Boat International – August 2019

N

othingshowsoffthenewPrincessYachtsS78betterthan

thepairofhelmseatsintheforwardcornerofthesaloon.

Thesearenotdemureitemsthatadesignerfrettedmight

blocksomeone’sview,butmightyblackmonolithsmore

likelytobespottedinasupercar.Theyareperfectlyintunewiththe

leadershipofPrincessunderitsnewexecutivechairmanAntonySheriff,

whojoinedthecompanyafterheadingMcLaren.

TheyenvelopyouasthoughSavileRow-tailoredtoyourbody.High

backedwithheadrestsandFormulaOnesidebolstering,theyexudethe

aromaoffineleatherandyourfingerswilldelightinfindingthetiny

ridgesofhandstitching.Dotheyblocktheviewforwardthroughthe

massivewindshieldfromthesaloon?Absolutely.Doesitmatter?

Absolutelynot,becausethesecushyseatsaretheprovinceoftheowner/

operatorandlifecontinuesinthesaloonseparately.Thesearethe

bestseatsinthehouse.

Anyonewhobuildsa400km/h,£2millionautomobileforthestreets

isclearlydetailoriented,andsoitiswithSheriff,whowastaskedwith

re-energisingPrincessbyitsowners,whichincludeGroupeArnault.

Namedoesn’tringabell?ThinkLouisVuitton,Moët&Chandon,

Hennessy,Dior:companiesthatknowabitaboutluxury.

ThisPrincessisthedifferencebetweenhavingafirstcupofdecafin

themorningandhavingatripleespresso:theS78fairlythrillswith

energy,andSheriffandhiscrewhaveimbueditwithamainlineinjection

ofpurecaffeine.

ThestartingpointfortheS78isBernardOlesinski’sseaworthyhull

and,lestyouthinkthisisaretoolofatiredmotoryachthull,keepin

mindthatOlesinski,aPrincessdesignerfornearlyfourdecades,has

morethanafewoffshoreracingpowerboatsinhisportfolio,including

competitorsinthelegendaryCowes-Torquaypowerboatrace.Foryears,

hedroveaJaguarXK-E;Olesinskiunderstandsperformance.

“TheS78isbasedontheOlesinskilowdeadrisehullform,optimised

forgreaterliftandlessdrag,leadingtolowerplaningspeeds,greater

efficiency,yetstillmaintaininganeye-watering 39 knots,”Jonathan

Cantrell,Olesinski’sheaddesigner,explains.Somemighttakeissue

withusing“eye-watering”and“39knots”inthesamesentence,but

rememberthatyou’removing 50 tonnesofleather,teakandpureluxury

throughthewater.

Thewords“luxury”and“fun”arealsorarelyusedtogether,butthisis

afunyacht:funwhileyou’recarvingwhiteslashesatnearly 40 knots

(aboutthesamespeedasSecondWorldWarPTboats)withtwinMAN

1,900hpV12spurringgently;funwhileyou’resprawledonthesofa

watchingthelatestthrilleronthebig-screentelevision;andcertainly

funwhenyouwakeupinthemastercabintogazeoutofthelargehull

windowsat...where?Saint-Tropez?Nantucket?StBarths?Allarelogical

habitatsfortheS78.

ThebeststartingpointforexploringthePrincessS78istostandback

andadmirethelines:thisisclearlyasportyachtwithacapitalS.Ithas

aflybridgethatcanseatadozenpeopleinwindshield-protectedcomfort,

buttheprofileissoleanthatyoubarelynoticeit.

JustinOlesinski,thedesignstudio’smanagingdirector(andBernard’s

son)agrees.“OuraimwiththeS78wastoexpandaclearlydefined

SClassrangetocreateafittingflagshipbycarefullyinstillingeacharea

withSClassDNA,”hesays.“TheveryessenceofSClasscombinesthe

AnaerialviewoftheS78(above)showsjustwhatagreatfeaturethe
flybridgeis,withseatingthatconvertstosunpads,twinadjustablehelm
seatsandawetbar,withbarbecueandcoolbox.Below:oppositethegalley
isatablethatslidesinandouttoaccommodatediners

08 2019 boatinternational.com