Yachting September 2015

Our viking 43 open was cruising up the coast from Maryland at a steady 26 knots after a week of fun and sun. We had called the annual weeklong guys’ trip 24 hours early after seeing that some nasty weather was going to hit the East Coast over the next several days. We had plenty of time to beat it back to safe harbor, and all was moving along smoothly until we were about 25 miles from our home inlet on Long Island, New York’s south shore. A friend had left a voice mail on one of our crew member’s phones, hoping we weren’t on the water — because an EF2 tornado had touched down in Brooklyn. Brooklyn? We looked at one another with that tilted face a dog makes…

THUNDERBIRD: A LEGEND LIVES ON Our 119,000-plus Facebook fans went wild for this living John L. Hacker-designed legend when we shared our updated online feature. Here is what they had to say about this classic: If I follow her home, can she keep me? KEITH WHITE She is as beautiful today as she has been for all those years! Just saw her a year ago in her water garage. Awesome. THOMAS PETERSEN Looks like home, I wish. DEAN HENDRICKS Just beautiful. MAX WIGOLORCHEW I’ve seen that boat, absolutely beautiful. The sound those engines make is absolutely mesmerizing. Amazing. SCOTT RUTHERFORD The most beautiful boat in the world. Design-material-looks. TON VAN MEEGEN Looking for photos and new yacht news? Get social with Yachting: visit facebook.com/yachtingmagazine. READER FEEDBACK Send comments or questions…

NEWS & NOTES FROM AROUND THE YACHTING WORLD FRED VAN BEERS spent three months of this year listening to people’s opinions of Blohm+Voss, where he had just been appointed CEO. He found confusion. The German shipyard is renowned for building some of the world’s best-known superyachts, including the 344-foot Lady Moura and the 390-foot A, but it also does refit and repair on yachts and cruise ships, and it builds naval frigates. This “huge history,” as he describes it, means the yard needs to make a clear statement about its megayachtsector position, something he plans to do not only with new builds and refits, but also with services that support owners for the entire life of their new yacht. “WE BELIEVE IN SEMICUSTOM WITH A MAXIMUM AMOUNT OF CUSTOM IN…

2015 “SIGNATURE SERIES” SORA ELECTRIC SUPERBIKE Lito Green Motion in Canada recently released this ecofriendly beauty, which goes from zero to 60 mph in about four seconds. Colors, leathers and components are customizable, and carbon fiber is used throughout — even in the wheels. A touch screen lets you input a GPS address, and the bike can “quick-charge” in three hours. Starting around $100,000. LIMITED TO 20 PIECES Christophe Claret calls this $280,000 timepiece the Allegro. White and red gold versions are available. BEYOND THE BOARD Geoffrey Parker makes this table-size cube with 25 games (some stow inside). Bespoke version: $30,000. CUSTOM EARPHONES The Sir George Martin ACS Signature Series earbuds are custom- molded for about $3,500. KEVLAR CARRY-ON Valextra’s tough, stylish, 19-inch Avietta suitcase is exclusively at Barneys. Retail…

THIS PAST SUMMER felt like a sequel to Jaws. Shark-bite headlines scared people off the beaches. Anglers reported huge, nearshore baitfish schools. Scientists are trying to determine why. Something changed, but what? Shark attacks are not skyrocketing. U.S. patterns have been steady for a few years, with about 50 people attacked each year, no more than one or two fatally. The total number of sharks in the water is down, experts say, but the number of people in the water is up, leading to inevitable encounters. North Carolina’s eight shark attacks by early July were unusual: double all of 2014. Scientists say one reason is that water got warmer earlier than usual, luring sharks inland. “Global climate change is real,” says George H. Burgess, director of the Florida Program for…

THE VIKING 80 CONVERTIBLE was conceived to replace the 76 and the 82 in the New Jersey builder’s line, but, as lead designer David Wilson says, “we jinxed ourselves into three or four 82 orders.” Viking will thus offer both an 80 and an 82 for the near future. Hull No. 1 of the 80C will be an open bridge, with the closed bridge due in 2016. The 80C’s most notable feature is a fore-and-aft galley, which Viking hasn’t offered in a decade. “I’m really interested for people to walk in the salon door and say, ‘Oh, wow! This is new and different,’” Wilson says. The 80C will have Tier 3 MTU 2000 V16 M96L engines or optional Caterpillars. “The biggest difference [with the MTUs] is emissions, which I would…