Luxury Motor Yacht AL MIRQAB wins the motor yacht of the year at the world superyacht awards in London.
Length: 133.00m
Builder: Kusch Yachts
Naval Architect: Kusch Yachts
Exterior Stylist: Tim Heywood Designs
Interior Designer: Andrew Winch Designs
MOTOR YACHT OF THE YEAR
Winner: AL MIRQAB
The Motor Yacht of the Year is a particularly prestigious award that is given to a yacht that ticks all the boxes, a real all-rounder that is not just a thing of beauty, but one that fills every function demanded by her owner while inspiring an overwhelming sense of awe among those who see her at close quarters.
The 130m Al Mirqab was certainly considered awesome by the World Superyacht Awards judges who visited her – experienced yachtsmen who reported that her quality and features vastly exceeded anything that they had ever seen before.
Her combination of exterior spaces, detailed design, and internal facilities for her owners, guests and crew exceeded those of every other finalist and this prompted the judges to unanimously declare her as the Motor Yacht of the Year.
WORLD SUPERYACHT AWARDS 2009 WINNER BEST DISPLACEMENT MOTOR YACHT OF 3,000GT AND ABOVE (APPROX 85M +) Winner: AL MIRQAB
Judges’ Comments:
“This class became a battle between two yachts of very different appearance and style.
The bold and agressive, if not to say revolutionary, exterior styling and the modern interior of A competed against the more traditional lines of Al Mirqab, whose richly ornate interior drew its inspiration from the classic architecture and design of the Cote d’Azur and Paris.
Both yachts were not only acknowledged to be at the very peak of their designers art but their construction was also recognised as being of the highest order.
But a choice between these two contrasting styles had to be made and after much discussion the completed voting slips showed a clear preference for Al Mirqab.”
BEST INTERIOR DESIGN – MOTOR YACHT
Winner: Andrew Winch Designs for AL MIRQAB
Judges’ Comments:
The judges fully recognised the difficulty of assessing the many highly attractive interiors seen in this year’s event, but the sheer scale, scope, practicality and luxury of the interior created by Andrew Winch Designs for Al Mirqab created a consensus that no other yacht could challenge.
In particular the judges admired the interior spa area and pool and the extent of the detailed design that had been invested in this very special yacht.
BEST EXTERIOR STYLING – MOTOR YACHT
Judges Commendation: Tim Heywood for AL MIRQAB
This was another difficult award to judge, but the clean, attractive lines that perfectly match the sporty aspirations of this fast and elegant three-decked yacht, together with her practical outside areas incorporating well engineered fold-down terraces and gull-wing doors that give the interior intimate contact with the sea certainly made Onyx stand out from the crowd.
At the same time, Tim Heywood, the exterior designer of three of the four finalists in the largest motor yacht class, was awarded a Judges Commendation for the striking lines of Al Mirqab.
Announcing the Winners of the 2009 World Superyacht Awards:
The overall MOTOR YACHT OF THE YEAR award went to Motor Yacht Al Mirqab.
