Oceanco delivers Nirvana to an owner seeking an ‘ideal place’ on the water.

Story Jill Bobrow Photos Luxury Vision Production

Oceanco’s 290-foot (88.5-meter) Nirvana is a superyacht tour de force. Her distinctive profile cuts an imposing figure whether at anchor in Saint-Tropez or alongside the dock in Monaco. With her dark-blue hull, her flared bow, the swooping notch in her sheerline, and her bright caprails and transom, she is a standout anywhere she goes.

Nirvana made her debut at the Monaco Yacht Show in 2012. Featuring naval architecture by Oceanco and Azure, and exterior styling and interior design by Australia-based Sam Sorgiovanni Designs, she was built under the Oceanco code name of Y707. Nirvana is the second custom yacht for her owner. The owner’s representative, Exclusive Yacht Management, has had experience on several other Oceanco yachts and appreciates the continuity of having worked previously with Sorgiovanni and the accomplished in-house project managers Jeroen Mulder and Arie Van Andel.

As is the case with most Oceanco clients, the owner of Nirvana insists on privacy and anonymity, but he shared with Yachts International that he had wanted a yacht with no compromise on aesthetics or practical elements.

“I started and developed a lot of businesses,” he says, “and in a way, building a yacht is very similar to my other projects. It is demanding, involving, detailed and dependent on extraordinary teamwork.”

His brief called for “a masterpiece of design and technology that could go anywhere in the world.” Due to his experience with his previous yacht, he knew what worked best in terms of flow and entertainment on board.

“I was involved in the design from the very first stage of general accommodation plans,” he says.

Sorgiovanni executed the owner’s brief down to the doorknobs and drawer pulls. “Sam is a very good listener,” the owner adds.

Sorgiovanni, who credits iconic designer Jon Bannenberg as an early mentor, sees no merit in putting his ego ahead of those of his clients and prides himself in figuring out exactly how he can meet his clients’ visions and desires. His metaphorical motifs for Nirvana were the elements of earth, land and rainforest. He collaborated with the owner to realize his aesthetic vision, and the Oceanco team enabled the execution of every request. Sorgiovanni used more than 178 different types of material in his design, including woven bronze, ironwood, nickel, stainless steel, silk, onyx, zebrano and shells. In many cases, it is difficult to tell the difference between the artful craftsmanship and the actual works of art on board.

The transom and caprails appear to be varnished woodwork, but, in fact, they are a painted facsimile of mahogany. This nostalgic, classic detail stands in contrast to Nirvana’s contemporary and modern interior, but keeps with the artistry throughout.

Upon boarding, the sheer volume of the yacht is clearly evident. It is easy to get lost despite the well-organized layout. One benchmark, though, is a central stairwell and a six-person glass elevator that connects all six decks. It is entwined by a stainless-steel sculpture depicting a bubbling waterfall or whirlpool that snakes around the shaft.

The main deck houses the vast salon, the dining area and five guest cabins, including a spacious VIP stateroom that can be converted into two rooms. The bamboo floor of the salon is divided into parquet squares of undulating ripples, making you feel as if you are walking on the beach. Another treat for the feet is the stunning elephant-leaf-themed silk carpet in the dining area. Forward of this space is an intimate sitting area that can convert into a massage room. The most compelling conversation pieces on this deck, though, are the two vivariums, or reptile tanks, flanked by illuminated bamboo-decorated columns that house human-friendly water dragons, bearded lizards, turtles, frogs and chameleons. While reptiles might revile the uninitiated guest, apparently these particular creatures enjoy being lifted out of their habitat and given the chance to cavort on your forearm. It was no simple task to create and construct an environment where these animals can thrive at sea—a challenge the Oceanco engineers embraced with enthusiasm. Another design challenge they faced was figuring out a place to house the food for the reptiles. Anyone who has visited a zoo at feeding time knows what reptiles like to eat.

The main deck aft contains the largest swimming pool Oceanco has ever built. Constructed of fiberglass, it measures 24 feet 7 inches by 4 feet 7 inches. It can be filled with either fresh or saltwater and has the capability of creating its own current to enable swimming laps.

The next deck up is the owner’s domain. Its 1,615-square-foot master suite is flooded with light from a skylight and offers a panoramic view forward. It comprises a sitting room, an office, dressing rooms and his-and-hers onyx-appointed bathrooms. There is a private outside terrace with whirlpool and sun pads forward. Aft of the asymmetrically laid-out bedroom is a lounge/games room with floor-to-ceiling windows, a large-screen TV, folding balconies and an aft-deck dining area that can be protected by windscreens and sliding doors and cooled with a misting element.

The classy, efficient and functional bridge is one deck above. The overhead is leather-clad and bordered by lacquered nickel. Seven interchangeable monitors are featured on the integrated bridge with a system by SAM electronics. An automatic heating and rinsing system prevents the windows from freezing in the winter. Abaft the captain’s space is a 915-square-foot guest gym loaded with equipment including an inset treadmill and a sauna and shower lined with Chinese mother-of-pearl.

The sun deck, 39 feet above the waterline, is a magnificent vantage point from which to view the world. A touch-and-go helicopter pad resides here, with lights inset in the deck. A whirlpool surrounded by an expanse of sun pads occupies the forward space, and a circular seating area with more pads and sun loungers sits aft.

The lower deck features a dedicated cinema with tiered sofas, Kaleidescape surround sound, a bar and a popcorn machine. It has the capability of showing 3-D movies. A library of nearly 4,000 films should suffice to entertain guests for years to come. The tender garage has four hydraulic cranes that manage the launch and retrieval of all the water toys, which include a ski boat, two custom Vikal tenders, six Jet Skis and four WaveRunners. There is a separate compartment for diving equipment and a drying cabinet for wetsuits. Sea access is at the ready via the lower lobby where a hull door opens flush to the water to create a beach club and docking station for the Jet Skis. The owner stipulated that special consideration be given easy water access since he prefers to spend more time at anchor rather than alongside a dock.

The beauty of owning a superyacht is having your own self-contained mobile island—a place where you can live in luxurious self-sufficiency far from the maddening crowds. Nirvana has extensive capacity for provisions and fuel and boasts trans-Pacific range. At 14 knots, her range is 5,000 nautical miles. If you want to get somewhere fast, her engines are capable of pushing her to 20 knots.

The word “nirvana” means an enlightened state of mind, a state of perfect happiness, an ideal or an idyllic place. Nirvana, no doubt, represents this for her owner.

Bigger Is Better

Oceanco is riding the crest of the super-large-yacht wave, and it appears as if the company’s focus on building yachts greater than 80 meters (263 feet) was a prescient move. Despite the vicissitudes of the economic crisis, the company decided to meet what it recognized as the market demand for larger yachts by acquiring land and starting construction on a state-of-the-art dry-dock construction hall, which measures 541 feet long, 171 feet wide and 105 feet high. While Oceanco has consistently delivered one or two yachts a year, the new facility will nearly double its capacity, allowing it to accommodate yachts up to 459 feet (140 meters) in length.

LOA: 290ft. 4in. (88.5m)
Beam: 46ft. 7in. (14.2m)
Draft: 12ft. 10in. (3.9m)
Construction: Steel hull/aluminum superstructure
Displacement: 2,320 tons
Gross tonnage: 2,786
Engines: 2 x 4,825-hp MTU 20V 4000
Propellers: Wärtsilä
Fuel capacity: 73,968 gal. (28,000L)
Speed (max.): 20 knots
Speed (cruising): 14 knots
Range: 5,000 nm @ 14 knots
Generators: 1 x MTU/DDC Series 2000, 1 x Volvo Penta D9 MG (emergency)
Freshwater: 45,437 gal. (172,000L)
Stabilizers: Rolls-Royce, Aquarius 100
Classification: Lloyd’s 100A1 SSC Yacht (P) Mono G6, LMC, UMS SCM, MCA LY2
Naval architecture: Oceanco/Azure
Exterior styling: Sam Sorgiovanni Designs
Interior design:  Sam Sorgiovanni Designs
Guest cabins: 6 (incl. master, split VIP, 4 doubles)
Crew: 27
Builder: Oceanco
Year: 2012

For more information: +31 78 699 5399; oceancoyacht.com