As the sun pushed over the horizon in July of 2023, Baltic Yachts delivered an elegant sailing yacht to an experienced sailing family eager to meet their newest member. The 33.5-meter sloop-rigged sailing yacht, christened Zemi, paid homage to the Greater Antilles Arawak tribal culture’s ancestral spirit, housing supernatural powers within a stone idol or sculpture.
Designed and built to take the family to both high and low latitudes around the world, Zemi greeted the day with a streamlined profile from the desk of Malcolm McKeon. Dressed in a gleaming bronze metallic finish in beautiful complement to the powerful Southern Spars rigging and artistically flowing teak deck extending over the lip of the transom, Zemi’s arrival was warmly and enthusiastically welcomed.
The family, hailing from Sweden, wasted no time in getting on board, cruising Norway, Iceland, and Scotland before heading to the Canary Islands and St. Barths for the Bucket Regatta. Placing third in Class Les Elegantes, Zemi performed admirably, celebrated well, then turned to make way through the Panama Canal toward a Pacific crossing, ready to cruise the world.
Zemi By The Numbers
Built-in high-tech carbon composite, Zemi weighs in at a couple of tons less than hulls using aluminum or GRP while maintaining the required stiffness for performance. Zemi was built at Baltic’s Bosund facility and transported to the Jakobstad launch site in Finland.
Malcolm McKeon led his team at the UK yacht design firm bearing his name, noted, “The exterior styling is new and contemporary, and maximizes the use of glass in the superstructure to create a light and open interior feel.”
The 95-ton displacement hull measures 33.5 meters in length with a 7.60-meter beam. Draft ranges between 3.80 and 5.80 meters due to the 28-ton telescoping lifting keel. It is the third Baltic yacht to feature zero emissions electrical system that powers propulsion, hotel load, hydraulics, and rig handling requirements via Lithium-ion batteries and a 274-kW Danfoss conventional drive motor assisted by two low-emission 129-kW Cummins gensets.
The electric motor converts to a generator when sailing through its free-wheeling propeller. The high voltage electrical system meets IMO Tier 3 emission regulations, operating for long periods in silent mode.
In harmony with the exterior design of the low-profile coach roof and the gentle, stylish curves of the cockpit, Andreas Martin-Löf Arkitekter of Stockholm interpreted Zemi’s persona using clean lines, muted palettes, and integrated lighting in both the interior design and exterior styling, elements essential to the comfort and well-being of her guests. Known for its high-end land-based residential projects, Zemi was the studio’s first yacht commission.
Working closely with McKeon and his team helped Andreas to discover solutions to issues such as headroom, utilities, services, and guest vs crew spaces that aren’t usually an issue when designing on land. Andreas also applied knowledge from the design of his own yacht. Using his considerable expertise in understanding how spaces are lived in with regard to form and function, Andreas translated from terra firma to marine design with important elements that serve Zemi well.
The challenge that presented itself to this experienced designer was the complexity of interiors that could, reducing weight for racing purposes, be almost completely dismantled. Built of lightweight materials while exuding a sense of calm and permanence, AML Arkitekter aimed to imprint excellence in craftsmanship.
Using a minimal palette accented with walnut, limestone, bronze metal, flatweave carpeting, painted walls, and textiles, the interior feels homey and open. Padded walls, rounded corners, and backlit rice paper upscale and soften the ambiance.
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Photos: Michael Kurtz, Kristofer Johnsson - Words: KL Turner