July/August 2013

During World War II, the U.S. Coast Guard asked these yachtsmen and fishermen to “arm” their civilian vessels and guard the East Coast against German U-boats. The threat and the danger were high, but somehow this story has been lost to the annals of history.

Articles from the July-August edition of Private Yacht Vacations

Yachts International presents the 10 largest yachts launched in the past year.

Topaz, which spent time in Barcelona this past April, is another yacht cloaked in secrecy. While Terence Disdale created her interior, there are no details on her décor.

Making Waves contents for the July-August 2013 issue

The 2013 Bucket marked the first time in 76 years that five J-Class yachts were in the same place at the same time to compete with one another. The J’s on hand were Hanuman, Lionheart, Ranger, Velsheda and Rainbow. And it is a true testament to a handful of owners’ love of tradition, coupled with insanity, that has led to a resurgence of the J-Class.

The Palm Beach International Boat Show is always a favorite with exhibitors and attendees. It’s not too big, not too small and, if Goldilocks were reporting, she would say, “This show is just right!”

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 partnership between Vripack and Pieter Beeldsnijder produced the design for the latest yacht to launch from the Bloemsma Van Breemen yard in The Netherlands. Built for Dutch owners, this 144-footer (44-meter) includes a dedicated owner’s area on the upper deck including master suite, lounge and private forward terrace.

Tecnomar purchased the Admiral brand two years ago, and the 131-foot (40-meter) Cacos V is the first yacht to launch from the Admiral yard under the new management.

The next generation of the Zuccon design family recently founded Zuccon Superyacht Design (Zuccon SYD), a group within Zuccon International Project that specializes in large-yacht projects. In spring, Bernardo Zuccon and Zuccon SYD released a concept for a 295-foot (90-meter) yacht with a focus on the outdoors and the inclusion of greenhouses and winter gardens.

In May, Perini Navi successfully turned the hull of a 230-foot (70-meter) aluminum ketch under construction at the builder’s Istanbul-Yildiz yard in Turkey.

The Ferretti Group’s superyacht specialist CRN has launched the 141-foot (43-meter) Lady Genyr. The yacht is hull number eight in the Navetta 43 line and is equipped with an elevator and a new sun-deck layout.

These days, smartphones are capable of almost as much as laptops, so setting even a high-end phone apart from the competition isn’t easy. Vertu took on the challenge.

Filling a gap in Canados’ flybridge range between the 86 and the 120 launched last year, the Italian yard recently revealed the design for the Canados 106.

The secret of a successful semi-custom series mostly lies in a design that appeals to a wide range of owners, but the recipe must contain other important ingredients such as construction to high standards, attractive price and appealing delivery time.

Twenty years ago, Boston Whalers and RIBs were as popular with large-yacht buyers as they were with boaters who owned just these craft. They served as occasional toys or were used for utilitarian purposes by the mothership’s crew, and sometimes both. The more yachts grew in size, though, the more time they started spending at anchor. Suddenly, owners found themselves needing a better way of getting to and from shore.

Italian businessman Carmelo Zocco had plans for a new performance cruiser steeped in his homeland’s style-focused culture. He called on Sarasota, Florida’s Michael Peters Yacht Design and asked succinctly for “balance between elegance and aggression—a boat that was dynamic, functional and unique.” Five years later, in 2011, the Revolver 42 made its debut.

At the Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show last year, the Rodriguez Group showcased a yacht never seen on this side of the Atlantic, the Cerri 102. The 102 was also in Cannes, alongside smaller sistership Cerri 86.

VSY launched its largest yacht so far, Stella Maris, in July 2012. She anchored off Port Hercule in Monaco for invitation-only visits during the Monaco Yacht Show with the owner’s blessing, even though not everything was fully in place yet.

Part of a multi-yacht contract signed by the former HDW shipyard in Germany, the public saw Odessa II on sea trials in April of this year. Some reports suggest the deal stipulated that the yard build upward of six yachts under that contract.

By now, the world knows that the late Steve Jobs commissioned Venus and died before her completion. That much was revealed in his biography and verified by designer Philippe Starck.

The largest yacht built by Italy-based CRN splashed in January, to great fanfare. The owner’s family attended along with 3,000 others, including every craftsperson who worked on her and their families, residents of CRN’s home base of Ancona and even the Chinese ambassador to Italy.

Jim Harris, of the interior-design firm J.W. Harris, has worked with the owners of Secret on more than a dozen homes and on a previous yacht, so he was a natural choice for this project.