Aquarius, launched early 2018, is a yacht that defies superlatives. The English language is rich with words that can be used to describe what you see, but sometimes even they are not enough. One could say that Aquarius is a “modern classic” as she has been described, but that’s not enough. The yacht is an elegant piece of craftsmanship that, to this writer at least, is on a par with some truly great architecture or masterpieces of contemporary art. The 57-meter yacht embodies all that a great craftsman would want. Simplicity, style, elegance, grace and on top of that, high performance.
The owners brief called for “an elegant yet muscular sailboat with a classic style.” Aquarius is all of that and more as noted in an interview that builder Huisman Shipyard conducted with some of the key players a year after the boat was launched. When the owners were asked to rate, out of ten, their level of satisfaction with the finished yacht as compared with their original vision they replied, “Aquarius is a 10+ in terms of our satisfaction. We set out to build an elegant, muscular sailboat and the shipyard and the design team delivered a yacht that is both of those things and more.”
The project was managed by the experienced offshore sailor and SuperYacht project manager Godfrey Cray. When he was asked what the owners’ key ambitions for Aquarius were, he replied. “The owners were exceptionally clear. They wanted a family cruising yacht that was enjoyable and fast to sail during adventurous cruising and also occasional racing. The hull had to be visually very attractive; beautiful and timeless. They wanted a classic interior that was not too busy or fussy, but rather calm and elegant. And finally, it had to be simple and reliable.” This level of satisfaction with a project as intricate and as complicated as was the build of Aquarius speaks volumes not only of the builder but also of the other key players including the interior styling which was done by Mark Whiteley Design, the towering spars which were engineered and built by Rondal and the powerhouse of the yacht, the sails, which were built by Doyle New Zealand.
The first thing that a guest visiting the yacht notices once stepping on board is the vast expanse of teak deck. From midway forward, the deck is flush and curves gently toward the bow. Because the team paid close attention to small details, you will notice that even the bespoke cowl vents were designed to be curved so that a headsail sheet would not snag on them when maneuvers were being carried out. Practical, yet elegantly simple. One other striking feature guests will notice is that there is no bow pulpit. Feeling that a conventional pulpit would interfere with the sail plan it was decided that it would be left off the boat with the lifelines all being dead-ended on the rail at the bow.
