Yacht

The 32 knot eXplorius HydroFoil Sailing Yacht

By Mike Hanlon

February 22, 2007 Innovation is abounding in the marine area at present with some enthralling concepts hitting the internet of recent times, with Industrial Designer Arnold Freidling’s Hydro-Foil sailing yacht “eXplorius” being the latest. With wind speeds exceeding 10 knots, the underwater wings lift the hull of eXplorius out of water, reducing friction and displacement to a minimum. Gliding over the waves at sailing speeds of up to 32 knots, this yacht makes transatlantic trips for two to six ‘maritime jetsetters’ possible. So far the eXplorius is a design project, but during the development of the project, Freidling consulted with a marine engineer, so his yacht concept is very realistic. He is currently seeking investors who are interested in taking this design concept to market. Read More

ABN AMRO ONE retires from round-the-world racing and sets itself for Rolex Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race

By Mike Hanlon

October 19, 2006 ABN AMRO ONE, the winner of the 2005-6 Volvo Round-the-world Ocean Race will sail in the 2006 Rolex Sydney–Hobart Yacht Race. The world-class race begins its 62nd running on December26 and takes the fleet out of spectacular Sydney Harbour then down the East Coast of Australia, across treacherous Bass Strait finishing in Hobart, Tasmania. The crew has its sights firmly on line honours and a race record if the conditions suit the wide-transom boat. The current race record of 42 hours, 14 minutes and 10 seconds is held by Wild Oats. Read More

Proibito (Forbidden) Yacht Concept

By Mike Hanlon

At just 33 years of age, Christian Grande is very young for a yacht designer with a long professional career and some serious international achievements behind him. In 2005. Grande won the prestigious “Yacht 2005 European Trophy 50/60’Open” design award during the Cannes Boat Show with a nomination for the European Ship of the Year award for his Yacht C52 project for the Sessa Marine shipyard. Now Grande is pushing the edge of the envelope in nautical design again with his Proibito (Italian for “forbidden”) concept. The Proibito is designed to “disappear all the mechanical components of steering and navigation through the utilization of distinctive kinematic systems”, permiting a complete levelling of the deck and the consequent transformation into a completely open yacht. A word of warning – it may look innocent and relaxed and dinghy-like, but with 950 horsepower and a top speed of 60 knots, the Proibito is deceptive in its appearance. Read More

The innovative new 70 WallyPower Motor Yacht

By Mike Hanlon

April 3, 2006 The new 70 WallyPower carries the same distinctive stealth-like exterior as the US$25 million WallyPower 118 that won the Millenium Yacht Design Award, an award dedicated to the “Layout of the Third Millennium, a design that remarkably contributed to the development of the concept of the yacht layout”. The 70 WallyPower’s credentials as a floating pointer to the future remain equally as distinctive, with a glass composite hull, carbon fiber superstructure and KaMeWa water-jet propulsion system though with a far more modest price tag than its 118 big sister in the vicinity of US$3.5 million. The 21-meter WallyPower 70 comes in two basic models, both with that same distinctive dark glass exterior though one has a fully enclosed glass cabin area and the other is open to the aft transom, with the air conditioning acting as a barrier between the outside and the inside. Both can seat 20 or more for meals, though if it’s party space you’re after, the open version with the “lunch boat” layout is the one to go for, as its deck plan flows seamlessly between three social areas. And if you fancy speed, both boats are powered by two MTU diesel engines generating 3,000 horsepower, pushing the 70 WallyPower’s top speed 47.5 knots half load, and 45 knots full load at continuous duty with a consumption of only 250 litres – 66 US gallons per hour! Extensive photo library of these exquisite motor yachts. Read More

Winner takes all in Rolex Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race

By Mike Hanlon

January 1, 2006 When Wild Oats XI crossed the finish line on December 27, it became just the sixth boat in the 61 year history of the Sydney to Hobart yacht race to take the line honours and handicap double. It also became only the second boat in history to win the magical treble (the first boat to do it was Rani under Captain John Illingworth in the inaugural race) by setting a new race record too, eclipsing Nokia's 1999 race record by more than an hour for the 628 nautical mile race. It is an enormous irony though, that the boat which was the last in contention to beat the US$10 million super maxi was the oldest boat in the race. The 41-footer Ray White Koomooloo won the race on IRC in 1968 with an elapsed time 4 days, 10 hours, 26 min and 52sec – in her time she was at the very forefront of boating technology with her lightweight four-skin, cold moulded wooden construction. This year she bettered that time by more than eleven hours to finish in 3 days, 22hours, 51min and 39sec but light winds in the final stages cost her any chance of repeating her IRC victory of 37 years ago. The mahogany-constructed Sparkman-Stephens-designed Koomooloo was lovingly restored over seven years and for the last twelve months has been heavily and successfully campaigned by Queenslander Don Freebairn. That's Wild Oats XI on the left and Koomooloo on the right. Read More

Rolex Sydney to Hobart: super maxi yacht showdown

By Mike Hanlon

December 26, 2005 Ocean racing is one of the most exciting and dangerous sports yet conceived by man, and with one of the sport’s flagship events now 21 hours old, we are witnessing one of the most public yacht races ever staged. Normally, ocean racing is not a spectator event, but thanks to an array of technologies, the entire world can watch the Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race via the Internet. In addition to the official race web site’s yacht tracker functionality, this year it is possible to watch via Google’s new 3D interface to the planet, Google Earth (Google Earth combines satellite imagery with a model that can be zoomed, spun and tilted - instructions here), with yacht positions and standings updated every ten minutes. Though weather forecasts suggested perfect weather for the 90-plus-foot maxis, the race record of 1 day, 19 hours and 48 minutes now appears safe as light overnight winds have seen the leading supermaxis fall more than 50 km behind schedule to take the record. As expected, the two new Reichel/Pugh 98-footers, Alfa Romeo and Wild Oats XI are leading the race with Wild Oats now 12 nautical miles clear of Alfa Romeo after 21 hours of sailing. Live odds for the race can be found here. Read More

New breed of super maxis to tackle Rolex Sydney To Hobart Yacht Race

By Mike Hanlon

December 19, 2005 When Sydney businessman Neville Crichton built Alfa Romeo I a few years ago, the advanced design made the world take notice – the remarkable yacht dominated international ocean racing for 18 months and won an incredible 74 consecutive races, including every major ocean event – a yachting grand slam the likes of which has never been seen before and which is unlikely to be repeated. Wealthy yachtsmen the world recognised the advantages of running with the very latest technology and the “arms race” has resulted in a flotilla of new advanced super maxis currently preparing for the Rolex Sydney to Hobart yacht race. When they set off on Boxing Day, the world will be treated to a spectacle of technological wonder but skipper Neville Crichton believes that the deciding factor in which boat takes line honours will not be technology, but traditional sailing skills. Read More

NYYC set to create new yachting class with Swan 42

By Mike Hanlon

December 5, 2005 In July, two of the most famous names in yacht racing formed a partnership to create a new international one-design racing class –the New York Yacht Club (NYYC) and world renowned yacht manufacturer Nautor's Swan announced a new 42 foot racing yacht specifically formulated to create a worldwide one-design racing class founded around a light and extremely fast yacht. The yacht will be competitive at international sailing regattas within open divisions including IRC, and will also provide owners with a comfortable cruising experience. The yacht was born from a strong desire by a group of experienced sailors to create a truly Corinthian class that promotes high level/high performance competition within an owner-driver and amateur-sailing framework and is also focused on containing costs. With strict limitations on equipment and sail inventory, the Swan 42 is designed to prevent the “arms race” of owners trying to out-do each other. The immediate success of the idea has been spectacular - since its announcement just four months ago, 32 of the NYYC Swan 42 boats have been sold and many other international yacht clubs are committed to the project. This coming Saturday (December 10), the New York Yacht Club (NYYC) will be making a presentation at American Yacht Club in Rye, NY, on the new NYYC Swan 42. The event is open to anyone interested in the Swan 42. Read More

The technology behind the new superyachts

By Mike Hanlon

August 15, 2005 New Zealand super maxi 'Alfa Romeo' has the potential to shatter race records around the world, predicts owner and skipper, Neville Crichton, having spent two weeks testing the new super maxi prior to the Hahn Premium Race Week at Hamilton Island (20-27 August 2005). After the Whitsundays regatta, the first major record in the sights of Neville Crichton is the Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race mark of 1 day 19 hours 48 minutes 02 seconds for the 628 nautical mile race in the Tasman Sea. "Given a relatively constant breeze of 15 knots with slightly sprung sheets the new boat will average 22 knots and we can sail the course in 1 day and 5 hours," he says with confidence. Read More

UKP14,000 yacht takes handicap win in Rolex Fastnet Race

By Mike Hanlon

August 13, 2005 One of the smallest yachts in the fleet, a Nicholson 33, has won the Rolex Fastnet Race on handicap. Jean-Yves Chateau and his six crew sailed Iromiguy across the line at 1224BST yesterday afternoon after more than five days at sea. While there are other yachts still bowling in moderate westerly breezes towards Plymouth, none can better Iromiguy's time. For a race traditionally dominated by big boats, Iromiguy's victory is a dream come true, proof that just occasionally the Corinthian weekend enthusiast can prevail in an unremarkable boat. What is remarkable is that you have to go back 30 years, to 1975, for the last time that a yacht less than 40 feet long won this offshore classic. And the boat that won it then was Golden Delicious, a Nicholson 33, the very same design as Iromiguy. Read More

Dutch superyacht from Bloemsma & van Breemen

By Mike Hanlon

June 21, 2005 Dutch yacht builder Bloemsma & van Breemen has announced the launch of the Flying Eagle superyacht, at over 48 metres the largest project thus far completed by this up-and-coming Dutch yard. The first superyacht to be completed in the yard’s state-of-the-art new production facilities, Flying Eagle combines scintillating looks with a wealth of unique technological applications. Flying Eagle carries the signature of some of the leading lights of the international yachting industry. Her sleek exterior is from the drawing boards of Reymond Langton Design, with Pascal Reymond taking personal charge of the graceful interior. Struik & Hamerslag took care of all the interior woodwork, and Vripack Naval Architects was responsible for the naval architecture. Read More

Hammer Super Yacht - floating beach party

By Mike Hanlon

It's the ultimate party machine. Designed as a floating beach party, the Hammer is a 90 metre superyacht designed to hold stylish social events for several thousand people. It also has large reconfigurable decks, creating oodles of party space with lots of terraces over the sea, and an underwater salon with windows that start above the waterline and extend way beneath it. There are also underwater cameras that can broadcast to the many large LCD monitors throughout the vessel. A floating beach party also has lots of toys for people to play with - like the multiple submarines that dock inside the vessel from underneath, and the helicopter can also be lowered into its garage for more party space on the landing pad. And the the swimming pools can be decked to increase the floor space too. The price? .... Read More

The World's biggest megayacht still on the drawing boards - for now

By Mike Hanlon

February 7, 2005 In recent weeks we've written about several of the world's largest megayachts: the 118 metre Phillipe Starck-designed Sigma, Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen's Octopus and the 138 metre Rising Sun owned by Oracle Software founder Larry Ellison. Now there's a new megayacht on the drawing boards that will be bigger than all of them if it gets built - a 147 metre palace on water which sets new standards for design and functionality including its own cinema, disco, swimming pool, helicopter, integrated tender vessel and, would you believe, an integrated submarine. Read More

The 118 metre SIGMA Megayacht - by Phillipe Starck

By Mike Hanlon

January 29, 2005 It's an immense frustration that some of the most significant and advanced engineering feats on the planet are shrouded in secrecy and we can't all wonder at the design solutions employed. Such is the case with many mega-yachts - the US$200+ million toys of the mega-rich - and the spectacular Sigma mega-yacht designed by Phillipe Starck is a case in point. To be constructed by the elite Blohm + Voss ship-building facilities, the only details of the yacht available are the 118 metre length and the accompanying computer-generated illustration. Read More

Wallypower SuperYacht wins Millennium Design Award

By Gizmag Team

December 3, 2004 The118 WallyPower is an incongruous name for a high performance superyacht that integrates technology with aesthetics for a sleek and startling result. The deck superstructure has an aero-dynamic, stealth-bomber design with a vertical bow and air inlets encasing an innovative interior layout based on zen-like simplicity to mask a surprising amount of comfort. Three gas turbines generate 16,800 HP power that allow the 118 WallyPower to cruise a leisurely 60 knots in flat seas and tackle rough waters with ease in this ultimate luxury vehicle. Read More

Alfa Romeo - the World's biggest, fastest Maxi Yacht

By Mike Hanlon

September 16, 2002 Sporting identity Neville Crichton has set his sights firmly on line honours at this year's Rolex Sydney to Hobart having recently christened the most technologically advanced Super Maxi ever built: Alfa Romeo.The 90-foot long, 135-foot high super maxi is constructed almost entirely from carbon fibre and is odds-on favourite for a successful S2H campaign since clocking up a series of convincing wins and course records since its debut at Hamilton Island Race Week in August.

Owner/skipper Crichton spoke with Gizmo after Alpha Romeo completed her first overnight ocean race, the Cruising Yacht Club of Australia's 85 nautical mile race from Sydney to Bird Islet (south of Newcastle) and back. Crichton was understandably "very happy with the way the yacht performed", finishing outside the race record due to light winds but still 5 hours 41 minutes in front of her nearest rivals including 80-foot S2H challenger Brindabella. Read More

Trilobis 65 hybrid yacht offers a home under the sea

By Mike Hanlon

Lying somewhere between a luxury houseboat and the Beatles' Yellow Submarine, the Trilobis 65 is a semi-submerged dwelling environment designed for habitation by six people at sea. Read More