Sure, these Abeking & Rasmussen, Blohm + Voss, HDW, Kusch and Lürssen yachts are sizeable, but what matters most (if not most of all!) is their appointments, which make these new models for 2008 (from the list of the world's 100 top yachts) some of the most luxurious and luscious available. So welcome aboard.

 

The countdown has begun – Dutch girl, Laura Dekker, aged 13, plans to sail solo around the world. But first the authorities are locked in a custody battle with her parents. Laura wants to hurry – the com- petition is alive and kicking: worldwide, several young sailors are chasing the record.

 

Everything is ready.

From Larry Ellison to Roman Abramovich, King of Spain to the Middle East - when it comes to interior design on luxury yachts, Rudolf Rincklake van Endert is the first address. Savour visited the Westphalian interior designer to talk about the perfect yacht, clients with high expectations, and the entrepreneurial spirit.

 

Horses and cows grazing on rich, green fields, wheat swaying in the wind, and old red-brick farmhouses so typical for Western Germany's Münster region - a sailing Mecca is hardly what springs to mind in

Luxury sailing yacht 'Maltese Falcon' is massive 88 meter mega yacht built by the Italian Perini Navi Yachts. A privileged few charter guests will ever be fortunate enough to experience the Maltese Falcon under full sail. The huge clipper S/Y 'Maltese Falcon' is the largest sailing yacht in the world and in a breeze her immense DynaRig powers her to record shattering speeds.

 

Eclecticism can be so fabulous! And recommending a boatyard can be so perfect when the agenda is about creating a precious and unique mega-yacht, as Cantieri Navali Lavagna (CLN) is doing with the Admiral 35 "Be Cool".

 

Here, cool actually applies to everything. Take a look at the exterior of the 35-metre aluminium yacht with oyster-coloured stern (design: Studio Bagicalupo), its silver-coloured body (Luca Dini),

 

Gliding across the sea at wind force seven, entering the port in the evening under a starry sky: between Corsica and Elba, wannabe captains can take a week-long sailing trip. They can get a first impression of the world of sailing and perhaps even survive some nerve-racking incidents.

 

Portoferraio - the sailing yacht is fighting her way through a choppy sea. Heeling, it cuts through the approaching waves. Spray washes over the foredeck before the bow dives into the trough of the next wave.