Boat International – September 2019

OWNERS’CLUB

thereforLaDatchaFortedeiMarmiguests,who
canbookdailyorlongercharters.”
ForTinkov,adventureistheaim,andthe
SeaXploreristhetool.“Formeit’sboringtobuy
anotherwhiteboat,tositonthesundeckandjust
sweatmyarseanddrinkchampagne,”hesays.
“That’sforotherrichandfatpeople.Iamquite
energeticstill.Iliketomovemyarse,that’swhy
anexplorerperfectlyfitsme.”Amomentlater,he
requeststhatInotcuttheword“arse”.Tinkov
certainlycomesacrossasfrankandincisive–but
he’salsoirreverentandamusing.Ashesaysat
onepoint:“Idon’tcare.IknowthatIhaveahuge
excuse.”Andhedoes,a77-metreone.
“Iwantedtoreachdestinationssuchasthe
RussianArctic,becauseIbelievethatthesewhite
boats which are swimming around the
MediterraneanandtheCaribbeanarethepast
andexplorersarethenextbigthing,”hesays.“I’m
gladthatIamontheedgeofthetrend.”
Hehadbeenwatchingthesuperyachtmarket

• “Italianoneswerenotquiteuptosnuff,German
  Icouldtakeorleave”–hesays.ButAmels,he
  decided,wasjustright.“UnlikemanyinRussia’s
  businesscommunity,oroligarchsifyouprefer,I
  makemyownmoney,soIdon’tgoforthepriciest
  stuff–Igoforthebest.Forexample,Ichooseto
  flyFalconinsteadofGulfstreambecauseIbelieve
  Falconjetsofferbetterbangforyourbuck.
  Gulfstreamdoesn’tliveuptoitspricetag.Inthis
  regard,AmelsislikeFalcon–notcheap,but
  worththemoneypaid.”

But itwasn’tan entirelydispassionate

decision.HehadseenandadmiredtheTim

Heywood-designed62.4-metreEvent,thefirst

Amels 199 LimitedEditionssuperyacht,whose

forwardtendergarageandforedeckhelipad–but

particularlyhernear-verticalbow–madehera

radicaldesigndeparturefortheyard.Tinkov

cameclosetobuyingherandevenmadesome

bids,butthenhesawtheSeaXplorerdesign.“You

couldsayitwasloveatfirstsight.Thethingthat

immediatelycaughtmyeyewasitsmasculine,

manlyfeatures–theboatjustlookssexy.Youcan

tellit’sstrongandreadytotakeontheworld.”

Tinkovmademodificationstothedesign

beforebuildworkbegan–majorenoughthatthey

took six months to incorporate, most

significantlyextendingherfrom 65 to 77 metres,

aswellasrejiggingthelayout.

HealsobroughtinStPetersburg-based

interiordesignerVasiliyShprits,whodesigned

hisLaDatchaproperties.“Itoldhimithadto

lookmasculine,reallymanly,andofcourseit’sa

SeaXplorer,soitneedstobeversatile,”says

Tinkov.“Itwillvisitthenorthseas,theArctic

Ocean,theNorthernSeaRoute,Alaska,the

KamchatkaPeninsulaandtheKurilIslands.On

theotherhand,weareplanningtogotothe

GalápagosIslands,CaboSanLucas,theSolomon

IslandsandtheCookIslands–thewarmdistant

seashardlyaccessiblebyboats.Itoldhimithad

tobeagoodmatchforthewinterandforthe

summeralike.Vasiliyexpresseditwithcolour.

“Imake my ownmoney,

soIdon’t gofor thepriciest

stuff – Igofor thebest”

Above:Oleg(right)withhis

sonsPashaandRoman

PHOTOGRAPHY:

OLEG

TINKOV

PRESS

OFFICE;

LADATCHA.COM/FORTE;

LADATCHA.COM/ASTRAKHAN

122

09 2019

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