Yachting SIP 1 / December 2020

IT WAS A RANDOM FRIDAY WHEN MY FRIEND PHIL CALLED with an interesting offer: “Hey, want to drive cross-country with me to Austin, Texas, on Sunday and go to the South by Southwest music festival?” I was in my early 20s, out of college and working as a teacher in New York. I had the time off, and up until that point of my life, I hadn’t traveled much. The farthest west I’d ever been was Tampa, Florida, when I was 10 years old. ¶ Within 48 hours, we had rented a way-too-small Pontiac Sunfire, packed it to the gills, tossed every map we could find in the back seat and headed west. And a little south. And then west again. We meandered and explored along the route, stopping in…

THIS JUST IN Amels recently sold its largest superyacht to date, the 393-foot Project Signature. The yacht, penned by naval architect Espen Øino, will be the largest one built in the Netherlands when it is delivered in 2025. Project Signature is the third fully custom Amels on order, and it is the second custom collaboration between Amels and Øino. CORRECTION In our October issue, we ran an incorrect photo in the fall yacht preview of the Absolute Yachts Navetta 64. The correct image is above. We regret the error. READER FEEDBACK Looking for photos and yacht news? Get social with Yachting: visit facebook.com/yachtingmagazine By email: letters@yachtingmagazine.com By mail: 480 N. Orlando Ave., Suite 236, Winter Park, FL 32789 On the web: yachtingmagazine.com…

Fun ways to break free from the everyday, no matter where in the world you choose to cruise OH, THE CALMING RELEASE THAT OCCURS when the sun warms your face, the salt spray cools your skin and the fresh air fills your lungs. The tension loosens in your neck and shoulders, your brow unfurrows, and your mind relaxes. You look deep into the azure blue below, and then up into the sky blue above, and then far off at the horizon in between. The world is open, not closed. All of its beauty awaits. ¶ This is why we go yachting. ¶ In the following pages, we offer a look at the art of escape. This art takes many forms. It may mean jetting off to meet a bareboat in…

IN AN INCREASING NUMBER OF PLACES worldwide, yachtsmen are once again allowed to visit—as long as they stay on the boat. The goal is to minimize interactions with locals and stop the spread of the novel coronavirus, essentially limiting visiting boaters to an onboard quarantine. ¶ That’s no limitation at all for yachts that are stocked with watersports toys galore, including the ever-increasing line of products from Texas-based FunAir. The company’s founder was looking for ways to enhance the fun at his lake house, and he ended up creating all kinds of inflatable toys that can be enjoyed aboard express cruisers, trawlers and superyachts alike. ¶ Some of the company’s most interesting offerings include Yacht Golf, which can be set up as a single green in the water or as…

IN 1950, HOBIE ALTER BUILT HIS FIRST surfb oard. He later opened Southern California’s first surf shop and went on to invent the first polyurethane-foam surfb oard. By the late 1960s, he was thinking about boats, and his Hobie Cat introduced a whole new generation of sailors to the sport. ¶ Today, Hobie is known for surfb oards, sailboats and a whole lot more, including kayaks that grace the lazarettes of many superyachts around the globe. The company’s MirageDrive pedal kayaks are popular because they can be used with or without paddling if guests’ arms tire out. Hobie’s inflatable pedal kayaks make onboard stowage easier, and its Pro Angler fishing kayaks can get yachtsmen off the sport-fishing mothership and into the shallows. ¶ The Mirage Island design is arguably the…

California-based aqua lung takes its name from the machine that Jacques Cousteau and Emile Gagnon invented in 1942. The Aqua Lung was the precursor to what we know today as scuba diving equipment, the single invention that spawned decades’ worth of innovations that let people explore beneath the water’s surface. ¶ Now, Aqua Lung makes all kinds of gear, including an array of masks in various styles, colors and sizes. Fields of view can be square or rounded and single- or double-paned. Masks can be used with or without a snorkel. Lenses can be clear or blue, to block high-energy visible light (sometimes called “blue light”). Straps can be wide or narrow, with single or multiple parts. The idea is to help everyone feel comfortable and have a good view,…