Dutch water management

A DREAM ON THE WATER Isla McKechnie

The sleek, stylish weekender, California 52, is a custom project designed by Vripack and built by Van der Valk, for the Dutch company Waterdream.

Crafted in aluminium to ensure sustainability and retention of value, this project gave Van der Valk’s craftsmen the ability to flex their skills. The bespoke build was competed entirely in-house, from hull to finishing details, with interior components, and hull constructed simultaneously to meet the owner’s request for a fast delivery.

The completed yacht features an owner’s suite in the bow and convertible full beam cabin aft for children. It has the ability to accommodate up to five onboard and has a fully-equipped bathroom with shower for comfortable overnight escapes.

The exterior’s design makes a feature of ultra-smooth lines and a sleek profile, while promoting the enjoyment of outdoor life. It leads its class with a capacious aft seating section for family and friends to enjoy. Further sunbeds on the foredeck provide another space to spend time relaxing in the sun and basking in each other’s company, while a custom sound system is on hand to set the ambience.

The California 52 is a head-turner which puts the helmsman in the centre of the picture. Standing at the 90 inch carbon fibre wheel, the skipper has all-around vision and easy control via a joystick. She has been designed to achieve 40 knots via Volvo Penta IPS 800 engines for an exhilarating, smooth ride and the choice to up the ante with with IPS 950s.

www.waterdream.nl

Stipt Polish Point makes your dream car ‘FACTORY NEW’

Do you own a classic (sports) car and would you like it to be in the best shape imaginable? Then you should really consider making an appointment with Stipt Polish Point in Vught, The Netherlands. By Marco Hohl

This Dutch car renovation company, run by automobile enthusiast Rick van Stippent, specialises in making your dream car ‘factory new’. It won’t just look brand-new, but it will also feel like that when you take it for a spin. Fittingly we caught up with Rick on his way to work, while driving a 30 year old, factory new Mercedes Benz W124.

Rick, what can customers expect from Stipt Polish Point?

“With us you can basically order a new car that isn’t available anymore at your dealer. When a customer arrives, we want to make him or her feel unburdened. Your car will look and run the way it did when it came out of the factory. So it’s not just about giving it a fresh paintjob. We transform the interior, the chassis and the engine. We work with all brands: Ferrari, Porsche, Rolls Royce, Bentley, but also Mercedes, Volkswagen and classic Peugots. Once we are done, you will have the feeling, the smell and the experience of the car you have always dreamt of.”

How did you start? And what projects are you particularly proud of?

“I started fixing cars when I was 12 years old; parallel to that I ran a car cleaning company. Because there were no schools or car renovation companies that offered a similar service, I had to learn everything myself. I’m proud of so many projects that we have worked on. Stipt has transformed dozens of Porsches, multiple Aston Martins, but the projects I’m most proud of are a Ferrari F40 and a Citroën XM, that we made factory new. The challenge for my team is to get cars in the state that they are meant to be. We get a lot of cars that are in really bad shape, so the process can be quite challenging at times.”

Rick gets out of his Mercedes, and greets his colleague Bas, who’s checking an engine of a sportscar that is parked outside.

He continues: “Even in our lunch breaks we marvel at the beauty of the cars we renovate! Transforming a car can take between two weeks and three months. The most beautiful moment for us is the last day that we are working on it. When we polish the outside for the final time, clean the interior and work on the finishing touches. It’s an emotional moment when we drive the car outside, reborn, with a new lease on life - not just for us, but also for the customer, who finally has the car he has always wanted.”

Visit Stipt Polish Point online for more info and intakes: www.stiptpolishpoint.nl. Or follow @StiptPolishPoint on Facebook and Instagram.

GROWING MASTER PIECES

By Andrew Rogers

Dutch Lily Masters believes that lilies are living masterpieces – one of nature’s true works of art.

At least when they are properly grown and nurtured.

Their expert growers are inspired by the Dutch Masters of the past – Rembrandt, Van Gogh, Vermeer – to produce lilies of such grace and beauty, both aesthetically and in terms of scent, that they can be considered masterpieces in their own right.

Dutch Lily Masters brings together years of dedication, knowledge and professional expertise in the combination of three family businesses, two of which date back to the 1940s. The latest generations of these three families, Klaas Wagenaar, Wim-Jan Paauw and André Imanse, are still at the helm and recently merged forces to create Dutch Lily Masters and make the company ready for the future. A future full of living masterpieces.

Dutch Lily Masters aims to grow the best, most beautiful and exclusive lilies. The company’s main production facility is a hyper-modern greenhouse complex covering 100,000 m2 in Rijnsburg, but it also has facilities in Lisserbroek and Almere. In a fast-changing market, flexibility is key and the company regularly comes up with new solutions for its customers; better and more beautiful varieties in new colours or with special features.

There are countless types of lilies, but Dutch Lily Masters selects only the very best and most unique varieties for its product range. Ten main types of lily are available all year round with a special selection of seasonal varieties available in limited editions.

The production process is largely automated. Once the bulbs have been planted in crates, no further human intervention is required until harvest time. Dutch Lily Masters uses a so-called rolling container system. The crates are wheeled through the greenhouse using a fully automated, hyper-modern internal transport system. This smart automation makes it possible to increase production, whilst guaranteeing consistent high quality.

Even with all the technology used, growing lilies remains a craft and their quality depends on people. That is why Dutch Lily Masters’ employees enjoy the same love and tender care as the lilies, offering them the chance to grow and flourish in healthy and sustainable working conditions. Another key focus area is the environment. Dutch Lily Masters has made considerable investments in energysaving measures and uses organic pest control. The company also employs a virtually closed-loop production process, which results in very limited waste products.

Perfection is a subjective term but the lilies produced by Dutch Lily Masters really are as close to perfection as the Dutch Masters’ works that inspire them.

Could there be a more enticing prospect than travelling the world by superyacht? Following what has undoubtedly been a complicated year where travel is concerned, the idea of setting sail aboard a luxury vessel for pastures new is bound to fire up the imagination and spark that feeling of wanderlust. Will it be the Caribbean, Croatia, Antarctica or Fiji?

LADY LENE: UNPACKING THE ULTIMATE EXPLORER

By Georgia Tindale