Who among us hasn’t cast a loving stare at a luxury yacht and wondered what it might be like to have something like that? Boating New Zealand takes the tour aboard three new luxury showboats to see first-hand just how sweet it is to live like a Bond villain.

WOULDN’T IT BE NICE?

We’ve all done it – spotted some big luxury yacht and launched into daydream mode, wondering what it might be like to actually have a floating palace like that. But why wonder? Boating New Zealand recently enjoyed the opportunity to toddle aboard not one, not two, but a trio of magnificent luxury yachts and take a good look around – opening doors, rummaging through wardrobes and lockers, and otherwise making like we were actually in the market for a dream-like showboat with a seven-digit price tag.

DREAM BOAT 1

Ferretti 720

Our first look is an Italian masterpiece – we’ll start with a tour of Ferretti’s magnificent 720.

Ferretti has long enjoyed a colourful history as the yacht of choice among society’s elite. The marque rose to fame in the 1960s with celebrity owners like Richard Burton, Brigitte Bardot and Sophia Loren bringing more than just a shade of rock star status to the Ferretti nameplate, and that glam profile lives on today as a whole new generation of glitterati choose to evade the paparazzi onboard a Ferretti yacht.

Stretching 22.3m in overall length and riding on a generous beam of 5.7m, Ferretti’s handsome new 720 offers a surprising range of luxurious amenities for a vessel of its more modest size. That starts right on the stern swim platform, where a large transom door opens to reveal a plush private settee that might just be the best place on earth to sit back with a great book and a glass of champagne. Overhead, the shade from a removable canopy creates a wonderful, intimate beach club atmosphere that’s quite unlike anything else out there until you get into true superyacht territory.

Of course the 720 comes with a hydraulic swim platform that lowers to make water access more convenient for swimmers, and facilitate launching or retrieving a tender or a three-passenger Sea-Doo.

Step up into the cockpit and you’ll feel like a pampered celeb yourself very quickly with its enticing aft sofa, which faces a beautiful rectangular table with al fresco dining space for eight.

A neat stairway to starboard leads up to the flybridge deck, where an upper helm station is framed by an extensive sun pad. Amidships, a central dinette is served by a convenient wet bar area and fully equipped kitchen. Cocktails under the stars never looked so good.

Back on the main deck, a fully-opening glass bulkhead leads into the salon, where owners are spoiled with the choice of galley-up or galley-below floorplans. In either case, the full-beam salon spreads over an astounding 27m2, with two-metre ceiling heights throughout. That’s a huge amount of space, and particularly for a 22m yacht.

The saloon’s main living area, with its two large facing sofas, provides stunning panoramic views thanks to the 720’s enormous wrap-around windows, which flood the space with natural light while keeping occupants cool in fully air-conditioned comfort.

Forward on the main deck is a delightful, raised dining area, with a lovely rectangular table that allows seating for eight. The galley sits directly forward and opposite the helm in the galley-up version we toured.

Step below to the accommodations level and the standard galley-up floorplan provides space for a four-stateroom layout, led by a mid-ship, full-beam owner’s suite with a massive ensuite, an equally massive walk-in closet, a king bed and relaxation space for unwinding in comfort with that first morning coffee. A twin cabin sits to starboard with ensuite access to the day head, while a second twin cabin lies to port. In the bow, a tastefully decorated VIP cabin with its own ensuite and separate shower treats guests to a level of luxury normally reserved for the owner’s suite.

Powered by twin MAN V8 or V12 diesels, the Ferretti 720 is a fit and muscular creature with more than enough power to reach its destination in a hurry if required, cruising nicely at 28 knots and capable of a top speed of 32 knots when schedules dictate.

DREAM BOAT 2

Azimut Grande G25 Metri

Next up is the remarkable Azimut Grande G25 Metri, the largest yacht on our list and a living testament to just how far Italian builder Azimut has come in the world of luxury yachts.

After all, it’s hard to forget that Azimut started out just five decades ago building boats that even the company itself now admits represented ‘the lower end of the market.’ But the Italian yacht builder has continually raised the bar and now produces some of the most magnificent yachts afloat – in large measure thanks to the creative genius of its colourful leader, Paolo Vitelli. Today, Azimut concentrates on the very top end of the market with inspired models like the stunning Grande G25 Metri.

Stretching precisely 25m in length, the G25 Metri is actually the smallest model in the company’s Grande series. But the trim G25 is indeed Grande in every sense that counts. For starters, it’s a truly grand design built with a fibreglass hull and a carbon superstructure to cut weight and lower the yacht’s centre of gravity, ensuring a smooth ride in even lumpy seas. Of course, there’s a hydraulicallyactuated swim platform out back, with more than enough space to stow a two-seat personal watercraft. Pushing a discreet button at the stern opens a large transom door, revealing a hidden tender garage, along with oodles of storage space for gear like dive tanks.

Up on the main deck, the inviting cockpit beckons you to plop down and get comfy with its plush, L-shaped settee and companion pedestal-base wooden table. Freestanding deck chairs create a wonderful private outdoor space for morning coffee, evening cocktails or a top-shelf lunch spot with unbeatable views, while still enjoying the sun protection of the overhead hardtop.

Wide, port-side steps lead up to the flybridge, where an elegant, L-shaped wet bar to starboard faces a wrap-around settee and pedestal table similar to that found below on the main deck. Overhead, a second hardtop that provides further protection from the heat of the mid-day sun can be opened at the push of a button to invite the afternoon breeze or permit dining under the stars. Far forward, a double-wide lounge to port faces the neat upper helm station to starboard.

The aft end of the flybridge is kept wide open, allowing a variety of additional seating options, space to stow a second tender, and a truly exceptional dance floor for late-night tangos.

Back on the main deck, wide promenades lead to the spacious bow, where a large, forward-facing wrap-around sofa with a folding table creates an ideal spot to unwind in peace. For those more interested in toasting themselves in the sun, an enormous triple or quadruple-wide sunpad awaits.

Inside, the main deck salon features an inviting settee to starboard, facing an elegant cabinet that houses a concealed entertainment centre, including a large high-definition television which raises on a motorised lift. The forward end of the salon can be devoted to either more seating, or an indoor dining space as desired.

Far forward on the main deck is the primary helm station, where a Raymarine glass dash provides full control over the yacht’s twin 1,650hp MAN diesels.

When it’s time to call it a day, twin guest cabins below and a plush VIP suite in the bow cradle your guests in opulent luxury with their lightly textured fabrics, pale woods and indirect lighting – all of which work together to create the impression of this yacht having even more interior space than it already does.

A little farther aft, the full-beam owner’s suite presents an enormous king-sized bed, elevated seating below its large side windows for enjoying that first cup of morning coffee, and a palatial ensuite head with his and her sinks, plenty of vanity space and a double-entry shower. There’s also twin walk-in wardrobes, underscoring the fact that this yacht is one hell of a lot nicer than my house. Hmmm.

DREAM BOAT 3

Sunseeker Superhawk 55

Of course, we can’t let the Italians have all the fun, and for those looking for something royally elegant yet with just a hint of Jaguar E-Type DNA, the legendary English yacht builder Sunseeker has the answer with its magnificent, all-new Superhawk 55.

That Superhawk name might seem a touch familiar, as Sunseeker produced a wide range of something-hawk models for years in the 1980s and 90s, bringing luxury to the performance boating sector

just as the Miami Vice go-fast era gathered steam. While the TV stars went around quickly in tarted up performance boats, real boaties who weren’t willing to give up luxurious amenities or comfortable handling went fast in their Sunseeker hawks.

The company introduced its first hawk – the immensely popular Tomahawk 37 – in the mid-1980s. Driven by huge sales, additional hawk models like the Mohawk 29, Hawk 27 and Thunderhawk 43 quickly followed, culminating in the original Superhawk 50 of 1991.

That model, in turn, sold so well that it spawned an entire Superhawk family in variety of lengths, their popularity given a further boost with the appearance of a Superhawk 34 in the James Bond classic The World is Not Enough.

And just like that the world changed, kids arrived on the scene, and performance models fell out of favour, replaced by bigger, slower, but more luxurious yachts with a greater focus on family comfort. It was the nautical equivalent of cashing in the sports car to buy a minivan.

Fast-forward a bunch of years and now with the kids gone, original Superhawk owners began making noise about wanting another performance yacht. Joining them were a surprising number of younger buyers, and Sunseeker willingly obliged by bringing back what is easily its most iconic model of all time.

While those original 1990s Superhawks still hold plenty of classic charm, Sunseeker has truly raised the bar with its all-new Superhawk 55, which in a nod to comfort blends the spirited performance of the original Superhawks with distinctly modern engineering and far more refined interior accommodations for a level of comfort beyond anything that has come before. The Superhawk 55 is not just a fast boat, it’s outright luxurious as well.

Step aboard its wide, hydraulically actuated swim platform and it’s hard to miss the enormous stern sunpad that begs you to stop and stretch out in the sun. Just ahead of it is a beautiful forward-facing cockpit settee, facing twin expandable pedestal tables and twin, aftfacing L-shaped lounge seats that can be repositioned as desired by simply lifting a small tab and sliding them forward or aft on discreet in-deck tracks. This allows them to serve double-duty, creating an enticing outdoor dining space for the entire family or offering brilliant aft-facing lounge spaces for spreading out in comfort.

Step inside and the centreline helm faces a fully digital dash with a three-wide helm seat. On each side, sliding doors provide immediate access to side promenades to make docking a breeze. Those wide promenades also provide one-level access to the bow, where those lucky enough to cruise on the Superhawk enjoy an unparalleled lounging and sunning space. The bow can also be easily configured for dining under the stars, if desired.

In its typical configuration the Superhawk 55 features a twostateroom layout reflecting its performance boating heritage. The spacious owner’s suite amidships features a massive island king bed, unique angular side windows with privacy glass and opening portholes, a huge HDTV for evening entertainment and a more compact but comfortable ensuite. Up front, guests enjoy a spacious VIP suite forward, which also features an ensuite, opening portholes and a large HDTV system, making it almost as posh as the owner’s cabin.

Between the two overnight suites is a fully-equipped galley and a bright salon for private relaxation.

Although a bit wider and taller than the original 90s Superhawks, the new Superhawk 55 is absolutely true to its performance DNA with twin Volvo Penta IPS 950 pod drives kicking out 725hp apiece, which is more than enough oomph to push the 21,800-kilogram Superhawk 55 to top speeds well in excess of 38 knots. This isn’t just a showboat – the Superhawk can go like a rocket as well.

THE VERDICT

After walking through three of the most desirable luxury yachts on the water today, it has to be said – poverty sucks. But for those who have the means, it sure is nice to live life like a Bond villain. This is clearly one lifestyle to which any of us would dearly love to become accustomed and, ideally, on the decks of one of these magnificent luxury yachts. BNZ