At this year's Monaco Yacht Show, I had the great pleasure of taking a tour aboard Arkley, Lurssen's new 196-foot, Espen Oeino designed vessel.

As you can see in the photos here, she's got a very contemporary interior, courtesy of Mark Berryman, which Lurssen says give her a "youthful" feel. The company also says that in the case of this boat, the beauty's in the details, and I've got to heartily agree. I was particularly impressed by the intricacy of the the wave patterned oak used throughout much of her interior, her staircase's braided leather handrail, and her main dining table, which is made from "bog oak" and features a silverleaf centerpiece, one that's mirrored in the room's ceiling and carpet as well.

Here are a few shots of this truly stunning vessel—more photos to come in a later installment. Enjoy! (All photos courtesy of  Lurssen and Klaus Jordan.)

 

 

 

 

 

 

A few weeks ago, CRN launched the fifth hull of its composite CRN 43 line, the 139-foot Eviva. And this just on the heels of the launch of Clarena 2 (pictured below), which at a whopping 236 feet LOA, is one of the largest boats ever built in Italy.

 

Though Eviva's launch (below) might not have seen as much fanfare, it was nonetheless an emotional and intimate affair. According to CRN, "The shipyard dedicated this event to its client, who came over with his family and closest friends, and it was a moment of pride at all levels...the ship owner toasted to this occasion together with the workers involved in the construction of the vessel, testifying a relationship of trust and cohesion."

With interior and exterior design work done by Zuccon International, the yacht "stands out," CRN says, "for [her] significant volumes and [her] wide-open areas, such as the covered cockpits on the main deck and the upper deck." Eviva can carry ten passengers in five cabins plus nine crew. She also sports a "balcony" with table and chairs, attached to the owner's suite, which has become a signature element on many CRN vessels.

 

 

One of the things I most enjoyed at this year's FLIBS was poking through several of Trinity's newly delivered megayachts, something I had the opportunity to do on the eve of the show when the Louisiana-based builder held an onboard open house of sorts. And the highlight of that tour? Being led through Blind Date, Trinity's just (and I mean just) delivered 161-footer by the boat's owner, who couldn't have been a nicer guy.

He was obviously proud of his new vessel—the second he and his wife have named Blind Date, a moniker inspired by their initial meeting—and talked about the build and design process with real joy. While pictures can't really do her justice, check out these shots of her Patrick Knowles-designed interior, from her stunning bi-level master to her silver and blue-toned main saloon. Pretty groovy, huh?

Now that the show's over, she's off to spend the winter in the Caribbean, where her proud owners will no doubt make good use of her five staterooms and killer sundeck.

 

 

 

 

Perhaps it's because I'm a bit of a nut about finishing my Christmas shopping months ahead of time (check out my post on charitable holiday gifts) or maybe it's because the lens just popped out of my trusty Ray Ban sunglasses, but I've been thinking about shades these days. Fortuitously enough, I just got wind of a few new styles from Costa Del Mar—a brand many boaters swear by. I may just have to head over to my nearest Costa retailer to check them out...

According to Costa's president Chas MacDonald, the company's "known for it's performance technology, and we build that functionality into sunglass styles that are on trend with what consumers are wearing today." That emphasis on trendiness is something a bit new for the brand, which has always been all abut performance, and its why the Gatun and Lago glasses (between $149 and $249) have a fresh, hip look. Don't fret though, they've still got classic Costa features, like no-slip Hydrolite nose pads and flexible spring hinges.

So, what do you think? Are these styles perfect for someone on your Christmas list? 

 The Lago (above):     
The Gatun (above): 

If you take a gander at November's list of "America's 100 Largest Yachts," you'll see that we highlighed an interesting trend in the megayacht market: In the past year, many megayachts—American-owned and not—have gone on the market. And most of them are moving, which shows that the megayacht market—particularly the second-hand one—is alive and well.

One vessel that's sure to sell soon is the 121-foot Java. Why's that? Well, according to The Sacks Group, if this custom Broward isn't sold by November 2nd (the day after the close of the Fort Lauderdale Boat Show) she'll be auctioned off at the group's display in Las Olas Marina. (The auction will be held onboard the vessel, which will sit at A-dock.) The winning bidder will take ownership of a vessel that accomodates ten guests in five staterooms, has a country kitchen, and an eight-person Jacuzzi. According to auctioneer Kurt Bosshardt, these features have helped make Java "a well-established luxury charter yacht. As a bonus," he adds, "she already has at least two charters reserved for the coming season, worth in excess of $150,000, which will go with her to the successful bidder, plus many repeat guests have already expressed an interest in returning this year.”

In order to participate in the auction, participants will have to place a refundable deposit of $150,000 in escrow before noon on November 2nd. Registered brokers and buyers will be allowed to tour her between 1 and 3 p.m. and immediately after the auction will begin. Because it is an open-bid, sequential order event, participants will be able to review all bids and will enter theirs in the order in which their deposits were receiving. This will continue until only the winner—and Java's new owner—is left. 

                                         

It might seem waaaay too early to be thinking about the holiday season, but Christmas and Hanukkah will be upon us soon enough. They've been stocking Halloween candy in my local pharmacy for, like, six months now—candy canes can't be that far behind.

So for eager beavers like me, who like to get your holiday shopping done early, here's one terrific gift idea that I recently heard about: Oceana's Adopt A Creature program. Here's how it works—you give between $35 and $150 and in turn get a package with cookie cutters, stuffed animals, a sugar cookie recipe, a personalized donation card, or all of the above (depending on the amount of your donation). This year, Oceana also created a special sea turtle adoption package valued at $200. It's in honor of 12-year-old Casey Sokolovic, who is an ardent sea turtle supporter and has already raised some $3,000 backing and selling sea turtle cookies. 

The adoptions are symbolic—you're not rescuing a specific animal—but your donations do help Oceana's team of marine scientists, economists, and advocates in their efforts to, as the organization's Web site, "reduce overfishing, seafood contamination, and habitat destruction." Best of all? For a few extra bucks, they'll wrap everything for you. How's that for an easy, eco-friendly holiday gift?

Last week, I traveled to Monaco for the 19th annual Monaco Yacht show, and in spite of the current economic climate, this year's event was as big as ever. There were some 500 companies present, in addition to nearly 40 new builds, and yachts up to 295-feet LOA. Rather than tell you all about it, why not take a look at some shots from the show? They do say, after all, that a picture's worth a thousand words...

 This year, there were reportedly 100 megayachts from 82-295 feet LOA in the water.

 One of said boats was Sunrises' Africa. Like all of the company's builds, she comes standard with a personalized Harley Davidson bike.

 

Britain's Red Arrows put on a spectacular flying display in celebration of British excellence in boatbuilding.

Want more photos? Stay tuned! I'll be adding more shots from the Monaco show soon... 

You might think it's sacrilege, but here goes: The topic of this blog post is ostensibly a sailboat. Before you click away (I know, I know—we're a powerboat publication), take a look at these renderings of Soliloquy:

Pretty neat, huh? And probably unlike any "sailboat" you've seen before. That's because this 53-meter (173-foot), Alastair Callender designed vessel is slated to be the world's first super green megayacht, powered by a combination of wind, solar, and Hybrid Marine Power technology from Solar Sailor Holdings, which combined should give her zero-emission capabilities. Her so-called sails will—as you can see from the images here—be completely non-traditional. Instead of cloth versions, Soliloquy will feature three rotating solar panels that move to soak up the most possible rays. If you're eager to learn more about her and happen to be bound for the Monaco boat show, you can check out a scaled model of this ground breaking, uber green megayacht at the Lurssen booth next week.

It's difficult to believe that summer is at an end and that the Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show is a mere month (or so) away. But that's indeed the case, my friends, which means lots of you soon-to-be attendees are likely putting together your lists of must-see boats.

Here's one you'd do well to consider: 

 

Recognize her? That's Trident, the 214-foot Feadship that was recently dubbed 2009's "Queen of the Show." I was fortunate enough to cruise onboard this beautiful behemoth earlier this summer, before she'd been delivered (she will be making her international show debut at the FLIBS) and I was impressed not just by her sheer size, but also by her sleek and contemporary design. As Feadship says, she's got, "modern touches such as semi-circular extensions with glass bulwarks on the aft decks," and a "swanlike upper profile...defined by elegant wings." She's also got a knockout central elevator that gives guests the impression that they're traveling through a block of marble. You've got to see it to really understand what I mean.

So where can you check out this year's sovereign vessel? According to her builder, Trident will be "holding court" at the Hilton Fort Lauderdale Marina. All hail the Queen!

 

Ok, design fiends, try this one on for size.

Schopfer Yachts, a company that says it's "dedicated ot the pursuit of yacht aesthetics and technology" has announced that Sparkman and Stephens will serve as the naval architect of its upcoming project, Oculus. Now what's so interesting about that? Not only is it Schopfer's first project, the megayacht in questions is also going to be a real head turner. Just take a look at a few of these photos, which show what she's slated to look like when complete. Pretty interesting, huh?

 

According to Schopfer's Web site, Oculus' exterior "is representative of the jaw and eyes socket bone structure of large oceanic fish and mammals." CNN, which recently covered the boat, went one step further, proclaiming on its site that the design looks "uncannily like the jaw and eye socket of a shark or a killer whale." And while aesthetics are no doubt important, a boat's got to work, too. Schopfer is confident that the 250-foot Oculus will be a real performer, capable of comfortably accommodating up to 12 guests and reaching speeds of 25 knots.

Now it's your turn to chime in: What do you think about Oculus' design? Totally killer or not-so-hot?

We've received some good responses to our annual Top 100 list, including this one from PMY reader—and megayacht enthusiast—Brent Campbell of Tennessee. He wrote:

Seems you missed one in the Top 100.  I took these pics of Al Mirqab at berth in Cannes, France on July 12, 2009.  Note the slick little tender above the name plackard in pic 2..... I was told it's 42 ft.

Actually, Mr. Campbell, the 436-footer in question didn't make our list because, according to our research, she's a state yacht. She appeared on our 2008 list of top five state vessels, coming in at number four. But I'm posting the photos you were so kind to send. I think everyone will agree they give a great taste of what it's like to meet one of these mega-beauties
up close.

How about you, fellow megayacht fans? Got any great snaps you'd like to share?

 (Photos courtesy of Brent Campbell.) 

 

 

When you think about all the work—from design to actual construction—that goes into building a megayacht, it’s a wonder that so many are launched every year.  But boats are completed and their builds do go smoothly. Case in point: The construction of Admiral Yachts’ new 54-meter (177-foot) displacement vessel. She’s the sistership of Sea Force One, the company’s first 54 meter, which was launched in July of last year. She’s scheduled to launch in the summer of 2010, which means Admiral is currently in the thick of putting her together. And, according to the company, everything’s going extremely well. The boat’s steel hull and aluminum superstructures are already finished and the two 3516B Caterpillar engines have been placed onboard, too.
 
Perhaps even cooler than the company sharing information about the build process is the fact that they’ve released photos of the whole shebang. Here are a few shots that were taken at the company’s Genoa facilities. If they don’t make you marvel at the awesomeness of the megayacht build process, nothing will.

(Photos Courtesy of Admiral Yachts)

 

The Al Salamah

 

The Octopus

It's hard to believe given that the August issue just hit the stands, but here at PMY, we're already hard at work on our next monster megayacht issue: November's list of "America's Largest Yachts." That doesn't mean, however, that August's "World's 100 Largest Yachts" feature isn't still fresh in our minds. And we want to know, what did you think of this year's edition? Did
you enjoy our new layout, with larger photos and more select information? Were there any shots, like that of the 414-foot Octopus (#4) above, that you particularly loved? Or were there any vessels you were surprised didn't make
the cut?

We're very proud of our annual Top 100 list and we always want to keep it fresh and informative. So tell us, how'd we do this year?