Since 1993, the Suffolk-based Spirit Yachts has embarked on a journey of custom crafting exquisite wood yachts, both sail and power. “Modern Classic” is the brand’s tagline, and this seeming dichotomy is so often overused in so many industries today, it seems clichéd. The original inspiration behind Spirit’s founding was custom-crafted but sustainable alternatives to fiberglass production vessels. Perhaps nowhere but here does “modern classic” ring truer, with their latest delivery: the 33-meter S/Y Spirit 111. The superyacht was ordered by a young European who christened her Geist.
It’s been ninety years since the British have produced a single-masted timbered yacht anywhere near this size. That would have been Shamrock V, a J class, finely crafted but weighty in its power and size, and requiring a large crew. Back then, these boats were built for capturing the America’s Cup. It’s easy to spout “that was then, this is now,” but there are many who’d sell their souls for the privilege of helming any of the few remaining J classes. Geist launched on the 29th of July 2020 and is nothing short of classic artistry and a fine example of supreme British craftsmanship. She meets all the characteristics of a typical Spirit Yachts’ design: a custom wood/epoxy construction, flush decks, long overhang, and low freeboards. Then Spirits’ design and build teams elevated their crafts to another level with Geist.
Below deck, Rhodes Young Design skillfully steps into the project for the interior, a first for Spirit, which traditionally keeps its design work in-house. Rhodes Young then delivered in spades on the owner’s passion for furniture and organic design. The interior is rendered in a harmony of S-shaped passageways, drawing inspiration from the owner’s visit to the undulating red sandstone walls of Antelope Canyon in Arizona. Her interior is, quite simply, breathtaking. A walk-through will lead you down a pleasant rabbit hole of discoveries. Standard but visually unappealing essentials are strategically hidden behind steam-bent American walnut, the grains matched from a single tree. There’s hardly an angle to be found anywhere, from the centerpiece table base of 64 slim rays of Sipo mahogany resembling a wheat sheaf, to the crown of fan-shaped skylight windows overhead, to the curved seating which reportedly took over 1,000 hours to handcraft. Behind one of the few obvious corners, you’ll find the galley in this open plan layout. In fact, the only evidence of its presence, besides the saloon, is the obsidian glossiness of the induction cooker, which might just as well be an oddly placed nav screen in sleep mode. A gentle touch is all that’s needed to open sleek panels beneath and find the sink, fridge, and microwave.
