The winners of the World Superyacht Awards 2019

Length: 106.5m

Original builder: Halic Shipyard

Refit yard: Olympic Yacht Services

Refit naval architect: Olympic Yacht Services

Refit exterior design: Studio Vafiadis/Olympic Yacht Services

Refit interior design: Ciarmoli Queda Studio

This ambitious project, which converted an aging 93-metre cruise ship into a 106.5-metre dream yacht for an owner with world cruising in mind, presented a significant challenge to the owner’s team, who acted as the builders, the project managers and also as naval architects and engineers. But as the Judges discovered from the documentation and the reports of colleagues who had visited the yacht, the task was completed in a highly successful manner.

At the outset, the hull was stripped to bare steel, the complete superstructure and surplus metal works were removed, and the interior gutted and sandblasted. The 320 tonnes of steel that was removed was replaced with 550 tonnes of new fabrications, including the new superstructure and 112 electrically-operated sliding windows each weighing 500kg. New stabilisers and other heavy engine room equipment were installed before the vessel was faired, painted and relaunched. Following her launch, new pipework was installed, she was rewired, and her new interior, all floating on rubber mounts to minimise noise transmission, was inserted. All these works were compliant with SOLAS 36 Passenger requirements.

The Judges concluded that this was an extraordinary conversion that not only changed the whole exterior profile of the vessel, improving it beyond recognition, but also gave her a completely new interior, which has a refreshingly understated and modern appearance that abounds in luxury. This, they felt, was a conversion for which the owner should be justifiably proud.

Length: 39m

Original builder: Vitters

Refit yard: Pendennis

Refit naval architect: Tripp Design

Refit exterior design: Tripp Design

Refit interior design: Nauta Design

Of the yachts in the highly competitive Refit category, the Vitters-built 38.2-metre sloop G2 was selected by the Judges as the winner. Built from advanced composites to a design by Bill Tripp and launched in 2009, the original owner’s requirement was for a fast yacht suited to long range cruising. Her new owners had a clear vision of their needs which, with a circumnavigation in mind, were similar in scope to the original but their personal interior taste called for enhanced interior light and clean modern design.

On deck, the aft cuddy was surplus to their needs and was removed to create a flush open deck, to which sunbathing cushions were added, while 40% of the old teak was replaced, the caulking changed to grey, and the main cockpit extended to permit a larger guest dining area. To lighten the interior, two large new skylights were cut into the deckhead of the main saloon, while 11 larger portlights were fitted to the guest cabins, where the original, and now dated, honey-toned wood was replaced by a lighter, contemporary style created by Nauta Design.

At the same time, the owners' cabin was increased in size and its layout modified, a complex task which necessitated moving some structural bulkheads. Additionally, the yacht was made as maintenance-free as possible for her upcoming circumnavigation by servicing, upgrading or replacing all machinery and systems, and bringing forward the 10-year Class Special Survey. Navigation and communication equipment was also replaced while the hull, mast and deck structures were repainted. The Judges considered that the extent, quality and outcome of the 11-month refit was exemplary – and well worthy of a Neptune.

Length: 106.7m

Builder: Oceanco

Naval architect: Dykstra Naval Architects/Oceanco

Exterior design: Ken Freivokh/Nuvolari Lenard

Interior design: Gerard P. Villate/Nuvolari Lenard/Ken Freivokh

Black Pearl, the Judges considered, was a huge step forward from the first yacht of this type, Maltese Falcon, surpassing her on practically every level.

Here was a sailing vessel with all the facilities, comfort and performance of a motor yacht, but one that has the potential to cross oceans without the use of any diesel fuel whatsoever, as propulsion is left to the wind and the total demand for household electricity could be met from her shaft generators. Interestingly, provision has been made for the future integration of solar power generated from her sails – an emerging technology that is not yet ready for service. This, and a host of other attributes, was more than sufficient for the Judges to award a Neptune to this remarkable yacht.

Length: 33.5m

Builder: Cantiere delle Marche

Naval architect: Cantiere delle Marche/Hydro Tec

Exterior design: Nauta Design

Interior design: Nauta Design

After the photographs were screened and the Judges had discussed the yachts in this class, it was becoming clear that one yacht stood out from the crowd. That impression was confirmed by the secret ballot in which the Judges almost unanimously selected the explorer yacht Mimi La Sardine as the winner.

Not only does she possess the attractively rugged exterior lines of an explorer, but her 5,000nm range, seaworthiness and long autonomy means that she also had the other necessary attributes of this type. Other features that the Judges particularly liked were her very distinctive interior, and a quality of build that was beyond reproach.

In particular, it was considered that the yacht’s general arrangement clearly allocated onboard activities to suitable areas, with the bridge deck being used as a ‘dining deck’ rather than a second saloon. Incorporating a beach club may be too much to ask in a yacht of this size but this design has, nevertheless, created such an area with a wide flight of stairs descending from the main deck aft to the bathing platform. These two areas are divided by a removable rail, rather than the fixed bulwark found on most yachts, so that there is a sense of connectivity and easy communication between them. The Judges also admired the ‘beach house’ style of the whole yacht that successfully makes use of a wide range of organic materials and unfinished wood to create an immediate ‘holiday atmosphere’ that at the same time is also sophisticated and luxurious. This, the Judges concluded, is a great family yacht where everyone will feel at ease.

Length: 40m

Builder: Conrad Shipyard

Naval architect: Diana Yacht Design

Exterior design: Reymond Langton Design

Interior design: Conrad Shipyard

This class was made up of five very significant yachts with overall lengths falling between 40m and 47.9m, all of which were most enviable in their appearance and quality of construction. After hearing the views of Judges who had visited individual yachts, attention was turned to the detail of their general arrangement plans, traffic flow, and other technical issues.

A yacht that seemed to attract praise in all these areas was Viatoris, a 40-metre built in Poland by Conrad Shipyard, with naval architecture by Diana Yacht Design and exterior design by Reymond Langton. Following the secret ballot, this yacht was subsequently confirmed as the winner. The Judges had predominantly admired her lines, which were considered to be both timeless and elegant, while her interior layout was praised for its ideal distribution of the yacht’s volume between guest, crew, public and technical spaces.

Viatoris is not a yacht for those who yearn for speed as, powered by a pair of economical Caterpillar 500kW diesels, she has a cruising speed of 12-knots, but the benefits she reaps from this are a huge range of 11,100 nautical miles at her economical delivery speed of 8-knots and, aided by excellent sound insulation, also a supremely quiet interior. The Judges also noted that her four ideally positioned fold-down balconies and adjacent sliding doors create a very airy interior, while her abundance of large windows and portlights provide excellent intimacy with the surrounding scenery and seascapes. The owner requested a yacht in which he could ‘feel at home and not like a guest in a hotel’ and the Judges felt that this long range ocean traveller has successfully provided this – and more.

Length: 49.6m

Builder: Wider

Naval architect: Wider/Sydac

Exterior design: Wider/Fulvio De Simoni

Interior design: Wider/ideaeITALIA

This class contained five yachts built by notable shipyards. Each yacht certainly displayed some enviable attributes, but the voting revealed the winner to be the Wider 165, Cecilia.

This, the Judges considered, was a yacht that points the way to the future with one of her most significant aspects being a propulsion system in which diesel generators drive electric-powered motors fitted to azipods located at the stern of the vessel. While many yachts in the past have employed this propulsion system, few have taken full advantage of its flexibility by positioning the engine room in the bows, thus releasing the prime midships area of the lower deck for accommodation – a purpose for which it is ideally suited. This layout also means that the crew quarters, which are spacious for a yacht of this size, have also been moved further aft where motion is less pronounced.

The system also allows for fuel economy as her pair of 535kW gensets, which supply house load as well as propulsive power, are a third of the output of those found aboard Cecilia’s competitors, leading to both economy and extremely low noise levels. But it was not just her technical aspects that impressed the Judges, who also admired the float-in tender dock at the stern that carries a significant tender as well as a submarine in its own independent bay. When these are launched and the twin side doors opened, this area becomes a most desirable beach club. This was seen by the Judges as a yacht that was rightly rewarded for her advanced, forward-looking design.

Length: 69.3m

Builder: Benetti

Naval architect: Mulder Design

Exterior design: Giorgio M. Cassetta

Interior design: Benetti

This was yet another class in which all the competitors are superb vessels, but a winner had to be chosen, and after long deliberation, the Judges homed in on the 69-metre Benetti, Spectre.

Built for an experienced yacht owner with very specific requirements, this was never going to be a ‘standard’ yacht, but in the Judges’ view, Benetti met all of his requests in admirable fashion. Perhaps the most complicated demand for Benetti to solve was the requirement for a top speed of 21-knots, around 5-knots faster than previous builds of this size. This was accomplished by naval architects Mulder Design, who created an easily driven fast displacement hull while reducing hull weight by some 133-tonnes over a similar hull, maintaining structural integrity in critical areas with carbon-fibre reinforcement.

At the same time, engine power was also increased, but Spectre still has an excellent economical cruising range of 6,500nm. The Judges also admired the yacht’s exterior styling by Giorgio Cassetta, whose flowing lines belie her interior volume which, at 1,790GT, is the largest in this class. Also admired was the layout of the yacht, which incorporates a wide range of desirable facilities, including a well-proportioned master cabin with panoramic views forward, a large VIP cabin and a gym with direct access to the water over a fold-down platform. On the technical side, the yacht boasts a large tank deck technical area housing ancillary equipment that would otherwise clutter the engine room, an excellent laundry and a spacious crew mess area. All this added up to the Judges’ view that in Spectre, Benetti has created a highly sophisticated yacht, and this made her a decisive winner.

Length: 56m

Owner: Joey Kaempfer

Builder: Perini Navi

Three entries were received for the Voyager’s Award: Beluga and Silentworld, which cruised remote islands in the Coral Sea off the Queensland coast of Australia, and the voyage of Rosehearty, which crossed the Drake Passage at the southern tip of South America to Antarctica. The Judges considered all of them adventurous – well beyond the bounds of everyday cruising. After much discussion and a secret ballot it became clear that the Judges favoured the Antarctic cruise that was undertaken by the 56-metre Perini Navi Rosehearty.

This formed one element of a wide-ranging cruise from the Caribbean, through the Panama Canal to the Galapagos, Tahiti and Fiji, before returning to Chile to sail south through the Patagonian ‘Canals’ and across the Drake Passage to King George Island, just off the coast of Antarctica. Throughout this initial period the owners and charter parties came and went, making it ineligible for the competition that calls for a single group to be aboard for the duration. The cruise considered by the Judges started when the owner’s party flew into King George Island, just off the Antarctic mainland. From here the first passage was southwest to Deception Island, a volcanic cone emerging from the sea, whose flooded crater can be entered through a narrow passage descriptively named the Devil’s Bellows. A relatively serene anchorage gives access to abundant sea life, thermally warmed beaches and amazing scenery. Onwards, their path took them to Trinity Island, Melchior Islands, Port Lockroy, Palmer Station – a US scientific base on Anvers Island – and, dodging storms, back to Port Lockroy. Then it was a sail to Paradise Bay on the Antarctic mainland before the final leg took Rosehearty south-west along the coast to cross the Antarctic Circle, followed by a stormy crossing of the Drake Passage to Cape Horn and Puerto Williams. A voyage of a lifetime!