who owns sailing yacht aquarius

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This Sailing Yacht Is Designed to Circle the Globe

The 184-foot superyacht by royal huisman blends old-world design with modern technology., geri ward's most recent stories.

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The phrase “contemporary classic” is a bit of a cliché, but Royal Huisman’s 184-foot Aquarius is the embodiment of a timeless sailing superyacht integrated with the latest technology. The Dutch builder has become known for large, bespoke sailing yachts that have redefined that category, but Aquarius is a special design, reminiscent of a 1930s cruising yacht.

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The profile and hull by noted Dutch firm Dykstra Naval Architects and interior by UK-based Mark Whiteley Design met the owner’s mandate for an elegant yet muscular sailboat that would be used for cruising the world with his family along with racing in the occasional superyacht regatta.

“He wanted a sailor’s yacht with a clean, uncomplicated look,” says the owner’s representative, Godfrey Cray. “Not a pirate ship, but a modern, fashionable, and chic-looking yacht with performance, reliability, and quality.”

As experienced sailors, the owners wanted Aquarius to be able to perform well but with a simple-to-use sail management system. Royal Huisman, mast specialist Rondal, and a team of rig specialists from Doyle NZ created the carbon-fiber masts, rigging, and sail plans, with the maximum downwind sails measuring a mind-blowing 32,292 square feet. The team also used modern technology to simplify sailing handling, including remote units that raise and lower the massive sails.

That involved an intricate system of electric winches, carbon-fiber masts, forestays, custom deck hardware, and other high-tech rigging. The yacht looks absolutely stunning under sail.

“We needed to provide good performance for long passages, but also ease of handling,” says Erik Wassen, senior Dykstra designer for Aquarius . “We wanted to make it possible to get set up and sail off an anchorage in well under an hour, sail for a few hours, and then still enjoy an afternoon of relaxation or water sports.”

The open design and long length of the topsides gave the designers space to add in social areas like the large lounge amidships and rear area in front of the twin helms. The open decks are a sea of uncolored teak with subtle gray caulking, adding to the classic look.

Whiteley’s interior is open and light-colored, taking full advantage of the yacht’s wide beam. The long, rectangular windows of the superstructure provide excellent natural light, while the sofas and other areas sit against the bulkheads, leaving plenty of interior space. An aft staircase leads down to the owner’s suite and guest accommodations. Like the saloon, the guest staterooms are light-colored, with dark-stained wood decor. Aquarius also has a gym and cinema room, with a high-tech sound system embedded in the walls.

The owner’s suite, defined by a mast disguised as a pillar, is wrapped in dark wood floors and cabinetry, with a bedroom, large en suite, and side office. It also has a private balcony overlooking the water.

Aquarius has three tenders in different garages for water sports and access to land, as well as a stairway that folds out from the side of the yacht so the owners and guests can board easily.

Royal Huisman is truly a special yard (the “Royal” designation is reserved for a handful of companies that distinguish themselves in their fields), and Aquarius is a truly special yacht, showing that the most modern superyachts do not have to look like something out of a sci-fi movie. Aquarius puts a shape to the words “modern classic.”

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Aquarius: Modern classic masterpiece makes for a surprisingly sensible superyacht

• August 27, 2020

Named for the sign of astrological quality, this stunning 186ft world-cruising ketch is the result of serious sailors challenging the best of the best to produce something elegant, fast and seaworthy. Rupert Holmes reports

A demanding brief for Aquarius from experienced sailors has produced a masterpiece from some of the most experienced and talented brains in the superyacht world. Within five months of handover she had already clocked up 11,000 miles.

It’s often tempting to sum up new yachts with a short phrase describing their key characteristics. The brief for Aquarius included that she should be, ‘an elegant, muscular sailing yacht with a classic profile for family enjoyment’. But that barely scratches the surface of the main requirements for this giant ketch.

The owners also wanted a yacht that would combine good seakeeping characteristics with performance, reliability and quality. Essential features included relative simplicity, robustness of systems and a contemporary interpretation of elegant, classic lines, with a clean and uncomplicated appearance.

Aquarius ’s graceful lines and timeless shape belie a rugged world cruiser configured to be self-sufficient for extended periods when voyaging well beyond the popular Med and Caribbean circuits. In addition, the yacht is welcoming for family and friends, while providing sufficient performance to compete in superyacht regattas .

Designed to perform

“The owner loves sailing, so top performance was important,” says Dykstra’s Erik Wassen, who led the design team. “Not to the level of a racing yacht, but having the feeling of sailing well and being responsive like a smaller yacht.” A further stipulation was that the boat should not be experimental. The result is a sensible superyacht interpretation of a performance yacht.

With a whopping 50ft of bow and stern overhangs, there’s far less internal volume than might be expected for a yacht of this length. Also maximum beam is less than one-sixth of the overall length. Even so, any temptation to spoil the lines by raising the black-painted freeboard to provide more space for systems was successfully resisted.

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Considerable work and talent was therefore needed to fit all the requirements into the slender hull. The design team repeatedly honed the arrangements until everything would fit, including adequate space for crew accommodation and servicing of systems.

A fixed 4.8m draught keel fits with the theme of simplicity, while also freeing up the internal space that a lifting or telescopic keel would otherwise occupy. Wassen says: “If it was for optimum performance, you go to seven, eight, nine, ten metres.” The problem is that quickly stops being practical, so his aim was to: “try to get her in the same sort of harbours as the J Class yachts – you can still enter St Barth’s Bucket , for instance.”

Computational Flow Dynamics (CFD) work informed the final hull shape. “In our first hull design we noticed the centre of effort shifted when going from close-hauled to a beam reach to running,” says Wassen. “By optimising the hull shape in the CFD we could minimise that effect, giving much more equal rudder pressure on different points of sail.”

A sense of scale as the seemingly tiny figures prepare the mizzen staysail

The response and feel of a smaller boat was achieved “through having an ample sail plan – the boat has lots of sail – and giving her lots of stability,” he adds.  “We kept her as light as possible, which is always difficult because of the weight of the systems and of the ballast needed to provide stability.”

Aquarius ’s skipper James Turner has been very impressed with the handling so far: “With the correct sail plan Aquarius is a delight on the helm, responsive with weight to the wheel,” he reports. “Contrary to what her length and volume might suggest, she feels lively yet forgiving, almost playful on the wheel.”

A clean and uncluttered deck layout was a key priority, but was rendered more difficult by the lack of bulwarks. The profiles of both deckhouses were kept as low as possible, while individual sails are sheeted to similar points, which concentrates deck gear in discrete locations.

Despite her significant sail area, push-button controls mean Aquarius can be sailed by three

Clustering several different items into a single feature also helped to achieve this goal. For example, the boxes for vents and skylights ahead of the main deckhouse also form the backrests for the cushions when this area is used for sun lounging. In addition they house discrete B&G units that provide headsail and spinnaker trimmers with the key data needed for racing.

Project manager Godfrey Cray was keen to use halyard locks to reduce the number of winches around the mast base – the final arrangement has just two winches here instead of the usual four. Attention to detail extends to the cowl vents that have a protection ring of black composite below the polished stainless steel caps so that there is no chance of lines snagging.

The large mizzen was a feature from the inception of the project and provides a powerful configuration for fast reaching and downwind sailing with the mizzen staysail set. A further advantage of this sail plan is that no compromises were needed to keep air draught below the Panamax limit.

Optimised hull shape and big sail area means Aquarius has the response and feel of a smaller yacht

Doyle Sails New Zealand was involved in the project from an early stage, which gave time to tweak the sail plan and for aerodynamic and finite element analysis work to optimise the deck layout and improve overall load predictions. Aquarius is a fast enough boat for the apparent wind to often be forward of the beam.

A 1,580m2 running asymmetric spinnaker is included in the inventory and is clearly important when racing. However, optimisation of the reaching sails was also a priority to enable Aquarius to realise her enormous potential. In addition to the main and mizzen a 460m2 mizzen staysail and 770m2 Code 0 boost the sail area to an impressive 2,200m2 when reaching.

Rondal performance furling booms are a key means of simplifying sail handling , without compromising performance. They allow control of the foot tension of the sail, while providing a very practical means of reefing and stowing the sails.

“Typically, these systems are getting more and more reliable,” says Wassen. “There are hardly any boats that are not specifying them, except for some that go all the way to more racy slab reefing systems to reduce weight aloft.”

Square-top sails were shunned because of the difficulties of handling the top batten. However, the large roach main and mizzen still require running backstays, which are handled by captive winches. “They take more space and are heavier,” says Wassen, “but the captive winches mean you always have the opportunity to ease the runners under load if you have to make an unexpected tack or gybe.”

The twin wheels are positioned far enough outboard to give good sight lines to the bow and the rig. Key sail controls are also located at each helm station to facilitate easy handling. A drawback to this, though, is that you can’t always see the function you’re adjusting.  “It’s something we don’t often do,” says Wassen, “and making it look inconspicuous and classic is difficult.”

The solution was a more modern style console with a lot of controls that are fully concealed by hinged teak covers when not in use. This enables the boat to be sailed with only three people on deck.

Key challenges

While the brief for Aquarius deliberately avoided pushing hard against the boundaries of engineering and materials technology, there were still many challenges to overcome before the owners’ vision and dream could be realised.

In particular, a huge effort was needed to fit the accommodation and systems into the low-volume hull. This involved an iterative process between four parties – naval architect, interior designer, the engineers at Royal Huisman, and the owners – to ensure systems and adequate crew quarters could be accommodated, while leaving enough space for the owner and guest accommodation to meet the brief.

There is plenty of relaxation space split across Aquarius’s three cockpits

Interior designer Mark Whiteley initially presented two concepts – one for a relatively dark panelled interior, the other with mahogany furniture and trim balanced by white wall spaces. After the two had been mocked up at full scale for a section of the boat, the owners chose the lighter option. Whiteley subsequently described his challenge as creating, “a light and contemporary classic feel, rather than a more sombre and historically referenced one”.

While this early decision informed the big picture, he says the finer details needed careful judgement to give the boat its unique feel. The final coat of white paint on the wall panels, for instance, was brushed by hand to provide additional character and interest. He says: “This added to the relaxed informality and chic, understated quality you might associate with a house in the Hamptons.”

The main cockpit is the primary social hub of the boat, so considerable effort was put into refining it. This extended to the folding arrangements for the tables and to the design of the additional fold-away seats that face the main U-shape seating areas.

Mahogany joinery is balanced by white trim

The owner wanted a single floor level in the deckhouse, without a higher level for the seating areas, while retaining a view through the windows when sitting down. The lower edge of the windows therefore needed to be brought down as far as possible, which in turn provides a lot of natural light. The skylights also help to flood the interior with natural light.

Two versions of the magnificent owner’s suite were mocked up full-size to ensure every aspect was optimised to the maximum extent possible. There’s ample natural light from the large oval fan light around the mizzen mast, plus four port lights.

The bed is positioned to give a view towards the stairs to the private aft deckhouse, which opens onto its own cockpit. Attention to detail extends to secure stowage for water carafes and personal items.

Natural light floods into the owner’s suite from large fanlights around masts

Guest accommodation includes two double suites, plus a further flexible cabin that’s primarily configured as a twin. Two extra berths can be provided here to accommodate a larger number of children, via a Pullman on the inboard side and a recessed bed that drops down from the deckhead on the outboard side. A great deal of effort was expended to ensure there is no evidence of these extra beds when the cabin is in its normal mode.

There’s also a fully equipped gym, plus a lower saloon, with a huge cinema screen and top end concealed sound system. Quarters for up to 10 crew are provided in five cabins forward. This area has its own access from the foredeck, while guest areas can also be reached from the galley.

What does Whitely like most about the accommodation? “The relaxed feel and the balance between the classic and the contemporary, it really works. I also like the owner’s suite a lot: it’s a fantastic living space.”

The owner’s suite includes private aft deckhouse

Aquarius is the latest addition to a very distinguished lineage of modern classics produced in the past decade by a collaboration between Dykstra and Royal Huisman, including Kamixitha , Meteor and Pumula .

It’s a stunningly successful partnership that, with Aquarius , has produced another beautiful new superyacht that combines the ultimate in elegance with superlative comfort, style and performance.

Specification

LOA: 56.18m (184ft 4in) LWL: 41.17m (135ft 1in) Beam: 9.51m (31ft 2in) Draught: 4.80m (15ft 9in) Displacement: 264 tonnes Mainsail: 520m2 (5,597ft2) Mizzen: 440m2 (4,736ft2) Blade: 430m2 (4,628ft2) Air draught: 58.50m (192ft 11in) Spars: Rondal carbon with Rondal/Carbo-Link continuous standing rigging

First published in the July 2019 issue of Supersail World.

PROJECT 408 UNVEILED AS 65m AQUARIUS II

It is a great compliment when owners value the experience of their yacht so highly that the only material change they want is to build a larger version, with exactly the same team. Yet that is the story behind the decision of the experienced husband and wife owners of the world cruising ketch AQUARIUS (56m / 186ft, Royal Huisman, 2018) to create a stunning new 65m / 212ft ‘big sister’, AQUARIUS II.

The team (described by an independent commentator as “some of the most experienced and talented brains in the superyacht world”) comprises owners’ project manager Godfrey Cray, Dykstra Naval Architects, interior designer Mark Whiteley and superyacht builder Royal Huisman.

AQUARIUS at the St. Barths Bucket Regatta: ‘close to perfect’

The owners’ brief retains a strong emphasis on performance. AQUARIUS II will feature a state-of-the-art carbon rig and integrated sail handling from Rondal, structured luff sails, and a retractable keel for optimal stability under racing conditions. AQUARIUS was first in class at her St. Barths Regatta debut in 2019 and will be showing her pace once again this March. Hence the comment “After all, I want to keep winning Bucket races!” from her owner.

It is equally important for her owners to retain the elegance and family comfort of AQUARIUS, with her exquisite and timeless exterior styling, classic interior and harmonious layout – all to be enhanced in AQUARIUS II by significant additional space and volume to optimize a luxurious yet understated lifestyle.

“AQUARIUS has proved to be an exciting sailboat,” commented her owners, “and she sails gracefully and powerfully. Her layout has exceeded expectations, with ample opportunities for both privacy and socializing. She is a ship for everyone.”

Family enjoyment onboard AQUARIUS: one of many features that answer that role is the mid-deck lounge area with sun canopy, easily set up when at anchor.

AQUARIUS II will feature Royal Huisman’s industry-leading hybrid technologies for power generation and management. The benefits include ‘peak-shaving’ for optimum energy efficiency and flexible power generation.

The Royal Huisman team always takes it as high praise when clients – such as AQUARIUS’ owners – come to us for a repeat project or, equally, recommend us to friends, family or associates. We have been fortunate to receive this compliment on a regular basis over the years.

Design and engineering preparations for AQUARIUS II are now well advanced, with construction of the Alustar® aluminum hull and superstructures scheduled to commence this summer. Delivery is scheduled for 2024.

Royal Huisman CEO Jan Timmerman concludes: “We are very honored with the trust the owners of AQUARIUS have in Royal Huisman. The talented team is very motivated and delighted to be working on such a prestigious project.

Regular repeat orders and referrals are no coincidence. They show we must be doing something right. In truth, we need to get many things right to earn such confidence but that doesn’t mean we never get a thing wrong. The key factor is the effort we put into solving problems and learning from them. Clients give us different reasons for their repeat orders, but among the most regularly mentioned is client focus. This includes dedication to building what the client wants, with the greatest attention to the detail; high standards of customer service before, during and after the build experience; and a flexible, can-do approach to design, engineering and production, that drives innovation to resolve complex challenges and fulfil the owners’ dream.

As a result, we are able to consistently realize individually defined, highly regarded and reliable custom superyachts. And that translates into satisfied clients. None of this is easy. But it does give our team immense joy and satisfaction, especially when they have the privilege to realize a dream such as AQUARIUS II.”

Below: AQUARIUS truly defines what it means to be a ‘modern classic’: a stunning yacht of rare beauty, combining classic hull lines with a powerful modern rig and a clean, contemporary chic above and below decks. AQUARIUS is ‘close to perfect’: her owners simply want a larger yacht – and even more impressive performance.

Main specifications of AQUARIUS II

Shipyard project number: Project 408 | type: Performance Ketch | length: 65m / 212ft | owners’ project manager: Godfrey Cray | naval architecture + exterior styling: Dykstra Naval Architects | interior design: Mark Whiteley Design | construction: Alustar® aluminum | rig + handling: Rondal carbon rig + Integrated Sailing System | builder: Royal Huisman

The English press release with editor’s notes can be found via the following link  (opens in a new tab).

Various design mockups of AQUARIUS (I) months ahead of the start of the actual production: getting it right. Virtual reality can be very realistic as well, but ergonomics, interactions and a “physical live” experience cannot be 100% imitated with a Virtual Reality (VR) headset or a digital 3D-model. Curious to see and learn more? Please find the article “Design mockups” at this website: News > Inhuis stories & updates [ link ]

The core owners’ brief for AQUARIUS remains essentially intact for AQUARIUS II. The owners sought to create a stunning looking yacht, with a classic profile, for family enjoyment. The yacht should have favorable sea keeping characteristics that are ideal for world cruising as well as standing her in good stead for the occasional Bucket regatta. This should be:

“a modern classical yacht with a clean, uncomplicated look. Not a pirate ship but a modern, fashionable and chic looking yacht with performance, reliability and quality – a sailor’s yacht.”

The success of the project can be judged by these additional owners’ comments:

“We set out to build an elegant, muscular sailboat and the shipyard and the design team delivered a yacht that is both of those things and more. The build experience at Royal Huisman was a good one. The boat has exceeded our expectations and we are thrilled with what the shipyard built.”

“AQUARIUS is a joy to sail and a joy to live on and her collection of features makes her a perfect boat for our needs. It is a dream come true to own a boat like this, and to look at her and sail her with such a strong sense of accomplishment and appreciation.”

Curious to see and learn more of AQUARIUS? Please visit royalhuisman.com/aquarius [link]

St. Barths Bucket Regatta 2022

More and more superyacht owners have come to recognize that the thrill of the regatta circuit coupled with the relaxed social ambiance they can enjoy ashore with fellow owners, guests and crew at a regatta makes the perfect complement to their ocean cruising itineraries. The entry list for this year’s edition of the upcoming St. Barths Bucket Regatta – from 17 to 20 March – contains over thirty yachts of which seven are delivered by Royal Huisman including AQUARIUS. Curious to see and learn more? Please find the article “St. Barths Bucket Regattas: in pictures” at this website: news > inhuis [ link ]  

Behind The Scenes Of The Impressive 184ft Ketch Aquarius by Royal Huisman

With naval architecture by Dykstra Naval Architects and interior design from Mark Whiteley Design , Aquarius is an impressive modern classic 56m / 184ft ketch realised by Royal Huisman .

This yacht combines classic hull lines with a powerful modern rig and a contemporary elegance.

The design and naval architecture of Aquarius was undertaken by Dykstra Naval Architects, who have been responsible for many famous modern classic yachts, including the Royal Huisman-built Meteor, Pumula and Kamaxitha.

The Aquarius project was led by senior designer Erik Wassen who answers questions from Royal Huisman’s independent interviewer.

Dykstra Naval Architects already has an impressive portfolio of modern classic yacht designs. What were the elements of this new brief that excited you?

The owners are adventurous, committed to serious world cruising and exploration with their family and guests, rather than just the well-trodden Med and Caribbean circuit.

They certainly wanted a beautiful yacht but the elements of security, good sea-keeping and comfort unquestionably dominated our thinking.

We needed to provide good performance for long passages but also ease of handling, so that it really is possible to get set up and sail off an anchorage in well under an hour, sail for a couple of hours and still enjoy an afternoon of relaxation or watersports.

Was the brief influenced by any specific yachts that the clients admired?

No particular yacht but the owners have much experience onboard superyachts and so were able to refer to a wide range of looks and features of various yachts including some Royal Huisman classics which they either admired, or alternatively felt did not fit in with their individual vision for the project

We were given a very clear brief and, on the basis of that, I made a sketch proposal and the owners went for it straight away.

While this captured the visual essence of the yacht we wanted to build, it was, of course, just the beginning of a longer term process of detailed refinement and development between the owners, ourselves and the rest of the team. The use of life-size mock-ups made a major contribution to that process.

What about the evolution of the deck layout, styling and features? It seems to have a different feel to some of the earlier Dykstra modern classics built at Royal Huisman.

Certainly different to Meteor, which has quite a lot happening on deck, but not so different from Kamaxitha, where the brief also emphasised the importance of uncluttered deck space.

Aquarius’ owners were very focused on this issue – as we were too. Some of those earlier designs, such as Meteor, have bulwarks and you can hide quite a lot of deck features and fittings behind bulwarks.

The elegant lines we had drawn for Aquarius demanded no more than a foot rail and the owners, who are very good at visualisation, immediately understood that you can’t hide anything behind a foot rail so we’d better keep it clean! And we did.

Has the finished yacht lived up to your own, as well as the clients’ expectations?

Undoubtedly everyone is delighted by her looks and she has been widely admired during her extensive cruising since her delivery early 2018. Sailing comfort is excellent and she sails beautifully.

My own experience so far has been in relatively light airs so I have yet to see the performance she should be capable of but I hear she performed well returning across the Atlantic earlier this year.

Her large sail plan is designed to optimise light airs performance so some reduction in sail area is required relatively early on as the wind increases.

Her mizzen is very powerful so that is normally reefed first, down to two reefs, before taking a first reef in the main. The flexibility of the sail plan then obviously provides lots of options on where you go from there.

Like any new yacht it will take a little time for the crew to learn how to get the best out of her but we’re expecting they’ll have her going full blast by the time she competes at St Barths next year.

Optimising amenities, comfort, performance and seakeeping in a relatively low volume hull must create challenges. How did you address these?

We have prioritised cruising comfort, security and sea-keeping over regatta competitiveness. The owner is keen to try racing but not at the expense of Aquarius’ absolute fitness for long distance cruising and exploration.

However, we always kept it in mind that we wanted to create a light, easily driven boat.

The space planning on every sailing superyacht, irrespective of its length, produces headaches. And when you have a slender hull with long overhangs the challenges are that much greater than for a wider-beamed contemporary yacht of the same length with a high freeboard and little or no overhangs.

Storage space is the biggest problem – spares, provisions, deck cushions and awnings, ship’s toys, lines and fenders, the list is endless but the space is finite.

It was an intensive task to apply the slide rule to every dimension throughout with the aim of saving even a few millimetres here and there but the effort has been well worth it: we have the boat we wanted.

The full scale mock-ups were especially helpful in this respect, as well as in ensuring the layout and ‘feel’ worked as well as intended.

With world family cruising in mind, how did the need for reliability affect your thinking?

The majority of our thinking pointed to the use of existing and proven technology rather than anything experimental.

For example, the use of Rondal captive reel winches because they have been so well proven over time. Sometimes there are trade-offs concerning the balance of risks.

A good example here is the decision to use halyard locks, which we see as almost obligatory on a boat of this size.

We know they can fail (though they are pretty reliable) but the alternative would have been to upscale the winches, increase halyard loads and weight and accept other systems implications. Halyard locks are simply the more reliable option.

Our general principle is that you don’t compromise reliability if you don’t have to; and where gear failure is even a possibility, you carefully manage and minimise any potential impact.

A further example of our thinking has been the fixed keel. It’s true that a lifting keel can enhance performance and offer greater access.

But a fixed keel offers peace of mind and, at 4.8m / 15.7ft (about the same as a J Class) will still get you into St Barths.

  Can you tell us more about your overall approach to the rig design?

It was very good to have the sailmaker [ed. Doyle NZ] and rig maker [ed. Rondal] involved in the early stages as well as the other contributors.

Naturally each supplier has a particular perspective and each of those perspectives can have both positive and negative impacts for the others.

An obvious example is that, by transferring excessive loads from one element of the rig, you can place much greater loads on another. All of this calls for compromises and an agreement on where and how loads should be focused.

There was a lot of discussion over how high you can point with a Code sail. The speed of a yacht of this size means you experience high apparent wind angles, upwind sailing a lot of the time.

A beam reach with a 90 degrees True Wind Angle will result in something like a 45 degrees Apparent Wind Angle, with extremely high leech loads in consequence.

It was great to call upon so much experience – including that of the clients’ Project Manager Godfrey ‘Goddy’ Cray – in arriving at well-informed decisions on these issues.

Did Aquarius’ large sail plan call for any trade-off between crew size and sail handling systems?

When cruising, you generally have adequate time for planning sail changes before making them – sudden squalls of course being an exception. So there is really no issue about crew capacity while cruising, so long as everything is well planned.

It also has to be remembered that crew size on a yacht like Aquarius is driven as much by hotel management requirements as sailing operations – by no means all crew can be involved in deck roles.

Given our quest for simplicity, we decided against square-top sails. The new technology for furling a square-top sail has certainly been successfully proven by Royal Huisman but a retractable batten mechanism would still have added an extra element that we did not absolutely need.

What are your thoughts on the value of Royal Huisman’s ‘concept design’ and ‘engineering by 3D’ in optimising your designs? Did the benefits of these preparations repay the time invested?

This is really Royal Huisman’s strong point – they put in hugely detailed efforts to ensure you can fit in all of the systems, right from the start.

Which means that, when we get into the practical detail of the accommodation and amenities both above and below decks, we know exactly what we have to play with and that it will work.

There is, of course, a time and cost component to this and we are very interested in the Concurrent Design method now being developed by Royal Huisman on their latest 81m / 266ft project which has the potential to further streamline the delivery of these benefits.

This would work hand in hand with the enhanced 3-D design software now becoming available in our studio, enabling easier and faster 3-D modelling than in the past.

Do you feel the build relationship delivered ‘added value’? If so, can you give some examples?

Yes, without doubt. Royal Huisman and Dykstra Naval Architects know each other well. There is mutual understanding of how we each operate and the Dykstra team know very well what the shipyard needs from them.

From a communications point of view, there are clear advantages for Royal Huisman in the proximity of the spar-making team at Rondal, providing a high level of co-operation and shared experience.

There is self-evident value in a shipyard that can bring a high level of quality to most of the build disciplines from under one roof, and superb quality is certainly achieved.

From our point of view it is generally helpful to have access to all these disciplines on one visit, although there are, occasionally, too many voices on any given issue and we are pleased that the new Concurrent Design method will help to address this.

A clear advantage of Royal Huisman’s model is that it provides a firm foundation for really outstanding support and service post-delivery. The people who built the boat – across the disciplines – are there to follow through well into the future, which may not be so easy if work is sub-contracted.

From your perspective, what do you see as the latest emerging trends in sailing superyachts?

There is a growing divide between, on the one hand, very large sailing yachts of 70-80m / 230-262ft and smaller performance yachts under 45m / 147ft such as the series / semi-custom yachts of Swan, Wally, Baltic and Southern Winds as well as full custom.

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AQUARIUS a Royal Huisman Superyacht

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With launch in 2017, superyacht Aquarius is an elegant and classic-looking 56-metre ketch, constructed by the premier Dutch shipyard, Royal Huisman. Ideal for worldwide cruising, luxury sailing yacht Aquarius features both naval architecture as well as exterior design by Dykstra Naval Architects. Her stylish interiors are by Mark Whiteley Design.

AQUARIUS Specifications

Royal Huisman luxury yacht Aquarius features striking interiors with beautiful raised and fielded white painted paneling trimmed with an elegant, but simple profile of fine varnished timber. She provides lovely and comfortable accommodation in 4 magnificent cabins, including a split-level master cabin, with an abundance of natural light, a private deck house and cockpit. The accommodation also includes a large deck salon, three en-suite guest cabins, a media room and even a dedicated fully equipped gym. One cabin serves as a bunk-room with twin beds that can convert to a Queen double with a set of Pullman berths above. The gymnasium also has an optional Pullman fitted.

Boasting a sleek, low profile dark blue hull, super yacht Aquarius also features acres of uncluttered teak decking, a 6,2m (20') jet drive tender, large 3m (10') side boarding platform, twin helms socially connected to the large shaded main cockpit, as well as numerous water toys, including a Laser, kayaks, windsurfs and bicycles.

Yacht Accommodation

Accommodation aboard Aquarius yacht is provided in 4 elegant and stylish cabins, including a generous master cabin and three guest cabins. One cabin serves as a bunk-room with twin beds that can convert to a Queen double with a set of Pullman berths above. The gymnasium also has an optional Pullman fitted.

Amenities and Extras

Super yacht Aquarius boasts a wide range of water toys, including a Laser, kayaks, windsurfs and bicycles.

AQUARIUS Disclaimer:

The luxury yacht AQUARIUS displayed on this page is merely informational and she is not necessarily available for yacht charter or for sale, nor is she represented or marketed in anyway by CharterWorld. This web page and the superyacht information contained herein is not contractual. All yacht specifications and informations are displayed in good faith but CharterWorld does not warrant or assume any legal liability or responsibility for the current accuracy, completeness, validity, or usefulness of any superyacht information and/or images displayed. All boat information is subject to change without prior notice and may not be current.

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"Royal Huisman is an extraordinary blend of 21st century technology and innovation, traditional craftsmanship and timeless values. The combining factor between employees, the yard as well as customers? They are perfectionists." - Royal Huisman, Holland

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AQUARIUS Yacht – Awesome $200M Superyacht

AQUARIUS yacht was built in 2016 by Feadship shipyard in Aalsmeer, Netherlands.

With her length of 92 m (302 ft), AQUARIUS is ranked in 73rd place on the list of longest motor yachts in the world. Currently, she sails under the flag of the Cayman Islands .

AQUARIUS yacht interior

The interior of AQUARIUS was designed by Dutch design firm Sinot Exclusive Yacht Design based in Amsterdam.

The yacht offers a spacious living area, a cinema, a beautiful spa, a gym with incredible sea views, and a sizeable beach club.

The elevator allows guests to move more seamlessly from deck to deck. The master suite features a spacious dressing room as well as a his-and-hers bathroom.

The other six luxuriously designed VIP cabins can accommodate an additional twelve guests.

A crew of up to 30 members takes care of the guests’ well-being while they are on board the luxury yacht.

Specifications

With a beam of 13.50 meters (44.3 ft), a length of 92 meters (302 ft), and a draft of 4 meters (13.1 ft), AQUARIUS has a weight of almost 2,900 gross tons.

Her immense superstructure is made of aluminum, and her decks are constructed in classic teak.

The two MTU M63L diesel engines each produce 3,000 hp and allow her to reach top speeds of 17 knots.

Her fuel tank holds 275,800 liters of diesel and, at a cruising speed of 12 knots, her total reach lies close to 5,500 nautical miles. 

Like her interior, the exterior of the AQUARIUS yacht was also designed by the Dutch design firm Sinot Exclusive Yacht Design.

She has a helipad on the foredeck, a hot tub on the upper sundeck, and a large pool on the aft deck.

She also carries two tenders and plenty of water toys for guests to enjoy. In addition to a large swim platform, the crew can also set up various water slides if required.

Of course, the luxury yacht has a variety of jet skis, kayaks, snorkeling equipment, and water skis on board. 

The purchase price of the AQUARIUS yacht was US $200 million, and she is currently also available for charter for US $1.5 million per week.

In winter, she is mostly underway in the Caribbean, and in the summer months in the Mediterranean. 

Aquarius Yacht in Gibraltar

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Palm Beach International Boat Show returns to West Palm Beach waterfront

The Palm Beach International Boat Show returns this week with more nearly 1,000 vessels on display, including super yachts from around the world.

Tickets are on sale now for the show that runs March 21-24 along the West Palm Beach waterfront.

The show, which started in 1982, has grown to a major economic engine for the community, with last year's impact estimated at $1.05 billion statewide — nearly as much as the $1.3 billion Miami International Boat Show, said Alyssa Freeman, executive director of the Marine Industries Association of Palm Beach County, which owns the boat show.

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"Palm Beach is really not that far behind Miami, and Miami is the biggest in the world," Freeman said. "That was really exciting."

This year's boat show features an expanded Super Yacht Show at Palm Harbor Marina, showcasing yachts that typically stretch longer than 80 feet and have a variety of luxurious amenities that include hot tubs, crew quarters, dance floors and sun decks.

"We have more super yachts there than we ever have before, and they're even bigger," Freeman said, noting that at 236 feet, the vessel Casino Royale takes the title of largest yacht at this year's show. The title of "most expensive yacht" goes to Come Together, a 196-foot vessel priced at $59.95 million.

"Everybody, when they think about super yachts, they think about Monaco and Miami, but Palm Beach is a real player in these boat shows and the yachting world," Freeman said.

Exhibitors continue to be drawn to the Palm Beach International Boat Show by the opportunity for high sales year after year when compared with other South Florida boat shows, she said.

"I've heard from several of them, this is their favorite show to attend," Freeman said, "And that's why, because their sales are higher at Palm Beach."

The show continues to make headway in improving its sustainability efforts, she said. After reducing single-use plastics, a major change this year is the addition of water bottle refilling stations throughout the show, Freeman said.

"I think that's exciting because everybody's talking about sustainability and how we can be more sustainable," she said. "Every year, we take little steps to be more sustainable."

Freeman said she is excited for this year's AquaZone presented by Nautical Ventures. The attraction showcases some of the "yacht toys" that are new or popular on the market.

"It's so cool, because there are people actually in the water demoing yacht toys, and it's usually the latest and greatest," she said. "There's always something new every year that we've never seen before."

The Palm Beach International Boat Show also features a range of seminars, demonstrations and discussions throughout the weekend, including mental health in yachting, tips to boat to the Bahamas, safe boating to protect sea turtles and how to address active threats and piracy.

Freeman, who has children, said she loves the Kids Fishing Clinics scheduled for noon and 2 p.m. Saturday and Sunday with captain Don Dingman.

"Captain Don has been doing this for years, and he does a fantastic job," Freeman said. "The kids actually get to go home with a free rod and reel once the clinic is over."

The association produces the Palm Beach International Boat Show with Informa Markets' U.S. Boat Shows division.

"As we gear up for the 2024 Palm Beach International Boat Show, we are excited for our return to Downtown West Palm Beach to celebrate the rich history of this esteemed event," Andrew Doole, president of U.S. Boat Shows at Informa Markets, said in a news release. "Each year, we’re grateful for the warm welcome and support from the community, which truly makes this event a highlight on the calendar for both residents and visitors alike."

Informa also produces the Palm Beach Modern + Contemporary art show happening March 21-24, at the Palm Beach County Convention Center. A Windward VIP ticket to the boat show includes admission to the art show as well.

In addition to serving as a cornerstone festival of spring in West Palm Beach, the boat show launched the Palm Beach International Boat Show Gives Back program to provide hundreds of thousands of dollars in contributions to local nonprofits, Freeman said.

The grant program had a soft launch last year and formalized the boat show's four-decade practice of giving back to the community, Freeman said.

"We're really excited about it," said Freeman, who added that the boat show team is working with the Community Foundation to manage the grant program, which they hope to grow. "That's something that's a super high priority for us."

Money raised through a portion of the boat show's ticket sales, optional add-ons and some related activities goes toward the fund.

The boat show in February announced that the first round of grants totaling $500,000 would go to 25 nonprofits that have marine-related programs or projects, including Florida Fishing Academy, Loggerhead Marinelife Center, Florida Atlantic University, Inlet Grove High School, Palm Beach State College, Sea Turtle Adventures and Friends of Manatee Lagoon.

"We're hoping one day we'll be able to say that it's a million dollars," she said. "So fingers crossed. It relies on the success of the boat show and the support of the community. With that, we will continue to grow."

What: Palm Beach International Boat Show.

When: Noon to 7 p.m. March 21, 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. March 22 and 23, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. March 24.

Where: West Palm Beach waterfront.

Cost: General admission is free for ages 6 and younger with purchase of an adult ticket, $17 for a one-day ticket for ages 6-15, $33 for a one-day ticket for ages 16 and older, and $60 for a two-day adult ticket. VIP experiences start at $390 for a Windward single-day ticket.

Information: pbboatshow.com

Kristina Webb is a reporter for Palm Beach Daily News, part of the USA TODAY Florida Network. You can reach her at  [email protected] .  Subscribe today  to support our journalism.

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The Aquarius

The Aquarius is a custom sailing yacht launched in 1990 by Perini Navi.

Credited with a combination of technical brilliance and first class design, Perini Navi has always been in a class of its own. In 1982, unable to find a yacht suited to his personal concepts and ideas, Fabio Perini designed and built the first prototype of what would prove to be the most successful series of large sailing yachts in the world.

The Aquarius measures 47.00 metres in length, with a max draft of 7.00 metres and a beam of 9.20 metres.

The Aquarius has a steel hull with an aluminium superstructure.

Her interior design is by Perini Navi.

The Aquarius also features naval architecture by Perini Navi.

Performance and Capabilities

The Aquarius has a top speed of 13.5 knots. She is powered by a twin screw propulsion system.

The Aquarius has a fuel capacity of 41,100 litres, and a water capacity of 10,100 litres.

She also has a range of 5,000 nautical miles.

Accommodation

The Aquarius accommodates up to 10 guests . She also houses room for up to 8 crew members.

Other Specifications

The Aquarius has a hull NB of 8806.

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