The Azimut Yachts Atlantis 45 is a two-stateroom, two-head performance cruiser. Power for the 47-footer is provided by a pair of 480 hp Volvo Penta IPS650 diesels, which gave the yacht a top hop of 35 knots during our time on board. Cruise speed was 28 knots.

There is a lounge pad aft and a dining table abaft the two-seat helm for alfresco meals. Across is a double bench seat that converts to a 16-square-foot lounge pad.

At press time, there were 18 Azimut Atlantis 45s available, ranging from $645,000 to $1.2 million.

From the Archive

“But then, perception of space aboard the 45 is slightly skewed because the companionway is off-center, so what you may suppose to be the middle of the yacht really isn’t. The Atlantis 45 takes the builder’s midsize offerings in a new design direction, one that has proved popular on larger models. For yachtsmen looking for big-boat styling in a family-size express cruiser, the 45 may be worth a look.”

— Yachting, September 2020

The post For Sale: Azimut Atlantis 45 appeared first on Yachting.

In 2020, the BSB Group released Oscar, a machine vision collision-avoidance system. Oscar used cameras to detect objects, and it would send real-time alerts to avoid collisions.

The company, now called Sea.AI, has since partnered with Pixel sur Mer, a French data-management and vessel-control company, and with ENSTA Bretagne, a French university with expertise in robotic engineering and autonomous navigation. Together, the trio is innovating Exos 2024, an AI and multisensor system for detecting, identifying and autonomously dodging obstacles.

These sensors include automatic identification system receivers, global-positioning system receivers, radar and cameras. Exos 2024 fuses information from all the networked sensors, allowing AI to make more-informed decisions than an optical-only solution.

Gaetan Gouerou, Sea.AI’s co-founder, says one of Exos 2024’s main challenges is determining when the system should intervene. “The autopilot will only take over in the event of a proven dangerous situation,” he says. “The acquisition of reliable information required for such action is a challenge.”

Gouerou says the group’s collective experiences will allow them to build a solution faster than any of the three could develop the technology alone. The plan is to make Exos 2024 available to singlehanded sailors competing in the 2024 Vendee Globe around-the-world race.

Database Building

In 2020, Sea.AI commanded a million annotated maritime objects in its database. It’s now more than 9 million objects. Exos 2024’s AI examines real-time imagery captured by its cameras using information gleaned from its database to detect and identify nonwater objects. Sea.AI plans to leverage the gains it makes with the Exos 2024 project to improve Sentry, a collision-avoidance system for power cruising.   

Take the next step: sea.ai

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For a satisfying sampler of New England summer fun, cruise over to Block Island. A short jaunt from Montauk, New York, and Newport, Rhode Island, this charming isle offers 17 miles of beaches, 28 miles of trails, fascinating history, solid marinas, great restaurants and a laid-back atmosphere.

Beaches

With 17 miles of beaches, Block Island has an expanse of sand for every type of traveler. Crescent Beach stretches for 3 miles along the island’s eastern shore. Mansion Beach at the island’s northern tip is quieter, better for beachcombing. Fred Benson Town Beach, at the island’s center, is beloved by families for its wide beach, shallow surf, extensive facilities, concession stand and summertime movies. A quarter-mile away is Scotch Beach, a “see and be seen” spot for teens and 20-somethings. For the party scene, head to Ballard’s Beach for tiki bars and live music.

Outdoor Activities

The Nature Conservancy once named Block Island one of 12 “last great places” in the Western Hemisphere because of its abundance of rare plants and animals, and the community’s dedication to conservation. The Block Island Conservancy offers free nature walks and programs during the summer.

It’s easy to explore the island’s natural wonders by hiking or biking along 28 miles of trails. The Mohegan Bluffs are a must-see, standing 200 feet high along a 3-mile stretch of the shore. It’s worth the 141 steps down to the beach to view the bluffs from the waterline. Birders flock to the island’s north end for the 127-acre Block Island National Wildlife Refuge, which hosts more than 70 migratory species in the fall. You can launch your kayak or paddleboard from your berth in one of the three marinas in the Great Salt Pond (West Harbor) to search for crabs and other creatures. Or book a fishing charter to angle for striped bass, for which the Block Island Sound is so well known.

History

A national historic landmark, the Southeast Lighthouse has been a beacon for ships from atop the Mohegan Bluffs since 1873. Its museum chronicles the history of New England’s highest lighthouse, including the time in 1993 when the bluff’s erosion forced a $2 million relocation of the lighthouse. In New Shoreham, the Block Island Historical Society showcases stone tools from the indigenous Manissean community, along with maritime and colonial memorabilia, and photos of island life during the Victorian era.

Dining

A Block Island institution, Poor People’s Pub serves casual fare as well as creative specials, such as duck pasta and saltimbocca pizza. Dead Eye Dick’s is known for its lobster and swordfish, which it also sells through its seafood market, Dick’s Fish & Provisions. Head to Block Island Oyster Bar and Grill for its namesake dish, harvested daily. Aldo’s Bakery provides boat delivery for its delicious coffee, pastries and light fare.

The post Cruising Block Island appeared first on Yachting.

In 2018, I watched my buddy Allan engage the Mad Max autopilot mode on his Tesla Model S, cuing the car to switch lanes aggressively on Interstate 95. While the experience as a human was unnerving, the car leveraged cameras, sensors and artificial intelligence to maneuver safely.

Months later, I rode on a Boston Whaler 330 Outrage fitted with Mercury Marine’s Advanced Pilot Assist and Raymarine’s DockSense systems. As we approached the boat’s slip, the preproduction system used cameras, AI and the outboard engines to maintain a 3-foot safety buffer.

At the 2022 Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show, I saw these ideas meld in Avikus’ prototype NeuBoat autonomous operations system. The boat, with a human-in-the-loop operator, navigated itself out of its slip, up a river and around a lake before reversing course and docking itself.

Ready or not, autonomous technology is coming. This is likely good news for novice boaters—and for boaters who hate docking—because some of the marine industry’s smartest minds have been combining sensors and AI to smooth out boating’s rough corners. One example is NeuBoat (neuron plus boat), which Avikus is developing in partnership with Raymarine.

While experts say the sensors and software already exist to enable fully autonomous docking and navigation, Avikus and Raymarine foresee a road map to autonomy that earns trust with boaters while buying time for engine manufacturers to integrate the technology, and for agencies and organizations to create regulations.

“We’re intentionally paralleling the automotive market,” says Jamie Cox, Raymarine’s senior global product manager. “But I think we will beat automotive.”

Others agree. Sangwon Shin, Avikus’ director of strategic planning and business development, says: “In our view, the boating environment is less complicated than the car environment. So, we expect a little bit faster adoption rate.”

For boaters who are ready to start now, Avikus and Raymarine are releasing NeuBoat Dock this year. The assisted-docking system includes at least six self-calibrating, 360-degree cameras; a Raymarine multifunction display; an Avikus object-recognition unit; camera control boxes; and Avikus’ AI to provide bird’s-eye views and distance guides. (Garmin’s Surround View camera system provides similar capabilities.)

NeuBoat Dock is a level-one autonomous navigation system, which means it serves as a virtual assistant to human operators who remain in control. Level-two systems provide partial driving automation but still require a human operator. Level-three systems have conditional driving automation, requiring some human oversight, while level four has zero expectations of driver involvement. Level five is full driving automation.

Avikus, which is a spin-off of HD Hyundai, began developing NeuBoat in 2019. The resulting level-three-plus black-box prototype, which I got aboard in 2022, used the global navigation satellite system and vector cartography to establish position. The local device didn’t require internet connectivity. Instead, it employed daylight cameras and lidar (light detection and ranging) sensors to detect objects, measure distances, and scan and map berths. It also used Avikus’ AI to detect and classify nearby objects and vessels, assist with route planning, and suggest navigable courses.

This latter information was presented as screen views showing vector cartography with recommended courses, head-up displays and live camera views with augmented-reality data tags.

While impressive, the prototype didn’t use radar or the automatic identification system, so its range of object detection was limited to lidar’s 400-foot-range capacity. This range worked at our 6-knot speed, giving us 39 seconds of reaction time, but it wouldn’t work at 25 knots, only allowing for nine seconds.

Enter Raymarine, which integrated its own radar technology with Avikus’ AI. This combination extended NeuBoat’s detection range from 400 feet to 1.5 nautical miles. Shin says Avikus plans to integrate radar, sonar and infrared cameras within five years.

While extra range is important for recreational users, it’s critical for letting Avikus develop autonomous systems on large ships. “We use the same technology and the same algorithms for commercial and recreational, but the hardware specs are different,” Shin says.

In addition to radar expertise, Raymarine has amassed experience using computer vision from its DockSense and ClearCruise AR products. The latter places augmented-reality tags atop a video feed. Computer vision is a branch of AI that lets computers recognize, categorize and identify objects and people in digital images or video feeds; as such, it is critical to autonomous operations.

Looking ahead, Shin says, commercial ships and recreational vessels will first use autonomous navigation with human-in-the-loop operators, followed by autonomous operations. This isn’t a hypothetical; in 2022, Avikus’ commercial version of NeuBoat autonomously guided an LNG tanker across an ocean with human-in-the-loop oversight.

“The technology is there today,” Cox says. “We need to make sure that people are ready to use the technology responsibly and that regulations are there.”

When asked what milestones need to be met for autonomous operations aboard recreational yachts, Cox and Shin made clear they aren’t talking about distant horizons. “None are 10 years out,” Cox says, adding that by mid-2024, Avikus and Raymarine expect to have achieved sensor fusion, where the system can combine data from the vessel’s AIS, cameras, GNSS, lidar and radar. “In two years, on the control side, boats will be docking and driving themselves.”

Shin agrees: “In five years, we’re expecting lots of the boating community to accept the possibility of autonomous navigation or partial assistance on their boat.”

Before this can happen, however, Cox and Shin point to two technical complexities: networking with autopilots and engines. As with radars, Raymarine has decades of experience manufacturing autopilots, so engine interfaces could prove to be the sticky wicket. “Engine manufacturers need to become more progressive,” Shin says. “They are the powerful guys.” Cox says the goal is to integrate NeuBoat with every major engine manufacturer.

Cox and Shin also point to a need for regulations to govern autonomous vessels. This is already happening; in 2022, the American Bureau of Shipping published a white paper that detailed 10 points—from maintaining propulsion to maintaining communications—intended to create a structure for autonomous-vessel design and operations. The US Coast Guard also published guidelines on testing remote- and autonomously controlled vessels.

Convincing experienced boaters that autonomous technology is the path forward could be a hard sell for some, but this is where Avikus and Raymarine plan to parallel the automotive world. Most contemporary cars have adaptive cruise control, making these types of assistance features feel familiar. Many boaters also own cars with an autopilot feature.

But driving to work is different than taking the boat out for a spin. Here, Cox says NeuBoat isn’t going to take away boating’s joys. Instead, the idea is to reduce stress. For example, Cox describes allowing the boat to navigate autonomously to the fishing grounds or home from a cruise.

Cox also says autopilots have served boaters for decades, and that autonomous navigation is an extension of this capability, combined with the ability to avoid collisions autonomously.

For newer boaters, autonomous technology is an easier proposition. “I’m a new boater, and I get nervous a lot,” Shin says. “We target new boaters. We want more people to enjoy boating.”

Then there is boating’s greatest equalizer. “People don’t like docking,” Cox says. “We’re never going to stop you from driving your boat, but it might be nice, if you’re coming into a dock and are getting stressed out, to switch it on.”

The wait won’t be long, either. While Avikus is paralleling the automotive sector, Cox and Shin expect NeuBoat technology to navigate and dock recreational vessels sooner than cars. “People will be surprised with how quickly we will get to market,” Cox says.

Having experienced Tesla’s Mad Max mode and Avikus’ level-three-plus sea trials,

I can say that far less adrenaline is involved watching a demonstration boat dock itself than when I pawed for a nonexistent passenger-side brake pedal in my buddy Allan’s Tesla.

Better Optics

While NeuBoat Dock uses six 360-degree cameras, they only work for daytime operations. The obvious move is to add thermal-imaging cameras, and Raymarine’s parent company, Teledyne, owns FLIR. Thermal-imaging cameras would add cost, but Cox says these sophisticated optical sensors could be included aboard higher-end NeuBoat installations.

The post AI-Assisted Piloting Is Coming appeared first on Yachting.

Tami Frain was so sure about the look and feel she and her husband, Rick, wanted for Romeo Foxtrot that she could taste it. She’s as big a fan of cooking as she is of boathandling and cruising. She has whipped up memorable meals aboard all of the couple’s previous yachts, including the 98-foot Hargrave Tigers Eye, which they had for 12 years before taking delivery of the 116-foot Hargrave.

With Romeo Foxtrot, Frain envisioned turning out dishes that would please everyone, down to the youngest grandchild. And yet, everyone else was convinced that the reality of owning a yacht run by professional crew would win out. Shelley DiCondina of Yacht Interiors by Shelley says she vividly remembers one of her first conversations with Frain about the design for Romeo Foxtrot’s galley. As Frain and Rachel Wike, a designer at the company, discussed color palettes and the overall ambience with Frain, DiCondina gently told Frain, “You’re not going to cook.” Frain replied, “Yes, I am,” without missing a beat.

Today, although Frain has spent a good amount of time in the galley since the yacht’s delivery, she’s primarily discussing menus with her chef and crew at the four-person settee and corner table. And no one has a problem with the way things turned out.

It’s not often that experienced yacht owners are proved wrong. Then again, it’s not often that being proved wrong ends up being proved right about something else. When the Frains commissioned Romeo Foxtrot, they wanted a bigger yacht where their extended family could all sit together, put their feet up and relax. Being booted from the galley means Frain can spend more time with everyone (and squeeze in work when needed).

Similarly, the Frains wanted big groups of charter guests to enjoy quality time with one another. Between smart space utilization and equally smart decor choices, they’ve succeeded.

Romeo Foxtrot’s beach club is one of the best examples of how the Frains’ vision came to fruition. Tigers Eye, delivered in 2007, had no beach club. Romeo Foxtrot’s extra length allows for a fold-down transom, perfect for the grandkids to board water toys while the grown-ups keep a watchful eye from the teak swim platform or the air-conditioned, shaded lounge. There’s also a steam room and a day head. In fact, the Frains insisted on having a day head on every deck, including the sun deck—quite uncommon for a 116-footer.

Also uncommon for a yacht this length, Romeo Foxtrot has two king-berth guest staterooms and two nearly king staterooms belowdecks. The latter beds are, according to DiCondina, just 6 inches shy of true kings, which tend to be the exclusive domain of VIP and master staterooms. Most yacht owners also tend to put at least one twin-berth stateroom belowdecks for charter, with the berths capable of pushing together. The Frains felt that four nearly identical staterooms (with different accent colors) would be attractive for charter.

The Frains also created a restful stateroom for themselves on the main deck. Big windows bring light into a cozy seating area that Tami Frain especially enjoys for sipping coffee or reading a book. Rick Frain, meanwhile, likes the 85-inch TV opposite the master’s king bed. As with the rest of Romeo Foxtrot, the decor in this stateroom includes rich walnut, creamy accents, and a pop of jade in the fabrics. There’s also a trellis made of high-gloss ebony that starts at the nightstands, then flows up overhead (headroom exceeds 7 feet) and onto a wall. A trellis is also overhead in the main foyer, visually distinguishing the dining area from the salon in the open-plan layout.

From areas that guests won’t see, such as the captain’s cabin abaft the wheelhouse, to relaxation areas guests can enjoy, such as the waterfall spa pool on the sun deck, Hargrave Custom Yachts fulfilled the Frains’ desire for a much bigger boat than their previous one, with the features of even larger yachts. You could say that this combined team is cooking with gas.

Stunning Staircase

Romeo Foxtrot’s internal staircase has floating treads that spiral around a metal pole, essentially forming a sculpture in the midst of the open-plan main deck. This staircase is lighted beautifully at night. Rachel Wike of Yacht Interiors by Shelley came up with the concept.

Not Done Yet

Although the Frains just took delivery of Romeo Foxtrot in 2022, the yacht is for sale. The Frains have another custom yacht under construction. It will be their third Hargrave and slightly longer, at 118 feet, and is scheduled for delivery in time for summer Mediterranean cruising. 

This Table Is Tops

Rick Frain loves wood. Shelley DiCondina of Yacht Interiors by Shelley designed the main-deck dining table from one board of Mediterranean oak, center-cut horizontally. The live edges are on the inside of the table, with gray epoxy in the center. The smooth sides face guests, while the organic edges are art.

Take the next step: hargravecustomyachts.com

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The Lomac GranTurismo 14 is a superyacht tender that can double as a capable day cruiser. Federico Fiorentino penned this flagship RIB, and the design team used computer modeling to yield a high-performance hull form that’s efficient at all speeds. The twin-shell hull is built from aramid fibers and vinylester resin using a vacuum-infusion process, and it’s finished with neopentyl gelcoat. The RIB carries generous bow and stern sun pads and a cockpit table, as well as a belowdecks space that includes a dinette and an enclosed head.

Whom It’s For: Maxi and superyacht owners who seek a fast, comfortable and fashionable tender that can accommodate 16 people.

Picture This: It’s late April, and you’re cruising the Leeward Islands. Your main ride is berthed on St. Maarten, but the kids want to watch the fast race boats at Les Voiles de St. Barth. You load up your Lomac GranTurismo 14 and punch across the 15 or so bluewater miles separating St. Maarten from St. Barthélemy. The RIB has zero issue with the open-ocean swell, and its triple 450 hp outboards make short work of keeping pace with the gunboats.    

Take the next step: lomac.it

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The record-setting long-distance sailor Reid Stowe, a self-described “shaman mystic” who once roamed the planet under sail for 1,152 days without stopping or setting foot ashore, is a one-of-a-kind mariner. My first encounter with Reid was some two decades ago, when I was writing a weekly boating column for The New York Times. I was dispatched to Pier 63 in Manhattan to interview the artist, sculptor and voyager. Fit, lean and handsome, he had quite the story to tell.

At the time, Reid was living aboard his 70-foot schooner, Anne, which he’d built in the early 1970s on a North Carolina beach with a crew of like-minded acolytes. He’d named the boat after his mother and had just completed a 200-day trip, which he dubbed “The Voyage of the Sea Turtle” after the image of a giant terrapin he’d carved in the seas with his wake via the trip’s GPS track. Prior to that, he’d sailed Anne to Antarctica, and on that expedition he’d come up with the idea of a 1,000-day marathon at sea. This one also had a handle: “The Mars Ocean Odyssey.” It turned out to be the hook for my Times piece.

Why Mars? Simple. Reid surmised that a three-year, unsupported, nonstop “space analogous” voyage—a marathon sail so unique that the only thing he could compare it to was a passage through the heavens—would take as long as a flight to Mars and pose similar psychological challenges. During the round-the-world passage that he completed between 2007 and 2010, that turned out to be the case.

In the aftermath of the journey, a funny thing happened: Elon Musk launched SpaceX and floated the idea of launching a rocket ship to Mars. That got Reid’s wheels turning once again. Who would be the ideal person to command such a spaceship, to lead such an audacious human undertaking? He believed that he would.

Read More from Herb McCormick: And The US Sailing Capital Is?

I learned this last fall on my most recent visit with Reid, this time in his spacious studio on Manhattan’s West Side. (He still owns Anne, which is currently anchored across the Hudson River in a New Jersey backwater.) Though he’s now 71, still dashing but no longer youthful, he nonetheless made a pretty eloquent case for his “Rocket Man” ambitions: “At sea, you’re constantly looking up at the stars, which are also reflected in the water below. The sensation is almost exactly like a spaceman venturing through the stars. For humanity to evolve off this planet to become a multiplanetary species, this is such an important moment in history. And Musk is developing the rocket that will take humans to Mars. We will be living among the stars. If we’re going to do it, we’ll need the right people.”

Reid reckons that trained astronauts may have certain necessary technical skills, but they would lack the understanding of true isolation that he’s experienced as a sailor.

Reid has been longing to get Musk’s attention, to date to no avail. Before returning to New York, he even sailed Anne across the Gulf of Mexico to the Texas coast with a crew of would-be astronaut trainees to catch a SpaceX satellite launch. He has, however, attracted the interest of the greater Mars space community—and a former NASA engineer has volunteered to build him a Mars-ready spacesuit. He has a life-size rendering of it on a canvas adorning one of his studio walls.

It’s fairly impossible what to make of all of this, but as I bid farewell to Reid, I was reminded never to bet against him, as I might’ve in the past. Yes, he’s a bit spacey (no pun intended) and certainly eccentric. But his track record is a proven one.

The post The Ultimate Sailing Voyage appeared first on Yachting.

November 29, 2014: Team Vestus Wind was racing from Cape Town, South Africa, to Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates at speeds of 16 to 21 knots. The boat slammed into the Cargados Carajos Shoals, around 235 nautical miles northeast of Mauritius. The crew survived, but the multimillion-dollar race boat was destroyed.

Human error was to blame, but postmortem reports suggest that the scale of the boat’s chart displays was a contributing factor. The boat carried two multifunction displays and two laptops, but the 6.4-inch MFD screens couldn’t provide much resolution at scale.

Navigation aside, screen space wouldn’t have been an issue if the team had been racing with Garmin’s 9000 series GPSMap displays, which have up to 27 inches of high-resolution glass. Modern MFDs combine processing power, memory, data storage, touchscreen capabilities and network connectivity. Garmin’s GPSMap 9000 series adds bigger swaths of glass, better onscreen resolution and faster processors.

While these upgrades significantly enhance the user experience, the biggest innovation within Garmin’s first new flagship MFD in eight years is its four BlueNet network ports. This hardware combination, along with Garmin’s quarterly software updates, should mean significant amounts of future-proofing.

The GPSMap 9000 is available in 19- ($9,900), 22- ($11,400), 24- ($13,400) and 27-inch ($16,900) screens with in-plane switching for sunlight readability. The displays ship with tide tables and either Garmin’s basic worldwide base map or a US version that has built-in Garmin Navionics+ cartography for the United States, Canada and the Bahamas. The touchscreen-only displays can be flush- or flat-mounted, and they’re compatible with Garmin’s external hard-key remote controls.

“Despite having large screens—up to 24 inches—with the GPSMap 8400/8600 series, the requests kept coming in for larger,” says Dave Dunn, Garmin’s senior director of marine and RV sales. “4K screens have come down in cost since the 8400/8600 were developed, so we’re able to offer a 4K-resolution screen where the cost didn’t make sense in the previous generation.”

While eye-pleasing, this resolution isn’t just about aesthetics, Dunn adds: “With the content of the cartography that we’re getting today, when you add in the relief shading, you add in contour lines, you add in your tracks, your breadcrumbs—all that stuff starts to clutter. The higher resolution you have, it’s cleaner.” And you can still see all the details for navigation.

Dunn says that better screen resolution also helps anglers. Like Garmin’s GPSMap 8400/8600 series, the GPSMap 9000 displays are built to show underkeel targets and structure. Both generations of MFDs support traditional 50/200 kHz sonar, along with Garmin’s ClearVu, SideVu, Panoptix and Livescope systems, giving users the ability to acquire a massive amount of underkeel awareness.

“If you’re just looking for the bottom, it doesn’t help you,” Dunn says. “But if you’re fishing, it could be the difference of seeing several targets that are stacked up together, where otherwise it might just have been one big target because the pixel count wouldn’t allow you to draw those targets.”

That said, navigational awareness is also well-covered because GPSMap 9000 displays have Global Navigation Satellite System receivers. This allows the MFDs to acquire position fixes from four discrete navigation systems: GPS (United States), GLONASS (Russia), Galileo (European Union) and Beidou (China). The built-in wide-area augmentation system allows for accuracy to 3.3 feet.

In addition to enhancing navigation, large-format 4K displays can moonlight as screens for streaming entertainment or watching stored content. GPSMap 9000 displays also have HDCP (high-bandwidth digital content protection) distribution, allowing users to play the same content simultaneously across all networked GPSMap 9000 screens.

Garmin further designed the GPSMap 9000 to serve as computational heavy-lifters. The processors have speeds seven times faster than those in the GPSMap 8400/8600 series. “We want these to be as future-proofed as possible, so there’s way more horsepower built into them than they actually need,” Dunn says. “That also helps with integration and everything that we’re pumping into these MFDs now.”

That includes Garmin’s BlueNet network, a superhighway that hustles data at 1 gigabit per second. By comparison, NMEA 0183 and NMEA 2000 networks move data at 4.8 and 250 kilobits per second, respectively, and Garmin’s previous network moves data at 100 megabits per second. While 100 Mbps isn’t slow, BlueNet is 10 times faster.

The four BlueNet ports in each GPSMap 9000 display look ordinary, but they let users build data-intensive networks involving multiple displays, daylight and thermal-imaging cameras, radars, sonars and other instrumentation. The setup also reserves bandwidth for upcoming innovations, Dunn says: “When you think about BlueNet and what it opens up for the future, that’s really the key innovation here. It gives us a lot more opportunity to interact with more features and components on the boat than we ever have.”

Tea leaves are hard to read, but given that Garmin’s Surround View camera system already has some of the technologies for self-docking capabilities, it’s fair to hypothesize that some of the impetus for the GPSMap 9000’s powerful processors and BlueNet compatibility involves supporting higher levels of automated technology.

As for target audiences, given the sizes and costs involved, these MFDs are aimed at larger yachts. Dunn points to the owner of a 70-footer who purchased three 27-inch GPSMap 9000 MFDs, and installed two at his helm and one in his stateroom, plus smaller GPSMap 8600 MFDs on the flybridge and elsewhere.

At the same time, Dunn says, the owners of smaller boats, including center-consoles, have also been installing big-boat equipment. “Anything above about 30 feet is probably going to go to these 9000s,” he says, adding that another customer bought a 27-inch GPSMap 9000 MFD for his bay boat. “Instead of going with two screens, people are opting to go with one really large one.”

As for Team Vestus Wind, it’s hard to imagine the same scaling issues surfacing if they had been racing with 27 inches of 4K screen real estate supported by lightning-fast processors, GNSS receivers and 1 Gbps data networks. Careful navigation, of course, remains a different story.

Trickle-Down Tech

Big displays are visually pleasing, but not everyone has the physical space to accommodate a 19-inch screen, let alone 27 inches of glass. It’s easy to speculate that Garmin will build smaller GPSMap 9000 displays in the future. In the meantime, Garmin’s GPSMap 8600 series comes in 10, 12, 16 and 17 inches.

The post Garmin GPSMap 9000 Series MFD appeared first on Yachting.

The Tiara Yachts EX 54 adds a second model to the builder’s EX series, which started with the flagship EX 60. The trademark of this series is each yacht’s flexibility, which is especially evident in the cockpit.

For entertainment-centric owners, the EX 54 has a lounge-module option with solid-surface countertops, a drawer-style refrigerator and an optional ice maker.

For angling aficionados, there is an adventure module that includes a sink with a cutting board, an optional livewell, five rod holders at the transom, an insulated cooler tub, tackle stowage with dividers, and an electric grill to cook the catch of the day.

There is also a glass patio module. In this setup, there is a laminated glass bulkhead, a high-gloss teak countertop, and adjustable ottomans that can lock into place. The ottomans are covered in Ultraleather, with four color options: Whitewater Beige, Lighthouse White, Coast Dolphin Gray and Sea Cliff Gray.

In all versions, the EX 54 has three staterooms, accommodating six guests for extended cruising. The owners’ stateroom is amidships, spans the yacht’s full 15-foot-11-inch beam, and has a queen pedestal berth and an en suite head with a separate shower stall. The room also has ocean views via hullside windows flanking the space. Additional amenities include a 50-inch smart HDTV, 18,000-Btu Webasto air conditioning, a settee to starboard (a great place to read a book on the hook), a cedar-lined hanging locker and a backlit mirror.

Like the owners’ stateroom, the forepeak VIP has a queen berth. There are hullside windows and a skylight, and a 32-inch HDTV. The VIP has access to a head that also serves as the day head. A third stateroom is abaft and to starboard of the VIP with bunk berths for kids.

The main- deck interior has an L-shaped galley aft and to starboard with direct access to the cockpit. Across is a dining table that, at first glance, looks like an L-shaped layout. However, the companion helm seat to port slides forward to create a U-shaped scenario, increasing seating for another guest or two.

The helm is forward and to starboard, with two 22-inch Garmin GPSMap 8622 displays (a third is optional), a Stidd helm seat, and side-deck access via a sliding pilothouse door.

Power is a pair of Volvo Penta IPS950 diesels.

Clever Design

There are foldout terraces to port and starboard, increasing usable cockpit space. They have Herculan synthetic teak soles, and each side has an integrated boarding door.

Take the next step: tiarayachts.com

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Stepping aboard the stern of the second Sanlorenzo 57Steel, Virtuosity, I immediately understood what this model is all about: connecting to the environment and entertainment, indoors and outdoors. With the yacht’s side platforms down, the beach-club real estate adds up to almost 1,000 square feet. Add the gym next door, which includes a hammam, sauna and day head, and the whole area becomes one of the best wellness spaces of its kind on a sub-200-foot yacht.

Just like the smaller 52Steel, Sanlorenzo’s 185-foot-long 57Steel has a fold-down transom door. The quarter platforms reveal a sunken beach lounge open on three sides. Its glass-paneled ceiling doubles as the bottom of the main deck’s 13-by-8-foot pool. During the day, this beach club is at its best, bathed in a shimmering pale-blue light. After the sun goes down, its mirror TV (one of several aboard) and four-stool bar make it a great entertainment cave.

The yacht’s light, contemporary interior vibe is the work of Piero Lissoni’s design studio in Milan. The decor majors on oak veneers, soft whites and creams. It’s a less-is-more approach rather than a minimalist one. Interior lounge space includes the after halves of the main and upper decks, which have full-height windows on their sides and sliding patio doors to aft decks. The main salon includes a cocktail-bar entrance to its lounge and dining areas, while the sky lounge is more informal with low-slung sofas and armchairs, mostly from Italian brands Minotti and Cassina.

Music and dancing are also important to Virtuosity’s owners. What could have been a small media lounge abaft the bridge deck instead has as a DJ booth, turning the top-deck aft terrace into a nightclub dance floor.

All three aft decks connect via stairs outside and with the standout interior design feature: the main spiral staircase from the lower to the upper deck. Created using a combination of steel, aluminum and plywood, and finished with a creamy matte lacquer, it’s gloriously fluted in shapes that seem impossibly organic.

Guest accommodations are spread across three decks. The 540-square-foot owners’ stateroom is forward on the upper deck. It has walk-in closets and a study, a forward-facing bed amid the wraparound picture windows, and a free-standing stone bathtub. From this stateroom, owners can access the two-tier foredeck terrace with a spa pool and free-standing furniture. Virtuosity’s owners have four armchairs on the lower level, and simple sun pads minimize visual clutter on the higher area.

The VIP stateroom is forward of the main lobby, which is amidships to starboard. The VIP also has 540 square feet of space, much the same size as the owners’ stateroom on the deck above. There’s a dressing area, including walk-in closets, and an Eames lounger and ottoman, as well as a desk. The double berth faces aft.

Another four en suite guest staterooms—two larger doubles, and two smaller convertible twins or doubles with Pullman berths—are accessed from a central lobby on the lower deck. All of the guest staterooms have en suites with light crema d’Orcia marble.

A portside amidships galley on the main deck serves as the crew hub, located near a main pantry and crew stairs to an upper-deck pantry and, ultimately, the wheelhouse, ship’s office and captain’s cabin on the bridge deck. There are six en suite cabins for 10 more crew forward on the lower deck—four with twin bunks, and two singles for officers—as well as a crew mess and crew galley. The latter area has a staircase up to a tender garage forward beneath the foredeck, as well as stairs down to the “tank deck,” which connects from the bow to the yacht’s cold stores, laundry and engine-room control booth. The engine room has its own air-conditioning system.

Visually, Sanlorenzo’s 57Steel makes quite a statement. With exterior design and space planning by Zuccon International Project in Rome, this model has a nominal volume of 1,050 gross tons. (At 1,021 gross tons, Virtuosity measures a little less.) Forward-raked bridge windows give the 57Steel a touch of go-anywhere styling, but it’s still a modern motoryacht with hybrid hull architecture—a modestly raked stem, square stem root, midlength fluted bow bulb, spray rails and flaring forward, and twin fin stabilizers and rudders. It has been optimized for displacement speeds. Twin 2,000 hp 3512C Caterpillar diesels hooked up to straight gearboxes and shafts deliver the thrust.

The yacht has a reported top speed of around 16.5 knots. Given its capacity for more than 20,000 gallons of fuel, the 57Steel’s range should be around 4,000 nautical miles at 11 knots, making it capable of crossing oceans.

Virtuosity started as a spec build for Sanlorenzo, was sold in May 2021, and was handed over to its owners 26 months later. It was made available immediately for charter via the firm that brokered the yacht’s sale, Fraser Yachts, meaning more than just the owners will be able to enjoy Virtuosity’s many delights.

Living Larger

The quad-deck 57Steel has more than double the volume of its trideck sibling, the 52Steel. Eight hulls of the 52Steel have been delivered to date, with two more under construction. The first two 57Steel hulls were delivered in 2023. Sanlorenzo announced in September that hulls No. 3 and 4 were sold and under construction.

What’s in a Name?

Virtuosity is the quality of being extremely skilled at something, especially in art, music, sport or, perhaps, yacht building.

Keep ’Em Moving

Sanlorenzo is now one of just a handful of yacht builders big enough to series-build multiple metal models simultaneously. 

Try Before You Buy

Virtuosity is available for charter in the Mediterranean in the summer and the Caribbean in the winter at a lowest weekly base rate of about $440,000.

Take the next step: sanlorenzoyacht.com

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