Southern Wind Seawave
The fourth hull in Southern Wind’s SW 102 series, and the second with a raised saloon configuration, Seawave stands
out with an “open-space saloon” featuring panoramic windows on the coach roof that allow the sun to pour in. Unique touches continue with an expansive studio that acts as a buffer between the main saloon and the owner’s private quarters.
Comfortable interiors boast details such as horizontal closed-grain teak and ivory linen on the bulkheads, making a retreat to your private quarters one of classic luxury. On the exterior, elegant hull lines and clean, spacious decks ensure that Seawave’s maiden sailing experience – an 11,265-kilometre journey from Cape Town, South Africa to the Mediterranean – is sure to be exceptional.
Heesen Yachts Azamanta
Dutch ship-building company Heesen Yachts can be thanked for introducing the world’s first Fast Displacement steel hull in a yacht over 50 metres. A masterclass in superyacht efficiency, the hull, co-created with Van Oossanen naval architects, sped through its sea trials to exceed its contractual speed by .4 knots – achieving an impressive maximum of 16.9 knots.
Combine this speed with a hull that has been ice-reinforced, and you’ve got Azamanta, a ship prepared to comfortably cruise the world’s most exotic destinations, even in the highest latitudes. Offering more than just functionality, Azamanta’s distinct yet elegant colour scheme and exterior design by Omega Architects includes unique vertical windows that allow the interiors to be flooded by natural light.
Creature comforts include an art deco-inspired interior with dark woods and light fabrics, six en suite cabins, a master suite with a recessed balcony, and a wide beach club lapping the sea’s surface. There’s even a Jacuzzi that can be covered and converted into a stage for live performances – which you can easily invite all of your closest friends to enjoy from the 110-sqm sun deck.
Jacques Rougerie Seaorbiter
Not your typical luxury yacht created to cruise from port to port in high glamour, this exploration concept’s futuristic looks would certainly steal the scene from even the most opulent of megayachts. Backed by 30 years of bionic marine architecture and undersea exploration research, SeaOrbiter may look like pure fantasy but its design is soundly grounded. Grounded enough that Rolex has stepped up to back the alleged US $35-million ship’s potential creation.
Up to 22 aquanauts and scientists would be hosted inside the vertiginous vessel to study the globe’s oceanic ecosystems 24/7 on long-term missions. Kitted out with a pressurised space simulator, multimedia communications systems, devices that can dive up to 6,000 metres into the sea for deep exploration and a laboratory to analyse findings, its move from illustration to reality would undoubtedly be a huge boon in lifting the veil on earth’s most unexplored wilderness.
On the water this month