Unfortunately the weather conditions at the time of hand-over were extremely bad with waves, heavy snowfall and strong winds. However, luxury yacht Maidelle majestically stood through all the conditions and held her fort.
According to Jen Wartena, general manager, Maidelle is by far the best boat out of a series of three, benefitting from all the lessons learned from the previous builds.
Captain Donald Heath states “I am very pleased with the performance of the Maidelle, especially from an engineering perspective. The boat is very easy to handle and sails perfectly”
Currently, the Maidelle yacht is setting sail to Spain. We wish the boat and its crew all the best.
Below is an interview with Captain Donald Heath answering some questions about Motor Yacht Maidelle:
1. What is your overall impression of M/Y Maidelle?
I’m very pleased with the build quality of the yacht – she behaved very well on delivery in some pretty awful weather, and generally gave the impression of being a solid and safe sea boat
2. What are the top qualities of M/Y Maidelle?
A lot of care was put into the technical spaces, and the standard of finish is very good. The various systems are from reputable suppliers and on delivery we had minimal problems
3. How does she handle in open and rough waters?
Very well – the high bow keeps solid water off the deck, and we were able to maintain a good speed even in quite rough weather with minimal slamming
4. How about engineering and finish in the technical spaces?
Very good as mentioned above
5. Could you name some special features of Maidelle?
She has a very nice indoor/outdoor space on the maindeck level which gives her a ‘three season’ area for early and late season cruising which can be the most pleasant time of all to use a yacht.
The beach club is enormous and incorporates a gym and sauna.
I also think that the split level owner’s suite is a great feature, giving him a private lounge with superb views.
6. How about sustainability of the yacht?
Time will tell – however, as mentioned, the various systems are from reputable manufacturers so there is every reason to believe that she will be a successful yacht.
7. What about your team, are they happy to sail the yacht?
Yes, everyone was impressed by her sea keeping qualities, and by and large she was very quiet even in rough weather. The separate crew mess and lounge work well, and often in the evening there will be some crew watching a film in the lounge, and maybe a game of cards or just general socialising in the mess room.
8. What is your overall impression about ICON Yachts?
Icon hit the ground running, and it’s plain to see that the company philosophy is to compete with the best of Northern European build quality, and by and large that is what they have succeeded in doing.
9. What do you think of ICON’s facilities?
Great facilities with direct access to the sea.
10. What do you think of ICON’s location. Harlingen Holland
Harlingen is only an hour or so from Schipol airport, and also within easy range of many of the suppliers, so my overall impression was good.
11. How’s the co-operation between you and the Project Manager and his team?
Very good.
12. What is Maidelle’s next stop?
We will remain in the Mediterranean for the foreseeable future
13. Could you tell us something about yourself? What is your experience in the business, what is your favourite estination? What are your hobbies, etc
I’ve been in boating of some form or another for most of my working life, from small sailing boat deliveries up to 300,000 tonne tankers. I’ve also been involved in a number of new build projects up to 82 metres in length in a number of different countries.
For recreation I enjoy hiking, cycling (gently) and motorcycling in general, particularly off road, but which I haven’t had much opportunity to do recently.
Check more amazing photos of this yacht here: http://www.charterworld.com
