The first SeaXplorer expedition superyacht launched by Damen and other yacht news

We selected for you top 5 yacht stories of the last week at Yacht Harbour.

The first SeaXplorer expedition superyacht launched by Damen

On October 31, Dutch builder Damen announced the launch of the first Damen SeaXplorer luxury expedition yacht. In early 2020, the 62-metre custom-designed yacht is set to become the first delivery from Damen SeaXplorer range.

The 62-metre SeaXplorer features customised design with naval architecture by Damen in-house team and exteriors by Azure Yacht Design. The owners selected Carlo Torre of Monaco Yacht Temptation to create the interior design and the Fraser technical team to supervise the build.

The Polar Class yacht boasts expedition facilities for 30 days of autonomy, a fully-certified helideck and helicopter hangar, as well as two large tender garages and a dive store. The power comes from a Siemens BlueDrive system with three variable speed generator sets and DC bus. In combination with electrical propulsion motors and a battery pack, the yacht has an economical and environmentally friendly configuration.

Outfitting of the vessel took place at the Vlissingen East yard, located close to Vlissingen City yard where Amels yachts are completed.

The DAMEN SeaXplorer range was first introduced in 2015 by SeaXplorer design team, the Damen Research Laboratory, Azure Yacht Design and EYOS Expeditions, who provided hundreds of operational design features based on their real-world expedition experience. The first explorer of the series was sold in August 2016.

70m converted school vessel Sherakhan arrives back in Holland

The 69.7-metre charter superyacht Sherakhan built in 1966 as merchant navy training vessel by Dutch yard Vuyk, underwent a conversion into a superyacht in 2005. She has recently returned to Holland and has been pictured at Shipyard de Schroef in Terneuzen.

Back in 1965, the classic yacht started out as Princess Margaret. Her present owner, Dutch hospitality entrepreneur Jan Verkerk, managed to breath a new life into the boat in 2005, when it was rebuilt at his yard and renamed to Sherakhan.

Maintaining the vessel’s beautiful classic 1960s lines and style, Verkerk upgraded the interior with Rijntjes Interior Design and carried out a complete technical overhaul.

Certified to accommodate up to 26 guests, with a dedicated crew of 20 including Michelin-starred Chef Toine Smulders, Sherakhan has undergone several more extensive refits, with the most recent one conducted at Icon Yachts in 2017.

The most noticeable upgrade of 2017 was the 70-metre hull repainted to a minimalistic white colour from its original vintage blue hue. Along with cosmetic adjustments to the yacht’s interior areas and A/V upgrades, her main generators were replaced with low emission ones.

The onboard layout of Sherakhan is trademarked with double-height dining room with galleried atrium, skylight courtesy of the glass-bottomed sundeck Jacuzzi and seating for all 26 guests at a dining table.

The interior colour palette is calm and neutral, with creams and tan-coloured wood allowing the natural textures and tones to harmonise. The layout comprises 13 ensuite cabins, including a full-beam master suite.

Sherakhan offers a choice of guest deck areas, from the generous wicker seating on the main deck or several loungers on the large foredeck to the stellar sundeck with an 18-person Jacuzzi, wet bar and barbecue, dining tables and multiple sun loungers.

Baglietto presents 40m superyacht concept Abaco as part of Hurricane Dorian humanitarian initiative

Italian La Spezia-based yard Baglietto has presented its new 40-metre yacht project Abaco. The vessel was signed by Maria Magnolfi during the 2019 Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show.

Ideal for sailing in shallow waters, Abaco is the perfect vessel to enjoy the warm crystal waters of the Bahamas, from which she takes her name. The Abaco project is a tribute the Italian shipyard and designers wanted to make to the people of one of the islands most affected by Hurricane Dorian. Baglietto, as part of a humanitarian initiative, will give a percentage of the proceeds from the sale of the first project to the reconstruction of the Abaco island.

Innovative, modern, and robust lines, open spaces, and the proximity to the sea, as well as generous volumes for the interior, are some of the main features of this yacht.

The main deck can boast over 120 square meters of outdoor spaces, harmoniously stretched towards the stern where the cockpit and the beach club join in a single space in direct contact with the sea. In this ample space, there is an infinity pool and a comfortable sunbathing area. Behind it, a conversation area can become, if necessary, a dining area for 16 guests.

Going forward, there is a real “winter garden” occupied by a bar and living space, which can be fully opened if required thanks to floor-to-ceiling sliding glass doors. The connection between the interior and exterior continues in the main saloon, which was designed with the same logic of opening both aft and in the large side windows. This extreme modularity makes it possible to get 150 square meters of outdoor spaces on a single bridge.

62m superyacht project Nautilus introduced by Turquoise Yachts

Turkish builder Turquoise Yachts in collaboration with Miami-based studio DeBasto Design have unveiled a new 62-metre concept of an explorer yacht Project Nautilus. The “well adapted to its intended life go-anywhere vessel” was introduced during Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show 2019.

Project Nautilus will bear “purposeful, masculine look”. Key features on-board will comprise a 13.4-metre tender deck at the front of the superstructure, able to house a 12-metre tender.

The owner’s suite is lays on the upper deck meanwhile provided with two exterior terraces. Additionally, the vessel offers guest accommodation for up to 10 across five cabins. What is more, a full-size cinema can be converted to a seventh guest cabin, as well.

The amenities aboard Project Nautilus include a forecastle deck that can double as a touch-and-go helipad, a swimming pool aft of the main deck, a lower deck beach club, gym, sauna and hot tub on the top deck.

The guests will be catered by the crew that will sleep across seven double ensuite crew cabins, including a captain’s cabin on the bridge deck. Meanwhile, the crew area is designed with efficient service traffic in mind, in order to provides easy access to guest suites on the lower deck.

110m Feadship superyacht Anna lowering tenders in Antigua

The 110-metre superyacht Anna, the flagship of Feadship fleet, was photographed lowering tenders in the waters of Antigua. The vessel is currently moored at the shores of St. John’s.

Launched in 2018, Anna was designed by Michael Leach, with naval architecture by De Voogt Naval Architects. She has steel hull and aluminium superstructure and was built to Lloyd’s Registry standards.

Anna boasts an outstanding curve in the exterior design, connecting the main deck with the upper deck. Hatches in the topsides hint at a side-loading tender garage and a fold-out superyacht beach club, although those features are yet to be confirmed by the yard.

Michael Leach Design and Brian McCarthy Inc. were responsible for the yacht’s interiors, capable to accommodate 18 guests in 6 cabins.

Trademarked with a top speed of 18 knots and cruising speed of 12 knots, Anna spent her maiden season in the Caribbean. She underwent some “minor works” ahead of the summer season back at her homeyard this summer.