There are small and big differences. For us, cloud nine or the seventh heaven is enough to make us feel happy. Anglo-Saxons are not satisfied with that. For them, it has to be cloud nine. "Cloud 9" is how the owner christened his new 74-metre-long dream companion for the next few years, a world cruiser from CRN in Ancona. The order for this project dates back to June 2014 and the shipyard delivered in May 2017.
The owner had come across this very "Cloud 9" almost by chance. The original client had put his money where his mouth was while the shipyard had just completed the metalwork on the hull and large parts of the superstructure. A large part of the installations had also been completed. Nothing more unpleasant could happen to CRN. The shipyard had not even reached cloud nine with construction number 131. It was and still is its second-largest new build before "Azteca" (72 metres, 2009) and after "Chopi Chopi" (80 metres, 2013), a financial heavyweight.
Cloud by cloud
But then the Burgess brokers came into play. Cloud one came into view. Burgess knew who was looking to expand and replace a 60-metre "Cloud 9", a winch design from 2009, built by CMN Yachts in Cherbourg, with a larger new build for family and charter purposes. Hardly anything could be nicer than a booklet with well-kept contact addresses of owners and those who would like to become one. The size of the shell matched the wishes of the interested party. That was cloud nine. However, the deck and room layout required major adjustments. Three months later, Bernardo Zuccon presented the new plans with major interventions in the structure with its companionways, including drawings.
The owner agreed (cloud three) and gave the team one month to draw up an acceptable contract. This was successful and cloud nine was reached. Work started in summer 2014. This took everyone involved, including the yacht, to cloud nine. With each production step, the project climbed higher into the clouds. In May of this year, cloud nine was reached: the owner took delivery of his new "Cloud 9".
HL x"Cloud 9"
The owner had already had successful experiences with Andrew Winch with charter guests on his previous "Cloud 9". Winch was therefore tasked with realising a beach house idea this time too, but more elaborately, with a certain generosity that would be appropriate for the new "9". At 2218 gross tonnes, it doubles the volume of its predecessor and has a majestic appearance. Andrew Winch was given a free hand.
The result: fifty different materials for the surfaces now captivate the eye. Bleached, whitewashed oak and Douglas fir define the atmosphere of the panels and built-in furniture. Limed oak also embellishes supporting room pillars. Strong blue tones give the impression that inside and outside, yacht and sea merge into a single unit, an idea that is currently in the minds of many designers. Sandy colours for upholstery fabrics soften the bold accents. Shells, coral and agate in niches transport natural elements into the handcrafted, artificial world of the interior.
The layout of the decks
The walk across the decks does not start aft on a bathing platform or on a gangway to the main deck, but starboard on the lower deck via a fold-out bridge. This is where the shipyard and designers set up the reception, with a counter and seating, and where we stand above the diesel bunkers on the tank deck. In addition to light oil, the lowest of six floors houses food supplies in cold rooms, waste water, the laundry and other technical necessities.
Directly adjacent to the reception is the stairwell with the glazed steel yacht lift, which could hoist us right up to the owner's deck if it weren't for the beach club aft, to our left.
We skip the galley, crew lounge and crew quarters for 22 hands in the bow and a staff cabin for nannies and instructors. Instead, we follow the corridor on the upper floor of the engine room through the roar of the engines into the garage for tenders and toys with speedboats, bowriders and surfboards.
The adjoining beach club with bar, professional espresso machine, small tables, large round table or sun loungers as required fulfils the usual requirements for a relaxed afternoon with swimming trunks, bikini and drinks. The large glass pool on the main deck above the bar brightens up the scenery. However, the mighty aft hatch, which forms a large aft terrace, also allows a large round dining table to be set up outside to seat a dozen guests. In addition to the crew, "Cloud 9" takes up to sixteen guests on board privately when travelling, in six guest quarters, a VIP suite and the owner's suite.
Beach club bar on board the"Cloud 9"
The pool above the beach club bar aft in the cockpit is filled with 10,000 litres of drinking water by the pumps from the tank room. The large saloon in front of the cockpit with its deep sofa seats, which are suitable for lounging, offers a bar on the port side and cinema technology with a projector from the ceiling for large diagonal screens. Visitors will look in vain for a conventional dining area in front of the seating area, possibly in an enclosed space directly behind a port galley, on cloud nine. The galley is also missing. In any case, there is no dining on the main deck, but there is massaging, hairdressing and sleeping.
Beyond the foyer, the forward half of the main deck begins with a massage and hairdressing salon with a balcony to starboard. Opposite on the port side, CRN installed the second staff cabin.
Six guest cabins are symmetrically distributed. Thanks to the widebody, they can utilise the full width of the hull. The design of this accommodation is similar to that of the saloon. Leather effects and hammered oak complement each other. In the bathrooms, the shipyard laid dramatically veined white Calacatta marble in Emperor Black. The captain's area is adjoined aft by the corridor to the skylounge. The space in between is utilised by a VIP suite with a bathtub on the starboard side and a gym opposite. The layout divides the skylounge into two compartments, a saloon with armchair and sofa furniture and a dining area, built as a floor-to-ceiling glazed rotunda.
A retreat for the family
The length of over 70 metres allows for an owner's suite of 400 square metres on the next deck up, including a private terrace in front, the usual two bathrooms with shower for him and bath for her, a small saloon behind the lobby with lift, which also serves as a media centre and office for the owner. Aft, he had an open-air cinema installed on this private deck. From the outset, the designers planned the owner's deck as a retreat for the family. The furnishings were chosen accordingly. This includes a carpet made of white wool and silk, a unique piece. Mother-of-pearl details contrast with the light-coloured oak.
Marble is one of the preferred materials for bathrooms - the shipyard works in Ancona, Italy. The bathroom for the lady on "Cloud 9" is different from all the others on board. It shines with Botticino limestone on the walls and Cappuccino (!) in the washbasin. Where is cloud nine? We conquer the Sundeck. 13 metres above the surface of the water, the chef invites us to the Japanese teppanyaki plate after our Jacuzzi bath.
Cloud 9" made her first appearance in front of an expectant audience at the Monaco Yacht Show in September. This winter, she will be travelling the Caribbean for 875,000 US dollars a week. Bookings are still possible.
Technical data
- Length over everything: 74,00 m
- Waterline length:63,00 m
- Width:13,50 m
- Depth:3,50 m
- Displacement (100 %):1650 t
- Gross Tons: 2218 GT
- Material: Steel, aluminium
- Motor: 2 x CAT 3516C-Chd
- Engine power:2 x 2000 kW
- Speed (max.):16.5 kn
- Speed (travelling): 15 kn
- Fuel:250 000 l
- Range:6000 nm @ 12 kn
- Generators: 5 x Caterpillar
- Water: 40 000 l
- Water heater: 32 000 litres/day
- Helipad: 3000 kg
- Construction: CRN Engineering
- Exterior design: Zuccon Int.
- Interior design: Winch Design
- Class: Lloyd's +100 A1, SSC,+LMC, MCA LY2
- Project management: Burgess
- Shipyard: CRN, 2017
This article appeared in BOOTE EXCLUSIV issue 06/2017 and was revised by the editorial team in May 2023.
