superyachts, 4wd debate
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Kudos ISSUE NO 18
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T H E Q U E S T S E R V I C E D A PA R T M E N T S M A G A Z I N E – YO U R S T O K E E P
PLUS: SUPER YACHTS, COOKING, TRAVEL & AUTO
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SAILOR!HelloMoney, power, prestige – whatever floats your boat. Journalistand closet ship-spotter RODERICK EIME lifts the lid on someopulent vessels to see who’s at the helm.
L E I SU R E
There are boats and there are superyachts. When you
turn up in your multi-million dollar cruiser, you have
certainly arrived. But who are the folks behind these
grand expressions of success and wealth? Often their
owners are surprisingly
shy, choosing the wings
instead of the limelight,
while others are more than
happy to put it all out there.
With the three water jet propulsion units squirting her
along, ten guests can relax in superyacht comfort with the
doting owner, rags-to-riches John Staluppi, who launched
the first Honda dealerships in the USA and now owns
Millennium Super Yachts in Florida. Named after, you
guessed it, the James Bond movie, Staluppi no doubt
thought it summed him up perfectly.
AUSSIE ADVENTURERAustralia’s most colourful media mogul, gambler and polo
player, the late Kerry Packer, took delivery of the 1969-
built former ocean-going, ice-strengthened tug Arctic P in
1995 and refitted it for private expeditions under the
direction of naval architect Claus Kusch. Certainly not the
most glamorous vessel on the seas, this utilitarian
superyacht nevertheless features among the world’s top
50, based on size (87.6m) and 2600 GT. Of course, there’s
room for your helicopter and 12 guests.
TRUE BLUE BEWDIESNot to be outdone, Australia is also manufacturing sea-
going toys for both our own rich list and export. Western
Australian custom aluminium boatbuilders Hanseatic
Marine proudly constructed two magnificent 73.3m
masterpieces in 2007 and 2009. MY Silver and MY SilverZwei were designed by Espen Øino to strict environmental
standards and with slender lines and sleek profile, they
depart the ‘higher and wider’ trend seen in so many
modern yacht designs.
The younger sister, by the way, is up for sale by her
owner, German energy and technology billionaire and
founder of Hanseatic Marine Guido Krass, who is asking a
cool US$85 million for this world Top 100-listed craft.
Krass uses Hanseatic as much as a showcase for his
technological prowess as a factory for playthings. His next
project, just hull #4 for now, is what he calls a “crossover
vessel”, sort of like an SUV with both pleasure and
commercial applications.
WHAT MAKES ITA SUPERYACHT?
QUICK GETAWAYTopping the timesheets for
the world’s fastest
superyacht is the 42.4m
Dutch-built, Frank Mulder
designed World Is NotEnough. At 70 knots, this2004 vintage vessel is the
only such boat to have
reached the magic mark
thanks to its two 4000kW
Paxman 18VP185 diesels
and twin Lycoming TF 40
jet turbines kicking out over 20,000 old-fashioned
horsepower. Fuel consumption doesn’t bear thinking
about, but at least 2000 litres an hour is believable.
The term ‘superyacht’ hasonly been with us for adecade or so and is used todescribe the super luxurypower or sailing boatsowned by the world’s richelite. As such, the truedescription of a superyachtis a developing measurebut generally agreed to befrom around 50m, withpermanent crew, at leastthree decks and with fouror five cabinsaccommodating ten ormore guests.
More recently, the termsmegayacht and gigayachthave appeared to describethe massive private vesselsthat transcend the meresuperyacht. These typicallymeasure at least 100m andcome equipped withhangar space forhelicopters, swimmingpools and five or moredecks.
Above: ‘World is Not Enough’ in full flight. Main photo: The Australian made ‘Silver Zwei’. Right: ‘Artic P’ bought by Kerry Packer in 1969.
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L E I SU R E
STRANGEST THING AFLOATWhile certainly not the largest and most expensive
waterborne palace, Asean Lady ranks #37 in theinternational list of superyachts and made this list
because of its bizarre design. Owned by Singaporean
entrepreneur Brian Chang, the vessel was built in his own
Yantai Raffles Shipyard, with the interior designed by his
wife Annie, who made use of traditional Chinese art,
designs and woodwork.
The main hull is a ‘proa’ or outrigger style with a smaller
hull for stability – which seemed to work well enough
when she was moored off Phuket during the 2004
tsunami. Asean Lady has an impressive range of
10,000nm at 12 knots and 20 guests can be
accommodated. Visitors to Singapore will often see her
tied up at Raffles marina.
GOLDEN OLDIENot all the world’s fleet is made up of hi-tech carbon fibre
and aluminium superyachts. Several of the most
prominent privately owned vessels are glorious heirlooms,
lovingly cared for and tended to by owners who don’t
worry how much it costs to keep them seaworthy.
Designed by US naval architects Gibbs & Cox in 1931 and
built by Blohm + Voss for American heiress Emily
Roebling Cadwallader, the sublime MY Savarona is still
one of the most beautiful vessels anywhere despite her
age. Costing US$4 million at the time ($57m today), she
was acquired by the Turkish government in 1938 as a
state yacht for the ailing leader Mustafa Atatürk. After his
death just six weeks later, it passed to the navy which
neglected her rather badly and in October 1979 she was
gutted by fire. Rescued from an ignominious demise by
wealthy Turkish businessman Kahraman Sadıkoğlu in
1989, she underwent a $35 million refit which included
the replacement of her original steam engines. At 124m,
she is still in the world’s top 10 largest private yachts.
BIG, BRASH ANDEXPENSIVEThe prize for biggest and most
ostentatious certainly goes to
Chelsea Football Club owner
and Russian squillionaire
Roman Abramovich. The
largest vessel in his fleet,
Eclipse, does just that withevery other private vessel on
the planet. With a personal
fortune of over US$13 billion
according to Forbes Magazine,
a US$500 million plaything is no impediment. Built under
great secrecy in 2010 by in-demand German shipyard Blohm +
Voss, Eclipse weighs in at 13,000 Gross Tons (GT) and
stretches out to 163.5 metres. The high security vessel has
bulletproof glass, intruder alarms and motion scanners as well
as two helicopter pads, 24 guest cabins, two swimming pools,
mandatory hot tubs and disco. Three tenders and a miniature
submarine are among the fun accessories, while 70 full time
crew members are required to maintain and operate the ship.
JUST PLAIN WEIRDResembling a nuclear submarine with its aggressive axe bow,
the 119m radically designed A was built from a whimsical
sketch by Philippe Starck and converted into a functioning
vessel by technical designer Martin Francis under the
codename Project Sigma. Owner, Russian under-40 billionaireAndrey Melnichenko, took delivery of A in 2008 after
construction at Blohm + Voss.
There’s room for 14 guests in predictably over-the-top
penthouse-style luxury while A ambles along at just under 20
knots with a crew of 37 to mind her. Two magnificent 10m NZ
custom built tenders do the short-haul work. �
FULLY RIGGED WONDERQuite possibly the most advanced and stunning private
sailing ship on the world’s oceans is the 88m MalteseFalcon. She set the yachting world abuzz when launchedin 2006, mainly due to her superior design and
advanced sail mechanism which includes a pioneering
rig comprised of three unstayed carbon fibre masts with
yards fixed to rotating masts. All of this is monitored by
a sophisticated computer system using optical fibre
strain sensors as part of the DynaRig installation.
Maltese Falcon was commissioned by ageing American
venture capitalist Tom Perkins and constructed in the
Italian shipyard of Perini Navi in Viareggio, using
composite (carbon fibre) materials. The vessel cost
somewhere between US$150 and US$300 million to
complete and was sold by workaholic Perkins in 2009
to Greek-born hedge-fund manager Elena Ambrosiadou
for a reported 60 million UK pounds, just under
US$100 million.
For fun, it carries two 10m Pascoe rigid inflatable
tenders (with water skis), four Laser sailing boats and a
6m Castoldi tender. The yacht once had a mini-
submarine but Perkins is keeping that.
Clockwise from left: ‘Project Sigma’ or ‘A’ has futuristicsubmarine qualities, while luxurious ‘Eclipse’ commands astaff of 70 and the majestic ‘Savarona’ was built in 1931.
Above: The 88m ‘Maltese Falcon’is certainly a head turner.Right: The ‘Asean Lady’ turnsheads for her unique design.
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There are some things that should never be discussed at dinner
parties – politics, religion and four wheel drives.
One sets brother against brother and turns normally meek, law-
abiding citizens into brawling, foul-mouthed hooligans - the others
might make you want to vote for the Greens and join a monastery.
As a pre-pubescent car-spotter – and we’re talking 1960s here – I
recall all 4WDs were Series I or II Land Rovers driven by sun-
ripened blokes with full beards and crinkled khaki shirts. Now they
are driven by primary school mums, urban entrepreneurs and even
nanna, complete with bull-bar, high power ‘spotties’ and snorkel.
Why? Tom Elliott, former Honda North American Executive Vice
President, suggested that folks who buy 4WDs for urban commuting
instead of minivans prefer image over functionality.
It’s true. What began as a utilitarian workhorse with buckboard
comfort for farmers and men-on-the-land has somehow evolved into
a plush, kid leather-lined, all-terrain luxury cocoon with Mack truck
hauling power and TARDIS-like navigational ability. Even the largest
“full size” 4WDs have multi-airbag safety systems, crumple zone
monocoque construction and even proximity warning devices. Yet
one side of the debate labels them “urban assault vehicles”,
especially lethal when pitted against pedestrians.
4WD DEBATEThe Great
Dinosaur of the road or trusted workhorse? Suitable for outback driving … or inner-city motoring.
RODERICK EIME wades into the discussion about the merits of four wheel drive vehicles.
AUTOMOT IVE
“4WDs have a higher centre-of-gravity but, thanks to improved technology, they nolonger feel like trucks to drive. This car-like feel can lull a driver into a false sense ofsecurity and it’s common for 4WDs to tip over when the driver inadvertently takesthe vehicle out of its equilibrium zone.[ ]
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Shock jocks, environmentalists and the car industry seem
locked in a perennial debate, invectives flying back and
forth. But is there an unemotional explanation to this
often overheated argument about whether the 4WD is
suited to city driving?
Dr Karl Kruszelnicki, popular scientist and debunker, says:
“4WDs have a higher centre-of-gravity but, thanks to
improved technology, they no longer feel like trucks to
drive. This car-like feel can lull a driver into a false sense
of security and it’s common for 4WDs to tip over when the
driver inadvertently takes the vehicle out of its equilibrium
zone. In 2004, The US National Highway Traffic Safety
Administration put 4WDs through rollover tests and found
them more likely to tip over than regular cars.”
This predicament was vividly illustrated in the Ford
Explorer/Firestone debacle in the US at the turn of the
century.
Keith Bradsher of the New York Times and author of “High
and Mighty: SUVs – The World's Most Dangerous Vehicles
and How They Got That Way” looks at the drivers as well
as the machines. He says: “A growing body of research by
automakers is finding that buyers of these two kinds of
vehicles are very different psychologically. Sport utility
(4WD) buyers tend to be more restless, more sybaritic
(indulgent), less social people who are “self-oriented”, to
use the automakers' words, and who have strong conscious
or subconscious fears of crime. Minivan buyers tend to be
more self-confident and more “other-oriented” – more
involved with family, friends and their communities.”
Along with Bradsher is the US-based “Detroit Project”,
whose goal, said co-founder Lawrence Bender, a movie
producer whose credits include “Pulp Fiction” and “Good
Will Hunting, “is not to demonise people who drive SUVs,
rather, we want to point out how our driving habits at
home are fuelling oil money to Saudi Arabia.”
John Cadogan, editor of the not-for-profit e-newsletter,
Crash Prevention News, offers some balance to the debate:
“I'm not an apologist for 4WDs, but in my view the so-
called 4WD 'issue' is not one that relates directly to road
safety. There are other 4WD issues, however; 4WDs and
their capacity for profligate energy consumption are quite
anti-social in this climate of peak oil production and global
warming, for example. Safety is often used to
inappropriately prosecute 4WD hatred.”
The respected Monash University Accident Research
Centre (MUARC), recent report states: “Despite their
established high aggressivity, 4WDs appear to impose
relatively low injury risk overall to their own occupants, to
other road users and occupants of other vehicles per year
of exposure on the road and adjusted for distance driven.”
To clarify, the term “aggressivity” used in the context
above refers to “how badly the vehicle is likely to harm
other road users, including pedestrians and cyclists, in a
crash.” It is an empirical term, not an emotive one.
Some points to note:
Fact: 4WDs are prone to rollover, especially in
inexperienced hands.
Fact: 4WD occupants are safer in a collision, but not
in a rollover.
Fact: Big 4WDs are fuel inefficient.
Fact: Big 4WDs are dangerous to other road users in a
collision
Fact: Smaller 4WDs are increasing in popularity and
decreasing in accident statistics
Conclusion (MUARC): There does not appear to be a major
road safety problem emerging from the burgeoning 4WD
fleet for reasons apparently related to the way 4WDs are
being used and by whom they are driven.
What does emerge is that drivers who own high
aggressivity vehicles are prone to drive them
inconsiderately and selfishly. A case of “never mind the
dog, beware of the owner!”
A comprehensive Victorian Government report into road
rage agrees. “There are actually two elements underlying
this argument. Firstly, it is contended that those who feel
a sense of power due to the nature of the car are more
likely to become angered or frustrated by those who ‘get
in their way’. Secondly, the power of the car may
contribute to the likelihood that the driver will react
violently, due to the feelings of invincibility and protection
the car may offer, as well as the capacity to quickly flee
the scene.”
The same report contends that drivers of 4WDs can be
unfairly demonised simply by driving them. “This will
especially be the case if pejorative views held about
certain vehicles come to be associated with the driver of
such vehicles,” the report states.
Allan Pease, known to TV viewers as “Mr Body Language”
and a best-selling author on the subject, laughs aloud
when asked about drivers of 4WDs. “It’s just like a fancy
dress party. When you dress up as a policeman, a clown
or as 007, you take on that persona – you act the part. Get
behind the wheel of a big, nasty 4WD and the same thing
happens, you become invincible!”
Back to the oil issue - and the growing trend among the
high-profile glitterati to stow gas guzzlers and be seen in
their environmentally responsible Toyota Prius and Lexus
Hybrid. Suddenly the once macho Hummer H2, Dodge
Ram and Chevy Suburban are image liabilities.
Enter the Premium Compact 4WD.
In an attempt to assuage the concerns of an apparently
eco-conscious market, the motoring industry is witnessing
the birth of a new genre of motor vehicle: the Premium
Compact SUV.
Some buyers are arriving at dealers with more money and
higher expectations but are also sensitive to outdated,
carbon-belching, grandiose expressions of status.
Consequently, top-shelf manufacturers are finding ways of
packing high end accoutrements into smaller vehicles, in
particular the 4WD.
Factor in the GFC, sensitivity on reliance to Middle East
oil and tsunami-affected production in Japan and you have
a market in flux – to say the least. But, flying in the face
of what one might predict, gas-guzzling V8 4WD sales are
booming. Toyota’s famous LandCruiser topped 750,000
all-time unit sales in Australia last year and the trend is
still upward.
So, as your hostess prepares dessert, how will you
conclude the evening’s discourse? Good friends can agree
to disagree, so this writer’s advice: stay friends! �
AUTOMOT IVE
In an attempt to assuage the concerns of an apparently eco-conscious market, the motoring industry is witnessing the birthof a new genre of motor vehicle: the Premium Compact SUV. [ ]
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