Benetti 213

"Hull excitations and pressure pulses are very low—so low that on the bridge or in the master suite you’re not actually aware of being under way," claims Captain Brackley. At 14 knots on one main generator with the air conditioning and watermaker running, the noise level in the owner’s study and cabin is less than 45 decibels, far quieter than a typical living room.

A sophisticated Kongsberg dynamic positioning system works with the pods to take full advantage of their remarkable maneuverability. This provides automatic control of the vessel’s position and heading by means of active thrust, which may also mean remaining at a fixed location without anchoring or precision maneuvering in restricted spaces. The sway, roll and yaw of the vessel are measured by sensors so that the controller unit, using position data from the ship’s GPS transponder, can calculate and apply immediate compensation via the propulsion systems, including bow thruster and stabilizer fins.

The Gyrocam housing on the observatory deck. (Click image to enlarge) 

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The security systems aboard Ambrosia also employ the latest technology. In addition to 30-plus video cameras, the owner requested a night-vision camera and searchlight supplied by Canada’s Current Corporation but produced by surveillance specialists Gyrocam Systems. Housed under the radar arch, the unit incorporates top-of-the-range inertial guidance gyroscopes, similar to those used to guide a missile around the world and hit a small target without outside navigational input. When used in conjunction with the gyro-stabilized GyroLight, the camera can focus on an object up to three kilometers away at night with perfect stability. Apart from being used to identify navigational markers and berths from a distance, it has an ulterior function as an anti-terrorist and anti-piracy device. During sea trials in a confused sea state at night, the crew was able to read the name on the transom of a fishing boat entering the port of Livorno at a distance of more than two kilometers.

The success of a custom yacht project largely depends on the relationship between the owner, builder and designer—a lovers’ triangle that can quickly sour if the parties are not all working in the same direction. Perhaps with this in mind, Benetti turned to two trusted consultants, Stefano Natucci and François Zuretti, for Ambrosia’s exterior and interior styling. Both designers established their careers with long-standing relationships to the shipyard but, more important, they also collaborated with Young on all of his Ambrosia yachts. (Natucci also worked on Tully.)

Ambrosia stands six stories high from the bottom deck to the observatory deck and has more than 400 rooms, living areas, technical and storage spaces. Despite these dimensions and volumes, her exterior lines are sleek and well proportioned, the very size of the yacht lending her a reassuringly muscular and seaworthy presence expected of a transoceanic vessel.

"I was looking for traditional Benetti lines that also reflected Ambrosia’s high-tech specs," says Natucci, who begins the design process with hand sketches that are then transferred to a 3-D computer program to finalize the proportions. "The yacht is incredibly sophisticated, both in terms of engineering and styling. But when it comes to design, I believe in gradual evolution rather than radical revolution. A yacht should first and foremost look like a yacht."

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