boatinternational.com• 062019More... and bigger
Quite early in our conversation over
lunch, Elysium owner Ron Gibbs casually
mentions that he’s negotiating over three
new 160ft yachts. We were here to
discuss how much of his own vision he’d
poured into the Sunseeker 131, so I’m
surprised, to put it mildly, to hear that he’s
already thinking about the next project.
“I’m looking at hull No 2 of the Sunseeker
161, being built by Icon,” he explains. “Also
a Heesen and a custom Mercedes yacht.”
The Sunseeker he likes because the yard
already knows how he thinks, making the
buildprocesslessfraught.TheHeesen
speaksforitself,andtheMercedeswould
beacustomprojectwithGibbs’sown
SilverArrowsMarinebusiness,which
buildsthestriking46ftArrow 460 to
Mercedes-Benzstyling.
ElysiumisonthemarketwithBurgessfor
around$23million,althoughGibbs
intendstosailherintensivelyoverthe
nextfewyears,unlessagoodoffercomes
in.Andwhydoeshewantabiggerboat?
Well,Igetasensethathereallyenjoys
thedesignexperience,hardworkasitis.
Butheexplainsitdifferently.“I’dget
aslightlylargertenderandapoolonthe
bowwithjetstoswimagainst,”
hesays.“ThenIwouldn’tneedto
goofftheboatanymore.”As the man behind the
Mercedes-inspired
Arrow 460 (right), Ron
Gibbs knows what he
wants in a boat. He
loved the design of
Sunseeker’s 131 (above),
but made significant
modificationstothe
hardtopandtheforedeck
forElysium(below)
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