An Encore After The Eclipse
It is said that there is nothing that moves a performing artist more than a request, no make that a demand, from the audience for more. It often causes the artist to reach deep down and bring every bit of their skills and passion into the new presentation. An encore often creates a piece of art viewed as perfection. When the almost twenty year owners of the 32.6 meter Eclipse, Greg and his wife Kay, decided it was time for their own custom built yacht, they opted for an encore. The Eclipse was the first collaboration between the Naval Architect, Dubois Naval Architects, and the custom yacht builder, Alloy Yachts. For their new Superyacht, the couple turned to the artist that created their beloved Eclipse. The result was the 43.9 meter fixed keel sloop that they appropriately named the Encore.
The couple, with years aboard their treasured Eclipse, knew which features of that yacht needed to be kept and what items could be improved upon. They wanted to maintain much of the feel of their current yacht in a new one that incorporated architectural and performance improvements. One modification high on the list was more space and an additional bedroom. Kay is known for having a "knack" for interior design, the couple's home has even been used as the setting for Australia's version of the television program " The Bachelor". It was clearly better for the owners to work directly with Alloy Yachts interior design team to create the ambiance that they were looking for, instead of using a design firm.
In the custom yacht building industry, it is customary to have an owner's representative. This person is generally a consultant who acts as an agent for the future owners. They look after the interest of the owner, act as a channel for communications, explain technical issues to the owner and keeps tabs on the progress of the build with frequent meetings with the builder's project coordinator. In the case of the Encore, the owner's representative had a personal interest in the vessel being built. The person selected for this critical task was then the current captain of the Eclipse and the future captain of the Encore, Captain Wishart. Greg and Kay involved the crew in many areas of the development and building of the Encore. The crew knew the old Eclipse and the owners well, having collectively over 40 years of being in their service. The couple valued the crew's insight in the operational matters and insured that the crew had a vessel that was as much their home as it was the owners. The interior design of the three crew cabins used the same material and level of standards as the Superyacht's three VIP cabins and the owner suite.
