Yacht Crew

www.wsj.com -- Just last month, the yachting industry was still talking about their oasis of prosperity. The super-rich still have plenty of money, they said. And they still love their yachts. What a difference a month makes. An article in the Telegraph tells the story of a boat named Alibella. The 164-foot ship was previously priced at 34 million euros. It’s just been reduced to 24.5 million euros — provided that the buyer can close the deal in 30 days. For coupon-clippers out there, that’s a savings of 9.5 million euros! READ MORE

www.CNN.com -- LONDON, England (CNN) -- At 160 meters long, there is nothing quite as luxurious as the world's largest and most expensive super-yacht -- Dubai. Except, of course, for the next nineteen boats that make up the top twenty super-yachts on the planet. Packed with more features than a Bond villain's base, including jet-ski docks, indoor swimming pools, helicopter pads (in some cases two helipads), Jacuzzis and submarines, no expense is spared on these ocean-going giants. The internationally-renowned Fort Lauderdale Boat Show is set to get underway at the end of October, where many of the world's top super-yachts will be on display. Now, you can take a look at some of the biggest and best yachts in existence. READ MORE

www.inventorspot.com -- Roman Abramovich is a Russian billionaire with a personal fortune of 16 billion dollars. As his pockets are huge, so are his plans for an armor-plated, bullet-proof-glass-installed super yacht complete with anti-missile radar systems, a private submarine and two helicopters for the mere cost of more than 200 million euros, ($300 million US smackeroos). READ MORE

The New York Times -- While hybrid cars like the Prius already are becoming mass market items, hybrid yachts decidedly are not — though they might offer the super rich their own “green” bragging rights.

At least that is what a luxury yacht maker, Ferretti, is betting on.

Ferretti, which is based in Forli, Italy, on Friday presents what it says is the first hybrid yacht over 20 feet long that produces negligible tailpipe emissions. According to a statement, the Mochi Craft Long Range 23 is a three-deck, 75-foot boat that uses a hybrid propulsion system and a super-efficient hull that “combine and reinforce each other in a craft that offers a revolutionary design concept and solutions.” READ MORE

www.timesofmalta.com -- One of the latest and unusual yachts to grace the Mediterranean, the A, arrived in Grand Harbour yesterday.

The $300 million, 120-metre-long A was built by the German shipyard Blohm and Voss. It was designed by Philippe Starck for 36-year-old Russian billionnaire Andrey Melnichenko. He ordered it for his wife Aleksandra, a former Serbian supermodel, hence the name A.

Contrary to contemporary vessels, the A has a radical design, mostly enclosed and with the bow sloping out at waterline level, rather than curving down from the main deck.

The superstructure is concentrated in the middle of the hull, giving the yacht the appearance of a giant white submarine when seen from a distance. There is a helicopter pad on the bow and a pool at the stern.

(NEWPORT)—Confident Captain/Ocean Pros www.confidentcaptain.com, Rhode Island's premier professional mariner training facility, today announced that they have become an approved training center for the UK based Royal Yachting Association. The RYA's training certification allows Confident Captain/Ocean Pros to instruct all RYA courses from Competent Crew to Day Skipper as well as the much sought after Coastal Skipper and for the truly elite Yachtsman, the prestigious Yachtmaster® certification.

Captain Kent Dresser, President and Founder of Confident Captain/Ocean Pros said, "Confident Captain/Ocean Pros is proud to collaborate with the RYA especially considering their distinguished history of providing the highest quality, internationally recognized training to yachtsmen and women. The US has been in need of this sort of standard of training for years and we are delighted to provide such a valuable resource for our candidates."

Confident Captain/Ocean Pros will now serve as one of only two facilities in the United States that is qualified to provide RYA Yachtmaster certification to eligible candidates.

www.motortrend.com -- Possibly bored with designing $100 umbrellas and $300 sunglasses, Porsche Design has been fishing for a new challenge, and they found it in a partnership with Royal Falcon Fleet designing luxury catamarans and yachts.

Porsche Design's first project will be to design and market a luxury catamaran for Royal Falcon Fleet that will be over 135 ft long. Porsche Design will be designing the outer hull and the interior of the new megayacht. The effort will be global, as the German design company and Singapore-based yacht brand team up with Swedish marine engineers Kockums and Australian naval architects Incat Crowther.

www.luxist.com -- Pirates have attacked another luxury yacht. This time is was the Tiara, a 178-foot sailing sloop that first came to my attention in 2005 when the owner, Jonathan Leitersdorf listed his yacht and his Broadway loft with the same agent real estate agent. The yacht is a helicopter-carrying beauty designed by Dubois Naval Architects and launched by Alloy Yachts International. It is full of fine mahogany and 1930s-styled interiors and in 2005 was listed at $36 million. The yacht has since become a popular charter hosting the rich and famous including Giorgio Armani, Sean Combs and Jack Nicholson.

While off of southern Corsica in the Mediterranean, Tiara was attacked by four masked men with guns who pulled up in a speedboat. The pirates robbed the passengers and crew of more than $180,000 in cash from the yacht safe and from the nine guests who had chartered the yacht. The speedy pirates also took jewelry and artwork and within ten minutes quickly got back in their boat and disappeared. No one was hurt. Pirate attacks have occurred in the Philippines and off the coast off Somalia as we saw earlier this year but are rarer in the Mediterranean.

IBI Magazine-- Island Pilot in the US is to introduce what it describes as the "first-ever zero emissions production motoryacht in America" at this year's Ft Lauderdale boat show.

Designed in conjunction with naval architect George Petrie, the new Island Pilot DSe Hybrid 12m is a hybrid motoryacht that uses solar, diesel and electric power.

Spanning 12m (40ft) and utilising a 6kW solar array plus a 20kWh battery bank, it can travel at speeds of up to 7kt in zero emissions mode using only electric power, or up to 13kt using diesel.

Additionally, enough solar energy can be produced while at anchor to support a comfortable lifestyle without the need to run a diesel generator, claims the company.

"There are so many reasons this boat makes sense in today's environment," says Reuben Trane, Island Pilot president. "At a time with record high oil prices, we are bringing to market a product that will dramatically reduce the most visible expense of a recreational motorboat — the cost of diesel.