19 World Superyacht Awards 2015 winners

This award needed little debate – the stunning 73 metre Grace E was an overwhelming favourite. The superyacht with the ultimate sun deck spa, Grace E handily won Motor Yacht of the Year.

Builder: Picchiotti – Perini Navi Group
Naval Architect: Philippe Briand/ Vitruvius
Exterior Design: Philippe Briand/Vitruvius
Interior Design: Rémi Tessier

Past winners of Motor Yacht of the Year include: Ice (2006), Kogo (2007), T6 (2008), Al Mirqab (2009), Arkley (2010), Eclipse & Exuma (2011), Tango (2012), Loretta Ann (2013), Madame Gu (2014).

WinWin had to beat stiff competition to scoop this prize, but the gorgeous cruiser/racer seduced our judges. Maybe because Baltic Yachts' 33 metre WinWin balances performance, style and comfort.

Builder: Baltic Yachts
Naval Architect: Javier Jaudenes
Exterior Design: Javier Jaudenes
Interior Design: Design Unlimited

Past winners of Sailing Yacht of the Year: Parsifal III (2006), Maltese Falcon (2007), Meteor (2008), P2 (2009), Hanuman (2010), Zefira (2011), Vertigo (2012), Pumula (2013), Inukshuk (2014).

This was perhaps the most difficult class for the judges to decide as they agreed that all of the yachts were highly attractive, having been built to the most demanding standards with little regard to cost, while their differences largely resulted from their owners’ specific requirements.

The judges considered that every aspect of all four yachts was well thought out and this was demonstrated by the fact that every yacht was singled out as the winner by at least one judge. But each jury member awards marks to every yacht and this means that their second, third and fourth choices are also important in determining the overall result.

When the results of the secret ballot were announced it was 95.2 metre Lürssen yacht  Kismet that narrowly headed the scoreboard. This yacht, they felt, is a true all-rounder combining impeccable construction, with appealing exterior design, great deck areas, and a tasteful interior that suits a wide audience.

Builder: Lürssen Yachts
Naval Architect: Lürssen Yachts
Exterior Design: Espen Øino International
Interior Design: Reymond Langton

This class was remarkable for the extremely wide range of performance among its entrants. At the top of the range was the amazingly fast AB116, whose planing hull is powered to a top speed of 53 knots by triple MTU 16V2000 engines developing a total of 6,240hp, which are shoehorned into her engine room.

But speed was not the sole factor on which this powerful class was assessed, and after much discussion on quality of construction, appearance, engineering and internal layout, followed by the usual secret ballot, the winner was declared as the aggressively styled but more conservatively powered 37.3 metre  NoNo, which is able to operate acceptably in both semi-displacement and displacement modes, with the latter providing a maximum range of 3,200 nautical miles.

The judges considered that her large external areas were ideal for relaxation and socialising while their marriage to a cosy interior that is well lit through large windows, make this a good all-rounder with wide appeal.

Builder: Admiral – The Italian Sea Group
Naval Architect: Admiral – The Italian Sea Group
Exterior Design: Luca Dini Design/ Admiral Centro Stile
Interior Design: Gian Marco Campanino/Admiral Centro Stile

It was clear from the round-table discussion that every yacht in this class had its particular admirers among the jury, but following the secret ballot it was 47.6 metre Wisp that topped the points, closely followed by Elfje, another modern classic from the same stable of Royal Huisman and Hoek Design. The jury considered the sloop-rigged Wisp to be the epitome of the modern classic sailing yacht, with gorgeous lines, a beautiful exterior enhanced by perfectly proportioned deckhouses and an interior to match from the UK designer Rhoades Young.

In the judges’ view this yacht perfectly fitted the owner’s requirement for a world-cruising yacht that would be his family’s “home away from home with a decent turn of speed without sailing on the edge”, while being capable of some “gentleman’s Corinthian racing”, her ability at which was demonstrated with a podium finish in this year’s  Loro Piana Caribbean Superyacht Regatta & Rendezvous.

Builder: Royal Huisman
Naval Architect:  Hoek Design Naval Architects
Exterior Design:  Hoek Design Naval Architects
Interior Design: Rhoades Young Design

Four yachts were considered by the jury in the Refit Class, a category that is defined by the judges as one in which the work carried out is largely cosmetic but nevertheless represents a notable upgrade to the vessel and her amenities. The amount and quality of the work carried out, the resulting improvement, and the time in which these were achieved, are all factors considered by the jury. When the results of the ballot were announced, Alumercia and Amore Mio 2 had scored exactly the same total.

Along with other much needed work Amore Mio 2, the 52 metre Abeking & Rasmussen yacht launched in 1997 as Sea Jewel, received a very thorough interior refit that transformed her dated interior into a comfortable modern environment, again in a three-month period.

Original Builder: Abeking & Rasmussen
Refit Yard: CPN
Naval Architect: Espen Øino International
Exterior Design: Espen Øino International
Interior Design: FM Architettura d’Interni

Tied for first place in the Refitted Yacht award category, 37.9 metre  Alumercia, a 14-year-old Heesen expedition yacht, had, in the judges’ opinion, been transformed into an attractively decorated young person’s Mediterranean family cruiser, with disco sound and light on three decks, and a very practical dual purpose beach area/garage in the stern – all in three months.

Original Builder: Heesen Yachts
Refit Yard: Borancili Marine/Istanbul Tuzla Shipyards Area
Naval Architect: Vripack
Exterior Design: Vripack
Interior Design: B.M.L

The Rebuilt Yacht Class considers substantially rebuilt yachts that have been subject to extensive structural metalwork, machinery replacement and significant changes to the former general arrangement and decorative scheme. Once again, the extent and quality of the work and the degree of transformation are major factors considered by the jury.

Three worthy yachts were entered in this class and the subject of considerable debate by the judges. Following the ballot, it was clear that the works to 45.8 metre  Ancallia, originally launched by Feadship in 1984 as Bridlewood, had impressed slightly more than the works carried out to MySeanna.  Ancallia, which is now available for charter, had been entirely gutted and stripped to bare metal, before receiving new machinery and a totally new interior by Sibyl Colefax & John Fowler Interior Design, to make her almost indistinguishable from a new Feadship of her period – a magnificent and worthwhile achievement in the judges’ view.

Original Builder: C. Van Lent & Zonen/Feadship
Refit Yard: Atlas Shipyards
Refit Naval Architect: Navinco/George Tsokris
Exterior Design: Michael Kirschstein/Dominic Skinner
Interior Design: Sibyl Colefax & John Fowler Interior Design

Judges' Special Award: Shemara

A Judges' Special Award went to 64.5 metre Shemara. The judges were impressed by the dedication shown by the owner of Shemara in restoring the yacht to her former glory and saving an excellent example of a 1930s period yacht for posterity. The 1938 boat was relaunched after a three-year, one million man-hour rebuild project. The result retains Shemara’s original character but with far superior spaces both on deck and within, and with all mod cons added – including a Rolls-Royce diesel-electric drive train with twin azimuthing pods aft instead of conventional shafts.

This year saw two entries to the Voyager’s Award. One was a lengthy action-packed cruise on a roundabout route from New Zealand to New Orleans by the sport fisherman Mea Culpa, sailing via French Polynesia, Hawaii and Alaska. In most years this would have been enough to secure the trophy, but not this year, as the cruise from the second entry, the converted tug Arctic P, was as daring as it was adventurous.

Having visited the Antarctic Peninsula the previous year, the owners of Arctic P yearned to go back for an even more audacious cruise. Headed for the inhospitable Ross Sea, they first called in on Macquarie Island, and the Balleny Islands, where they crossed into the Antarctic Circle.

Their course, often in extremely rough seas, took them onwards to Victoria Land on the Antarctic mainland, skirting the ice-covered shore southwards to Ross Island. Here they visited Scott’s base for his tragic polar expedition and Shackleton’s Hut, preserved as a monument to this intrepid Antarctic explorer, before going on to the USA’s vast McMurdo Research Station. Thereafter, they skirted the 400-mile long, 50 metre-high Ross Ice Shelf heading eastwards and further south towards Roosevelt Island.

The highlight of their voyage came at this point when they took Arctic P to the most southerly location reached by any vessel, be it commercial, military or a yacht – a remarkable achievement now logged in Guinness World Records. On the voyage they observed the Antarctic sea life, both above and below the surface, and they were educated in the local history and biology by embarked lecturers. This was not a spur-of-the-moment cruise, but an immaculately planned expedition in every respect, equipped with all the gear possible, and safety and exit plans to cover every contingency.

This incredible record-breaking voyage is a most worthy winner of this year’s Voyager’s Award.

Builder: Schichau Unterwesser, 1969
Interior Design: Owner’s family
Fuel Capacity: 1.4 million litres
Range: 17,000 miles