Revealed: The 24 winners of the World Superyacht Awards 2016

The winners of the World Superyacht Awards 2016 were announced at a gala dinner at Palazzo Vecchio in Florence. Please click through to see all winners.

All three Voyager’s Award finalists submitted reports of enviable cruises, attracting the judges’ admiration. However, the judges unanimously leaned towards one in which the owner’s enthusiasm and commitment shone through.

This was the near 11,000-mile cruise of Latitude, submitted by her owner, Anil Thadani. Starting in Fort Lauderdale, Latitude headed up the US East Coast to Maine, Newfoundland and Battle Harbour, Canada, then crossed the Labrador Sea to Greenland before taking the legendary Northwest Passage around the top of Canada to Alaska and the Pacific Ocean.

For Thadani, a self-confessed polar bear enthusiast, seeing 19 of these magnificent creatures was a voyage highlight, along with a visit to Franklin’s base, Northern Lights sightings and encounters with musk oxen, walruses and whales. There were worrying close-calls with ice as well. This adventurous expedition, interestingly described and illustrated by excellent photography, is a worthy winner of the 2016 Voyager’s Award.

LOA: 44.98m

Builder:  Timmerman

Naval Architect/Exterior designer: Vripack

Interior designer: Bannenberg & Rowell

Among the superyachts judged to be the best of the Refitted Yachts, the judges’ secret ballot revealed the winner as the classic 53-metre Feadship, Mirage (ex-Elizabeth F).

A refit under her previous ownership in 2007 had only partially updated the yacht, so the untouched areas seriously mismatched the new work, and the new owner was keen to address this, as well as other technical issues. The subsequent refit was cleverly carried out over three winters, thus allowing the owner to still make use of the yacht during the summer months, and the entirety of the work was completed in early 2015.

During these refit periods in STP in Palma, Spain all aspects and areas of the yacht were redecorated or restored while a new gymnasium and spa pool were installed as well. The quality and scope of the work exceeded the owner’s expectations and now Mirage is not only used for his family holidays, and as a crew ship while racing his sailboat, but she is also proving to be a successful charter yacht.

LOA: 53m

Original Builder:  Feadship

Refit Yard: STP Palma

Refit Naval Architect:  De Voogt Naval Architects

Refit Exterior/Interior Design:  Design Unlimited

Yachts entered for the Refit/Rebuild/Conversion category are divided into sub-categories by the judges after they have read the yachts’ detailed submissions. The secret ballot revealed that Malahne had won the Rebuild category by a significant margin.

Originally built by Camper & Nicholsons in 1937, this yacht had been ravaged by ill-considered modifications during a refit in the 1980s, and her new owner requested that she be restored as close to her original appearance as possible. The team that undertook this work over a 24-month period at Pendennis Shipyard were responsible for a highly professional and detailed restoration that fully met the owner’s brief and also brought her to LY2 standards.

During the course of the refit, the team displayed a high level of understanding of her era, just one example of which is that her entire hull plating was replaced in its original joggled and riveted form below the waterline. She now has a new lease on life, offering modern yacht comforts set within the aura of a classic.

LOA: 50.3m

Original Builder:  Camper & Nicholsons

Refit Yard:  Pendennis Shipyard Refit

Naval Architect: Pendennis & BMT Nigel Gee

Refit Exterior Design: G.L.Watson & Co.

Refit Interior Design: Oliver Laws/crew areas by G.L.Watson & Co.

It is unusual that the jury grant an award for low-cost work, but it was agreed that the team that carried out the rebuild of Kanaloa, a 48-metre CRN motor yacht built in 1996, should be recognised. Significant defects were found in this yacht after a recent change of ownership, despite these not being discovered in a pre-purchase survey. Following a later Lloyds survey, the issues were found to be so costly to address in a shipyard that the owner was at the point of scrapping the yacht.

Yet miraculously, she was saved from this almost certain fate by the intervention of her captain, who suggested that the yacht could be saved at less than 50 per cent of the cost quoted if a large proportion of the work was carried out by the crew and independent sub-contractors working with a project manager from Hill Robinson. The owner agreed, and the structural and other work required to bring her back into classification was undertaken at Compositeworks during a 14-month period.

Among many other issues addressed, more than 30 per cent of the hull plating was replaced by Compositeworks, the main engines were returned to zero hours, and the remainder of the drive train was also dismantled and rebuilt. These tasks also required the removal and replacement of a large element of the yacht’s interior joinery and a great deal of other work. The rebuild was completed with a full repaint in time for the 2015 Monaco Yacht Show.

In the judges’ view, this was a commendable achievement by all concerned.

LOA: 48m

Original Builder:  CRN Shipyard

Refit Yard: Composite Works

Refit Naval Architect: N/A

Refit Exterior/Interior Design: N/A

The old saying that ‘A thing of beauty is a joy forever’ is certainly true of the winner of this five-strong class of sailing yachts – but it was not the overriding factor, as all aspects of each entrant were considered in detail before the results of the secret ballot were analysed.

The winner, Atalante, a 38.8-metre sloop designed by Andre Hoek Naval Architects and built to impeccable standards by Claasen Shipyards in The Netherlands, is certainly a delight for the eyes, with supremely elegant lines and glistening brightwork. But the judges also applauded the well-developed deckplan that, among other notable items, positions the wheel in the aft cockpit adjacent to a navigation station with direct access to the owner’s cabin.

As well as offering convenience when under sail, this entire area becomes a private cockpit when the yacht is at anchor. Atalante is also an excellent performer on the water and embodies a good internal layout with superb guest and crew spaces and a well laid out engine room.

LOA: 38.8m

Builder:  Claasen Shipyards

Naval Architect:  Hoek Design Naval Architects

Exterior/Interior Design: Hoek Design Naval Architects

The runner-up in the secret ballot for this class had been designed and built to quite different parameters than the winner, and the judges felt strongly that it was necessary to acknowledge the design achievement that led to her stunning appearance and excellent on-the-water performance.

Nikata is a 35-metre racer/cruiser designed by Judel/Vrolijk, styled by Nauta Design and built by Baltic Yachts. Her racy looks are apparent from first glance, so it is unsurprising that she hit an impressive speed of 24.8-knots during her first crossing of the Atlantic and won her class in her first RORC Caribbean 600 in which she finished seventh overall.

Precisely built entirely from carbon pre-preg laminate with a Corecell foam core, this 88-tonne vessel is equipped with high-speed winches and an easy-trim jib system, but she does not lack creature comforts that include a 200-bottle wine cellar, six fridges, two freezers and a spectacular sound system, as well as an opening transom that converts to a bathing platform.

LOA: 35m

Builder:  Baltic Yachts

Naval Architect: Judel/Vrolijk & Co

Exterior Design: Nauta Design

Interior Design: Nauta Design

While only three yachts competed in this class, each represented a quite different aspect of the sailing superyacht spectrum extremely well - so the judges were presented with yet another difficult choice. After an interesting discussion, the secret ballot decided the winner to be Unfurled, a 46-metre sloop from the boards of German Frèrs that was constructed by Vitters Shipyard, marking the first collaboration between the builder and designer.

This yacht was not only judged to be extremely well designed and built, but it was considered to be a yacht that could ably fulfil the more specific racing and luxurious cruising roles of the other competitors as well as those of the ‘cruising and occasional racing’ function that her owner had requested. At the same time, Unfurled employed the latest technological advances such as retractable propulsion pods, a sophisticated carbon rig and roller furling system as well as downwind sails stored on special drums under the foredeck that allow easy deployment.

LOA: 46m

Builder:  Vitters Shipyard

Naval Architect: Frèrs Naval Architecture & Engineering

Exterior Design: Frèrs Naval Architecture & Engineering

Interior Design: Stirling & Co

During the judges’ discussions on this class, it became clear that Topaz, built to the J-Class Rule, was highly admired by all the jury, who agreed that this yacht was the most elegant in this year’s Awards. Not only were the exterior lines beautiful, but her superb interior, designed in Art Deco fashion to replicate the period in which this class was first introduced, made excellent use of the limited interior volume offered by these yachts.

Topaz also incorporates the latest technology, being equipped with an extremely compact hybrid power and propulsion system that allows it to be propelled electrically from its 80kW battery pack or the 50kW genset as well as its 325kW main engine. J-Class yachts are also huge consumers of power to drive the winches, especially when racing, and the sophisticated system aboard Topaz will deliver 250kW of hydraulic power to allow the simultaneous use of necessary equipment.

LOA: 42.6m

Builder:  Holland Jachtbouw

Naval Architect:  Hoek Design Naval Architects

Exterior Design: Hoek Design Naval Architects

Interior Design: Hoek Design Naval Architects

This class contained many excellent yachts, most of which displayed significant pedigree, but the judges chose a newcomer as the winner. Wider Yachts have been previously known for their innovative tenders and small craft, but in late 2015 they launched their first superyacht. This was the 46-metre Wider 150, a yacht which continued their already established trend of thoughtful design and innovation.

In the judges’ view, this vessel is the epitome of a modern yacht, incorporating the best of today’s design trends and introducing many original ideas, while scaling down desirable features that, so far, have only been seen on much larger yachts. The judges particularly admired her bright interior spaces and the clean exterior lines, together with the superb beach club in the stern that, among other features, combines the functions of tender dock and swimming pool.

In addition, the propulsion system was considered so advanced that it attracted a separate award for Technology and Innovation.

LOA: 46m

Builder:  Wider

Naval Architect: Wider Engineering & Associates

Exterior Design:  Fulvio De Simoni

Interior Design: Ideaeitalia

The 46-metre, Wider 150, was selected for this award on the basis of her beach club as well as her propulsion system. Many yachts have previously been fitted with a diesel-electric propulsion system in which diesel generators power electric azimuthal pods, but never before has the system been exploited to the full by positioning the generators and associated equipment in underused areas of a yacht, thus releasing a ‘high value’ midships area - traditionally occupied by the engine room - for owner and guest use.

Without engines running, the Wider 150 can use her 544kWh of Li-Po batteries to cruise for six hours at five knots or, alternatively, switch to ‘quiet ship’ mode for an overnight stop of eight hours. Additionally, the design of the beach club with its two side- opening shell doors and a swimming pool that converts to a ‘float-in’ tender stowage bay, has never before been seen in a yacht of this size.

Length: 46m

Builder: Wider

Naval Architect: Wider Engineering & Associates

Exterior Design: Fulvio De Simoni

Interior Design: Ideaeitalia