We are proud to announce that charterers and yachting enthusiasts have visited Boatbookings.com over 1 million times this year, a new record for us. People come to Boatbookings to charter yachts of course, and also for ouritineraries, charter advice, destination guides, technology suggestions, and our famous route planner that allows you to plan the distance, fuel consumption and course of virtually any itinerary.
While 1 million visits is an important milestone for us, we know it is just the beginning – we have plenty of new content, yachts, features and site functionality coming in the next few months. Stay tuned to this blog for all the news.
Just over a year after his death, the luxury motor yacht that Apple founder Steve Jobs commissioned and helped to design has finally been completed and launched in the Netherlands.Described by some as looking like a “floating Apple Store”, the custom built 80m (260ft) Feadship is named VENUS, after the Roman goddess of love.
Job’s biographer, Walter Isaacson, suggests that Jobs became almost obsessed with the yacht in the months leading up to his death. Jobs is quoted as saying “I know that it’s possible I will die and leave Laurene [his wife] with a half-built boat. But I have to keep going on it. If I don’t, it’s an admission that I’m about to die.”
Designed in collaboration with French product designer Philippe Starck, VENUS is now a posthumous testament to the sleek and crisp white designs that became synonymous with Apple during Job’s time as head of the company. While Starck denies that there is any relation between the design of this yacht and Apple (he insists that the electronics company and a boat of this size are completely different), he does admit that VENUS “is a Steve Jobs work”.
Jobs had asked the chief engineer of the Apple Stores to design a special glass that would allow 10-foot-high windows while also providing the necessary structural support. Apple also provided 7 24-inch iMac’s to be set up on the bridge of the yacht, among other Apple equipment.
The Jobs’ family reportedly attended the launch of the yacht and gave a customised iPod Shuffle to everybody who helped with the build, as a thank you for their ‘hard work and craftsmanship.’
With their ability to custom build yachts to exacting owners specifications, Feadship has been a major force creating the super yacht market as we know it today. The company has built over 200 yachts since it was founded in 1949, releasing an average of just 4 or 5 new yachts a year.
In addition to the Apple founder, Feadship has built a 200-foot yacht for Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen in 1996 as well as custom yachts for Chelsea owner Roman Abramovic, founder of the Ford Motor Company Henry Ford, and Malcolm Forbes of Forbes magazine.
Keeping with our recent theme of James Bond style gossip, our latest blog covers all of the best luxury yachting gadgets to have. Not only is this to coincide with the upcoming release of Skyfall but with Christmas coming soon, we thought this would be a great chance to start having a think about those all important presents.
Amphibious Quadbike
Just imagine – your yacht docks somewhere, and you hop on a jetski to land. When you get to land, you don’t get off the jetski, but it turns into a quadbike, with which you can go exploring. We’re completely in awe by this new gadget, made by Gibbs Sports Amphibians, and is called Quadski.
Top iPhone Yachting Apps:
Yachting Weather
Yacthing Weather is a great app for Captains, sailors, or anyone interested in the weather on the waters. It’s a great application that we’ve been using for some months now, and each update just gets better and better. It gives you all the information you would need to plan your charter, from temperature, wind direction and speed, wave height, wave length, wave period, storm risk, precipitation risk, humidity, pressure. It’s a great weather app in general, not only useful for those on the water.
Available for free, we highly recommend trying the app out!
Compass Eye – Marine Navigation and Bearings
Compass Eye is another great iPhone app, available at £2.99, that works with real-time camera and map views, bearing markers and an 8x zoom. Compass Eye is a fun way to make sure of your bearing. As most compass apps rely on a horizontal bearing and work only on that angle, but Compass Eye works on any angle or with any orientation, with the use of the camera.
The E-MAX Ultra Green Pure Care Carrier by Sauter Carbon Offsets Design highlights the fact that technology can reduce fuel consumption and GHG emissions by a minimum of 50 % in cargo vessels. In the long term, a 50% savings in the cost of fuel will more than pay for the construction of the E-MAX vessel over its 20-year service life, making her a very viable and exciting option.
The term Economies of Scale refers to the fact that the larger the vessel, the more economical it is to ship cargo. In 2014 the width of the Panama Canal will go from 32 to 54 meters, which means that W&W can build up to a 50% larger vessel that through Economy of Scale can easily save 15% on fuel. According to Wartsila, for every 10% increase in the size of a vessel, a 4 to 5% reduction in fuel consumption is achieved.
We can maximize Hydrodynamic Efficiency with Mitsubishi’s Air Lubricating system (MALS), which introduces air bubbles under the hull to reduce Drag. The less drag that there is, the less resistance the boat will face, consequently increasing fuel efficiency and reducing costs. This system together with state of the art Counter Rotating Propeller pods reduces Fuel consumption by up to 15 %.
The third step takes advantage of the light-magnifying ocean environment to harness solar energy from solar cells that due to the highly reflective surface of the water, cover the sides as well as the top of the vessel. Recent studies have shown that solar cells are 40% more efficient at sea than on land. The Solbian Solar Panels that cover the E-Max vessel are the most efficient on the market. They are designed specifically for marine use and come with a 25-year warranty. What is remarkable about this Solar Energy system is that it is capable of reducing fuel consumption by up to 10% without any moving parts and no maintenance.
The fourth stage utilizes fully automated, fully rotational, and fully retractable Mainsails to harness the wind and reduce fuel consumption by 15%. These Dynawing sails are highly efficient in whatever direction the apparent wind is coming from. They are basically transparent, incorporating a light magnifying film that magnifies the light that passes through them to the solar cells on deck.
The final stage takes the well-known benefits of Hybrid propulsion to new heights with Wartsila’s Dual Fuel low-loss Hybrid Power which reduces fuel consumption by 20% and GHG emissions by a greater amount. This system runs on either diesel or LNG which is much cleaner.
Watch this space for the latest Industry releases and updates on future concepts and designs.
The Cannes Boat Show 2012 came to a conclusion this weekend after another successful yachting exhibition. The Vieux Port de Cannes and Port Pierre Canto played host to over 500 luxury motor yachts, sailboats and catamarans. Here at Boatbookings.com, we spent all day on Friday at both ports to visit yachts from some of the most prestigious yachting brands, such as Sunreef, Sunseeker, CRN, Baglietto and Couach.
Two of our favourite contrasting yachts on show were KADIMO’S and AQUALIBRIUM. KADIMO’S is a luxurious 37 metre Couach Motor Yacht with 5 beautiful staterooms. On board, we enjoyed the combination of dark wood and cream furnishings, as it created a sense of luxury and comfort, whilst remaining light and airy. She has a great saloon, which would be a fantastic room for entertaining friends and family. The saloon includes large windows, which provide natural light all around the yacht. Our favourite part of KADIMO’S was her top deck, which provides great space and comfort, as well as a Jacuzzi. She has a great crew of individuals from all around the world. In particular, a lovely head stewardess from South Africa, as well as an Irish chef who provides some of the best gastronomy on the water. We would not be able to recommend her highly enough for a week long charter in the Mediterranean.
AQUALIBRIUM, CRN Ancona 40m Motor Yacht
AQUALIBRIUM, contrastingly is an older yacht but equally as special. We would describe her as elegant, classy and somewhat regal. She has been kept in fantastic condition and we particularly enjoyed the touches of laurel green throughout. This CRN Ancona 40m luxury motor yacht enjoys great proportions and offers guests with the very best home comforts on the water. All of her staterooms are a great size and include the finest touches, such as luxurious linen and gold taps. She has great entertaining spaces, both internally and externally, making her a great choice for entertaining friends or family. AQUALIBRIUM has no permanent berth and is available from many ports along the French Riviera, including Monaco, Antibes and Cannes. We would love to help organise a charter of a lifetime on board AQUALIBRIUM!
The Cannes Boat Show 2012 was one of the best so far with many new products launched. For example, the Frauscher 1017 LIDO, a very elegant and modern day motorboat, which would not look out of place at the most prestigious ports on the Riviera. She can accommodate up to 10 guests and is surprisingly spacious for a 10m motor yacht. Frauscher now only produce hybrid boats, proving their innovative nature, especially providing the same performance as their petrol rivals. Her aesthetics, design, comfort and green credentials make her one to watch out for!
Frauscher 1017 LIDO
Another boat that caught our eye in the news was the Luxury MIG 675, a 22 foot vessel which runs solely on hydrogen, reaching speeds of up to 70 knots. She is constructed in Aluminium and only weighs 1300kg, despite including a bathroom and a leather/teak interior.
We now move onto the Monaco Yacht Show, one of the worlds most prestigious events in the yachting calendar. We are very excited about the products on offer so watch this space for the latest news and gossip!
We are proud to announce that charterers and yachting enthusiasts have visited Boatbookings.com over 1 million times this year, a new record for us. People come to Boatbookings to charter yachts of course, and also for our itineraries, charter advice, destination guides, technology suggestions, and our famous route planner that allows you to plan the distance, fuel consumption and course of virtually any itinerary.
