News: The Winners of the 2009 World Superyacht Awards

Announcing the Winners of the 2009 World Superyacht Awards:

The overall MOTOR YACHT OF THE YEAR award went to Motor Yacht Al Mirqab and the SAILING YACHT OF THE YEAR winner was Sailing Yacht P2.

The World Superyacht Awards, the most glamorous evening in the yachting calendar, took place last evening on the 16th of May at Guildhall, in the City of London.

Over 500 guests gathered from around the world – 150 of whom were superyacht owners and their personal guests. There were also the preeminent members of the superyacht industry to enjoy a magnificent evening.

The World Superyacht Awards is now in its fourth year. The yachting awards celebrate excellence in the design and build of superyachts and in doing so recognise the talents of the builders, naval architects and yacht designers who create the most outstanding yachts of 2008.

The awards is also a testament to the dedication and passion of the yacht owners and enthusiasts who make the luxury yacht industry possible.

Comprising 13 Superyacht owners and two highly respected industry professionals the independent panel of judges lents their time and knowledge to determine the best new built super yachts of 2008.

The yacht ward judges made a commendable effort to visit as many of the contending luxury yachts as possible in person.

With the aid of a 400 page dossier containing a detailed brief on every yacht the superyacht award judges then gathered in Stuttgart, Germany, in March to consider every finalist yacht in even greater detail.

Each superyacht was awarded marks under six different headings and the total of these marks determines the resultant winning yachts.

The winners of both the Sailing Yacht of the Year, sponsored by Chihuly, and Motor Yacht of the Year, sponsored by Maybach, received both a Neptune and a dramatic art piece created especially for the occasion by world famous artist Dale Chihuly.

A select number of outstanding finalists received Judges’ Commendations and were invited onto the stage to receive a Porcelain piece by Nymphenburg. Awards were also given to Newcomer of the Year, Technology Award, Legacy Award and the much anticipated Young Designer of the Year, sponsored by Camper & Nicholsons International.

The Silver Sponsors of the World Superyacht awards were: Maybach, Chihuly, Oceanco, Camper & Nicholsons International, Miele Marine, Audemars Piguet, Greenline Yacht Interiors, Camper & Nicolsons Marinas and Vulkan Shipyard. All of the sponsors had the opportunity to present an award to the winners of their respective sponsored categories.

Photographs from the evening will be available to view in the Gallery in the coming days and a full review of the fourth annual World Superyacht Awards will be included in the July issue of Boat International, on sale on 11th June.

The Winners of the 2009 World Superyacht Awards Are:

BEST DISPLACEMENT MOTOR YACHT OF 3,000GT AND ABOVE (APPROX 85M +)

Winner: Motor Yacht Al Mirqab

BEST DISPLACEMENT MOTOR YACHT OF 1,300GT TO 2,999GT (APPROX 60M – 84M):

Winner: Motor Yacht Siren

BEST DISPLACEMENT MOTOR YACHT OF 500GT TO 1,299GT (APPROX 50M – 59M):

Winner: Motor Yacht Vive la Vie

Judges’ Commendation: Motor Yacht Sea Force One

BEST DISPLACEMENT MOTOR YACHT OF BELOW 500GT (APPROX 30M – 49M):

Joint Winner: Motor Yacht Marama

Judges’ Commendation: Motor Yacht Ingot

Joint Winner: Motor Yacht Elandess

Judges’ Commendation: Motor Yacht Beothuk

BEST SEMI-DISPLACEMENT OR PLANING MOTOR YACHT IN 40M + SIZE RANGE:

Winner: Motor Yacht Lazy Me

BEST SEMI-DISPLACEMENT OR PLANING MOTOR YACHT IN 30M TO 39M SIZE RANGE

Winner: Motor Yacht Onyx

BEST INTERIOR DESIGN – MOTOR YACHT
Winner: Andrew Winch Designs for Al Mirqab

BEST EXTERIOR STYLING – MOTOR YACHT

Winner: Francesco Paszkowski for Onyx

Judges’ Commendation: Tim Heywood Design for Al Mirqab

MOTOR YACHT OF THE YEAR

Winner: Motor Yacht Al Mirqab

BEST SAILING YACHT IN 45M + SIZE RANGE

Winner: Saudade

Sailing Yachts:

BEST SAILING YACHT IN 30M TO 44M SIZE RANGE

Winner: Sailing Yacht P2

Judges’ Commendation: Mrs Seven

BEST INTERIOR DESIGN – SAILING YACHT

Winner: Rémi Tessier for Salute

BEST EXTERIOR STYLING – SAILING YACHT

Winner: Briand Yacht Design for P2

SAILING YACHT OF THE YEAR

Winner: Sailing Yacht P2

BEST REFITTED YACHT

Winner: Sailing Yacht Stampede

Judges’ Commendation: Vajoliroja

BEST NEWCOMER OF THE YEAR

Winner: Eidsgaard Design – For the exterior styling and interior design of Saudade

TECHNOLOGY AWARD

Winner: Abeking & Rasmussen – For their SWATH hull design

SUPERYACHT LEGACY AWARD
Andreas Liveras

YOUNG DESIGNER OF THE YEAR

Winner: Maila Speitkamp

Please visit the World Superyacht Awards Website.

(Photo Image Credit – the yacht pictured is M/Y Al Mirqab from peter emils flikr stream: :http://www.flickr.com/photos/petteremil/2682916847/)