A Yacht Owner on a Mission

During the Palm Beach International Boat Show, the International SeaKeepers Society honored one more one of its longest supporters and founding members—yacht owner Alexander Dreyfoos.

You may say that Dreyfoos’ hometown is Palm Beach, Fla. But while he’s made his mark on the city’s arts and educational institutions, donating generously to various organizations there, he is seldom at home. In 2008, he took delivery of a unique vessel, built at Abeking & Rasmussen in Germany. The SWATH (or Small Waterplane Area Twin Hull) is called, appropriately, Silver Cloud. Dreyfoos chose this unusual twin-hull design because while he and his wife longed to do a circumnavigation, Renate Dreyfoos is very sensitive to motion. The vessel’s unusual design effectively minimizes all rolling motion. Dreyfoos, an MIT and Harvard graduate, who also earned an Oscar for his contribution to the world of motion pictures, holds 10 patents in the United States alone for his innovations in electronics and photography. He approached his yacht as he has most everything in his life. He extensively studied and researched numerous options, from wave-piercing designs to catamarans, before choosing a solution seldom seen in yachting. It was a success. He and his wife have traveled far and wide on Silver Cloud.

When we caught up with Silver Cloud at the Antigua Yacht Charter Show in December 2012, the vessel had traveled around 60,000 miles with her owners and charter guests on board. Along the way, Dreyfoos, a diver and exceptional photographer, has captured hundreds of images of underwater landscapes and coastal scenery—everything from crocodiles in Australia to parrots in the Amazon. The scientific equipment aboard Silver Cloud, which includes a Seakeeper unit, has collected marine data (temperature and salinity) from places far and wide. SeaKeepers recognized Dreyfoos for his long-term commitment to the non-profit organization’s mission. SeaKeepers help scientists collect the necessary information they need to document and explain changes in the world’s oceans.

For more information, visit seakeepers.org

To view more images of the event, click here.

To read Yachts International’s article on Silver Cloud, click here.