Savannah is like Ben-Hur for the superyacht industry—a magnet for accolades who just couldn’t quit collecting trophies. The 11 Oscars from the 1959 epic are trailed by the 83.5-meter Feadship, but she isn’t far behind. She won the coveted Motor Yacht of the Year title in 2015, a World Superyacht title in her category, and three ShowBoats Design Awards.

When I first saw Savannah, she was a skeleton, still in construction at Feadship’s Aalsmeer shipyard. I accepted build captain Ted McCumber’s invitation to view the project, dubbed Monkey Business because of its creative propulsion package and other unconventional characteristics.

There was a clear harmony between volume and outside living area, even in only the frames. The breathtaking section at the stern that descends past a swimming pool to a bathing platform said it all—this was a yacht that could provide everything, no matter how demanding.

 

 

 

The builder wrapped Savannah in protective film and hung sheets of plywood over the side because there wasn’t room for fenders on her maiden voyage through the Dutch locks and bridges. The 12.5-meter beam, which appears proportionate and even slim from some angles in finished photos, was such a tight fit. Though she appears quite petite, Savannah is actually a very large girl.

 

Her size isn’t the main attraction, though. Savannah is equipped with a unique hybrid power plant and an exterior and interior design by Paris-based CG Design’s Marcello Bozzarelli and Cristina Gherardi Benardeau, who are working on their second superyacht together.