Year in review: 2017’s biggest yachting news stories

More than a year after her launch, the 106.8 metre sailing yacht Black Pearl gave up a few of her secrets in a highly detailed eight-minute video that was released in early October. The footage shows her Dyna-Rig masts being fitted and then put to the test on her extensive sea trials. After five years in development, the list of names who have contributed to this monumental project reads like a veritable who’s who of large yacht development: Oceanco, Dykstra Naval Architects, Ken Freivokh, Nuvolari Lenard, Moran Yacht & Ship, BMT Nigel Gee and Gerard P. Villate.

The relaunch of a yachting icon made headlines in December when the 69 metre classic yacht Sherakhan emerged from Dutch yard Icon Yachts sporting a fresh new look after a three-month refit. Her white finish is a marked contrast to the dark blue exterior that she is best known for. Sherakhan is now set to head off on a worldwide charter schedule in 2018, taking destinations as diverse as Antarctica, Patagonia, Polynesia, Greenland and the Baltic Sea.