A focus on fun and a family-friendly layout define 60 metre Slipstream. To put her extensive cocktail menu and karaoke machine to the test, Katia Damborsky catches up with her in London.
Alongside two cinema screens and facilities for karaoke (complete with smoke and bubbles), Slipstream has a bursting toy chest and a stand-out sundeck. Perhaps this is why multi-award-winning Slipstream is one of the most popular, if not the most popular yacht in this size class in the Burgess charter fleet, according to Burgess broker Henry Craven-Smith.
Delivered by French yard CMN in 2009, Slipstream is one of just nine superyachts built by the Normandy-based shipbuilder, which specialises in commercial vessels. However, Slipstream is a pedigree superyacht through and through. Interior and exterior design comes from Britsh studio Andrew Winch and she has a distinctive style that couldn’t be confused with anything else in the fleet.
Winch Design has given the yacht a simple, yet sophisticated interior with a black and white colour palette that's warmed up by touches of scarlet and enlivened with original Pacific Northwest and Aboriginal artworks, referencing the owner’s birthplace of Canada and adopted home of Australia. The yacht has a thorough maintenance routine, with all of her original furnishings, except the deckhead panels and carpeting, the same as the day she hit the water.
Twelve guests can be accommodated across six cabins, with additional berths available for supernumeraries and crew.
Slipstream spends most of her time hosting charters. She carries a crew of 15, with captain Steve Osborne at the helm in the wheelhouse and chef Richard Harrison heading up the galley – they've been with Slipstream for eight and nine years respectively. “Yachts like this which are very successful charter yachts have a very different mentality on the crew side,” says Craven-Smith. “A really charter-friendly crew are adaptable and malleable.”
She typically spends her summers in the Mediterranean and winters in the Caribbean, although she has previously chartered along the coasts of Norway and the turquoise seas of the Maldives.
For anyone looking for space in spades, Slipstream delivers. She has a GT of 1,076 and a beam of 11.2 metres. For comparison, there are charter yachts that are 10 metres longer with a GT of 1,095 and a beam of 11.5 metres.
That space is condensed into a “smart layout”, according to Craven-Smith, with a full-beam owner’s suite on the main deck adjoined by a generous office, walk-in wardrobe and an upper-level private viewing saloon that overlooks the foredeck. Elsewhere, the VIP cabin has its own exterior balcony and a gym suite offers additional berths (alongside a Peloton and various other fitness machines, naturally).
Crowning the yacht is a massive sundeck that Captain Osborne says is the favoured spot on board. "On any charter yacht, the sundeck is the most important thing to get right," notes Osbourne proudly.
You could veritably imagine whiling away the entire day here – soaking in the Jacuzzi, playing cards at the bar, watching movies on a projector screen – without the need to venture anywhere else onboard. "There's a lot of space to spread out, and it's very shaded as well," adds Osborne, pointing to an awning with flattening slats. "A lot of people don't like too much sun." As well as a grill, dayhead and a shower, the space also benefits from a waterslide that plunges straight down into the water.
In the sea, guests can make use of Jetskis, Seabobs, water-skis and inflatable towables. There is also an inflatable water park and Laser sailing dinghies, demonstrating Slipstream’s commitment to child-friendly fun.
Read More/On board Slipstream with owner Jack CowinThe yacht has something of a reputation as a family yacht. Osbourne and his crew know a thing or two about catering to families; whether it’s jam-packed itineraries on the water or a fun and interactive way of teaching guests how to safely use the water toys.
But for more grown-up fun, there are number of cocktail menus dotted about the yacht, promising spicy margaritas, passionfruit mojitos and a cocktail of the day: a moscow mule.
After a long day on the water, the yacht has a warm and welcoming interior for guests to retreat to. The saloon on the deck has a bar, lounge area and separate dining area where up to eight guests can enjoy meals in a more formal setting.
Meanwhile, the skylounge (which is the same size as the saloon) is finished with plush cream carpets, sleek black leather armchairs and a glossy ebony games table. The space is home to a perfectly-concealed cinema screen, floor-to-ceiling windows, and an indoor-outdoor dining arrangement that can be closed off or opened according to the weather.
Connecting the two lounges is a foyer, which is a glossy mix of mirror and marble with a trio of colourful totem poles taking pride of place. Hand carved by the British Colombian artist Stanley Clifford Hunt, the sculptures carry personal symbolism for the owner and make an impressive entrance for guests arriving via the starboard side door.
Slipstream is available for charter through Burgess starting from €336,000 per week.