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[ MEGAYACHT ]
by Paola Bertelli- ph. by Eva-Stina Kjellman Mike Jones
Beautiful lines, seafaring quality and build precision form a mantra that has shaped Swan’s philosophy for the past 50 years. Its new 95-foot model is no exception. Germán Frers handled the hull and exterior design, with the yard’s design team being responsible for the interiors
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ph. Eva-Stina Kjellman
Cutting-edge hull lines with elegant shapes, Lot99 is a high performance yacht created for cruising, with the aim of sailing around the world. Opening photo, a strict symmetry dominates in the generous cockpit. In the foreground the two steering pedestals with their push-button controls
t’s always at ease on the water, safe and elegant as a star. It’s a Swan. For all sail enthusiasts the Swan name is an icon for yachts that combine style and seaworthiness. The new Lot99 opens the doors to the 30-metre series of Superyachts with an emphasis on cruising and comfort, while also being, in the words of Enrico Chieffi, vice-president of Nautor’s Swan, “Far and away the fastest cruise yachts it’s possible to create”. Lot99 has big plans - to sail round the world, and to do so in exceptional comfort, a word that for the Finnish yard and for all yachting folk means comfort and safety under sail and onboard liveability. We’ll begin with the exterior line. Lot99 displays an aristocratic beauty, and the magical hand of Germán Frers has created clean, simple yet never banal lines, expressing the essence of style. The comfort we mentioned starts here, with a hull designed to sail efficiently and pleasantly, and a deck with a logical design. The vast cockpit is split into two areas - the sheets and action are concentrated aft and amidships if you are thinking of enjoying the voyage on the large sofas – the versatile seatback and tables can be lowered to become a huge platform sofa. The same versatility is evident in the below-deck dining space (in this case, too, the dining table drops to become a large relaxation area with TV on the aft bulkhead and top quality integrated sound system). But the interior theme is linked to a detail that influenced the entire decor – water buffalo leather in a greygreen Tundra Titanium colour that is also used for the satin-finish European oak. Skilled at managing spaces, Swan has taken the daring step of turning what is normally a bulky, awkward element into the main feature of the saloon – the lifting keel trunk is entirely upholstered in full grain water buffalo leather with matching stitching. It stands in the centre of the saloon, and serves to divide the spaces, the conversation area to starboard and the dining area to port. The Lot99 is the first project where Swan has worked alongside light designers, Lighting Design International, developing a highly effective direct and indirect lighting system with warm, embracing colours. In the cabins, LED strips at different levels create movement and shade, the lights behind the Venetian blinds render the interiors softer, and the semi-transparent bathroom cabin doors with wooden battens reveal a hint of light from the bathrooms. The corridor spotlights are placed towards the walls rather than at the centre of the ceiling, avoiding a direct, symmetrical downlight onto the floor while providing asymmetrical lighting on the vertical surfaces, enhancing the feeling of space and emphasising the grey-green colour of the wood. The day areas, cabins (there are four) and crew area are interpreted in the typical Scandinavian minimalist style, harmonising with the simple shapes and intense attention to crucial detail to create an overall sense of balance. One example is the invisible door frames, which have the same gap as the cupboards and wall panelling, creating a uniform geometric motif repeated throughout the yacht.
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ph. Eva-Stina Kjellman
ph. Eva-Stina Kjellman
The interiors feature a rigorous uniformity and light, natural colours that emphasise the space and light. In line with the owner’s wishes, the special leather inlays are accompanied by furniture in satineffect European oak, finished with the same grey-green colour as the leathers. Sofa fabrics by Loro Piana, director’s chairs by Valdenassi and wall lamps by Layer
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ph. Eva-Stina Kjellman
ph. Eva-Stina Kjellman
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Yacht Design Germán Frers Wide stern, vertical bow, retractable keel with a draught between 3.5 and 5.5 metres. Lot99 is a fibreglass build with carbon inserts. The fast hull also ensures extreme comfort while underway...all down to Germán Frers!
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ott99, and the 95-foot series, is a typical Swan build, a yacht for fast cruising with a sporting attitude, elegance and great comfort. It has a very modern hull shape, based on some intense research, and this is also reflected by the style throughout the yacht. Lot99 is wide, and has a vertical bow, which is very efficient. The aesthetics are also in constant development - the Swan 95 is more aggressive than old-school yachts with long overhangs – nowadays the goal is maximum waterline length for greater efficiency and better behaviour under way, in the context of speed and the way it moves, which means more comfort. Its modern, sober lines don’t slavishly follow trends – there’s always a high risk of creating yachts that look like fast cars or trains, but that style has nothing to do with sail yachts! I think the yacht displays a wonderful overall harmony. The Lot99 is a fibreglass and carbon craft, with the carbon used in a very intelligent way, resisting compression and reinforcing the sites of maximum stress. We’ve used high quality carbon, a crucial decision that makes all the difference.
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ph. Eva-Stina Kjellman
Interior Design Heini Gustafsson, Senior Designer Nautor’s Swan
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he initial brief from the owner started with a piece of leather he wanted to feature on board - water buffalo leather, a delicate hide that looks more and more attractive as it ages. In other words, the owner wanted to combine a little bit of rough with the very understated elegance typical of Swan designs. We were inspired by this leather and used its grey-green colour for the woods, too. This was an unusual solution as wood is a natural material, so every piece is slightly different and finding the right shade is a real challenge. We also used the colour of the leather to develop possible chromatic combinations – for example, in the Loro Piana fabric pattern on all the sofas there’s a shade that matches the colour – and in every case we used a limited palette with many whites and natural tones. The overall layout of the interiors – owner’s cabin aft, three guest cabins and two crew cabins - is driven by simplicity. I find simplicity has its own beauty. Everything on board reflects Swan’s typical DNA - this is very important for us, because we want anyone who boards the yacht to recognise the brand immediately. When designing the interiors, our starting point is that it’s very important to be able to experience the yacht in great comfort and safety when under sail, too. The kitchen, for example, is intended to be functional even when on the high seas, and we’ve separated it from the corridor leading to the crew sleeping area so those passing by don’t disturb anyone working there. My favourite space is the saloon. It’s very bright during the day, but I really like it at night. The evening light gives it an extremely welcoming atmosphere.
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The lighting system includes pre-programmed lighting scenarios with just the push of a button. Top, an evening version of the welcoming atmosphere
ph. Eva-Stina Kjellman
in the owner’s cabin. Left, the full grain water buffalo leather with matching stitching cladding the lifting keel trunk
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Lot99 is the first in the new Swan 95 series. It reflects the developments that have influenced naval architecture despite the increasingly large sterns, with the larger volumes that entails, they sail
ph. Eva-Stina Kjellman
well and provide excellent performance
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The Shipyard Enrico Chieffi, vice-president Nautor’s Swan
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he Lot99’s mission is to sail around the world – its owner intends to use it for fast ocean sailing on long range trips. It’s an important aim, one that’s possible with a luxury brand. When I say luxury I don’t mean luxury for its own sake, but the ability to do something like visit remote destinations that would otherwise be out of reach. Lot99 and the Swan 95s are part of the latest generation of Germán Frers designs, a series that began with the 115, followed by the 78 and 65. The emphasis here is on comfort and interior spaces. The developments in naval architecture and technology - especially materials technology – that have taken place in recent years have enabled us to build fast boats despite the large hull size. Only 10 years ago this would have been unthinkable. We’ve put a lot of work into the exterior design, rejuvenating the exteriors and interiors. To a certain extent we’ve returned to our origins with these yachts, making craft more suited to cruising. Lately we’d been pushing the performance side of things, leading to the creation of the Club Swan racing yacht line. The 95, though, doesn’t share the racing DNA, although it’s easily the fastest cruising yacht imaginable. I think 95 feet is a magic length – it’s a superyacht, a large vessel, but it’s still a size that allows owners to sail in the true sense of the word. The typical owner is someone who’s reached a certain point in their sailing and professional life and has big plans. In general, they’re all yachts that sail a great deal. They have experience-backed plans that only a craft of this kind can handle.
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