the peak of a cap.

Heywood’s design extended to the layout of the interior but not the décor, which is the work of several designers and Heidi Horten herself. As on her previous yacht, it is private and photographs have never been published.

Speed was clearly going to be an issue, and with four of the largest MTU diesels available, coupled through combining gearboxes to twin screws, a maximum of around 25 knots is possible. Whether or not she is faster than Limitless could only be decided by a race, which is never going to happen while both yachts remain with their original owners.

Lurssen Yachts

( www.luerssen-yachts.com )

Lürssen 110mt Radiant

Motor yacht Radiant was originally known by the moniker Darius when she was launched by Lurssen in early 2009 with few details leaked about her bound-to-be superlative amenities. Subtile style emanates from the grey hull and white superstructure of this distinctive vessel whose Tim Heywood design cuts an impressive figure on the water.

A sister to Dilbar, Radiant was commissioned by the Russian media tycoon Boris Berezovsky, who wanted a rival to Pelorus, owned by his arch enemy Roman Abramovich. However, he subsequently sold her to Abdulla al-Futtaim, a billionaire car dealer from the United Arab Emirates, before she was completed.

As well as the standard features for a yacht of this size - helipad, gymnasium, cinema, spa - she has one of the highest security specifications ever conceived. Berezovsky ordered a personal “escape launch” – a speedboat with turbo-charged twin diesel engines capable of exceeding 75 knots. She is also equipped with an arsenal of sonic guns that fire low-frequency sound waves that can burst the eardrums of approaching assailants, and a military water cannon capable of sinking an approaching boat at more than 100 yards.

Radiant is the second (after Dilbar) yacht in the world with particle filters on the main engine exhausts. She has a combined dieselmechanic and diesel electric propulsion system with exhaust gas particle filters for all the generating sets and for the main engine exhaust at lower power.

This basic idea of the Lurssen green engine concept is to avoid a significant amount of emission for both generating set and main engine exhaust gases in combination with a propulsion system of high efficiency. One aim is to avoid as much exhaust gas particles as possible at anchor and while manoeuvring in harbours, anchorages, bays or at slow speed operation near the shore line.

This target is akin to the efforts to reduce diesel exhaust gas particles in cities and populated areas.

All four generating sets are equipped with diesel exhaust particle filters, which take out more than 95 % in weight of the soot particles; These generating sets supply the power for the hotel load and for four azimuthing thrusters. With only the thrusters, the yacht is able to run at a comfortable speed and make the most of its quietness and its capability for dynamic positioning.

In addition to the cleaning of the exhaust gases of the generating sets the exhaust gases of the main engines can be treated up to a load of 1000 kW for each engine.

The combination of diesel electric propulsion (by the gensets and the thrusters) and conventional propulsion with CPP (Controllable Pitch Propellers) has the benefit of having the high efficiency of a diesel mechanic propulsion system for long distance trips.

Built to the rules of Germanischer Lloyd, Radiant reaches a top speed of 20 knots.

( www.luerssen-yachts.com )