One of the last great private steamships of the 1920s has been put up for sale at a cool $70 million. Built by automobile magnate Horace Dodge in 1921 in order to outdo rival mogul J.P.Morgan’s Corsair, the 257-ft. SS Delphine was fitted out with an interior by Tiffany & Co. and every conceivable luxury a gentleman could wish for on the high seas. Constructed at the Great Lakes Engineering Works in Michigan, she was pressed into service during World War II as the flagship for Admiral Ernest Joseph King, Commander in Chief of the U.S. Navy, and Churchill and Roosevelt are said to have met aboard her prior to convening the Yalta Conference with Stalin in 1945.
After the war the Delphine was reacquired by the Dodge family and following many years of idleness eventually went to rack and ruin, seemingly destined for the scrapyard. However, a Belgian clothing tycoon rescued the ship before it was dismantled, and spent some $60 million returning it to its former glory, steam engines and all. Kitting it out with the latest technology was effected extremely unobtrusively, while original fixtures like the telegraph in the mahogany pilothouse remain. Along with accommodations for 26 guests and 28 crew members, there’s a music salon, cinema, fitness center, spa, sauna, smoking room and swimming pool. A little short on the $70 million at the moment? Not to worry, until she’s claimed by a new owner the Delphine can be chartered for a mere $90,000 per day.
© Copyright 2010 Duncan Quinn. All Rights Reserved.
Avant-garde Monegasque yachtbuilder Wally is known for producing some of the world’s most brilliantly styled and engineered motor and sailing boats. Back in September we told you about the two new sailing superyachts they launched at the Monaco Yacht Show. When not engaged in revolutionizing the yachting world, Wally’s design geniuses work on their other passion, skiing. Wally’s range of high-tech skis, made using the same carbon fiber technology the company developed for its yachts, now includes six different models for a range of expert skiing styles and conditions.
Wally skis are 30% lighter than conventional skis and combine exceptional grip on ice with high performance on powder. Designed for speed of course they’re made to make deep carving turns as well, keeping everything smooth as silk even at maximum velocity. The carbon fiber is accompanied by cores of ash and birch wood, titanium accents and steel edging. The models in the range are the Original, Tradition, Magic, Freewally, Minipowder and Wallypowder. At 176 cm long, the new Wallypowder is one of the widest skis ever produced and the only full carbon ski specifically developed for off-piste runs. We’ll meet you back on the yacht for drinks.
Italian shipyard Sanlorenzo has come out with one of the sleekest looking yachts we’ve ever seen, the new 40 Alloy. The 131-footer is their largest yacht to date as well as their first built in metal - aluminum to be specific – which is lighter than fiberglass or steel, meaning at that size it can still hit 28 knots. The metallic finish and sweet lines coupled with design flourishes including gullwing doors like the ones on an exotic sports car make this a yacht to be reckoned with. Four folding platforms create four exclusive lateral terraces on the main deck, two on the living area and two on the owner’s cabin, lowering large bulkheads on the sides.
Naval architect Francesco Paszkowski collaborated with UK-based John Winterbotham and Partners on the James Bond-worthy craft. A unique upper steering position does away with the conventional open flybridge to create a large sky lounge connecting it a large outdoor lounging area opening astern. The minimalist inside looks like Milan penthouse with walnut, lacquer and leather finishes and a striking steel, leather and glass main staircase. The owner’s cabin, occupying the full beam of the yacht, has a Turkish bath and hydro-massager. And it will only set you back $25 million.
Back in 1927 when Austrian Engelbert Frauscher founded his first shipyard, well-heeled gentlemen owned stylish boats that did double duty for ferrying the family around to picnics as well as a spot of chummy racing on the side; a sort of four-door Ferrari for the water, if you will. Now Frauscher, which continues the tradition of building classic, elegant motoryachts capable of kicking ass when the throttle’s down, has come out with the 717 GT, designed in homage to that time of earlier seagoing savoir faire.
The 23.5-ft. craft sells for $130,000 and features a long, elegant bow, shaft propulsion and an ample deck for relaxing between races. Unlike in ’27, you now have a choice of gas, diesel or even hybrid for the engine, with nothing sacrificed in the way of performance. A black hull and teak decking is the obvious choice but Frauscher will build you something more modern if you insist in customized hues, harking back to the day when well-heeled gentlemen had their own racing colors as well. Ah, if only this thing were fast enough to actually propel us back to the ‘20s.
These days, financier Morton F. Plant is best known as the bloke who traded his Fifth Avenue mansion to Cartier in 1917 for a hundred bucks and a pearl necklace (it seemed like a good idea at the time). An accomplished yachtsman, he was however more at home at sea, and in 1910 he commissioned the 137-foot Elena from Rhode Island yacht designer Herreshoff with the simple edict, “Build me a schooner that can win!” 17 years of doing just that followed, during which time the Elena was bought by Cornelius Vanderbilt, culminating in the yacht’s stunning victory in the 3,400 mile 1928 King’s Cup Trans-Atlantic Race from New York to Santander, Spain.
Now the Elena (above) has been completely rebuilt by Factoria Naval de Marin with help from the original hand-drawn plans donated by MIT. Historic images of the yacht were painstakingly studied to ensure that every detail was restored to perfection, from her towering mast and nearly 1,200 square meter sail plan to the wide teak deck and luxurious appointments. The Elena can accommodate 10 guests in Gilded Age luxury, with mahogany paneling throughout. The elegant, period correct fittings have been discreetly updated with modern technology. After a tune-up period, the Elena will make her debut at the Antigua Classics in April 2010 and will then be available for charter at a suitably atmospheric rate. We plan to start saving now.
Few names in the yachting world are as evocative of the Italian Riviera’s Dolce Vita style, sprezzatura-by-the-sea if you will, than Riva. The iconic motorboat maker, whose classic wooden craft were piloted about by the likes of Brigitte Bardot, Richard Burton, Sophia Loren, Aristotle Onassis and Prince Ranier of Monaco back in the ‘50s, still builds beautiful yachts based on the principles of elegant cruising, albeit now as modern as can be. Their newest creation, the 86’ Domino, just debuted at the Cannes Boat Show and almost immediately bagged the World Yachts Trophies Award for Best Design in the over 24 meter category.
With supermodel-sleek lines covered in new shade of Metallic Ice, the Domino calls to mind the Bond girl of that name – the one in Thunderball, not Never Say Never Again, of course. Highlights include a large sundeck complete with a dining area for six, living areas in the cockpit, an open sunbed, and air-conditioned upper gallery, as well as four comfortably furnished cabins including a master cabin with private en-suite bath. Her twin MTU engines kick down a cruising speed of 34 knots and a max. speed of 38 knots, with a range of 335 nautical miles at cruising speed. All yours for about $8.5 million.
At the Monaco Yacht Show on September 23 - 26, avant-garde Monegasque yachtbuilder Wally will debut two new sailing superyachts, the Wally 130 and 100 Indio. The Indio has actually been spotted before, when it made a scorching appearance at the recent Loro Piana Superyacht Regatta. The 30-meter (100-ft.) sloop combines all the amenities of a blue-water cruiser with the performance of a maxi-racer; the 59-ton beauty can do 12 knots, while below decks, a total of six cabins provides accommodation for 10 guests and four crew. And of course there’s that snappy aft sea terrace.
The 40-metre 130, which was slated for her first race test at the Maxi Yacht Rolex Cup in Porto Cervo last weekend, is marked by an innovative combination of the water-ballast with the trim tab lifting keel. Added to the cardan joint shaft drive steering system, it has the effect of making the 130-footer maneuver like a racing 80-footer. After taking her out on the water, Wally’s dashing President and CEO Luca Bassani declared her to be the only cruising yacht in the world that can sail faster upwind than the record-breaking maxi racer Alfa Romeo, given the right conditions. We’ll take two.
On September 3rd – 5th sailing superyacht maker Perini Navi of Maltese Falcon fame will stage the third annual Perini Navi Cup hosted in the billionaire’s playground of Sardinia by the Yacht Club Costa Smeralda. 22 stylish Perini Navi sailing yachts will gather for the event, ranging from the 24.5 meter Elettra, launched in 1987, to the massive 88 meter Maltese herself. All but two of them will top 40 meters; among them will be the will latest model to sail out of the Perini Navi shipyard, the 56 meter Riela.
The Riela, debuted at the Monaco Yacht Show, features an ultralight, streamlined aluminum hull and 15,000-square-foot sail plan that will give it a decided edge in the regatta. Coastal courses will be set using the many granite islands and islets of the La Maddalena archipelago as natural marks, while the prevailing mistral winds which have made the course off Porto Cervo one of the world’s most famous are expected to provide plenty of adrenaline-laced thrills. The sheer beauty of the boats make this one regatta that will be just as pleasurable to watch as to participate in.
ICAP Leopard, the 100-ft. monohull sailing superyacht owned by Mike Slade, just broke the transatlantic speed record held by the luxury yacht Phocea. Finishing the 2,925 nautical mile crossing from New York to Cornwall, UK, in seven days, 19 hours and 21 minutes, ICAP Leopard shaved eight hours off the existing record. One of the most stylish and technologically advanced yachts ever to be launched, Farr Yacht Design provided the Leopard’s basic naval architecture and construction engineering, with styling and interiors by Ken Freivokh.
To snare the transatlantic trophy, the Leopard sailed at an average speed of 15.5 knots, and a top speed of 37.4 knots. The record for a monohull yacht with power-assisted winches, was previously held by the 246-ft. Phocea, which sailed the course in eight days, three hours and 29 minutes. Want to get a taste of the Leopard or try your own record attempt? She’s available for charter for up to 20 guests at a base rate of £10,000 per day, or about $17,000. And yes, that includes the champagne.
When an impertinent fellow once had the gall to ask J.P. Morgan how much it cost to maintain his massive yacht the Corsair, the famously gruff financier snapped, “Sir, if you have to ask you can’t afford it.” At the time the Corsair (Morgan’s 4th craft to bear that name) was the largest and most expensive private yacht in the world at 343 ft. and $2.5 million. The Corsair has long been eclipsed by more modern craft while Morgan’s quote lives on. However one businessman with a vision and plenty of scratch has now revived the ship as well; in fact, Neil Taylor created a whole company called Corsair Yachts to bring a bit of 1930s style elegance back to the high seas.
His first creation, the 295-ft. Corsair Nero (above), is a drop-dead gorgeous, eight-years-in-the-making homage to Morgan’s motoryacht fitted up with all the latest technology and luxe accommodations for 12. Acres of Burmese teak decking, oak paneling, oil lamps replicated from the Orient Express, coffered ceilings, marble fireplaces, a library, swimming pool on the foredeck, and a skylight in the aft lounge modeled on the one on Errol Flynn’s famous yacht Zaca are just some of the highlights. Her eye-catching smokestack actually houses an emergency generator; the Nero can do 17 knots with her twin 2,333 hp Caterpillar diesel engines.
Morgan may have scoffed at the wi-fi and iPod docks but we think he would have felt right at home on the Nero. Until you’re ready to commission one of your own the yacht is now available for charter at a base rate of about $450,000 a week. Since you asked.
