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Benetti’s new 58-meter is well-dressed for success.
by Justin Ratcliffe
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04/01/2007
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| Benetti 190 |  |
There would be a satisfying symmetry in being able to say that
the 58-meter (190-foot) motor yacht Sunday was launched on a Sunday,
especially as she is the English namesake of her owner’s wife. But the Sabbath
is a day of rest at the Benetti shipyard in Livorno, Italy, and so the
christening took place on a Saturday early last May. Although Sunday
shares the classic lines of her 56-meter predecessors Allegro and
Galaxy, she has a number of styling features that make her one of the
most handsome Benetti yachts to date.
 Sunday’s salon and dining room exhibit works
of contemporary art including sculptures by Sofia Vari and a paper piece
by Pavlos. (Click image to enlarge)
Most important, an extra meter was added amidships to provide
more room for guest accommodations and also in the forepeak to house a third
emergency generator that also powers the 160-kW Vosper bow thruster. As is
almost always true of those behind a successful yacht project, her European
owners are an experienced and demanding couple that knew exactly what they
wanted. Even so, considering their previous yacht was a converted 48.85-meter
wood-hulled minesweeper built by Lürssen in 1960, the steel-and-aluminum
Sunday represented a challenge both in terms of size and commitment.
| Click on the Spec tab at top to see complete list of resources. |
The owners’ brief to the Benetti team was to create a vessel
comprising two independent yet complementary elements. They wanted a sober
yet luxurious yacht that utilized up-to-date yet proven technology. In terms of
exterior styling, Stefano Natucci’s understated, feminine curves suited the
owners down to the ground. The midnight blue Awlgrip-coated hull with its
red waterline stripe recalls the regal elegance of a Perini Navi motor sailer.
Two subtle blisters in the coaming on the bridge deck that house the wing
stations were specifically requested by the captain for a better line of sight fore and aft. Other requests included the extended roll bar to provide
permanent hardtop protection when dining on the sun deck. The clear, rather
than smoked glass safety rails also lend the yacht a lighter, more streamlined
profile than her smaller cousins.
Top: Marine motifs like
these recur throughout the interior. Bottom: The yacht’s handcrafted furniture
is epitomized by this side
cabinet by Craman Lagarde. (Click images to enlarge)
For the interior design, the owners engaged Sofoklis
Emmanouilidis of Studio IPSO in Athens, who has previously worked on the
family’s homes around the world. For inspiration he turned to the 1920s heyday
of French art deco typified by the grand interiors of the ocean liner SS
Normandie. Not the first to do so, you might think, as Ambrosia
borrowed motifs from the same vessel. But aboard Sunday the styling is
purer and more personal, reflecting the female owner’s passion for the period
and the austere fashion designs of Erté (a curious though irrelevant fact is
that Erté was a Russian émigré whose Fleet Admiral father wanted his son to
pursue a naval career). She is also an avid collector of contemporary Greek art,
and these seemingly disparate styles have been boldly combined to produce an
interior that is modern yet timeless.
"What makes the interior design special is the fact that nearly
all the furniture and fittings have been hand-built by craftsmen, many of them
French, using techniques that are rapidly dying out," says the Greek designer.
For examples you need look no further than the aft entrance to the main salon,
which is flanked by two side cabinets created by the artisan furniture makers of
Craman Lagarde. Silvered leather enclosed behind Plexiglas doors fronts the
palissandre wood units. In the dining room, additional cabinets for storing
tableware are decorated with wave patterns in white gold leaf by the Parisian
artist Mireille Herbst. The same artist is responsible for the wall map in the
owner’s study depicting the eastern Mediterranean and created entirely out of
white gold leaf. All the appliqués and table lamps are custom designed by
Schmidt in stainless steel and crystal glass. The same superlative level of
craftsmanship continues in the owner’s suite on the main deck, which features
floor-to-ceiling wall panels sculpted out of stainless steel depicting four
bas-relief female figures that represent the four seasons.
Top: The art deco master suite with its panels
representing the four seasons. Bottom: The owner’s study has a map of the
Mediterranean in white gold leaf. (Click images to enlarge)
White onyx, high-gloss sycamore wood and polished stainless
steel are the dominant materials used throughout the yacht and lend the interior
a clean, crisp ambiance. These subdued tones are highlighted with colorful
contem-porary works of art, such as the intricate floral still life on the
dining room bulkhead by Pavlos made entirely of paper and the imposing red and
black metal sculptures in the main salon by Sofia Vari, the wife of the artist
Botero, who is renowned for his lighthearted representations of robust ladies.
The superlative attention to detail presented a few challenges to the Benetti
team when it came to laying the delicate onyx paving and shaping the stainless
steel skirting boards. Even the smoke detectors in the ceilings are edged in
polished stainless steel. The owner’s suite is where the hybrid styling reaches
its climax with stainless steel Evré-style figurines inlaid into the onyx walls
of the bathrooms and bespoke art deco table lamps. From the bedroom a series of
steps leads up to a cozy private lounge with a panoramic view over the foredeck.
The lounge can be closed off from the cabin and decorating the walls are a
series of metal bird sculptures by the Greek artist Alecos Fassianos that recall
the forms of Byzantine icon-paintings—motifs that recur elsewhere on the yacht.
On a more practical level, the stairs leading up to the lounge can be
hydraulically raised to reveal a spacious storage area beneath that is suitable
for stowing suitcases.
On the lower deck, the guest accommodations consist of two twin
single cabins with Pullman bunks and two double cabins. It is here where the
extra meter added amidships makes itself felt: the single beds are a comfortable
piazza e mezzo in width with the same amount of floor space between them,
while the double cabins feature twin washbasins in the bathrooms. The
appointments and level of finish is on a par with the owner’s suite with
onyx-lined shower stalls, Lalique crystal accessories and faux-painted metal
frames to the fire doors. An elegant VIP suite is located on the upper deck and
takes advantage of two huge starboard windows that extend the length of the
cabin and bathroom. The inlaid black detailing in the cabinets complements the
leather piping of the diamond capitonné panel behind the headboard. Fiber-optic
lighting illuminates the two Plexiglas pillars that frame the TV cabinet.
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