In June 2015 it was announced that yet another superyacht with a name inspired by a James Bond movie would be built, the 66-meter Spectre. Commissioned by American businessman, John Staluppi, the superyacht is set to become his 7th yacht.
Active in the automobile industry since the 1950s, Staluppi is best known for building the fastest yacht on Earth, the 40-meter The World is Not Enough along with the rest of his Bond fleet that keeps growing in length.
Moving up from an 18-meter Viking boat, Staluppi commissioned the 36-meter For Your Eyes Only from Denison as his first yacht. The semi-displacement yacht was eventually launched in 1985 and became the first motor yacht to have a combination of MTU engines with water-jets in the US, which allowed it to reach a top speed of 30 knots.
In the late eighties, For Your Eyes Only hit a sandbar which led to her taking in water from a crack in the engine room. The yacht was eventually salvaged, refitted and renamed with some speculating that the following alleged legal actions, combined with the sinking of two other Denisons within a short amount of time, led to the bankruptcy of the US shipyard.
In 1988, Octopussy was launched as Staluppi's second yacht in a successful attempt to build the fastest yacht in the world. A defining moment for Heesen Yachts, Octopussy had to reach 50 knots in order for Staluppi to take ownership of the boat, which it ultimately did, reaching a top speed of 53 knots. Staluppi eventually sold the 44-meter yacht after having used her for close to a year in and a half, which allowed him to start working on his next project, Moonraker.
A fast cruising trideck, Octopussy now features an interior by Art Line. Fully refitted by her current owners in 2015, the 44-meter now has a sundeck with a Jacuzzi and raised sun pads. On the upper deck, she features a sky lounge and her sporty bridge along with two dinning tables to her aft.
Down on her main deck is the yacht's main lounge with a myriad of seating areas, tall windows, a bar area and a TV screen that slides out amidst ship. Towards the yacht's aft is a dinning table for 12 guests that can be either opened up in good weather or closed down with glass panels. Forward of the deck is the main cabin with four additional guest cabins on the lower deck. The yacht's current owner's are selling it at $4,995,000.
By the time Octopussy was sold, HH the Aga Khan, was building a yacht to overtake the crown of the world's fastest yacht. Staluppi therefore set out to build an even faster one and the 36-meter Moonraker was eventually delivered in 1992 by Norship with a design done by Dutch-based Mulder.
In 1998, Staluppi set up his own business in yachting, Millenium Superyachts that was to handle his project in the superyacht industry. In 2004, the newly created label delivered The World Is Not Enough, a 40-meter yacht with 20,600hp that could reach a top speed of 70 knots but couldn't steer past 66 knots according to the owner.
In October 2007, Staluppi acquired a project in-build from Henry Luken, co-owner of Christensen Shipyards. In 2008, the 49.6-meter Casino Royale which can cruise at a more regular speed of 12 knots, was delivered to her new owner. Built out of composite, the full displacement yacht came in at just under 500GT. It was later listed for sale in December 2008 and sold in April 2009 to Californian businessman, David McDonald.
Built with a more traditional, American audience in mind, Casino Royale features a straightforward layout with a full-beam master cabin forward of the main deck, 2 guest, 2 twin and one VIP cabin on the lower deck. With two tenders and three jet skis carried onboard, Casino Royale features a lounge on the main deck and a sky lounge as well.
In July 2009, Staluppi acquired Midlandia, a 52-meter Benetti with an asking price of €19,950,000, which he renamed to Quantum of Solace and extensively refitted. In August 2009, he listed the boat for sale again at an asking price of $24,995,000 and eventually sold it, two years later, in July 2011.
Designed with Italian roots at its heart, Quantum of Solace has a layout more typical of yachts found in the Mediterranean. Its main tender is brought into a tender garage aft of the lower deck, with a foldable platform for swimming. This clears out the sundeck for lounging, sunbathing, casual dinning and leaves enough space up there for a Jacuzzi.
In a configuration that has proven popular for charters, Quantum of Solace's main deck features a main salon and dinning room with an outdoor lounging area towards the aft. Up on the second deck is a large sky lounge with a playing table, bar area, lounging area and large outdoor dinning table.
In November 2011, Diamonds are Forever was launched for Staluppi who had acquired the yacht whilst in-built, 18 months prior to its delivery. Throughout the construction project, Staluppi made several substantial improvements including the addition of an extra top deck.
Originally intended to be chartered out by its owners, Diamonds are Forever was listed for sale in August 2012, asking $63 million. In October 2012, her asking price was reduced to $59.5 million and she was eventually sold in December 2013.
With a number of features mirroring the Quantum of Solace, such as the large bar area in the sky lounge, Diamonds are Forever became a refined version of Staluppi's previous builds. The main attribute that set the yacht apart from other Benetti's of her size is the addition of a fifth deck to act as a sunbathing area, creating a second master cabin on the upper deck and pushing the bridge up to the third deck.
Born in Brooklyn in 1947, Staluppi started as a mechanic at 16 years old with a life long passion for cars during the golden era of automobiles. His first business became a Sunoco station, which he established thanks to a loan that his father took on.
After establishing a chain of gas stations, Staluppi risked bringing on an unknown car manufacturer at the time to the American market, which is now known as Honda. After 10 years, Staluppi established 20 dealerships of Honda cars in the United States. After Honda, Staluppi established a network of dealerships of Hyundai cars.
An avid collector of cars, Staluppi had established a museum around cars from all eras and an extensive personal collection. In 2012, these cars were put up for auction by RM Sotheby's in Palm Beach and generated over $11,5 million in sales revenue.
"John Staluppi is larger than life and well known in the collector-car hobby. His collection reflects a very precise collecting philosophy, focused on securing only the very best." said Donnie Gould of RM Auctions at the time of the auction.
Commissioned in July 2015, Spectre will become Staluppi's seventh superyacht named after a James Bond film and will also be designed by Mulder.
Rodriguez Design Studio in collaboration with Spanish shipyard Atollvic has presented a new 55-metre aluminium superyacht concept named Project Saona.The exterior design of Project Saona has been described as sporty yet elegant, featuring a sharp and aggressive bow. The vessel is fitted with an oversized swim platform, beach club and foldable balconies for maximised access to the sea. Dedicated tender storage spacious enough to house a Williams Dieseljet 625 tender and jet skis sits forward of the beach club. The latter is also equipped with a day head and storage for diving equipment.Other features on-board comprise a private owner’s terrace on the upper deck, large sunpads on the main deck and a large saloon flooded with natural light. A Jacuzzi with a sunpad would sit on the foredeck, shaded by carbon fibre awnings.Project Saona would offer accommodation to up to 10 guests across five cabins, including a 60-square-metre master suite. Other cabins lay on the lower deck, with two full-beam VIPs and two doubles.Propelled by two MTU 20V 4000 M93L, the yacht will be capable of a top speed of 22 knots and a range of 4,500 nautical miles at 12 knots. The studio’s founder Josh Rodriguez believes, that with her draught of only 2.1 metres, Project Soana would come out as an ideal yacht for Bahamas.
June 26, 2019
The first Venice Boat Show took place from June 18 to June 23, proving to be a reference for the world of recreational boating, strong of its dual commercial and cultural nature. The show reportedly received over 27,000 visitors.The objectives of the premises, summarised as “The Naval Art Back to Home”, were achieved. According to the organisers, the atmosphere amazed visitors, with multiple dedicated activities. During the Salone, 43 meetings were held to discuss all aspects of navigation: from the environment to sustainability and yacht design, accompanied by 8 exhibitions on the themes of boating, sea and transport.The Mayor of the city Luigi Brugnaro declared: Venice has returned as the queen of the seas in the widest cultural sense. <…> As a municipal administration, we have already financed the Salone for two more years. The goal we have set, is that the event becomes a fixed appointment and we have already started to collect registrations for the next edition. We want to have the whole supply chain, from small boats to big ones. During the show, the Ferretti Group deployed the Arsenal for the inaugural party of the 50-metre Riva flagship “Race” and for the world premiere of the motoryacht Custom Line 106.In future, the venue aims to respond to the needs of the shipyards that have their production units in the Adriatic and to those who sail along the tourist corridor that leads from Venice to Istanbul via Croatia, Montenegro, Albania, Greece.
June 26, 2019
Legendary heavyweight boxing champion Wladimir Klitschko and his family were rescued by the coastguards after the superyacht they were on-board had caught fire. The incident took place in the early hours of Monday about 11km off the coast of Mallorca, Spain.The Ukrainian sportsmen who had retired in 2017, tweeted a video of the rescue operation. The video depicts firefighters aboard the yacht, covered with firefighting foam. Fortunately, no one got hurt, stated Klitchko.Klitschko could be heard saying in the video:It's 3 in the morning. We're in the sea getting rescued from the Mallorcan/Spanish fire department. The boat was on fire, we're hanging out outside."Be careful what you wish for: fate took my wish for “some #adrenalin” a bit too literally and our boat-trip Sunday night ended up in our boat #igniting and family & friends being evacuated by coast guard and fire rescue-team. No worries: we are all fine!" - he wrote.According to German media Spiegel, the damaged vessel could have been a 28.14-metre Sunseeker yacht UM7.Palma's Maritime Rescue spokesman Miguel Chicon told CNN, the yacht's crew asked for urgent assistance once the incident occured. A coastguard rescue boat was sent for help and, once the fire was gone, they towed the damaged vessel to Port Adriano. However, during the towing further smoke came out from the engine room, forcing the crew to evacuate the passengers.The Maritime Rescue Service confirmed they evacuated nine people following the fire in the boat's engine room. No medical assistance was needed for the yacht's occupants, Miguel Chicon said.Klitschko, aged 43, was the world's most dominant heavyweight for a decade, reeling off 20 straight title bout wins. He retained his heavyweight title for over nine years, winning 64 out of his 69 fights. His last match took place in April 2017, finished with a knockout defeat by his rival Anthony Joshua.
June 26, 2019
Cristiano Ronaldo, a living legend of the football world and one of the highest-paid athletes ever, has shared pictures of his family holidays aboard a 47-metre Benetti superyacht Africa in the French Riviera. The photos were posted on the social media accounts of an athlete, whose yearly earnings were estimated at $109 million (Forbes). Africa is Benetti's FB501 hull, launched in Italy in 2010 and christened Imagination by her original owner. Two years later, she was put on the market through Camper & Nicholsons asking € 22,000,000. After price reduction up to €16,500,000, the yacht was sold through Camper in 2014 and renamed Africa. In 2016, she was listed for sale once again, with the deal closed in January 2018 at the asking price of € 16,750,000. The ownership meanwhile has not been officially confirmed. With a beam of 8.5 metres and a draft of 2.8 metres, the yacht boasts interior volume of of 492 GT. Built to an aluminium hull and aluminium superstructure, Africa features exteriors by Stefano Natucci and interiors by Francois Zuretti.The motor yacht can accommodate up to 12 guests across 6 cabins, including a master suite, four doubles and a twin cabin. As to the amenities on-board, Africa is fitted with a spacious Jacuzzi on the sun deck and a fully-equipped gym.According to The Sun, the yacht comes equipped with multiple water toys including two Seadoo RXP-X RS 300 Waverunners jet skis, one Seadoo 260 HP Waverunner jet ski, two F5S Seabobs, paddle board, wake board, and snorkelling equipment.Two MTU engines propel the yacht to a maximum speed of 24 knots and a cruising speed of 20 knots. Africa's maximum range is estimated at 3,400 nautical miles.
June 25, 2019
Benetti has announced the sale of the first superyacht to fly under Chinese flag, with a certificate issued by the China Classification Society. The 65-metre custom yacht FB270 continues the group’s success in the Asia Pacific area, following the recent sales of a Mediterraneo 116, Fast 125 and 50M custom yachts.Mr. Fu Buming, Port Administration Chief at the Department of Commerce of Hainan province, explains:Hainan is striving to become an international tourist centre, in accordance with the state’s general guidelines and requirements, in order to further develop the city as a first-class port tourism destination with a window to display world-class yachts and innovation within the global yachting industry.FB270 is a custom yacht with a steel hull and an aluminium superstructure. She features exteriors by Giorgio M. Cassetta in collaboration with Benetti in-house design team and Pierluigi Ausonio. The interiors present colourways reminiscent of the sea, beaches and tropical islands, with a design developed entirely in-house by Maria Rosa Remedi of the Benetti Interior Style Department.Some distinctive features on-board FB270 include the service bathrooms on every deck and a wealth of technical spaces and storage areas. Special care has been taken to separate crew flows from the guest areas to ensure maximum guest privacy.Peter Mahony, General Manager Benetti Yachts Asia, commented:The sale of FB270 shows that an evolution is taking place and that a market will adapt to its new environment if an open mind, hard work and can do attitude is shared by all parties involved.FB270 has been scheduled for delivery in the first half of 2021. Meanwhile, the sale represents more of an uncommon trend among the Chinese rich, who are keen to avoid buying private yachts. The same cannot be said for American customers, with just a recent order of a 67-metre superyacht from Benetti.
June 25, 2019