Yachting December 2019

I SOMETIMES HEAR people chat about how the marine industry is slow to adapt and change with the times. Maybe that was true once, but in my lifetime—including 20 years in this business—I’ve seen some eye-popping advances. ¶ When I was a kid, our boat’s fish finder was a paper chart displaying lightly penciled lines that were supposed to be fish. I couldn’t tell one line from the other, but it worked. Today’s sonars let us look below and around the boat 360 degrees and scan the seafloor off to the sides. We can drop right on structure with pinpoint accuracy. We can differentiate fish by color and drop baits to the depth we desire, watching the line go down the whole time. That’s time-travel-like progress. ¶ We used to…

THE PHRASE “ECO-FRIENDLY YACHT DESIGN” is being used more and more frequently to mean more and more things. Just in the past year, we’ve seen the launch of the Spirit Yachts 111 flagship with a 100-kW Torqeedo electric-propulsion system; the launch of the 357-foot Oceanco Bravo Eugenia with a hybrid-propulsion setup; and the unveiling of a 223-foot catamaran concept by VPLP Design and Merveille Yachting with batteries that can recharge by wind power above the waterline and by water power below it. ¶ Now comes Sinot Yacht Architecture & Design, working with Lateral Naval Architects to produce Aqua, a 367-foot concept yacht whose fuel would be liquid hydrogen. “Our challenge,” designer Sander Sinot said when unveiling the idea, “was to implement fully operational liquid hydrogen and fuel cells in a…

IF YOU’RE NOT A FAN of offshore powerboat racing, then you may not recognize the name Fabio Buzzi, who died at age 76 in a crash off the coast of Venice, Italy, in September while trying to break his own endurance record. But if you’ve heard of Benetti Yachts CEO Franco Fusignani, Fountain Powerboats and Mercury Marine, then you know just some of the companies and people who worked with Buzzi and considered him an influence. ¶ Buzzi started racing in 1960, a little more than a decade before he earned a mechanical-engineering degree from the Polytechnical University of Turin in Italy. By 1978, he was racing offshore—and already winning. During the course of his lifetime and that of his company, FB Design, the name Buzzi became associated with dozens…

THERE ARE JUST 12 notes in a chromatic scale, but when arranged well, they create memorable melodies. And variations of those notes can make up new melodies that are also memorable. ¶ Consider, then, that the Monte Carlo Yachts 70—a variation of MCY’s original 70-footer launched around seven years ago—builds on the notes that came before her. She adds new tones, textures and counterpoints, and in turn, a new melody. ¶ The most influential design notes can be seen from inside and outside the yacht alike. Salon windows measure about 81 inches long by about 51 inches wide. When combined with newly cut-down bulwarks amidships, the windows create a wide-open connection to the sea. Another benefit of those windows is increased light beaming into the main deck. Yet more light…

MELANIE COLE AND VICKY derouchey were looking for their second act. At ages 50 and 60, respectively, they’d had careers ranging from teaching to social work to software sales. They were tired of working for other people, and they were annoyed that they couldn’t find a decent dry bag for their smartphones while out boating on Minnesota’s Prior Lake. ¶ “You know how you keep a notepad by your bed so you’re open to ideas from the universe?” Cole recalls. “Well, true story: I was awakened at 4 in the morning. I wrote this whole idea down. By 6 in the morning, I had the website registered with the Ugo name.” ¶ The idea was for a smartphone case built to be waterproof, to float and to allow use of…

IT’S HARD TO STAND out at the Monaco Yacht Show, and harder still when you’re docked right next to a bevy of Brabus supercars intermittently revving their engines in deafening roars. But that’s exactly what the Brabus Shadow 500 Black-Ops Limited Edition—say that five times fast—did. The signature look is red and gunmetal gray with automotive styling and a sea-taming hull form from Axopar. The builder promises 50-plus-knot speed, and options range from a wet-bar package to an aft-cabin layout. Whom It’s For: If you’re a car guy and a boat nut, and you need a fast, stylish and safe way to pierce the slop separating your big boat from the dock, then this may be the vessel for you. Picture This: Official tender service to the superyachts outside Port…