Before I took the helm atBoat International
four yearsago,Iwas,Iadmit,nervousabout
meetingthecrowdthatawaitedme.Ihadvisions
of ageing sea dogs and crusty captains; how on
earth would I know what to say? Would they look
down onme,comingfromthefrivolousworld
of luxury? How little I knew. The fun, finesse,
intelligence and sheer glamour of those who
greeted me, from crew (not a “crusty captain”
in sight,itturnsout)rightthroughtoowners,
was overwhelming,buttherealsurprisewas
their youth. Jonathan Glynn-Smith’s beautiful
shoot in this issue (page 155)payshomageto
some of the most exciting fresh faces shaping
the superyachtscene,andisaperfectfitforan
issue devotedtodesign.Forwhatisdesignifit
doesn’tdaretodreamofthefuture?Assomeof
the images imply, this is also a crowd that knows
how to party. I hope they enjoy our advice on
designing a yacht for entertaining (page 98).
From dance floors to design fantasies, this is not
an issuefortheshyandretiring.At the Superyacht Design Symposium each year,
some of the most creative minds in the design
industry willingly submit themselves to the
punishment of our annual Design Challenge.
They’re given a near-impossible brief and an hour
to come up with a profile and a convincing GA.
The results are never short of incredible given the
demands - take a look for yourself on page 181.
Of course, given a bit more time these same
minds are capable of coming up with much more
complete concepts, and we’ve got a great
selection for you this month, the majority of
which have never been seen before (page 51).
The keynote speaker at this year’s SDS was the
brains behind Sailing Yacht A, Philippe Starck. He
gave some fascinating insights into working with
the likes of Steve Jobs and Andrey Melnichenko,
revealing that the former was the “emperor of
control freaks” and that the latter’s brief for
Motor Yacht A extended to: “Make me what you
want”. Listen to his talk at boatint.com/podcastsPHOTOGRAPHY: OLIVER HOLMS. SACHA IS WEARING LEAF-CREPE DRESS BY ALEXAEDITOR-IN-CHIEF ITOR
NDER MCQUEEN, €1,588, MATCHES FASHION.COM. STEWART IS WEARING PEMBR
EY SHOES BY CHURCH’S ENGLISH SHOES, €377, CHURCH-FOOTWEAR.COM
EDITORS’ LETTERS
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