Boat International – September 2019

OWNERS’CLUB

PHOTOGRAPHY: AMELS/DAMEN

Inthenorthernlatitudestheboatwillbered,
whileinthesouthitwillbeblue.”Thiswillcarry
throughtheotherwiseneutral-toneddesignin
interiorlightingandtouchessuchascushions.
Thedesignuponwhichallthisisbasedwas
inspiredbythesuccessofDamen’sYachtSupport
rangeofvessels,withitspatentedSeaAxehull
form–which“doesindeedresembleabig
Norwegianaxe”,saysTinkov.Thiswasmodified
tosuitthemoresedatepaceofanexploreryacht,
but it meansa comfortableride evenin
roughconditions.
LaDatchameetstheIMO’sPolarCode–
perfectforTinkov’splans.TheIceClasshullhas
ahightensilebeltwithincreasedplatethickness
andextraintermediateiceframing–perfectfor
safeoperationinpolarwaters.Evensmall
changesinpolarwindsandcurrentscanquickly
leadtoayachtbeingsurroundedbyclosepack
ice,whichcanbedangerousforyachtswithout
extrastrengthening.
Thereareplentymoreelegantsolutionson
board,fromair-conditioningpowerfulenough
fortheAmazontoretractablestabilisersthat
won’tgetknockedoffbyiceandenclosedwing
stations.There’samudroomforchangingoutof
muckyouterwearbeforeenteringtheboat,kitto
allow 40 daysofluxuryserviceatseaanda
hospital. The prizefeature, however,isa
protectedobservationdeckinthenoseofthe
bow,towatchparadiseunfoldbeforeyou.
ButtheethosoftheSeaXploreristhatan
expeditionyachtshoulddomorethanjustget
youtotheendsoftheEarth,itshouldhelpyou
explorethemwhenyougetthere.Theboatwill
comewitheveryimaginabletoy,aswellas“a
submarineforsouthernwaters,asnowmobilefor
thenorth,eventwoofthem.Therewillbeabout
20 bicyclesofvarioussizesandmodels–proclass
bikesofthetyperiddenby[Slovakiancyclist]
PeterSagan,”saysTinkov.Therewillalsobea
divecentrewithadecompressionchamberand
allthegearforheli-skiing,includingtwoAirbus
H125 helicopters,a
fullycertifiedhelideck
andenclosedhangar.

“Youcouldsay itwas

loveat firstsight.You can

tellit’sstrongand ready

totakeontheworld”

“I’manavidskier,”saysTinkov.“Wemayhave

evensettheworldrecordwithmysonwhenwe

skiedmorethan30,000metresinonedaydown

ZhupanovskyvolcanoinKamchatka[inthefar

eastofRussia],atleastthat’swhatpeopletellme.

FormyfirstyearontheSeaXplorer,I’mplanning

skitripstotheKurilIslands,theKamchatka

Peninsula,Chukotka[alsoinRussia’sfareast]

andAlaska.”

ItfeelsasiftheSeaXplorerconcepthasfound

itsmatch,anownerwhowillexerciseallofits

extraordinarypotential.Anditallofhis.B

LaDatcha,pennedby

Azure,accommodates

12 guestsand 25

crewinall,including

guidesandpilots

124

09 2019 boatinternational.com