|On Board| Wind in Their Sails This year has already seen the delivery of some remarkable sailing yachts, including the high-performance cruiser Nilaya, and Koru the largest sailing yacht in the world built for Amazon founder Jeff Bezos. Alongside these are great yachts from the likes of Nautor Swan, Solaris and Perini Navi, while wallywind130 is one to come and to look out for, and fêted yard Baltic Yachts celebrates 50 years of yacht building. By Cornelia Marioglou S/Y Nilaya, Royal Huisman During a private event at Het Scheepvaartmuseum, the Dutch national maritime museum in Amsterdam, the first unit of Royal Huisman’s patented Featherlight design and production method was christened. The shipyard has many fascinating projects in the pipeline, but the delivery of the 47m Panamax (which means it conforms to the limits to travel the Panama Canal) superyacht has created great interest. Nilaya was built at Royal Huisman’s Vollenhove yard with a focus on a holistic lightweight approach. Previously project 405, aka Reichel/Pugh – Nauta 154, she runs with 11 per cent less weight compared to advanced aluminium builds this length, thanks to some important weight-saving solutions – involving the use of aluminium and carbon-fibre components throughout the yacht – and continuous weight monitoring during the build. All of which was done without sacrificing the stiffness and, above all, the comfort onboard. “For such a large yacht, the acceleration is exciting, as she rapidly reaches high speeds,” says Nigel Ingram of MCM Newport, who served as owner’s representative. “Twin rudders and the light, positive steering give superb manoeuvrability, and she has reached all her project targets with ease. Rondal’s sailing system enables fingertip control of the massive loads involved.” Nauta Design was responsible for the general concept, the exterior design and the interior-design plan. Calm and contemporary decor awaits the owner and his guests, while, below deck, things look comfortable and welcoming. In short, another triumphant addition to the Royal Huisman fleet. royalhuisman.com PHOTO TOM VAN OOSSANEN 78 CENTURION-MAGAZINE.COM
