NAVIS June / July 2015

Aston Martin’s Vantage series represents some of the world’s best high-performance sports cars. The model has become synonymous with speed, agility, and exclusivity. Last February, the car manufacturer revealed some promising details about the Vantage GT12. Limited to 100 vehicles, only a select group of people will get to experience the thrill of Aston Martin’s newest creation when it debuts in late 2015.

On Feb. 6, 2015, at 1400 hours, Dassault Systèmes test pilots Eric Gérard and Hervé Laverne took to the skies over the aeronautics manufacturer’s Bordeaux-Merignac facility, climbing to 1500 m in the new Falcon 8X tri jet. Before starting system testing and verification maneuvers of flying qualities at 4500 m, they climbed to 12,000 m and accelerated to Mach 0.80. They then dropped to 4500 m to begin preparation maneuvers in anticipation of landing. This first successful flight, just a month after the initial rollout, earned substantial praise from the pilots and raised a few eyebrows in the process.

The strategy of building a sailing yacht that wins races is simple. It must be faster than the competition. The task of ensuring the win, however, is a bit more complicated. When a racing yacht shaves two days off of a Transatlantic West to East record, as Mari Cha IV did in 2003, that is a strategy worth studying.

Born of a one-sentence brief requested by owner Bob Miller, Mari Cha IV’s design team received a clear directive: create the fastest monohull in the world. When the experienced and capable team composed of naval architects and designers Philippe Briand, Clay Oliver, and Greg Elliott accepted Miller’s challenge, they set out to make history. Miller simply wanted to regain a record Transatlantic title. No one, it turns out, would be disappointed.

Benetti dedicates itself to building unique yachts that match each owner’s needs. Working with the individual makes it possible for Benetti’s team to develop innovative approaches to design and construction. Experienced owners can often push design boundaries, especially when they know what they want, but they don’t understand all of the engineering that goes into building their preferences.

Working with VICA’s owner gave Benetti several opportunities to expand its horizons. The motor yacht includes some of the builder’s most innovative technologies. It also has an aesthetic that blends well with the Mediterranean. No matter where the owner and his guests travel, they will feel at home.

Similar to the lush island so romantically immortalized in song, Kokomo under sail is a vision worthy of dreams. A clean, contemporary silhouette, designed by Ed Dubois Naval Architecture and built by Alloy Yachts, Kokomo’s gloss black hull, stark white superstructure, and transom trimmed in gleaming silver present a sleek, sophisticated build. An interior profile that boasts a casual, comfortable style meshes well with a life on the water that is both relaxing and elegant.

For five generations, the Lürssen family has consistently delivered on a promise of excellence, enhanced by performance, in the business of building ships. The recent creation of an exquisite luxury yacht, the Ester III, continues the Lürssen legacy in a long line of beautiful, functional, innovative yachts.

Launched in 2014 from the Lürssen shipyard in Germany, Ester III earned praise from the moment the exquisite build first touched water. A unique, masculine, low-volume profile by Espen Øino International Design, complemented by the exceptional interiors of Reymond Langton Design, contribute to Ester III’s panache as a private, practical superyacht.