Almost every yacht owner knows this. At some point, the boat becomes too small. More space is needed, we all grow with our boats - more children, too small a bed, too little comfort, the dog should now also be travelling with us, etc. When the time comes, we mere mortals decide in favour of a few more feet (if at all) and the space gain is usually considerable - especially thanks to the modern, bulbous hull shapes of the renowned series shipyards.
When one metre more is not enough
But at some point this system comes to a standstill. It has to start with yachts of around 70 feet, because this is where the first examples of passionate sailors who have a support yacht of impressive dimensions alongside their sailing yacht can be found. In the case of the 68-foot (20.73 metre) long "Pink Gin Verde", the Yacht supplier "Pink Shadow" the dimensions of the mother ship by far. As rumoured on the scene, the 58-metre "shadow" belongs to the passionate yacht connoisseur Hans Geord Näder, the German majority owner of Baltic Yachts in Finland. Before the sporty café racer "Pink Gin Verde", the shipyard in the far north had already built his 46-metre carbon yacht "Pink Gin VI", which was sold last year.
Why Shadow Yacht?
There is a simple explanation for this: the supply vessels follow the mother ship like a shadow at an appropriate distance or even sail ahead into the next bay to prepare everything for the owner's arrival. After all, the owner wants to make the most of his time at sea.
The crew of the support unit has plenty to offer: The hulls of the fun transporters contain a variety of tenders for all kinds of occasions (landing tenders for beaching, crew and limousine tenders), sports boats for wakeboarding and fishing, plus inflatable bathing islands including trampolines, complete diving, windsurfing and kitesurfing equipment for the owner and all his guests, e-foilboards and, on the very large Shadow formats, helicopters as aeroplanes, windsurfing and kitesurfing equipment for the owner and all his guests, e-foilboards and, on the very large Shadow formats, helicopters as aerial tenders, which ensure a relaxed arrival and departure and offer top-class sporting opportunities for owners with a particular affinity for heliskiing. Quads or ATVs (often in packs of four) and off-road vehicles have also been spotted on support yachts. So that the owner is not surrounded by too much crew on his custom yacht, a large part of his crew also sleeps in the "shade".
Shadow yachts are in vogue
Just how popular these support yachts have become in recent years is shown by the specialisation of individual shipyards in this niche. The Dutch shipyard Amels, for example, produces two lines of Shadow formats under its Damen Yachting brand: "Yacht Support" and "SeaXplorer"which are between 45 and 75 metres long and of which the Dutch have delivered more than 20 units since 2009.
Amazon founder Jeff Bezos clearly doesn't have enough space on his 125-metre three-master "Koru" either, as he also opted for a companion boat from the strikingly styled SeaXplorer line with his 75-metre "Abeona". The largest, mind you, that the Dutch have built to date. The voluminous escort boat with the vertical stem and protruding helipad at the stern accommodates a large helicopter in the heli hangar and offers enough space on board for a crew of 45. There is no need to mention the obligatory tender and toys on board.
Some tenders can also be chartered
Ottobock owner and alleged "Pink Gin Verde" owner Hans Georg Näder ranks well behind with his 58-metre SeaXplorer "Pink Shadow". And he decided to make his provider available to solvent charter customers. For 510,000 euros per week (fuel, champagne, food and crew tip are of course extra), the striking displacer offers plenty of space on the three extravagantly designed decks.
Another sailor with a preference for more space on board is the Dutch businessman and owner of the 39 metre long J-Class beauty "Velsheda", Ronald de Waal, who had the 42 metre long "Bystander" built by the French shipyard JFA, a support format based on the lines of Vripack and with its classic appearance a perfect match for J-K7. In contrast to most of the other "shadows", "Bystander" is mainly used as a residential vessel. The classic J-Racer simply does not offer enough space for the entire regatta crew plus the owner. Bystander" accommodates twelve guests and eleven crew members and has a range of 5000 nautical miles.
Oracle founder and multi-billionaire Larry Ellison is also a regatta fan and has been actively involved in America's Cup campaigns in the USA for many years. Together with five-time America's Cup winner Russel Coutts, he founded the SailGP regatta series, which is sailed on foiling catamarans with a length of 50 feet. The series is currently in its fourth season and includes teams from ten different countries such as the USA, New Zealand, Australia and Great Britain. Germany is also represented, with former Formula 1 world champion Sebastian Vettel among the team members.
Always at the forefront
Larry Ellison's 88-metre motor yacht "Musashi", which is rumoured to be named after the legendary samurai Miyamoto Musashi, would not be listed here if it did not have a sailing counterpart. Ellison currently owns the 56-metre ketch "Zenji", which was launched by Perini Navi in Viareggio exactly twenty years ago and underwent an extensive refit years later. Ellison is due to take delivery of his new 60-metre ketch in the middle of the year, which will once again have lines by Ron Holland and an interior by Rèmi Tessier. Ellison follows almost every regatta on "Musashi", preferably at anchor and in the front row. The look of "Musashi" is also not a support yacht in the true sense of the word, except that his racing crews are regular guests. Nevertheless, a large number of tenders are of course stored on the Feadship format, which was launched in 2011.
Italian fashion czar Pier Luigi Loro Piana, who continues to seek his sporting challenge on regatta courses, fits perfectly into the ranks of the yacht-obsessed ultra-rich. His sailing yachts are called "My Song", and the 72-year-old businessman is currently sailing a radical ClubSwan 80 sports format across the seas. For breaks, he uses the 51-metre Shadow yacht "Masquenada", a striking explorer-style provider that was launched in 2007 and extensively overhauled 14 years later by the master of simple Italian elegance.
