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Seventy knots. Put another
way, that’s 80.6 mph. If either of those figures is conjuring images
of hurricane-like devastation and all sorts of other destruction in your
mind, you’re probably not alone. Most boaters would likely have the
same reaction.
Except for John Staluppi
and John Rosatti. For these Florida-based business partners, the thought
of 70 knots makes them break out in ear-to-ear grins.
That’s because
the two—famed for commissioning and owning the equally famous, speed-record-holding
megayachts Thunderball, Octopussy, and Moonraker—set
70 knots as the magic number for their latest project, nearly 140 feet
LOA, to reach. And not a stripped-down 140—we’re talking about
a yacht fully equipped with everything from statuary to gensets. If she
does indeed hit that figure on the radar gun during speed trials this
month, then she’ll be acknowledged as the fastest megayacht in the
world.
But more than that,
Staluppi and Rosatti, through their six-year-old Millennium Super Yachts,
want to establish a foothold in an area of the megayacht market they believe
isn’t being addressed. With the 140, Millennium Super Yachts anticipates
providing an owner with a yacht that’s swift even when not at top
speed, literally and figuratively bringing opportunities within closer
reach, all the while treating him or her to the luxury and lifestyle one
expects of a multimillion-dollar yacht.
Befitting her intention,
the 140 was devised at lightning speed. At the 2001 Fort Lauderdale International
Boat Show, naval architect Frank Mulder, who’d collaborated with
the duo on their previous yachts, handed a magazine article to Staluppi.
It was about Fortuna, a 41.3-meter yacht built by Izar in Spain
for that country’s King Juan Carlos. The monarch had a penchant for
speed—in fact, he reportedly wanted to beat the unofficial speed
record of 66.7 knots that the duo nabbed with Moonraker in 1992.
Well, the king finally got his wish: in 2000 Fortuna hit 68 knots.
In Staluppi’s mind,
the proverbial gauntlet had been thrown. After reading the article, he
decided then and there that he wanted—no, needed—the record
back, setting 70 knots as the goal. With self-described forceful, determined,
and occasionally willful personalities, Staluppi and Rosatti began brainstorming
with Mulder at the show on not only what type of yacht and hull design
to build, but also where to build it. Fast-forward to today, two and a
half years later, and they’ve achieved quite a lot, from buying a
vacant shed in Holland to settling on Alustar, an alloy said to be 20
percent stronger than traditional marine aluminum, to lining up subcontractors
from all over Europe. And they even had to find a replacement company
to design and build the custom gearbox when the original supplier went
out of business.
Reluctant to divulge
details of his designs before they’re launched, Mulder is keeping
specifics about the 140’s hull quiet. But he does stress that several
scale models were tank tested to evaluate seakeeping in a variety of conditions
and throughout the entire speed range, as he and the partners firmly agreed
that it wouldn’t be enough to design a yacht solely to achieve a
phenomenal top end. Still, they kept focused on swiftness, with the goal
of 40 to 50 knots at cruise under diesel power only.
Next page >
Part 2: “We’re not avoiding weight,
we’re avoiding unnecessary weight.” > Page 1,
2, 3
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