Revealed: The 24 winners of the World Superyacht Awards 2016

Voyager’s Award

Latitude

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

Refitted Yachts

Mirage

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

Rebuilt Yachts

Malahne

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.

Sailing Yacht 30m to 39.99m

Judges’ Special Award for Design & Performance: Nikata

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

Sailing Yacht 40m and Above

Unfurled

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

Displacement Motor Yachts Below 500GT of 30m to 41.99m

Judges’ Commendation for Design: Rüya

It is unusual for World Superyacht Award judges to give a specific Commendation prizes for interior design as, being created to the specific taste of her owner, this aspect of a yacht does not contribute to the overall marks awarded by individual judges.

In the case of Rüya, however, the judges were so enthusiastic about the interior design created by Sam Sorgiovanni, which combines the rich tones of the Australian Outback and other uniquely Australian textures, that they unanimously decided to break with tradition and award a Judges’ Special Commendation. In particular, the judges were impressed with the modern, highly sophisticated atmosphere that was created by the use of architecturally clean lines together with the harmonius colours, textures and timbers that are found throughout, which thoroughly complement the yacht’s open and bright atmosphere.

Length: 41.3m

Builder:  Alia Yachts

Naval Architect: Van Oossanen Naval Architects

Exterior Design: Sorgiovanni Designs

Interior Design: Sorgiovanni Designs

Displacement Motor Yachts Below 500GT of 42m to 46.9m

Judges’ Commendation for Design: Moka

Many modern yachts are labelled as ‘explorers’ merely on the basis of their commercial appearance and the stowage position of their tenders, but few actually fulfil all the necessities of a true explorer, especially exceptional seaworthiness, long range and lengthy autonomy.

The judges felt that the new steel-hulled Sanlorenzo 460Exp Moka was an exception to this general rule, combining all these functions with high internal volume and a layout that provides excellent comfort for owner and guests, while reducing environmental impact sufficiently to receive RINA’s Green Plus Gold designation.

On top of this, Sanlorenzo have created a purposeful and attractive yacht, ideally suited to her owner’s long-range cruising plans, with good safety features as well as the ability to carry a wide range of watercraft and provide impressive lifestyle amenities, such as a swimming pool with current generator.

Length: 42.2m

Builder:  Sanlorenzo

Naval Architect: Sanlorenzo

Exterior Design:  Francesco Paszkowski Design

Interior Design: Sanlorenzo

Displacement Motor Yachts 500GT to 1,299GT

11.11

With every yacht in this class having received top marks from at least one judge, it was a tough job to choose exactly which of the worthy entries should receive the Neptune. While it was recognised that each of the yachts displayed some extremely good attributes, the secret ballot resulted in a win for 11.11 – its unusual name derived from the date of birth of the owner’s child.

At its heart, 11.11 is very much intended as a family yacht. Despite being near completion when purchased, the owner was able to put his distinct stamp on this vessel thanks to the cooperation and flexibility of the yacht’s builder, Benetti. The eight judges who had viewed the yacht felt that 11.11 was the best product ever to come from this yard. This high opinion helped sway opinion and was a deciding factor in choosing this as the winner, along with her elegant and modern lines, excellent machinery spaces, high level of amenities for her owner and his guests, excellent crew and service areas, and glamorous, Art Deco-inspired interior.

Length: 63m

Builder:  Benetti

Naval Architect: Benetti

Exterior Design: Benetti

Interior Design:  Owners' private design team

Displacement Motor Yachts 2,999GT and Above

Symphony

This class, which contains the largest of the yachts entered for the World Superyacht Awards, saw just two yachts qualifying as finalists. Both, however, were so extraordinary that the judges initially anticipated that choosing a winner might be difficult. But as each aspect of the two contestants was scrutinised in greater detail, it became clear that the Feadship-built Symphony had edged into the lead. Not only did the judges consider this 101.5-metre motor yacht to have stunningly beautiful exterior lines, but they also admired the division of her interior spaces and the incredible quality and attention to detail that had been invested in all areas.

The builder had also successfully addressed many challenging technical issues that had arisen from both the requirements of her owner, as well as from the new PYC code to which the yacht is built. This yacht is a remarkable story of design, craftsmanship and technological innovation that has been cleverly combined to totally satisfy the owner’s requirements.

Length: 101.5m

Builder: Feadship

Naval Architect: Feadship De Voogt Naval Architects

Exterior Design:  Tim Heywood

Interior Design:  Francois Zuretti/ Peter Marino

Sailing Yacht of the Year 2016

Unfurled

The Sailing Yacht of the Year is selected by the judges from among the winners of the two sailing yacht classes. This was a difficult choice as both contenders were considered to be exceptional sailing yachts, but the final decision was made in Unfurled’s favour.

Although the yacht’s clean flush-deck appearance was admired by the judges, this decision was largely made on technological grounds. In particular, the judges applauded her custom-designed retractable propeller pods, which greatly reduce hydrodynamic drag while retracted in sailing mode, together with the pair of lightweight thrusters, again retractable and custom designed to enhance sailing efficiency.

The Vitters- designed power steering system that provides both lightness of operation and the ‘feedback’ associated with manual systems was also admired by the judges, as was the custom headsail storage, which stows large headsails on two drums positioned below the foredeck, easing sail-changes and reducing damage to the sails.

Length: 46m

Builder: Vitters Shipyard

Naval Architect: Frèrs Naval Architecture & Engineering

Exterior Design: Frèrs Naval Architecture & Engineering

Interior Design: Stirling & Co

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