Four generations, three yachts, one family

FOUR GENERATIONS, THREE YACHTS, ONE FAMILY By Andrew Rogers

The journey of every yard is shaped to a certain degree by its clients. It’s an ongoing process for yachtbuilders like Van der Valk which offer countless options for customisation of existing platforms as well as the chance for owners to build totally bespoke boats too.

MY LeVen

One family has had an extra influence on our yard in recent years, however, both on the three different yachts they have ordered and in the way our yard has developed. We always keep to strict privacy rules for our clients at Van der Valk and never publish people’s names. But the family kindly gave us permission to share this short story on how their thirst for innovation in motoryachting is impacting the market today.

Winning start

The first project we built together was the 90-foot LeVen, launched to public and critical acclaim in 2019. The family had been introduced to us the year before by the new-build specialist Barin Cárdenas, founder and CEO of YachtCreators in Florida. Van der Valk was one of the yards asked to submit a tender for building a design by Vripack. Winning the order brought us into contact with the third generation of the family who was overseeing the LeVen project on behalf of his parents.

Thus began a relationship that soon became a friendship with a man who dreams boats, having been brought up on the water by his yacht-owning parents and grandparents. Down-to-earth, technically astute and great fun to work with, he helped ensure that LeVen became a highly distinctive boat. She went on to win a prize at the 2020 BOAT International Design & Innovation Awards, with the judges describing LeVen as “a clever motoryacht that will most appeal to new owners. There is nothing quite like it for an easy-living, no-shoes-required lifestyle.”

MY Lady Lene

Comfort and trust

The yacht was also a finalist in the ‘Innovation of the Year’ category and the success of this project led to a second order for a fully-custom superyacht for the grandparents. Now in their 80s, they were keen to own a boat that would be completely wheelchair-accessible and safe. That requires an immense amount of trust and the creation of the 34-metre Lady Lene again led to lots of visits and long leisurely lunches with the family. It also resulted in further prestigious recognition by our industry peers after her launch in 2021 (see page 18 for full story). A hat trick of new builds at Van der Valk was announced recently as the family are now turning their thoughts to creating the ultimate weekender for the Bahamas. The striking new EDGE 65 (page 114) will embrace elements of Lady Lene such as the large aft deck and fine blend between interior and exterior. Being close to the water will also be a key theme as this project is for the grandson himself and his children, who of course love sailing as much as their parents, grandparents and great-grandparents. Who knows, maybe Van der Valk will end up building a boat for the fourth generation too in the future… Now that would surely be a record?

MY EDGE 65