Yachting August 2020

I looked out the window of the four-passenger prop plane and onto the strip of beach serving as a runway. There was a crocodile about 20 yards away, just being a crocodile. I pointed it out to the pilot, who simply smiled and throttled up. Away we went to explore more of Belize. ¶ From that plane and from several boats during my weeklong stay in fishing- and dive-centric locales in this Central American country, I witnessed the cleanest gin-clear flats and the richest deep-cobalt water I’d ever seen. Belize is a cruiser’s paradise on many levels. ¶ Some mornings, I’d head out to the dock and watch juvenile barracuda float nearby as if in suspended animation. Hunting, I suppose. When they turned their bodies, the fish seemingly disappeared, if…

88'4" LENGTH OVERALL 20'8" MAXIMUM BEAM Riva recently launched the 88 Folgore, a name that means lightning bolt. To that end, the yacht has a reported top-end speed of 36 knots and a 30-knot cruising speed thanks to twin 2,435 hp MTU V-16 2000 diesels. The builder says the 88’s exterior lines and sinewy profile take design cues from the automotive world. The yacht’s tender-garage door is multipurpose: It can be opened and set parallel to the water, creating a 64-square-foot beach club, or it can be submerged to launch and retrieve a tender. A second alfresco entertainment zone is in the 236-square-foot cockpit, with a table, sofa and bar. The 88 Folgore has a glass hardtop that retracts to let the sun and salt air into the salon. Belowdecks…

SPLIT AND MERGE Vripack says one of its goals on the Futura concept was to move away from the deck setup that traditionally has defined the layout of so many yachts. The new idea is to “split and merge” spaces in more organic ways. INSPIRATION IS A POWERFUL FORCE inside the design firms and shipyards that create truly modern yachts. While today’s visionaries of course stay grounded in the lessons of naval architecture, more and more often, they are allowing more vibrant inspirations to reshape the way yachts look inside and out—a process that, by definition, also reshapes the way yachtsmen and guests interact with the vessels. ¶ Vripack, the award-winning firm in the Netherlands, is among the leading designers and builders that fully embrace yacht-design inspiration. For its 216-foot…

56' LENGTH OVERALL 15'9" MAXIMUM BEAM Horizon yachts has long been known for building seaworthy vessels that emphasize interior volume, entertainment spaces and customization. The builder’s sweet spot is in the 80- to 120-foot range, and it has incorporated all the lessons learned from those larger yachts into the E56, the smallest E-series model it offers. She’s a yacht that out-punches her weight. ¶ One thing that stood out during my time on board the E56 was the number of custom elements the builder was able to include—rare for a 56-footer. There was custom cabinetry in the salon and amidships galley, both designed for longer voyages. In the after section of the salon, the owner wanted a glass-and-stainless-steel dining table. That table is serviced by a galley with some pleasing…

88'11" LENGTH OVERALL 22'6" MAXIMUM BEAM LOOK AT THE CL YACHTS CLB88 in profile, and you’ll notice a combination of key design elements. ¶ There’s the fine entry and high freeboard forward, and the form transitions into a straight sheerline gently descending in height as it stretches aft, resolving at the cockpit. The subtle drop helps create a relatively aggressive profile. It’s a look that the CLB88’s raked windows forward enhance, and that the lean-forward look of the hardtop and flybridge supports. The yacht’s amalgam of shapes creates a singular, salty aesthetic. ¶ Beneath the seafaring look is function. The yacht has a resin-infused build in a combination of fiberglass and carbon fiber, reducing weight and maintaining strength. The hull form is reinforced by a 3,000-gallon integral fuel tank, essentially…

FOR BOATERS WHO prefer to cruise in US waters, a Great Loop itinerary is ideal. After a first leg northward along the East Coast, the route turns inward toward the Great Lakes and American heartland. ¶ “For people who are used to international cruising and looking for a US option right now, this is it,” says Kim Russo, executive director of the America’s Great Loop Cruisers’ Association. ¶ Cruisers continuing along a Great Loop itinerary from the Erie Canal will go through Lake Erie, Lake Huron and Lake Michigan, in that order. These lakes are called great for a reason and require skippers with some boating experience. Lake Erie alone is home to more than 1,000 shipwrecks. Lake Huron, with 30,000 islands, has the most shoreline among all the Great…