Christian Bolinger had announced her to me as a "yacht that polarises". With the sightseeing experience of perhaps 500 yachts, one is naturally particularly excited. A first glance from the outside initially casts doubt on the statement made by the CEO of Acico Yachts. The lines of the 49 metre long "Nassima", the current flagship of the shipyard from Enkhuizen on the Ijsselmeer, are rather conservative. Exterior designer Olivier F. Van Meer drew a pleasing, but also inconspicuous three-decker, whose interior design - at least a quick glance at the "Nassima" catalogue - seems to fit in with this.
However, the surprises predicted by Bolinger are not long in coming as we stroll up the gangway. Where a sliding door normally forms the entrance to the saloon on yachts of this size, here there is a huge aquarium. The "quite complex feature", as Bolinger elegantly puts it, is 2.60 metres wide, 2.40 metres high and 80 centimetres deep. Inside, fish swim in an artificial coral landscape, which can be seen not only from the outside but also from the inside. "The owner loves fish," explains Bolinger; there is also a clear indication of this on the lower deck.
However, we now take in the saloon, which is timeless and contemporary in nut and cream colours. "The owner wanted a style that he would still like to look at in a few years' time and not a fashionable snapshot," explains Christian Bolinger, who knows the "Nassima" owner well not only because he built the yacht, but above all because he owns the shipyard that Bolinger heads up. The unusual name "Acico" is borrowed from the owner's main business, which operates a wide variety of businesses out of Kuwait under the name Acico Industries.
You can read the full article in the printed January/February issue of BOOTE EXCLUSIV, which has been on newsstands since 4 January.
