Shimali: On board the largest power catamaran from Sunreef Yachts

On a sea trial for 29 metre Shimali in Poland’s Gdańsk, Simon de Burton discovers the broad appeal of Sunreef Yachts’ biggest catamaran yet – and of a city steeped in maritime history

Do you remember all those luxury catamarans that used to ply the seas before the turn of the millennium? Probably not – because they didn’t exist. Only since 2002 and the founding of Sunreef Yachts in the Polish city of Gdańsk, has there been such a thing as a series-built luxury catamaran of superyacht size – and, having experienced the yard’s 29 metre, the logic of invoking the power of two seems entirely irrefutable.

French entrepreneur Francis Lapp started Sunreef 20 years ago and, while it remains a family firm, it has grown steadily to incorporate a workforce of over 1,800 people that includes an in-house team of interior and exterior designers, naval architects and engineers. More than 175 Sunreef yachts, sail- or power-driven, have now been delivered, and the yard is currently tackling its most ambitious project to date – a remarkable 49-metre catamaran. It would have been worth making the trip to Gdańsk just to see the giant structure taking shape, but the city’s maritime history is fascinating in itself.

The massive yards that occupy hundreds of hectares alongside the mighty Vistula River were born from the wreckage of the German Schichau-Werft and Danziger Werft yards, pummelled by Allied bombers during the Second World War. The state-owned businesses that emerged from them initially focused on building and repairing trains before moving on to produce fishing smacks, rescue boats and, eventually, cargo ships and vessels for the navies of the Eastern Bloc. Perhaps more famously, in 1980 the Gdańsk Shipyard became the site of Lech Walesa’s first Solidarity stand against communist dictatorships when 17,000 shipbuilders downed tools in a strike that kick-started the collapse of communism across Eastern Europe. Ferries, tugs, fishing boats and specialist craft for offshore industries became the yards’ bread and butter throughout the 1990s, after which the number of workers dwindled, buildings became derelict and production largely ground to a halt – despite a European Commission-backed restructuring plan to revitalise this historic area and reconnect it with the city.

Although that was unsuccessful, the now well-established presence of Sunreef a little further up the river has done wonders for Gdańsk’s maritime renaissance – not least through the current expansion of the business with the recent opening of a new yard on a vast five-hectare site with 20,000 square metres of buildings. Eight are build sheds capable of accommodating the ever more extravagant projects commissioned by catamaran converts keen to exploit the many benefits of a twin-hull design.

To date, the apotheosis of those benefits is to be found in the 100 Sunreef Power, which we were fortunate enough to sail on Gdańsk’s first clear day, following a prolonged spell of foul weather that heralded the arrival of a typically harsh winter.

As soon as we set foot on the giant catamaran – named Shimali by her Israeli owners – it becomes obvious that this is a boat that will always be a pleasure to spend time on, even in the worst of weather (assuming, of course, that on such days she would be safely tied up in the marina).

We board via a hydraulic aft platform that serves as stowage for a five-metre RIB and levels with the side skirts to transform into a beach club that provides smooth access for launching, swimming and using the jet skis that live in the garage beneath. It also gives access to a deck that reveals just what a difference an extra hull makes: the 13.5-metre beam permits a vast and airy saloon that offers sufficient volume for some serious entertaining.

The owners’ top priority for the first yacht they commissioned was to create a “home from home” – something they have set out to achieve with the type of traditional chairs and sofas which one might expect to see in a Victorian villa rather than on board a state-of-the-art luxury catamaran.

To the right of two green Dralon-covered Chesterfield sofas, a pair of striped armchairs and a large, glass-topped coffee table sitting on a dusty pink, deep pile rug, is a massive bar made from illuminated rose quartz panels, just a few metres from a superbly appointed main galley. It’s the owner’s choice.

“Like all our boats, each 100 Sunreef Power will be a truly bespoke build, meaning we were able to create the layout of hull No 1 to the exact specification of the owner,” says Sunreef PR manager Artur Połoczański. “He wanted a true home from home where he could spend time with his family and live a very similar life to that which he lives on land, only while out at sea or moored in a marina.

“Other people might wish to use the space occupied by the bar in a different way or have a gym in a different place. The galley area on Shimali, for example, could also be used for the master suite to take full advantage of the boat’s exceptional beam. The point is, there are many possibilities when you have so much lateral space to play with.”

On Shimali, the galley, protected by a magic glass screen that turns opaque at the touch of a switch, is flanked by a seating area to starboard and, unexpectedly, a miniature mirrored gym to port, complete with treadmill – a set-up that, if nothing else, should make it easy to ask the chef to prepare exactly what you fancy after those high-impact workouts.

The unusual use of space demonstrates just how versatile the catamaran configuration can be, and that doesn’t apply only to the saloon. The 100 Sunreef Power can accommodate a dozen guests but, in the case of Shimali, this has been reduced to 10 in favour of an impressively large master suite down in the port hull. As well as effortlessly swallowing a king-size bed (complete with a head-on sea view), the accommodation offers sufficient space for additional seating and a huge bathroom that discreetly hides the suite’s wardrobes and cupboards and is decorated with metro wall tiles and classic black and white flooring.

The VIP cabin in the same hull is also impressively appointed, again with a king-size bed, plenty of wardrobe and drawer space and a smaller – but still generous – bathroom finished in the same style. Three further en suite cabins in the opposite hull account for the other six guests, while crew quarters take the form of two cabins in the bow and one aft.

Back upstairs, the full-beam bow terrace offers a 30-square- metre expanse of clear, usable space that owners of similar-length monohull superyachts could only dream of, with Shimali’s owners opting to have it fitted-out with luxurious corner seating and a full-width sunpad.

Taking the long walk back to the stern area, meanwhile, brings one to a 25-square-metre aft deck with an al fresco dining table that can easily accommodate all 10 guests – and that leaves arguably the most impressive entertainment area still to come in the form of the 85-square-metre flybridge that’s accessed from a single set of steps. There, you’ll find an additional bar and catering island, another expansive dining table and more soft furnishings – plus the option to transform the area into an  open-air cinema. There’s also a flybridge lounge with additional passenger seating and, towards the stern, a spa pool.

But having lots of space for lots of people isn’t the only benefit of a catamaran – because the storage areas below decks are cavernous, too. A cold room hides no fewer than six freezers, another hold contains washing machines and dryers, and the access to the twin MAN 1,300-horsepower engines is an engineer’s dream.

Tour over, it is time to head-off along the Vistula towards the Gdańsk Bay at the opening to the Baltic. And, up on the flybridge, Baltic it certainly is. Such nippy conditions are nothing new to our captain for the day, the heavily bearded Dominik Dobrowski. After 30 years in the Polish Navy, he knows a thing or two about handling large boats – but overseeing Shimali is clearly not something he takes lightly.

“Piloting a large catamaran takes an additional level of skill and concentration, especially going in and out of marinas or travelling on rivers with a lot of smaller vessels – it’s simply down to the considerable amount of extra width,” he explains.

But even gently cruising out to sea, the pros of big cat travel are evident. So rock steady is Shimali, in fact, that back in the comfort of the saloon, it is easy to forget that we are moving. Any motion caused by the wake from other boats is barely perceptible and, once in the open sea, the 100 Sunreef Power’s transatlantic capability really becomes apparent.

“Our engineers designed an innovative hull shape for this motor yacht for increased comfort and performance,” says yacht design director Agnieszka Bliźniuk. “The 100 Sunreef Power is a superyacht addition to Sunreef’s new power range. It stands out with a sporty hull line, a vast flybridge and a pioneering combination of a garage system and stern platform.”

For this reason and more, Nicolas Lapp, son of Sunreef’s founder, says the firm is attracting ever more customers from monohulls as the benefits of catamarans come to be more widely appreciated. “To obtain the same volume in a conventional motor yacht you would need to go to 36 or 40 metres in length,” Lapp explains. “With the 100 Power, you get 500 square metres of living space but with less complications, less crew, easier management and lower running costs than could be expected with a monohull. The broad beam also enables us to build higher without losing stability, yet the twin hulls are extremely efficient and have very good handling characteristics. We sold two more 100 Powers while the first one was still in the yard and, although the boats cost around €10 million, we are receiving a lot of enquiries from people who are either thinking of switching to the catamaran format or who want one as a first boat.”

Lapp says there is also considerable interest in fitting the boats with Sunreef’s class-leading eco power systems, which combine powerful electric motors with a solar power set-up developed in-house to charge a network of ultra-light batteries.

Well, eco homes are all the rage these days – and no one said they have to be on land.

First published in the April 2022 edition of BOAT International. Get this magazine sent straight to your door, or subscribe and never miss an issue