Activity and relaxation flow in perfect juxtaposition on the yacht Flamingo Daze. Launched last February, this new Vripack-designed, 152-foot Hakvoort provides as much pleasure for charter guests as she does for her owners.

“The owners wanted the yacht fully featured for all types of instances, including grandchildren,” explained Glade Johnson, designer of the 6,000-nm range vessel. For ultimate ease, each and every one of the three deck levels has a dining area, full-service bar, entertainment and lounge area. Although the five guest staterooms are primarily designed for personal reprieve, they also are equipped with technology to enable guests to check in with the office. Showcasing the yacht’s versatility, one guest room even converts to a gym.

Click on the Spec and Design tab at top to see complete list of resources.

On the main deck aft, curved glass doors slide open to the salon’s dramatic floorshow. Here, an exuberant concert of curves and lines are playfully defined by creative use of contrasting maple and mahogany flooring. Not only is the floor a work of art, it also takes kindly to dancers’ heels. All of Johnson’s design on this yacht, from exterior styling to interior furniture, is in keeping with the owner’s emphatic preference for the curvilinear.
 
“The owner also really liked the richness of sapele mahogany with its ribbon-like grain, which he saw in other yachts I had designed,” said Johnson. “On the passageway doors the sapele veneer is flat, but on the furniture we alternately rotated blocks of sapele with a curved surface, creating a three-dimensional look.” The effect is both striking and unique, but difficult to accomplish. Builder Klaas Hakvoort admits, “The woodwork was a challenge. There is also a lot of stainless steel detailing I’ve never seen on any other boat. It was very complicated to achieve, but we succeeded.”
Although the salon offers a sophisticated entertainment center, the ultimate setup is one level above in the skylounge, fondly called the theater room. A 42-inch plasma screen ascends majestically from the bar and the 102-inch movie screen descends in tandem with a projector from the ceiling. Moviegoers and music aficionados can kick back in comfortable sofas while poker players and Monopoly maniacs play at the games table. Behind the prominent bar, a seamless door hidden in a stunning example of raised sapele block reveals the dumbwaiter, which delivers culinary delights from the galley directly below.
 
Moving outside and up to the sun deck, spectators in the forward observation area can drink in the seascape. Directly behind, those at the bar sip their libations under the watchful eye of a flamingo poised in a pool of water. Studying the six-foot-diameter glass bar top, you can get lost in the intricacies of flamingo feathers and each tiny wave, painstakingly chipped by the hand of craftsmen from the Dutch Driesden Glassworks studio.

At the other end of the deck is the Jacuzzi, surrounded by hydraulically lifting sun pads. When night falls, 12 water arches dance from the spa pool’s perimeter as it metamorphoses into a lighted fountain, providing an elegant and dramatic backdrop for alfresco meals and evening socializing.

Depending on weather and guests’ moods, four other dining areas create numerous options on Flamingo Daze. The aft skylounge deck and aft main deck provide protected alfresco areas. “The one concession the owners did make to chartering was a formal dining room,” said Johnson. In the galley, a downsized version of the country kitchen, caters to the owner’s more casual lifestyle.Relaxing and eating has its appeal, but most people also enjoy water activities. When it comes to toys, Flamingo Daze is surely in contention for charter yacht with the best toys honors. The vast array includes personal watercraft, kayaks, a windsurfer, kiteboard, trampoline, water skis, fishing gear, mountain bikes, Vespa scooters and even Segway people transporters. From the ranks of the talented crew, professional-caliber instructors for windsurfing, kiteboarding and diving can boost guests’ expertise.

Contrary to some charter yachts, Flamingo Daze really encourages guests to dive. The lazarette includes a professional high-capacity tank refill system, and guests also can take advantage of an array of top-quality underwater scooters.

Located forward on the main deck, the master stateroom is a visual delight. Diasporo, a marble so rare it is considered a semiprecious stone, dresses the cabinet tops in the bedroom and liberally surfaces the bathroom. The owner and Johnson went to Italy to choose all the marbles. “It makes a big difference,” said Johnson. “We picked this diasporo from slabs in Sicily. You can find quality marble along the side of the road that you could never procure from a source in the States.”

Offset to port is a king bed, draped in an elegant embroidered silk spread, nestled against the aft wall. Centered in the forward wall, long-mirrored doors grandly swing open to reveal a magnificent handmade glass etching. From floor to ceiling, corals, starfish, anemones and dolphins come to life as light radiates between two layers of glass. A spa tub, a large shower enclosure with three separate showerheads, double sinks and a dressing room complete this spacious bath area.The master study features a desk, laptop and full communications system. The yacht’s sophisticated Crestron touch-pad electronics systems control is suited even for a techno-peasant. A touch of the screen taps into a vast library of TV, movies and music as well as the yacht’s charts and systems. Another touch opens drapes, controls lights and even calls the stewardess. “The owner is an electronics freak,” confided Hakvoort. “Every crew bunk even has its own LCD.” Faithful to the owner’s wishes, the air conditioning here and throughout the yacht can “get so cold you can hang meat on the boat,” he jokes.

Proceeding aft past the dayhead and entrance foyer – showcasing a dramatic gold-and-silver flamingo – spiral stairs descend to four ensuite guest staterooms, whose décor reflects each cabin’s name: Beach, Sunset, Palm and Shell. The fundamental elements, however, are the same: satin-finished mahogany offset by maple burl and the same amenities as the master stateroom, including the Crestron system, telephones equipped with satellite communications, land line and intercom plus wireless e-mail. Three staterooms offer queen beds while the fourth converts from a stateroom with one to three full-size Pullman berths to a gym.

Since guests’ comfort was paramount to the yacht’s design-and-construction brief, its systems include an at-anchor stabilization system and an exhaust system that minimizes pollution and noise. As for noise attenuation, Hakvoort says, “We achieved such low sound levels for our yard, it was mind-blowing. In the guest cabin right next to the engine room the noise level is less than whispering and that’s when we are underway at cruise speed, which is thirteen knots.” Capt. Olav Hinke says that a guest in the salon cannot hear the engine start.The pilothouse sports all the bells and whistles of a modern Lloyds-classed, MCA-certified vessel. Hinke, who oversaw the construction of Flamingo Daze for three years, says, “I’ve captained and overseen work on lots of yachts, and I can tell you this boat will stand up to any comparison.” The yacht is about playfulness and fun, he says, smiling, obviously pleased with the result. As if to underscore the point, his laughing eyes alight on a colorful object overhead.

“That’s our mascot, Daisy,” he said. “She’s been with us the entire project, since we laid the keel. She’s our good luck charm!” You guessed it – legs dangling from the railing high above, sits a furry, palm-sized pink flamingo.

Flamingo Daze’s charter calendar is managed by Moran Yacht & Ship. She charters under MYBA terms for $175,000 per week plus expenses. She will be available in the Caribbean this winter. For interior resources, see page 222. For mechanical specifications and deck layouts, see page 302. For extended specifications, visit.

Flamingo Daze’s charter calendar is managed by Moran Yacht & Ship. She charters under MYBA terms for $175,000 per week plus expenses. She will be available in the Caribbean this winter. For interior resources, see page 222. For mechanical specifications and deck layouts, see page 302.