Hat-trick of wins for Dutch at World Superyacht Awards

The winners of the annual World Superyacht Awards are chosen by an independent jury of current and former superyacht owners, all of whom have a rich understanding of the ingenuity and innovation involved in the design, engineering and construction of the finest luxury yachts.

At 70 metres, Galactica Super Nova (winner of the ‘Semi-Displacement or Planing Motor Yachts 50m and Above’ category) is the largest Heesen built to date and features an impressive top speed of 30 knots. The judges were impressed by the way the yard had achieved the lightness of construction required for such a performance. Her build quality, appearance and high level of superb facilities were other reasons for Galactica Super Nova to be awarded a Neptune.

The Heesen Yachts directors were also called to the World Superyacht Award winners podium in the ‘Semi-Displacement or Planing Motor Yachts 40m to 49.9m’ category for the 45-metre Amore Mio. The judges admired the versatile way she blends a 30-knot performance with a 2,750 nm range at her 12-knot cruising speed. They were also impressed with how the owners’ brief for a ‘summer house on the sea’ was met with spacious outside areas and an interior layout that make intelligent use of every available square metre. Technical aspects such as the build quality, gyro-stabilisers and the push-button deployment of life preservers were also cited.

The judges in the ‘Displacement Motor Yachts Between 500GT and 1,499GT’ category chose the 70-metre Feadship Joy for her combination of dynamic looks, forward-thinking design and excellence of construction. They were excited by the complex construction work involved in creating Joy’s scalloped exterior surfaces, and the judges were particularly impressed with the manner in which all three aft decks can be enclosed with full-height sliding glass panels to increase the interior volume. Joy was also praised for her enviable blend of comfortable modernism and striking design along with her innovative active noise attenuation system.

In addition to Joy’s victory, the Dutch had three other nominees out of a total of six in the ‘Displacement motor yachts between 500GT and 1,299GT category’. The 55-metre Elixir is part of the Amels Limited Editions 180 range. Key features include an awesome spa pool on the sun deck, a cinema in the sky lounge and a beach club with sauna and dive centre. The much-admired Just J’s by Hakvoort Shipyard features a carefully considered balance of indoor and outdoor spaces within its 61 metres including a dedicated private owners’ deck. The third Dutch nominee was another Feadship, the 66.30-metre Vanish. Highlights include a freestanding staircase flanked by a glass wall over three decks, an ingenious extendable balcony for the owner’s stateroom and a highly innovative transom design.

Feadship also had a nominee in the ‘Semi-Displacement or Planing motor yachts – 30m to 33.9m’ category. The 33.50-metre plumb-bowed Kamino had the highest proportion of glass in any Feadship atthe time of her launch last year. This relatively small superyacht by Feadship standards was created for a repeat owner looking to explore shallow areas while retaining premium quality.

In the ‘Displacement motor yachts 1,300GT and above’ category, Amels just missed out on a prize for its 74-metre PLVS VLTRA, the first yacht in the Amels 242 Limited Editions range. Her accommodation includes a large owner’s suite on the upper deck and two main deck VIPs. Other features of note on PLVS VLTRA are a large main deck infinity pool and a touch-and-go superyacht helipad on the bridge deck.

Turning to the sailing yacht categories, members of the HISWA Holland Superyacht Group to reach the final nomination stage included Vitters and Oceanco. In the ‘Sailing Yachts – 30m to 39.9m’ category, the 33-metre Vitters build Missy is a lightweight high-performance world cruiser. Designed for a client who had performance cruising in mind, this brief resulted in Missy’s slim 7.5 metre beam, lifting keel and generous sail plan.

Vitters also featured as a nominee in the ‘Sailing Yachts – 40m and above’ category for its unique collaboration with Oceanco on the 85-metre AQUIJO. Despite her notable size – her 90-metre masts are two of the tallest in the world – AQUIJO is designed as a true performance sailing yacht. She also features a custom steering system that translates the hydrodynamic forces on the rudder blades directly to the steering wheels on the flybridge.

Another yacht originally built by Vitters, the 54.60-metre Adele, was given a World Superyacht Award-nominated refit by Royal Huisman. And Feadship De Voogt Naval Architects was also a nominee in the refit category for its engineering work on the 58.80 Minderella.