The christening of Ambrosia on July 18 in Viareggio, Italy, marked a watershed moment in the lengthy history of the Benetti shipyard. Not only is Ambrosia the most technologically advanced Benetti project to date, she is also the largest since 70-meter Reverie in 2001. Ambrosia is the last steel hull built in Viareggio before the company moved production of vessels over 50 meters to its new Livorno yard. Moreover, owner Ambrous Young is intimately associated with the Azimut-Benetti Group as a long-standing client and business partner, a factor that played significantly in Ambrosia’s realization.

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As a former Benetti shareholder, Young has contributed more than just investment capital. "He also brought with him long-term commitment, a creative drive and a willingness as a client to invest significantly in a succession of ever larger and more sophisticated yachts," explains Benetti CEO Paolo Vitelli.

Young has been the prime mover behind a series of benchmark Benetti motor yachts, both steel and aluminum, beginning with 40-meter Tully, which he sold prior to taking delivery. A succession of yachts named Ambrosia followed: The first one, 45 meters, launched in 1994; the second, 55 meters, in 1998; and his latest and largest, this 65-meter (213-foot) masterpiece of technology.

The relaxation area forward on the upper deck. (Click image to enlarge) 

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"The revolution for the yacht industry came with the introduction of our Compact Azipod in 2000," says Thomas Hackman, ABB’s area manager and team leader. "Produced for a power range from 400 to 5,000 kilowatts, it is designed to meet the growing demand for increased maneuverability and operational economy in smaller vessels."

Although pods display vastly different handling characteristics from conventional propulsion systems, managing Ambrosia in a waterway or at sea is relatively straightforward, thanks to an integrated control system from ABB with functions that include remote propulsion control, power management, alarm and monitoring, and data trending. The system provides precise, smooth speed control, which reduces stress on the equipment and thereby lowers maintenance costs. Additionally, the system is designed for safe operation in all conditions, allowing control parameters to be programmed for special circumstances, such as broaching seas.

Human error caused an equipment failure during Ambrosia’s first sea trial, but the system’s redundant backups proved their worth. "Two generators were temporarily out of action due to water contamination, and one of the main generators only worked at partial power because of a governor fault," explains build Captain Paul Brackley. "But we were still able to make 14 knots with just one of the main generators, and I calculated that we could cover a range of 9,000 nautical miles at 10 knots. The episode vindicated the whole system by proving that even in the case of severe equipment failure it can still do the job it was designed for: extremely reliable and autonomous long-range cruising."From a passenger’s standpoint, one of the best attributes of diesel-electric propulsion is its silent operation. As with all modern yachts, Ambrosia’s pumps, generators, compressors, air-conditioning units and other machinery are elastically mounted. The pod motors being underwater further the hush, quieting electric drives that already vibrate less and emit less noise than traditional diesel systems.

"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."Ambrosia’s interior was also an evolutionary process, taking the art deco theme of her 55-meter predecessor and developing it on a grander scale, with one major difference: The yacht was to function as a retirement home for the owner, who wanted the very best that money could buy. "Having said that, the décor is not showy," adds Zuretti. "Mr. Young wanted simple volumes that contain selected showpieces. And this is where art deco is so versatile; it’s rich without being heavy, a very linear style that combines well with more intricate detailing."

Zuretti’s room-by-room instructions were painstakingly listed in a 250-page tome complete with photographs of selected furniture and fittings. The furniture is constructed mostly of solid cherry, but teak, ash and burl of maple veneers are also used. Other materials include goatskin, parchment, mother-of-pearl, galuchat, bamboo, buffalo hide, and gold and silver leaf. Spinneybeck provided the leathers, except for the full-grain Connolly hide in the wheelhouse, which is marine- and flame-treated to meet MCA regulations. The mirrors were produced with antioxidant silvering to prevent clouding, and all the carpets are hand-tufted, 100 percent virgin New Zealand wool.

Ambrosia’s general layout provides for crew quarters on the lower deck that are completely independent from the four guest cabins and social areas. A VIP cabin—sometimes occupied by Young when unaccompanied by his wife—is located amidships on the upper deck. The formal owner’s suite occupies the area forward of the main foyer on the main deck. Aft of the same foyer is the dining room and main salon.

The Vikal limousine tender. (Click image to enlarge) 

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Immediately overhead on the upper deck is another innovative space known as the Stargate panoramic dining room. This circular-shaped room, which functions as an informal dining and cocktail area, looks onto the aft main deck through sliding glass doors and is totally unique in concept and utterly different in styling to the rest of the yacht. True to its name, the leitmotif of the décor is decidedly astronomical. The circular ceiling features the constellations of the northern and southern hemispheres illuminated by hundreds of fiber optics that wink softly in the dark. Moreover, the whole ceiling panel is driven by electric motors linked to the yacht’s GPS, so it revolves in conjunction with wherever Ambrosia happens to be on the world’s oceans.

Turning an eye down one finds a round, steel-framed table with a glass disc in its center. Below this disc is an elliptical Astolfo Turelli, an artist from Pisa. Using etching and bas-relief techniques, Turelli worked from satellite photographs of the barren orb. The sculpture’s tiny craters and fissures glow a lunar green when illuminated by optic fibers.

The interior abounds in handcrafted detailing such as the four classically styled wall lamps in the dining room. Sculpted by local artisans, these lamps are made from calcite alabaster, each taking up to a month to complete.

Etched glass detailing is a recurring feature throughout the yacht, such as on the small glass panels set into the cabinets and bar unit in the panoramic salon on the upper deck. Illuminated by optic fibers, these panels are etched with art deco–inspired designs that mirror the decorative border of the carpet. Turelli superbly etched the two sliding glass doors between the dining room and the main salon with designs of the Copernican universe and horoscope.

Turelli also authored the epic trompe l’oeil that decorates the stairwell between the main and lower decks. Inspiration for the mural came from a series of gilded panels recovered from the main salon of the 1930s passenger liner S.S. Normandie now housed in the Carnegie Museum of Art. The mural borrows many classical marine subjects from the original work, such as sea creatures, winged horses from Greek mythology and an astonishing number of different types of ships. And, if you look very closely, one of the vessels displays a flag with the owner’s personal coat of arms—the same heraldic shield that appears on Ambrosia’s funnel stack, accompanied by a banner with his motto, "Press Through."