T
he rust-red carcass ofCalypso, the boat that
carriedJacquesCousteauon30yearsofaquatic
exploration,liesonthedockatConcarneauin
Brittany.Thehullisaribofbeamsandthe
wheelhouse,cranedof,sitsnexttoitonthe
tarmac.ThevictimofaCousteaufamily
squabble,thisisanobscuregraveyardforaboat
that represented the spirit of oceanic adventure
for 40 years, from which the explorer and his crew pioneered scuba
diving, builtunderwaterbasesandrevealedbrinywonderlandstoan
awestruck public. The good news is that just a couple of hundred metres
away, her successorislashedtothedock.
Cousteauwascertainlyaninspirationforthe76.6metremotor
yacht Ye r s i n,butsowasTintin,PrinceAlbertIofMonaco–“the
sailing prince”–and,mostsignificantbutleastfamous,the19thcentury
physician and bacteriologist Alexandre Yersin.
Born in 1863,YersinleftLouisPasteur’sParis
laboratory in 1890 to voyage through Southeast
Asia, carryingoutgroundbreakingworkonthe
bubonic plagueandotherdiseases–researchthat
would save many lives.
François Fiat, the French businessman who
conceived andownstheboat,distilledthese
diverse influencesintothreeaims:adventure
(Ye r s i n hasaworld-roamingrange);science(she’s
designed with serious scientific kit and has been
awarded theCleanshipclassnotationthatmeans
she will minimally impact the ecosystems she
visits); andeducation(toteachchildrenaboutthenaturalworld).Thisis
not just anotherexplorer,thereisahumanprojectattachedtotheboat.
This ethos,theso-calledASEproject,wasahardsellbeforeYe r s i nwas
there to exemplifyit.“Whentheboatdidnotexist,itwasverydiicultto
make peopleunderstandwhatitwouldbe,”saysFiat,adistinguished,
serious man.“Isthereanyotherboatlikethisone?No,notreally.Ithink
we are the onlyone.”Whenhewastryingtoexplainittohisfriends,the
ghost of Calypsohadtobeinvokedfrequently.“Whenwespokeabout
Cousteau, everyoneknew.He’stheonewhoinventedoceanographyso
for everyone this rings a bell.”
Fiat’s requirements forYe r s i nweresospecificthathedesignedher
largely himself, in collaboration with his captain, Jean Dumarais, chief
engineer Yordan Hristov, designer Pierre J Kubis, and of course the
yard. Fiat knewyachtbuilders–heonceownedthe52metreBenetti
Latinou (now namedLatitude) – but world-roaming toughness rather
thanluxurywashispriority,sohetookhisdesigntocommercial yards.
Some were uninterested, others were intent only in selling him the kind
ofboatstheyalreadyproduced.OnlyPiriou,basedinBrittany, really
listened.Itcertainlyknewhowtobuildseriousships–military boats,
patrolvesselsanddeep-seafishersareitsbreadandbutter.
“Weknewtechnicallytheycouldachieveit,”sayscaptainDumarais.
“Theyhaveboatsontheroaring60s,longlinersworkingonsix-hour
shifts.Andtheystaytherefor90days,non-stop.”Duringthe36-month
buildFiatvisitedeverytwoweeksandtowardstheendheessentially
livedinConcarneau.
Thedecisiontoundertakehisfirstleisurecraftwasadiicult one for
PascalPiriou,CEOoftheyard.“Failurewouldhavebeendeadly for us,”
he says of the possibility that the owner would not accept the finished
vessel.Andtheydidn’tneedthework.“Itwasanewstrategicmove,” says
Piriou.“Therearenotsomanytypesofboatyoucanstillbuild in Europe
–reallyjustyachtsandmilitaryboats.For these,
cost is important but not the main thing. Skill and
theEuropeantouchissomethingimportant.”
Nowtheyhavequiteaprototype,builtto the
ultra-safe Solas passenger ship code.
Thetechnologyonthisboatishergreatest
luxury.ThestarkestexampleofthisisFiat’s
willingnesstosacrificeguestspacesfor
technicalspaces–theengineroomisso
sprawling, each piece of equipment given so much
space(foraccessibility),thatitcouldbemistaken
foramodernartgallery.Andthiscertainly is
artistry–innovative,tailoredtechthatweaves
elements from automotive design, cruise ships and other industries
into an ultra-resilient, ultra-green system. Keeping an eye on it all is
a 1,200-point monitoring system.
Ye r s i n’s diesel electric propulsion spreads power production over
sixgeneratorsthatcanbebroughtonline,onebyone,according to
demand.Theyburnonlythefueltheyneedsothey’regreenand ofer
seriousrange.Twoazipodstosternarecomplementedbyapump jet
forwardthatallowsanextraordinarydegreeofmanoeuvrability:
comingintoherside-onberthatConcarneau,herturnandglide to
starboard are eerily smooth.
Thistechisgreenaswellaslean:at11knots,Ye r s i nconsumes
360litresofdieselanhour,halfwhatshewouldwithdieselengines, and
at9knotsthisdropsto180litresanhour.Thecatalyticexhaust filters
99.8percentofharmfulparticles,whileathoroughblackand grey
watersystemendswithaUVfilterthat“zaps”anylastbacteria.“Isthereanyother
boat like this one?
No, not really.
Ithinkweare
theonlyone”
François Fiat built Yersin to embody and carry out project ASE: adventure, science and education; and to continue the work of Cousteau’s Calypso106