Maybe not all of us, but it’s nice to dream.
A super yacht is an ordinary luxury yacht that you or I might own, but measuring from 40 metres upwards, although it could be as small as 25 metres.
They’re expensive to run, with their jet skis, helicopters, submarines, diving equipment, anti-pirate laser guns and other such toys, not to mention panic rooms, armed security staff, highly-paid professional crew and berthing costs. Fuel consumption with idling engines will amount to about 500 litres an hour for a 70-metre yacht, and that’s going nowhere. On the move, expect to use about 2,700 dollars worth of fuel per hour, meaning a 12-hour cruise will cost you well over 30,000 dollars for a yacht that is not even among the biggest on the high seas.
But they are, perhaps, the ultimate status symbol, and below we take a look at ten of them that will suit every pocket. Well, some pockets. And luxury being subjective, we rank by size.
1. THE FLYING FOX
The biggest charter yacht in the world, at 136 metres, and one of the most beautiful, a true masterpiece of graceful marine architecture. Six decks and an observation deck, two helipads, a unique 40-foot pool running across the deck, teak and oak flooring and cabinetmaking, spa on two levels, a hammam, a cryo sauna, a beauty centre with massage rooms, a complete gym and an outdoor cinema. A total of 25 guests can join you in 11 staterooms. And to make you feel right at home, there are fireplaces and trees, still growing. Not cheap.
2. THE LUMINOSITY
Another biggy, at 107.6 metres, whose traditional lines give little clue to her state-of-the-art eco-friendliness and advanced technological features. Italian built and elegantly classic in design, this yacht has almost 9,000 square feet of floor-to-ceiling windows across four decks. A remote-control media wall, with 1,200 feet of electronic panels around the main glass stairwell, surrounds the third deck, turning this space into a tropical rain forest, while hundreds of white magnolias on the salon’s wall open and close as people pass by. The luxury features include a hydro-massage tub made from Carrera marble and 12 staterooms, including four king suites. The beach club has two huge sea terraces, a bar and dining area, a gym and a counter-flow pool. This is a silent vessel carrying 36 tons of lithium-polymer batteries, providing hotel power for 12 hours. It can cruise at ten knots for 8,000 nautical miles.
3. THE BOLD
This 85-metre yacht has a rather military exterior, but inside is all fun. The helicopter garage turns into a disco, complete with advanced sound system and flashing lights, the main salon has a wall of nine large screens and the full-beam outer terrace behind the salon has been designed as a kind of winter garden. Instead of a small outside nook with a few glass doors, we have a complete deck leading on the expansive salon, surrounded on three sides by tinted, floor-to-ceiling windows. Oak floors and a long dining table make this more of a five-star hotel than a yacht’s aft deck. When the weather changes for the better, the winter garden takes on a summer look with open views of the sea.
4. THE ARTEFACT
This flamboyant 80-metre yacht, built in Germany, features a multi-storey glass wall at midsection, jigsaw-puzzle windows and balconies in the lower hull, and uses a battery-powered hybrid propulsion system that reduces emissions silently. It is eco-friendly, with hundreds of feet of solar panels and waste recycling systems. The use of a new, light glass is extensive: nearly 8,000 square feet in total, providing wonderful views all around.
5. THE ROSSINAVI SUPER SPORT 65
A long, lean and Bondish-looking 65-metre superyacht that would frighten off pirates anywhere. Italian built, this sleek craft, somewhat reminiscent of a luxury Italian supercar, has pools fore, aft and in the middle, and the kind of interior that one would expect from a top Italian designer. Its relatively narrow width will not provide the same open-space views of the Flying Fox, for example, but then again, who ever claimed Italian supercars sacrificed beauty and performance for elbow room? Needless to say, it can go anywhere.
6. THE ATTILA
Super yacht owners like you and me love to talk about beach clubs, and we don’t mean a fizzy drink on the sand on a Marbella beach. This is, in fact, the open space on the stern that we used to launch tenders from. Now we use our helicopters. The owner of the 64-metre Attila wanted a space to spend time on with friends and to cook, just like at home, and marine architect Francesco Paszkowski came up with just that: a super liveable-in yacht. The lower beach club area connects with the main deck by stairways on both sides, with a glass-bottom pool making the beach club’s ceiling. A third internal staircase, creating a double-height atrium, maintains a visual link between the cook above, in his galley, and his guests below. Comfortable and modern, teak and glass, marble and onyx walls on the internal stairway, and a fitness area with a massage room and mosaic tiled spa complete the necessary extras on this magnificent craft.
7. THE CANOVA
The 43.5-metre Canova, made by Baltic Yachts, shows the kind of sleek and minimalist design concept we have become accustomed to from the Nordic countries. A low hull and low-profile cabin with vertical bow, an owner’s suite, three guest staterooms and quarters for a four-man crew might appear to be minimalist in every sense, but don’t be fooled. This is a high-tech vessel powered with electric winches that has been designed for handling by a reduced crew, and with a state-of-the-art hybrid propulsion system, when the sails are down, it moves silently and fuel-efficiently through the oceans of the world, capable of crossing the Atlantic under sail without ever needing a battery charge from the diesel engines.
The Dynamic Stability System, a transverse sliding board that runs beneath the water’s surface, is a first for a yacht of this size. The foil, usually only on smaller racing yachts, makes for a more comfortable ride than more traditional sailing ships.
8. THE BGX70 BLUEGAME
And now to some smaller craft that, although less than the 25 metres that makes a yacht technically super, are luxurious enough to satisfy those of us who have not yet reached billionaire status. The BGX70 Bluegame, at 21 metres in length, is one such beauty, fast and furious with an interior layout second to almost none. It’s all about technical innovation and seaworthiness, without sacrificing luxury. An owner’s salon, a full-beam master suite, three guest staterooms and a large cockpit would not be out of place in most superyachts, and in fact, this boat has won many industry awards.
9. THE LEXUS LY 650
Yes, it’s the same people that make those luxury cars, and I bet you didn’t know they make such beautiful boats too. Their 20-metre motor yacht is for having a lot of fun in, and it differs from similar yachts of the same size in many ways, mostly with regard to muscle engines and luxurious interior. Three en suite staterooms and a flybridge, two-tone copper and metallic grey exterior and a curved bow, carpeting with white-oak planks, this is a yacht that will satisfy any owner, billionaire or not.
10. THE AZIMUT VERVE 47
Defined by its builders as “an American beauty with a Mediterranean heart”, this 14.5-metre motor yacht offers Italian sensibility with American go-power. The design is creative, featuring a cockpit dining table, an outdoor galley, flat TV screen, glass panels running along the hull and pleasure cruising in droves. Clearly, it is a day boat, but if stuck overnight due to a change in the weather, its large salon, two staterooms, dinette/salon, a second galley, a head and shower and, of course, its wine storage cabinet, all make for a very comfortable stay.
