Closer to the Water
Remember what it was like when you first started out? Reclaim your past and get your feet wet.
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The larger the yacht, the farther we seem to get from the sea, both literally and figuratively. Literally, because most of the exterior deck space on 100-plus-foot yachts is often high above the waterline, the better for sweeping views and crashing waves. And figuratively because much of the design and décor of the most opulent yachts takes you away from the water and makes you feel you're in a sleek penthouse apartment or an English manor's drawing room. The new Sunseeker Predator 130 has a seriously spacious swim platform to better enjoy the refreshing waters. But what really brings you back to looking at the water are the balconies-four of them, two each in the main-deck salon and the owner's suite. These aren't the first deployable balconies that we've seen: Other yachts also have used them to open up the yacht to fresh breezes and, most importantly, bring you back to the feeling that you're on the water-as in right out over the water, gazing into the inky depths.
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The Marlow 86 CMY is not as intimate with the water as a small center console, to be sure, but it has a flying bridge, as well as a station on the Portuguese bridge to get you out of the pilothouse for in-close maneuvering or pleasant conditions. More importantly, the yacht goes one step beyond the swim platform, also offering a cockpit with a deck nearly as low to the water as that of a sportfisherman. The idea is to get reacquainted with the water, but not the distant water you see when you're at the helm. Now you're close enough to see the surface, and all the colors and ripples that drew you in when you first started driving boats.
Sunseeker International, +44 1202 381 111; www.sunseeker.com Marlow Yachts, (941) 729-3370; www.marlowexplorer.com
