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Software mogul Jim Clark challenged Royal Huisman to expand the limits of its capacity and creativity in building his impossible dream: tremendous three-masted schooner Athena.
by Jack A. Somer
photography by Stephane Bravin, Franco Pace, Hans Westerink
03/01/2005
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| Royal Huisman 295 |  |
Clark
did, however,
energetically
address
three of
Athena’s
new features,
beginning
with the media
lounge. This
bridge-deck “penthouse”
essentially is a
genial gathering
place and
observatory
of the
sea for
Clark, his wife
and their guests. But Seascape Communications,
Clark’s
software firm, also installed a
400-DVD film
library
for
viewing on the
60-inch plasma screen (and
numerous other monitors
throughout the
yacht), as
well as 2,500
music CDs,
all stored
on four terabytes
of
hard drives. Music,
movies and satellite
television audio are all
enjoyed
in surround
sound.
Seascape
also devised a SCADA system to
monitor and
provide up to 2,600 alarms
for all
onboard
technical
systems in order to assure safe and
efficient
operation at
sea.
 One of two tender platforms also serve
Clark's passion for scuba diving. (click image to enlarge)
Second, Clark conceived the
main-deck dive locker to
suit
his zeal for exploring undersea
life. The
controlled-environment space
has
bottle-filling facilities,
diving gear
stowage and a
workshop.
A
one-person
decompression
chamber
is set in the
lazarette. It will serve
well, as between
now and the
2007
America’s Cup races in Spain, Clark
plans to
have Athena
circumnavigate, visiting choice
diving
areas of
the
Pacific and Indian Oceans
along
the way. Clark himself
spends
three
or
four
months cruising each year, and
rarely
goes
ashore.
His
third area of focus was the galley.
The
envy of
any
five-star bistro,
it was planned by
restaurant consultants
along with
Clark’s
private
chef, and includes only
top-of-the-line cooking,
chilling and
freezing
gear.
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