Cruising Baja with Wally-Hermès Yachts

Imagine cruising Baja California Sur in a yacht like this… Mmmm… We’re in!

A luxurious on-ground villa, that offers to its residents the comfort, spaciousness and interior flexibility but yet immobile?  Or a limited in space and wavering but at the same time capable of transferring you to any place you want yacht?  That could always be the question faced by clients of the luxury leisure sector.  Trying to address this issue while simultaneously implementing the know-how and craftsmanship of both companies, the Monaco-based yacht maker Wally and the luxury French brand Hermès, created WHY – a state-of the-art vessel, for which the idea of the hull was initially taken from a seismic vessel, and was redesigned and adapted to the needs of the sea. The outcome was a super-luxurious yacht which measures 58 meters long and 38 meters wide and can accommodate 12 guests and 20 crew members.

The interior of the yacht follows the high standards of the design companies and is fitted out with water resistant leather, whereas wood is used in most of the interior areas of the vessel.  The total 3.400m² guest surface areas, is divided into three different levels containing all rooms that could be found in a luxury villa such as lounges, dining rooms, libraries and spa areas.

The yacht has been tested under various conditions and the outcome is that under unfavourable weather conditions it remains more stable than any other of its type, and when anchored it creates a flat surface behind it where swimmers feel as if they are in an Olympic-sized pool.  Since the aim of the project is to create a boat that imitates the specifications of a luxury villa but also has the advantages of a boat, it also means that the vessel must be so stable so that the guests can engage in the same activities as they would on the ground.  WHY’s ability to offer this, is probably proved by the fact that it carries around it a real jogging track inspired by coastal paths!

What is extraordinary about this concept is that despite its lavishness, superior design and cutting-edge nautical technologies it is also environmentally ethical both in terms of the choice of its design materials and energy consumption.  WHY requires less power at cruising speed than a boat of equal size whereas it also carries a wind-turbine system and a rectangle mast that produces approximately 30% of the energy used to propel the boat.

This venture makes us happy not only because it constitutes a masterwork in terms of technology and design but also because it can set the example for future eco-friendly nautical conceptions.

Sustainability
“We are very interested in creating a yacht that will have a low environmental impact”, says Pierre-Alexis Dumas. “Its relationship with the sea must be respectful and easy. WHY intends to offer a new way of moving over water by creating an innovative way of managing and recycling its sources and uses of energy.”

“If you want to go totally ecological, it’s only sailing yacht. The reality is that today, 90 % of the market is powerboats, echoes Luca Bassani Antivari. Our aim is to reduce diesel consumption per year and per yacht: 20 to 30 % for propulsion and 40 to 50 % for generation.”

Thanks to its specific hull, WHY 58×38 requires less power at cruising speed than a boat of equal size. Its diesel-electric propulsion is the most efficient motorisation today, and the surface of the photovoltaic panels, almost 900 square metre, covers most of the boat’s auxiliary system needs.

WHY Research and Development plans to optimize this project’s energy consumption by improving the isolation of the yacht and the heat recovery of its engines, and is also investigating the latest wind energy production and wind propulsion system technologies. In comparison to a yacht of the same size, WHY 58×38 has been conceived to reduce drastically its energy consumption, saving up to 200 tons of diesel per year.
The WHY R & D program includes tank testing for hull stability in the SSPA facilities in Sweden, and the construction of a full-scale mock-up in order to allow the design team to fine tune the living areas correctly in accordance with the hull’s unique shape.
“The WHY 58X38 yacht looks very unfamiliar but it remains on a human scale. Space is the greatest luxury on the sea, but I believe the new luxury will be the time to enjoy it”, concludes Pierre-Alexis Dumas.

Dimensions & capacity
58 m length
38 m beam
2,400 tons displacement
12 guests
20 crew
3,400 m² living areas

Performance
12 knots cruising speed
14 knots maximum speed
Constant cruising speed up to Sea Force 4
Long range autonomy 4 Atlantic crossings
Promenade on deck 130 m long x 3 m wide
Swimming pool with thermo regulated water 25 m long

Green Energy
900 m² Thermophotovoltaic panels
2,000 kWh stored energy
Last-generation batteries (LiFePO4)
Renewable energy production 500 kWh/day
Lost thermal energy recovered 1,500 kWh/day
Annual equivalent fuel saving 160,000 liters

WHY Design Team
Pierre-Alexis Dumas / Artistic Director, Hermès
Luca Bassani Antivari / President and CEO, Wally
Gabriele Pezzini / Design Director, Hermès
Mauro Sculli / Naval Architect

Naval engineering
Roar Ramde

Interior architecture
Denis Montel, RDAI

Images: 3D interior image // Courtesy of Wally Hermès Yachts

Text: Yasmine Hottary for Yatzer (www.yatzer.com) and WHY Press Release

Wally-Hermès Yachts: www.why-yachts.com