superyacht twizzle

Asia’s award winning boating lifestyle magazine
issue
22
superyacht Twizzle
Hong Kong: HK$80
Singapore: S$12
Malaysia: M$32
Thailand: B328
Rest of the World: US$12
regatta rolex sydney
Hobart Yacht Race sea trial
Fairline squadron 42
Property Phuket
72 |
text by suzy rayment
photos courtesy of www.twizzle.org
additional material sourced from www.twizzle.org
With her dramatic
styling, innovative
features and sparkling
sailing performance,
Twizzle is a yacht that
makes a powerful
impression
Ys | winter 2013 | 73
T
Twizzle is a stunner. This magnificent flybridge ketch is the result
of the owners’ vision of a high performance, high-tech sailing
yacht that offered all the amenities, comfort and standards to
which they were accustomed on their motoryacht. Having
owned both sailing and motor superyachts, the owners had very
clear objectives for this yacht, and their attention to the smallest
detail has created a masterpiece.
Conventional wisdom states that designing and building a
custom yacht will always involve trade-offs between conflicting
objectives. True as that may be, there is little sign of compromise
in this remarkably impressive flybridge ketch - despite the most
challenging list of objectives. These included that the yacht be
streamlined, low-profiled and arresting in appearance, and it should
be effective in all latitudes and climates. Not an easy brief to fulfil.
The owners put together their dream team for this project,
which included Redman Whiteley Dixon, who were responsible
for exterior styling, as well as interior design in association with
Todhunter Earle and Associates. Dubois Naval Architects were
responsible for the hull and rig design, and Royal Huisman were
commissioned to build the superyacht and translate the owner’s
visions into reality.
Strolling around the decks
Twizzle is a remarkable combination of luxury boutique home and
74 |
powerful blue water sailing craft. An attractive feature of the yacht
is the highly successful creation of indoor and outdoor spaces that
seamlessly merge, or can be separated effortlessly into discrete
living spaces.
To the external onlooker, the massive, curvaceous sections of
deckhouse glass are dark and impenetrable, ensuring complete
privacy for guests. However, for the guests themselves, the
experience could hardly be more different as they enjoy all-round
visibility within a space that is flooded with light.
The whole of Twizzle’s main deck saloon has been given
over to owner and guest amenities. Far from compromising
the navigation and operation of the yacht, this provides the
opportunity for an integrated, half-raised bridge situated in a
commanding position above the deck saloon, with easy access
both to the crew area and to the flybridge steering stations.
As a result, the entire area behind the main deck’s vast,
elegantly curving window has been freed for a magnificent theatre
lounge, easily transformed for casual dining when desired. The
views from here are panoramic, and spectacular.
Aft of the lobby is the main deck saloon – a wonderfully
airy space where full-width Rondal glass sliding doors astern are
complemented by vast windows either side, suffusing the room
with light. The result is a wonderful fusion for the senses as guests
experience the beauty and drama of the ocean or anchorage outside,
OPPOSITE, and
ABOVE:
Twizzle is a
performer both on
and off the wind
Ys | winter 2013 | 75
while cocooned in the warmth, shelter and privacy of the interior.
The full-width glass doors aft of the saloon slide open to offer
a seamless transition – without any change in height of deck or
deck-head, simply the inclusion of a teak deck grating – to the
al fresco dining and leisure deck beneath the flybridge. This is
essentially the place to enjoy the outdoor ambience of warmer
climes, but if the heat or light becomes too strong, or the wind
uncomfortable, it can easily be closed to the elements with semitransparent canvas screens. There are even radiant heaters in the
ceiling above the table for cooler evenings.
The guest cabins – like the communal areas – all enjoy stylish
contemporary fittings and décor with beautifully conceived
modern architectural detailing that includes custom hardware
with a distinctive bronze finish. An overriding theme is the use
of specially prepared timbers by Schotten & Hansen. These are
scrubbed to yield the characteristic texture of European Oak,
and then hand-stained in contrasting tones to create a calm, yet
chic ambience enhanced by a palette of natural hues for wood
floors and textile-surfaced wall coverings. The subtle pastel hues are
sensitively offset by the restrained application of bitter chocolate and
black contrasts. The washbasins in both owners’ and guests’ cabins
have each been sculpted from single pieces of solid Perlino marble.
The owners’ stateroom, further aft behind a watertight
bulkhead, features a central oversized bed located abaft the
mizzen mast, itself artfully presented as an arresting design
element, a subtly-hued column that rises from the plinth of a
beautifully joinered table. To starboard, there is an L-shaped
sofa and walk-in wardrobe. To port, doors connect to a large
bathroom against the forward bulkhead and to another door,
further aft, that connects to the aft lobby. This lobby leads to
another bathroom with steam shower, and provides access to the
owners’ study and to the stairs leading aft to the owners’ cockpit.
The study and aft bathroom can convert into an extra single cabin
with all amenities if the guest list is unusually large.
Above left
Clockwise:
Owner’s suite; main
saloon and open
air dining; attention
to detail; ensuite
bathroom; VIP guest
suite
Spirited, yet Sea-kindly
Dubois Naval Architects focused all their considerable expertise
on the creation of a hull and rig that combines good performance
with sea kindliness, stability and comfort. The Panamax ketch rig
by Southern Spars, with an almost 62m main mast – the tallest
that can fit under the Panama Canal’s Bridge of the Americas
at low tide – carries up to 1,800sqm of sail on composite spars
76 |
Ys | winter 2013 | 77
S/Y Twizzle
is proud of
her green
credentials
and has
striven to be
exceptionally
eco-friendly
supported by lightweight, yet immensely strong EC6+ carbon
standing rigging. North 3DL sails and Rondal captive and drum
winches optimised for the requirements of racing enable Twizzle
to show exactly what she is capable of at superyacht regattas.
To facilitate her ambitions to explore, Twizzle has a swing
keel that allows a shoal draft of just 3.8m. For powerful upwind
sailing, the centreboard can be lowered to its full extent of 10.8m
in just one minute. The hydraulically-operated crow’s nest offers
an exhilarating ride up the 62m-high carbon composite main
mast; breathtaking views of city, port, ocean vista or tropical island
grandeur are there for the willing.
Leisure Time Pursuits
Large sun beds, sofas, a bar, a gas-fired barbecue and a table
that cleverly extends for “roof-top” dining ensure perfect
functionality and atmosphere on the social area of the
flybridge. A major engineering challenge for the build team,
and undoubtedly one of Twizzle’s star leisure features, is the
stern platform. A highly customised production, even by Royal
Huisman standards, this two-tier boarding and swim platform
can be hydraulically positioned at variable heights to take
account of sea conditions.
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There is a hydraulically-operated carbon fibre swim ladder
concealed within the lower platform, while a grand stairway
gives access to the main deck. Adjacent to the stern platform,
the lazarette contains snorkelling and dive gear (including a
dive compressor and a nitrox production unit), water skis and
wakeboards, two kayaks, and an RS Vareo sailing dinghy, along
with a variety of beach and barbecue equipment.
OPPOSITE PAGE
CLOCKWISE:
Spacious lower deck
entertainment area;
al fresco dining on the
upper deck; complete
with barbeque; secluded
seating
Carbon Offset
“S/Y Twizzle is proud of its green credentials, and has striven to
be exceptionally eco-friendly. Not only has it ensured that there
is near-zero unprocessed and cleansed discharge into the sea, S/Y
Twizzle is certified to the highest levels for operation in the world’s
oceans, including Alaska.
S/Y Twizzle is working with Yacht Carbon Offset towards
carbon neutral operations. In addition, S/Y Twizzle has also
agreed a Carbon Offset Balancing Agreement to compensate
for the estimated ‘embodied’ greenhouse gas emissions
associated with her construction and in the refinement of her
metal content, and is believed to be the first Superyacht to
enter such an agreement.”
Above left
Clockwise:
Sunset on the stern;
reaching for the stars at
the crow’s nest; spaceage helm station
www.twizzle.org
Ys | winter 2013 | 79