Veteran magazine journalist Kenny Wooton joined Yachts International in 2013 as editor-in-chief. Wooton’s career began in newspapers and has spanned more than 30 years. His vocation and his lifelong passion for boats and boating converged in 1987 at Soundings and Soundings Trade Only where he was a staff writer and copy editor. From there he moved to Boating as associate technical editor and then to Yachting where he spent 11 years as senior editor, executive editor and editor-in-chief. Since leaving that title in 2003, he served as executive editor of ShowBoats International and as U.S. Editor of The Superyacht Report. Prior to his current position, he worked as a freelance writer and editor specializing in superyachts and luxury lifestyle topics. He splits his time between his home in Louisville, Kentucky, and the Yachts International office in Fort Lauderdale.
Washington State’s Westport Yachts is one of the few active large-yacht builders in the U.S. Founded in 1964, Westport has built its reputation on delivering composite motoryachts up to 172 feet, on time and on budget.
The president of Fort Lauderdale-based Denison Yachting discusses his business and the challenges of moving through and beyond the current troubles.
Since its introduction, the Horizon FD85/87 has been the builder’s most popular model.
The effervescent design of the Amels 188 Limited Editions Volpini 2 hits high notes inside and out.
The 50 anniversary of Boot Dusseldorf, the mammoth indoor boat and watersports show, ended its first five decades with a bang.
The rest of us may not be able to give back on such a grand scale, but the efforts of owners such as these will shed benefit to us all.
No matter what size yacht interests you, I’d suggest planning a winter vacation around a boat show.
An aficionado of speed takes the slow road with his Custom Line Navetta 33.
The truth is, in the middle of it all can lie some of the most extraordinary yacht design details and craftsmanship you’ll ever see.
Editor-in-Chief Kenny Wooton on what a true seagoing vacation should be.
Moving fast through the water is always a gas, but great rewards can be found in the sounds of silence.
There are as many ways around the world as there are boats and wills to do it.
Hinckley's new electric dayboat could redefine the yachting experience.
The new captain in the Bravo series ‘Below Deck Mediterranean’ speaks out on her yachting career and her new gig as small-screen skipper.
The first Amels Limited Editions 272, HERE COMES THE SUN, is a family getaway machine tailored for two owners’ luxury lifestyles afloat.
Editor-in-chief Kenny Wooton on finding common ground with the late William F. Buckley, Jr.
Picking up a spec project midbuild allows you to indulge your tastes and desires in a fraction of the time.
I’d never given much serious thought to the underlying questions of what would attract a guy from Kentucky to the sea.
I’m sure the actors are nice people in real life, but in the interest of entertainment, it’s often more like crude yacht charter than crewed yacht charter.
While we love the images they gather, when in the wrong hands, drones and their harvest can be a nuisance—or worse. Time to regulate?
Builders around the globe have rediscovered the western market, and are going to unprecedented lengths to attract our dollars.
Composing a shot, digging deep for Fibonacci balance, and pulling the trigger when it all feels perfect is, frankly, a thrill.
Brand-centric gatherings typically offer owners the chance to interact with their peers in social settings, on cruises or on the racecourse. The subtext usually involves builders exposing owners to their latest models to set the stage for future upgrades. If that were the case at the fifth Perini Navi Cup, held in Porto Cervo on the Italian island of Sardinia in late August, no one was saying—or they could not have cared less.
Yacht brokerage and management firm Ocean Independence hosted a glittering event April 25 at the Mall Galleries in London to celebrate the America’s Cup and the Louis Vuitton Cup. The event, dubbed “Legends in London,” brought the two most coveted trophies in sailing together.
A committee established by the organizers of the America’s Cup to review the recent death of a sailor during a training accident took the unusual step last week of recommending teams suspend sailing their catamarans.
Underwater photographic equipment maker SeaLife has created a premier package for divers who want to record their time exploring the world beneath the seas. Called the DC1400 Pro Duo, the unit blends a feature-packed, easy-to-use, 14-megapixel underwater camera with a powerful 500-lumen, three-in-one LED photo/video light and a Digital Pro Flash.
Dockwise Yacht Transport has announced a partnership with the New Zealand Millennium Cup to offer a discount on southbound shipping for the 2013, 2014 and 2015 editions of the popular superyacht event.
According to newspaper reports, Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen was hoping to score a medal of his own after the Games by loaning his superyacht, Octopus, to the British Royal Navy to help retrieve the bell of HMS Hood, a battlecruiser sunk by the German battleship Bismarck in the early days of World War II.
Measuring less than 24 meters (79 feet) in length, the Merlin 80 is the first composite yacht designed by the Turkish shipyard of the same name specifically intended to not require a professional crew.
The Amels 212 Sea Rhapsody, delivered by the shipyard in and managed by Ocean Management, has become the first superyacht in the world to be awarded a “Green Passport” by Lloyds Register.
British solo sailor Alex Thomson smashed the single-handed monohull trans-Atlantic record by more than 24 hours crossing the finish line July 26 at Lizard Point, off Falmouth in Cornwall, England, reports Soundings Trade Only. The 38-year-old crossed the line at 18:17 British Standard Time, setting the new time at 8 days, 22 hours, 8 minutes.
On the heels of the full-displacement 47-meter (154-foot) Tango 2, Australia’s Imaginocean Yacht Design (IYD) has released details of two new designs: the 40-meter (131-foot) GT-40 H and the 55-meter (180-foot) GT-55 H. As with T2, IYD has pursued their “longer, lower, lighter” ethos with these two projects, but has taken it to a new level. They’ve added “green” into the mix as well.
Viareggio Superyachts this summer launched the 72-meter (236-foot) Stella Maris. The yacht’s design is by Espen Øino and the naval architecture by Laurent Giles Naval Architects. The yacht blends traditional elements of design and layout with new variations such as, staggered internal decks, substantial headroom in the salons and an innovative bow shape.
The Italian Design and Engineering Company, Axis Group Yacht Design has announced the completion of the steel hull and aluminum superstructure of the 44-meter (144-foot) motoryacht Green Voyager.
New-build and refit consultant, educator, marine journalist and former CEO of Palmer Johnson Yachts, Phil Friedman, has published an e-book titled “10 Golden Rules for Successful New Build Projects.” In it Friedman addresses what he sees as key steps an owner can take in the beginning of a new-build project to smooth the process throughout and achieve the best final result.
In a surprisingly frank acknowledgement of the impact on yachting of the ongoing worldwide economic troubles, Fraser Yachts CEO Hein Velema wrote in his company’s July/August newsletter: “2012 is turning into a turbulent year with a dramatic decrease in the number of yachts sold in recent months.
Several leading security experts have questioned whether superyacht shipyards are taking maritime security seriously enough when recommending the specification of new build projects. Furthermore, they state that little is being done to ensure the appropriate systems are in place to help guarantee safety on board in the future, following recent reports that the global piracy situation remains highly problematic.
In the air and on the water, we're featuring some must-haves this month. Lisa Airplanes is ready for takeoff in their Akoya amphibious plane. We also take a look at the latest tenders from Rupert Marine, Windy and Eyos, Marlow Yachts, and Novurania.
From upcoming events to the new online forum for industry pros, this issue we help you keep up with what's happening in the global yachting industry.
Check out some news and new additions from some cutting edge companies. Lantic Entertainment now offers a way to streamline your HD onboard entertainment system, Raymarine shows off their gyro-stabilized thermal night vision camera, and Kannad Marine announces the FCC approval on a device that might save your life.
The Cayman Islands Shipping Registry has released a report on the investigation into the accidental death of a crewman in the Gulf of St. Tropez in July of 2010. The crewman was killed during the launching of a personal watercraft.
