Superyachts have always been intensely private, utterly personal escapes for the wealthy. The most famous, therefore, offer intimate glimpses of those who have envisioned, owned and loved them — whether woven into the design or the social history of the boat. That could mean the no-holds-barred decor of Donald Trump’s satin-clad Eighties hideaway; the legendary party scene of Aristotle Onassis’s classic 99-metre; or the outré exterior design of the Philippe Starck-designed behemoth sometimes mistaken for a submarine. Here are the most significant superyachts afloat.
Maltese Falcon
The 88m Maltese Falcon sleeps 12 guests Jumeirah
With three carbon fibre masts towering 57m above the deck, a revolutionary computerised sail-control system and a hull designed to go lightning-fast, the 88m Maltese Falcon was the most exciting sailing yacht in a century when it was launched in 2006 after a six-year project at the Italian boatyard Perini Navi. But it’s not all action: the vast sails double as an outdoor cinema and it has a spa and plenty of water toys. If you want to follow in the wake of Tom Hanks, Hugh Jackman and the Google co-founder Larry Page, you can charter Maltese Falcon, which sleeps 12 guests and has been recently refitted, from $700,000 a week as a Jumeirah Privé experience (jumeirah.com).
Motor Yacht A
The Philippe Starck-designed Motor Yacht A
The chic main cabin on Motor Yacht A
Philippe Starck said he designed Motor Yacht A — one of the most famous modern yachts in the world — in just 30 seconds. “I think to myself, it is too easy, it cannot be possible. But 90 per cent of my work is like this. I am a little ashamed. It’s not normal,” he told Boat International magazine. The project was rather more taxing for Martin Francis, the naval architect charged with making Starck’s 119m concept a feasible reality. The yacht’s exterior may resemble a submarine but it’s anything but utilitarian inside, with an opulent owner’s cabin clad in white leather.
Kingdom 5KR
Prince Alwaleed bin Talal al-Saud water-skiing from his yacht Kingdom 5KR, which was formerly owned by Donald Trumpbarry iverson/Getty
Donald and Ivana Trump on the Trump Princess, as it was then named, in 1988Susan Farley/Newsday RM via Getty Images
The sharp-lined, silver-hulled 86m (282ft) Nabila was created by the celebrated yacht designer Jon Bannenberg for the Saudi arms dealer Adnan Khashoggi in 1980 — but Bannenberg had little to do with the interior decor, with its chinchilla bedspreads, purple suede walls and gold mouldings. Its next owner was the Sultan of Brunei (who took possession of it from Khashoggi in lieu of an unpaid $50 million loan), who then sold it on to Donald Trump for $30 million; as Trump said in a 1989 interview, “I was buying a great piece of art at a ridiculously low price” (the original build cost has been estimated at $35 million, excluding the lavish interior). He renamed it Trump Princess and revamped it in romantic 1980s style with lashings of satin (including the toothachingly pink Ruby Suite). The yacht was subsequently bought by Prince Alwaleed bin Talal al-Saud in 1991, renamed Kingdom 5KR and painted cream. Its current interior style is known only to the prince’s inner circle.
Talitha
Talitha in St Tropez in 2011Kos/Kospictures.com
The dining area on Talithadavid churchil
The classic motor yacht Reveler was commissioned in 1930 by Russell Alger, the chairman of the Packard Motor Car Company in the US, but he died before it was launched in 1930. In 1931 it was bought by the Woolworth family. After several more owners and service as a gunboat in the US navy during the Second World War, it was bought by John Paul Getty Jr in 1993. He renamed it Talitha G after his late wife, the queen of the chic 1960s social scene in Marrakech, and had the boat rebuilt to a Jon Bannenberg design in Plymouth. A mock-up of the new owner’s cabin — including two marble bathrooms — was built for Getty’s approval. The 83m Talitha cruised the Caribbean so much that Getty had a satellite link set up in Barbados so he could watch English Test cricket (he had a professional-standard ground at his home in the Surrey countryside), and Prince Philip would stay on board during the Cowes Week sailing regatta. Now known simply as Talitha, it’s still owned by the Getty family.
Christina O
Christina OMorley yachts
A bedroom suite on Christina OSTEF BRAVIN/morley yachts
Imagine a glamorous party at the harbourside in 1960s Monaco and you are likely picturing Aristotle Onassis and his coterie on his 99m Christina O. The roll call of guests was stellar: Winston Churchill puffed his cigar on the aft deck, Elizabeth Taylor dripped diamonds over dinner, Marilyn Monroe and Frank Sinatra propped up Ari’s Bar (made from timber salvaged from a sunken Spanish galleon, with orca teeth on which to dangle handbags). Jackie Kennedy visited with John F, and later, as the owner’s wife, Jackie O, chose the pastel palette that adorns the cabins named after Greek islands. Experiencing the golden age of yachting for yourself costs from €700,000 per week for charter with Morley Yachts —it sleeps 34 and can easily host 120 for cocktails. And for €52 million (just reduced from €90 million) you won’t have to give it back (morleyyachts.com).