Three Princes Of The Ocean, Three Yachts, Three Golden Prizes

You probably wouldn’t recognize today’s Monaco Yacht Show with the original event that gave birth to it in the Principality twenty seven years ago. Like the finest of pearls growing in an oyster it is now one of the largest rare pearls in the world. Imagine that the numbers of attendees are expected to reach thirty thousand this year. Of course, what we are really interested in, in addition to all the glittering celebrities parading in front of the world, are the super yachts.

We want a short-list of among the 120 mega behemoths which ones stand head and shoulders above all the rest. Let’s take a cut-off of a minimum of 40 metres and see which of those that are brand new will be judged the most remarkable.

There is an easy way of getting to the crux of this. Let’s go straight to the Top Three. For five years now there has been an event on the eve of the show to do exactly this – and here they are in all their magnificence: Judged the “Greenest and most Eco-friendly” is the 72 metre “Solo”. Italian built by Tankoa Yachts and designed by Francesco Paszkowski.

Judged the most magnificent for “Interior Design” is the giant 88 metre “Illusion Plus”. It is  the brain-child if a Chinese company Pride Mega Yachts. Yes, mega it certainly is, witnessed by the fact it is the biggest yacht ever built in Asia. It has four super lounge/salons, two dining rooms and an absolutely immense spa on the lower bridge.

Now this third award is quite special. To follow the interior design award there is an “Exterior Design” award. All Monaco residents will have seen spectacular shapes “parked” in the Mediterranean on our horizon in the last few months. Well there is a new kid on the block. It’s a giant kid called DAR from Oceanco. At an incredible 90 metres this baby has captured the judges’ hearts and minds to such an extent that it also takes the Monaco Yacht Shows prestigious “Finest New Superyacht” award. It goes without saying it is also the largest new super yacht at this year’s Show.

These super yachts are getting so magnificent that one can soon imagine a special invitation to Usain Bolt to race 100 metres on one of these jewels of the oceans!