Boat International US Edition – May 2019

MarcusBlackmore

Yacht:Ammonite

Length:81ft

Year: 2016

Location:RajaAmpat

WhatmotivatedthetriptoIndonesia?

AfterleavingthebeautifulFijianislands,

wherewehadafantastictimediving

AstrolabeReeffromLangWalker’sstunning

Kokomoresort,wewerekeentovisitRaja

Ampat,otherwiseknownastheFourKings.

Wecouldn’twaittodiveandsnorkelinwhatis

reputablyoneofthegreatdivesitesonthe

planetandanepicenterofmarinediversity.

Wewerenotdisappointed

Howwasit?SituatedontheEquator,the

earlymonthsoftheyeararehotwithlittle

wind.Therearefewvillagesofanysizesothis

areabecomesaseatofthepants,

norestaurantadventurethat’smarkedly

differentfromtheMedortheCaribbean.

Mostoftheareainwhichwecruisedwas

alargemarineparkdesignedtoprotectthe

ecosystem,sovisitorpermitsarenecessary

Wasdivingthehighlight?Absolutely.

Marinelifeisbountiful,withseaturtles,pygmy

seahorses,sharksandanamazingarrayof

fishlife.Tohavelargemantarayssurface

besidetheyachtwassurelyahighlightfor

us.Weusedlocaldiveoperatorstohelp

usfindthebestspotsandtheIndonesian

governmenthasmadeitrelativelyeasyfor

yachtstovisitthesedays.TheAmmonite

crewcanabsolutelyrecommendthatyou

putRajaAmpatonyourbucketlist!

You’re heading to Newport for the New York

Yacht Club’s 175th anniversary

celebrations. Tell us more... We had an

incredible reception from the US marine

industry when we said that we were bringing

Savannah “home” to Newport for the first time

in almost 20 years. I hadn’t fully appreciated

what an iconic project her 1997 build had been

for those involved (David Pedrick on design,

John Munford on the interior and Peter Wilson

at MCM overseeing the build team at

Concordia) and felt that we should salute them

and the boat they created “to last 100 years.”

Many of them, including the original owner

Randall Watkins and Elizabeth Meyer, have

been invited to join the crew in Newport.

Savannah is a marriage of British yachting

heritage, transatlantic design ingenuity,

innovative build techniques and an unfailing

eye for quality and detail

When did you first see her? I’ll never forget

it. Savannah had just won the 2001 Concours

d’Elégance at Antigua Classics and was

alongside in Falmouth Harbour, surrounded

by an admiring throng. All of us were in awe of

her clean lines, flush decks, finish and J-Class

style. A 90ft yacht has never looked so

powerful yet manageable. What sets her apart

are her classic lines allied to modern carbon

composite construction and state-of-the-art

performance technology. She’s a proven

winner, despite her wood-burning stove,

library, roll-top baths and oil paintings. MCM

christened her “the wolf in sheep’s clothing”

And when did you first sail her? In the 2007

Palma Superyacht Cup. It coincided with the

Valencia America’s Cup and attracted a record

number of large, fast and famous boats.

Savannah made it on to the podium, beating

two of the original J-Class and outpointing

legendary maxis upwind. The scratch crew,

largely superyacht captains whose vessels

were not racing in the regatta, left Savannah

wide-eyed with the excitement of her

performance and I was hooked

Where do you keep her? She’s based for

eight months of the year in Saint-Tropez and

spends the rest of the year racing and cruising

all over the Med and in UK waters. Except this

year she’s heading back home to the US,

where she was conceived, designed and built

Hugh Morrison

Yacht: Savannah

Length: 90ft

Year: 1997

Location: Saint-Tropez

MAP JING ZHANG

PHOTOGRAPHY:

© KOS/KOS PICTURES/GETTY IMAGES; COURTESY OF OWNERS

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