By Diane M. Byrne

1. Savarona  More of this Feature • Top 100: Part 1 • 1-9 • 10-19 • 20-29 • 30-39 • 40-49 • 50-59 • 60-69 • 70-79 • 80-89 • 90-100 • Yacht Spotter
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1. Savarona
L: 408'0"  Y: 1931/1992
When Savarona debuted a little more than 70 years ago, not only did her sheer size and elegance have people wide-eyed, but the fact that she achieved a top speed of 21 knots took them by surprise as well. Now repowered, her modern propulsion has her topping out at around 18 knots, and she's no less impressive to see moving along on the horizon. Her upper-deck staterooms are named after famous bodies of water--Aegean Sea, Black Sea, Caspian Sea, among others--as are some of the lounges on what's called her shelter deck. Most impressive, however, are the Hammam, which is an authentic Turkish bath with marble fountains and basins that are more than 200 years old, and the Atatürk suite, named for the first president of Turkey, who bought the yacht to use for government business and affairs in 1938. The furnishings reflect the elegance of the era and Atatürk's taste, and various personal books and documents, including his passport, are on display. B: Blohm & Voss, Germany; N: Cox & Stevens; H: Steel; E: 2/3,500-hp Caterpillars

2. Alexander  
L: 400'2"  Y: 1976/1986
Call her "The Love Boat"--at least that's what some of the British tabloids called Alexander when England's Prince Charles enjoyed a vacation onboard with his love, Camilla Parker-Bowles, two years ago. Charles is apparently such a close friend of the yacht's owner, Greek real estate billionaire John Latsis, that he can step aboard and pull away from the dock nearly anytime he wants. Of course, Latsis would be remiss if he didn't let his own children use the yacht as well; his daughter Marianna has been spotted onboard. B: Luebecker Flender-Werke, Germany; N: Builder; H: Steel; E: 2/8,050-hp MANs

3. Galeb
L: 383'9"  Y: 1939
This former Yugoslavian presidential yacht, whose name means "seagull" in Serbian, belongs to John Paul Papanicolaou, the same Greek yachtsman who owns Christina O (see no. 7). The Minister of Transportation of Montenegro in the Balkans was quoted as saying, "It was high time the Galeb was sold after all these years, otherwise it would have been chopped up for scrap." (The former Yugoslavian presidential yachts became the property of the Montenegrin government following the nation's breakup in 1991.) Papanicolaou is having Galeb refitted at Viktor Lenac Shipyard in Croatia to become a top-line charter yacht, preserving her original lines but redoing her interior to accommodate dozens of guests. B: Ansaldo, Italy; N: Builder; H: Steel; E: B&Ws (hp unknown)

4. Atlantis II
L: 379'7"  Y: 1981
While the Niarchos family of Greece has kept this yacht ever since their patriarch, Stavros, died a few years ago, they rarely use her, making her about as permanent in Monaco's harbor as the concrete that rims the basin. Therefore little is known about the yacht, although we do know a specially commissioned mosaic created by Franz Mayer of Munich hangs aboard. B: Hellenic Shipyards, Greece; N: Maierform GmbH; H: Steel; E: 2/4,800-hp S.E.M.T. Pielsticks

5. Le Grand Bleu
L: 354'3"  Y: 2000
The owner of "Big Blue" (as her name translates from French) made it clear that he didn't want this vessel to be designed as the typical glossy, flashy luxury yacht, but rather as a serious craft that could do things. And serious she is, with exceptionally large and heavy-duty tenders in excess of 60 feet LOA and a fleet of smaller boats for various purposes. Le Grand Bleu also has an elaborate dive center, a large seawater aquarium, and a glass partition in her bottom to allow guests to observe marine life from the comfort of an observation room. B: Vulkan, Germany; N: Kusch Yachtagentur; H: Steel; E: 2/4,570-hp Deutz-MWMs

6. Lady Moura
L: 344'0"  Y: 1991
Nasser al-Rashid, a billionaire businessman in Saudi Arabia and an advisor to that country's King Fahd, has owned Lady Moura since she was launched. The yacht features about 30 complex, hydraulically operated doors, gangways, and sliding roofs, including two large opening hatches aft to port in her hull that permit her tenders to launch directly into the water. As if her size weren't enough, she's also capable of speeds topping 20 knots. You're likely to see her in Palma de Mallorca, Spain. B: Blohm & Voss, Germany; N: Luigi Sturchio/Diana Yacht Design; H: Steel; E: 2/6,868-hp Deutz-MWMs

7. Christina O
L: 325'0"  Y: 1943/2001
Enjoying her first full year of cruising after her three-year restoration, Christina O is available for charter for $70,000 per day. What does that get you? A lot. The yacht's signature features, such as Ari's Bar (where the barstools were once covered with whale foreskin, now just leather), the lapis lazuli fireplace, and the convertible swimming pool/dance floor, were restored to their original elegance. New features include an entire "Jacuzzi Deck," installed in part of the space formerly occupied by the original steam engines. And just as celebrities like Elizabeth Taylor, Richard Burton, John Wayne, and Maria Callas revelled in the lap of luxury onboard during Onassis' ownership, in recent months Oliver Stone, Madonna, and other famous faces have reportedly been onboard. (For even more information, see "The Rebirth of Christina O," this issue.) B: Canadian Vickers/Howaldtswerke/Viktor Lenac Shipyard; N: Prof. Pinnau (original conversion); H: Steel; E: 2/2,775-hp MANs

8. Fabergé
L: 321'5"  Y: 2002
Our hats go off to Lürssen for keeping this project nearly secret for the past few years. We say "nearly" because the rumor mill was still able to churn out some relatively accurate information about a 300-plus-footer under construction. One such rumor: The owner is Heidi Horten, who also owns the Lürssen-built Carinthia VI (see no. 31). Fabergé departed the yard this summer. B: Lürssen, Germany; N: Tim Heywood/builder; H: Steel; E: MTUs (hp unknown)

9. Limitless 
L: 315'7"  Y: 1997
When is a yacht like an airplane? When her helm features aircraft-style instruments and controls, including joystick steering and touch-screens that permit information to be overlayed, popped up, and/or moved around at the stroke of a finger--a setup that for one year after Limitless launched was exclusive to her in the yacht world. The yacht is similarly high-tech in many other ways, featuring pressure-sensitive sensors in her deck that set off an alarm to warn the crew of intruders. You can see the yacht, the largest to fly the American flag, in the Med in the summer and back on this side of the Atlantic in Florida, the Bahamas, and the Caribbean islands during the winter. B: Lürssen, Germany; N: Builder; H: Steel; E: 2/7,268-hp Caterpillars (diesel-electric drives)

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