Yachting October 2016

Ok, you can stop humming that Hall & Oates tune now. (I did it too.) This isn’t a story about a girl who leaves you. Or perhaps, it is exactly that. After all, relationships have an arc with a beginning, a middle and an end. The end is always the wild card, isn’t it? I was on a weeklong trip on a friend’s vessel when I got a text from the broker who had my own boat listed for sale: “He wants it.” That’s all it read. A succinct, yet telling message. Wait, I thought. Am I doing this? Am I going to sell the boat? She had been listed on and off for a while. Why does someone want her now? To me, a boat has always meant one…

MICHAEL AND JEANNE WILKINS had no intention of buying a bigger boat. He had owned 31- to 42-foot Sea Rays, and they went to see a brokerage listing about the same size. “The boat was really tired and run-down, and it was raining that day,” Michael recalls. “Right next to it was this Hampton, a 54-footer. It looked huge to us, but we went aboard to see it, really just to get out of the rain. It seemed like the biggest thing in the world, that we could never handle a boat like that.” They kept her in Dana Point, California, about an hour’s fl ight from their home in Las Vegas, then spent two years cruising the San Diego area, including Newport Beach and Catalina Island. They learned as…

BELT BUCKLE, AS ART Roland Iten, which bills itself as a “mechanical luxury company,” makes its Predator belt buckle (about $400,000) with a white-gold body, red-gold accents and 387 baguette- and round-cut diamonds totaling 14.15 carats. The design allows a belt strap to be loosened or tightened with one hand, and security mechanisms help to prevent accidental release or theft. ICONIC BUILDINGS Each piece in Architecture & the City (price on request) is a structure in Swarovski, concrete, marble and silver. CRYSTAL CARAFE Richard Hennessy Cognac ($4,000) is named for the brand’s founder. The bottle can be engraved at its base. EDGY STYLE Nesmuk’s Exklusiv C150 ($6,499) is off ered with 18 diff erent handle styles. This one is Makassar ebony. FOR BUCCANEERS The Pirates pen by Montegrappa (about $64,000)…

Westport yachts has earned many fans over the years with its 112-, 130- and 164-foot models. Now comes the fi rst hull of the builder’s 125-foot design, the most technically advanced yacht yet from the Washington state shipyard. She is expected to cruise at 20 knots and top out at 25, thanks to twin 2,600 hp MTU 16V2000 M96L diesels. Accommodations, including a full-beam master stateroom on the main deck, are for 10 guests total, and there are quarters for a half-dozen crew. Sea trials were underway in August, and Hull No. 1 is expected to be at the Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show in November. Composite fi berglass construction remains a Westport hallmark.…

W ith its new 32, Back Cove saw little initiative to change what has become a triedand-true formula. And heck, when you match timeless good looks with highly functional performance and layout, why would you want to change anything in the fi rst place? The 32 serves as a replenishment for the smaller end of the Back Cove range, which spans from 30 to 41 feet. Back Cove executives felt that the 30 and 34 were becoming just the slightest bit stale and wanted to give their fans something new to salivate over. But the company also wanted to remain true to its roots: It doesn’t build big boats. The 41 is about as big as Back Cove have plans to ever build as part of its line of highly…

An infinite stretch of aquamarine appeared before my eyes as my sweet ride, a Viking 52 Convertible, cruised toward Resorts World Bimini. Midday sunlight pierced the shallows and drop-off s, off ering countless variations of the tranceinducing color scheme. ¶ I took in the gorgeous scenery through a test pair of Costa Del Mar’s Rafael frames fit with 580 green mirror lenses. They filter out harsh yellow and ultraviolet blue light, which the manufacturer says will create clear defi nition and accurate color. ¶ I’ll tell you: They work. The Bahamian blues and greens popped vividly. ¶ And the Rafael’s nylon frame keeps them lightweight. I found myself searching for them, only to discover they were atop my head. ¶ This was my first experience wearing a pair Costa 580s…