herb chambers excellence yacht price

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EXCELLENCE Yacht – Supreme $120 Million Superyacht

EXCELLENCE yacht is one of the largest superyachts in the world with a total length of 80 meters (262.5 ft).

She is often considered a masterpiece of design with her unusual reversed bow.

EXCELLENCE yacht interior

The interior of the EXCELLENCE yacht was designed by Andrew Winch, an English yacht designer specializing in the luxurious and unusual design.

The yacht perfectly combines indoor and outdoor living with her three-story glass atrium that allows the interior to be bright and open.

Fourteen guests find space on board in seven cabins, as well as a crew of 20 who have a designated area below deck. The interior of the yacht is decorated in beige and creme tones, perfectly complimented by dark wooden elements.

There is a cinema, spa with a sauna, and gym aboard EXCELLENCE and the aft of the vessel holds a large beach club with direct water access.

Specifications

The EXCELLENCE yacht has a length of 80 meters (262.5 ft), a beam of 14.45 meters (47.4 ft), and a draft of 3.45m (11.3 ft).

Her twin MTU engines allow her to reach top speeds of 17 knots, although her average cruising speed lies at 14 knots. She carries 30,000 liters of water and 50,000 liters of diesel on board.

The EXCELLENCE yacht is the 7th largest yacht built by ​​the renowned German shipyard Abeking & Rasmussen.

Her exterior was designed by Andrew Winch, who also worked on the interior of EXCELLENCE.

Her most unusual feature is definitely the reversed bow that is sure to catch the attention of onlookers anywhere she docks.

She has plenty of deck space that can be used for sunbathing or covered up with awnings if required.

On the main deck, a pool with a swim-up bar allows guests to relax and unwind. EXCELLENCE has a sizeable aluminum superstructure and an elongated steel hull.

She has unusually large windows which allow the interior to be flooded with natural light. 

The owner bought EXCELLENCE for a price of US$120 million in 2019. She generates annual running costs of US $5 to 12 million depending on use.

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• Abeking & Rasmussen
• Herb Chambers
• Winch Design

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Boat of the Week: This Speedy 153-Foot Superyacht Has Its Own Turbo Boost

Push a button and the turbine kicks in, which is yachting's equivalent of light speed., julia zaltzman, julia zaltzman's most recent stories.

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What do you get if you have two friends with a passion for boats, high-profile automotive careers and cash to burn? The answer is the 153-foot superyacht Excellence , a vessel that oozes speed, has brand pedigree and captures the hearts of all who own it.

Built in 2001 by Formula One racing car driver and automobile entrepreneur Roger Penske, who named her  Detroit Eagle , the yacht combined Feadship ’s Dutch craftsmanship with Penske’s own brand of engine. (Disclosure: Roger Penske is the father of Jay Penske, who owns this publication, as well as its sister publications in the Penske Media portfolio.)

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“At the time [Roger] Penske owned a company called Detroit Diesel that made diesel engines for boats, and he was also involved with a company that built turbine engines,” current owner and Penske’s longtime friend, Herb Chambers, told Robb Report . “So, he went to Feadship and built a lightweight aluminum yacht with a shallow draft to demonstrate the capability of his engines.”

The Feadship was originally built and owned for years by Roger Penske, who wanted a very fast, very luxurious superyacht. Penske installed his own Detroit Diesel-branded engines and then added a 5,600-hp turbine to give the yacht a 10-knot pop at the top end.  Courtesy of Burgess Yachts

The immaculate, polished-chrome engine room, with the diesels painted in fire-engine red, has always been a symbolic indicator of the type of impressive speeds the yacht can reach. The engines are 16-cylinder 4000 series, which generate 3,650 horsepower each. Penske then added something the superyacht world had never seen before–a Lycoming TF-50 gas turbine for an additional 5,600 horsepower.

“The boat can cruise at about 23 knots on diesel engines,” Chambers says, “but if you really want it to go fast, you push a button and the turbine kicks in taking the boat from 23 knots up to around 33 knots. It really is a remarkable vessel.”

Serial boat builder Chambers grew up in the Boston area, spending long summers on the water at his grandmother’s cottage. “I always had the desire to have a boat,” he says, a goal he realized at 24 with a 30-foot Trojan flybridge motoryacht. The Trojan would be the first of five yachts called A-Copy , named after his successful copy-machine business.

“After I sold the copy company and had this windfall of money, I ordered a 127-foot Feadship. The name A-Copy wasn’t of any significance to me anymore so I tried to think of a name that I would like,” Chambers says. “I’m not an avid reader, but I read Tom Peters’s book In Search of Excellence and loved it. It’s about running a good business. I thought Excellence , that is a great name for a boat.”

Launched last summer, Chambers’s newest 262-foot Abeking & Rasmussen “Excellence” has a futuristic hull shape, with an eagle-beak bow and large glass panels on the exterior.  Courtesy Abeking & Rasmussen

To date, Chambers has owned more than 40 yachts of many sizes. Some were even sold before he took delivery. The name “Excellence” serves as a constant reminder to his 30-year-long captain for the need to maintain high standards on board, he says. It has also carried through to Chamber’s six most recent yachts. This includes his largest yacht to date, a striking 262-foot Abeking & Rasmussen launched in 2019, on which he enjoys cruising the European waters of Croatia, Greece, Italy and St Tropez. That Excellence won Robb Report ’s 2020 Best of the Best award for interiors.

With its “eagle” reverse bow and triple-height glass atrium, the Winch-designed yacht turns heads wherever it goes. But that’s hardly surprising considering Philip Starck’s opinion-dividing Motor Yacht A was the design inspiration this latest Excellence .

“When I first saw Motor Yacht A , I said, ‘That looks like a submarine. Who would ever want to have a boat like that?’ And the second time I saw it, I said, ‘That boat is pretty nice. I kinda like that bow.’ And the third time I saw it, I thought, ‘I absolutely love that.’ So, that’s where the idea for Excellence ’s bow came from.”

While he has recently listed the Feadship “Excellence,” Chambers plans to enjoy the yacht for while he still owns her. He has often owned two yachts—the newer one that is often under charter, and a smaller, faster one that is at his disposal for his “personal use.” 

While Chambers’s appreciation of Feadship has long endured after his first foray with the Dutch shipbuilder, it wasn’t until a 2018 visit to Fort Lauderdale Boat Show that Penske’s 153-foot yacht caught Chamber’s eye. Prized by Chambers for its flexible speed and six-foot Bahamas-friendly draft, it is one of the few yachts that he hasn’t put on the charter market.

“I view the Feadship as a very personal boat,” says Chambers. “It’s only a four-stateroom boat, but you can bring three other couples or family members with you. When I told Roger Penske that I had bought the boat, he said his family was mad at him when he sold it because they loved it so much.”

An extensive 2019 refit of the yacht includes a full paint job, an updated sound system and refurb of the original John Munford interior. Chambers bought the yacht for his own personal use. “Because my boats get chartered, I always love to have a boat that’s available just for me,” Chambers says. “I built a 94-foot Mangusta for that purpose and used it in America when my big yacht was on charter in the Mediterranean or Caribbean. The Feadship can do pretty much what the Mangusta did, but it’s a bigger, more comfortable boat, so I sold the Mangusta at the start of 2020.”

The 2001 build has undergone a complete refurbishment of the interior. 

Being a serial owner, Chambers also recently listed the updated Feadship. He plans to enjoy the yacht while she is still available. Will he miss this Excellence ?

“I really don’t know,” Chambers says, pausing. “I would maybe look to build a similar boat, around 150 feet, something that would be fast. But the Abeking & Rasmussen Excellence is still new to me. The time for me to sell a boat is when I still like it.”

That creates a great opportunity for a buyer who wants a piece of superyacht history–a very fast superyacht history.

Excellence is co-listed for sale with Burgess  and Merle Wood & Associates for $16,900,000. Here are more views.

Images Courtesy of Burgess Yachts

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EXCELLENCE YACHT CHARTER

80m  /  262'6   abeking & rasmussen   2019.

• Previous Yacht

Cabin Configuration

Special Features:

• Aft deck pool with swim-up bar
• Excess of curved glass encasing the owner's suite to provide incredible views
• Tiered home cinema
• Triple-height glass atrium
• Expansive list of water accessories
• Beach club with sea terrace and swim platform
• Twin limo tenders

Excellence is spacious and packed with things to do making her fully primed for guests seeking a luxury charter at sea.

A masterpiece of modern design, the 262.47ft /80m Custom motor yacht EXCELLENCE was launched by Abeking & Rasmussen in 2019. Winch Design is responsible for her futuristic exterior design and contemporary interior styling.

With her innovative features and host of cutting-edge amenities, EXCELLENCE is a superyacht worthy of her title. She is a charter platform designed for the discerning, and promises a superyacht vacation in the lap of luxury. 

Exterior Design

One of the defining characteristics of EXCELLENCE is her unique exterior design, which has been compared to a spaceship. Penned by Winch, her iconic profile features a reverse bow and sharp lines which work to blend the hull with the superstructure to create a unique and eye-catching silhouette. The expanses of mirrored glazing across her superstructure further add to her visionary good looks. The final effect is not only attractive to the outside viewer, but the wide sections of glass also provide stunning vistas over the surroundings. Abeking & Rasmussen have stated that glass has never been installed in these dimensions on one of their superyachts before, marking an impressive first for the German yard.

Interior Design

Winch has ensured a perfect harmony between the yacht’s innovative exteriors and her cool and contemporary interior design. Her social spaces are infused with natural light, with a triple-height glass atrium taking centre stage. The space serves as the social hub during charters, providing an unparalleled setting for enjoying the company of the entire charter party while still feeling connected to the outside world. The motor yacht is also home to a tiered cinema for indulging in movie nights at sea, as well as a spa with sauna and well-equipped gym facilities. All of which these sumptuous features can be found on the main deck.

Guest Accommodation

EXCELLENCE provides accommodation for 12 guests in seven cabins. Each cabin is well-appointed, and benefits from its own individual colour palette.

The principal charter guest can take advantage of the owner’s deck, which has been designed to provide the finest in privacy, comfort and luxury living. The cabin boasts an outdoor terrace with jacuzzi, sun lounging area and private office to offer everything a guest might need right at their fingertips.

The owner’s suite also represents a feat of incredible engineering, as it is partially encased in floor-to-ceiling mirrored glass to provide 180-degree views over the surroundings. The largest panel measures a staggering 6m in length, and has been designed to offer a totally unobstructed connection to the world outside.

Onboard Comfort & Entertainment

On a private yacht charter on board EXCELLENCE, guests can enjoy relaxing and unwinding as well as entertaining and socialising. On the aft deck, a large pool with swim-up bar is a great spot for getting together and having a dip or a drink.

Those looking to get closer to the sea can do so, thanks to a spacious beach club which benefits from a wide sea terrace, bathing steps and a large swim platform. A large locker of toys and tender can also be accessed from here; among her range of water accessories, EXCELLENCE boasts Seabobs, sail boats, inflatable toys, jet-skis, paddleboards and scuba-diving equipment. She also plays host to two limousine tenders for the ultimate elegant arrivals and departurers

The sundeck is also a lovely spot for topping up your tan, and is complete with a deck jacuzzi and multiple lounging areas.

Performance & Range

Built with a steel hull and aluminium superstructure, she offers greater on-board space and is more stable when at anchor thanks to her full-displacement hull. Powered by twin MTU engines, she comfortably cruises at 13 knots, reaches a maximum speed of 17 knots with a range of up to 6,300 nautical miles from her 150,000 litre fuel tanks at 14 knots. An advanced stabilisation system on board reduces the side-to-side roll of the yacht and promises guests exceptional comfort levels at anchor or when underway.

Excellence has aboard a plentiful range of water toys and accessories ready to entertain you and your guests whilst on charter. Principle among these is a Angeboat RS 200 sailboat to bring out the explorer in you. Guests can feel the wind in their hair and jump the waves on one of the two Yamaha VX cruiser WaveRunners. Additionally, there are waterskis that are hugely entertaining whether you are a beginner or a seasoned pro. If that isn't enough Excellence also features a seabob, kayaks, scuba diving equipment, inflatable water toys and kneeboards. When it comes to Tenders, Excellence has you covered - with three tenders, including a 9.8m/32'2" Hogdon Limo Tender.

Why Charter Excellence

EXCELLENCE has been custom-built for an owner with a wealth of experience owning charter yachts. They have also been vastly successful on the charter fleet, and no doubt EXCELLENCE will follow in their footsteps.

Book your next the Caribbean luxury yacht charter aboard Excellence this winter. She is already accepting bookings this summer for cruising in the Mediterranean.

With its superlative combination of luxurious styling and superb amenities, motor yacht Excellence has everything you could possibly want for unforgettable yacht charter vacations.

TESTIMONIALS

There are currently no testimonials for Excellence, please provide .

Excellence Photos

Amenities & Entertainment

For your relaxation and entertainment Excellence has the following facilities, for more details please speak to your yacht charter broker.

Excellence is reported to be available to Charter with the following recreation facilities:

• 9.8m  /  32'2 Hogdon Limo Tender with 2 x 220 HP engines
• 8m  /  26'3 Hogdon Limo Tender with 1 x 300 HP engine
• 1 x Zodiac 450 Rescue Boat with 1 x 40 HP engine

For a full list of all available amenities & entertainment facilities, or price to hire additional equipment please contact your broker.

Excellence Awards & Nominations

• Monaco Yacht Show Awards 2019 The Finest New Yacht of the MYS Winner
• World Yachts Trophies 2019 Best Exterior Design (54-82m) Finalist
• Monaco Yacht Show Awards 2019 The Exterior Design Award Winner
• Boat International Design & Innovation Awards 2020 Outstanding Exterior Motor Yachts - 50m and above Finalist
• Boat International Design & Innovation Awards 2020 Best Interior Design Motor Yachts 500GT and Above Finalist
• Boat International Design & Innovation Awards 2020 Judges’ Commendation for Best Lighting Design Winner
• The World Superyacht Awards 2020 Best Displacement Motor Yacht of 2,000GT and above Nomination
• Robb Report 2020 Interior Winner
• + shortlist

For a full list of all available amenities & entertainment facilities, or price to hire additional equipment please contact your broker.

'Excellence' Charter Rates & Destinations

Summer Season

May - September

€1,100,000 p/week + expenses Approx $1,188,000

High Season

€1,260,000 p/week + expenses Approx $1,361,000

Cruising Regions

Mediterranean France, Italy, Malta, Monaco, Montenegro

HOT SPOTS:   Amalfi Coast, Corsica, French Riviera, Sardinia

Winter Season

October - April

$1,150,000 p/week + expenses

$1,300,000 p/week + expenses

Caribbean Antigua, Bahamas, Saint Martin, St Barts

HOT SPOTS:   Virgin Islands

Charter Excellence

To charter this luxury yacht contact your charter broker , or we can help you.

To charter this luxury yacht contact your charter broker or

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NOTE to U.S. Customs & Border Protection

Specification

SEASONAL CHARTER RATES

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Excellence V, the superyacht built with the charter market in mind

Excellence V has the luxury of space where it matters, which gives her wide side decks, a five-level lift encircled by a central staircase, three hull openings for boarding from the sea, large main-deck guest suites, a dedicated cinema, a water-front gym, a beach club, an owner’s deck and multiple outdoor lounges and spa pools.

‘The exercise was how to put the interior of a 78 metre superyacht into a 57 metre hull, and then we stretched it to 60,’ says Captain Shore. Shore has been with owner Herb Chambers since 1989, and the two of them have built a hugely successful charter following with their yachts, starting with the original 38.7 metre Feadship that was the first Excellence . ‘When he started designing this boat, more room was key, as was incorporating things not heard of five years ago,’ says Shore. ‘He knows what he likes, and we use a lot of input from our repeat charter guests.’

Thirty years of offering his yachts for charter has given Chambers an acute understanding of the market and what makes a yacht a success. For example, there is a handsome double cabin on the upper deck, just aft of the master suite and opposite the office, designed to accommodate a charterer’s children, bodyguard or doctor. An adjacent door, hidden in the paneling, gives this cabin access to the deck’s pantry and to the stairs to the galley and crew areas below, should the person occupying it be a staff member.

Flexibility is why there are three hull openings, too. By putting the beach club amidships to starboard, guests congregating there aren’t bothered by the launch and retrieval of the tenders, which happens at the stern, or by the use of the portside platform that doubles as a crew tender access point and a waterfront gym or massage room. Flexibility has also driven the provision of 10 different outdoor spaces for guests, including three bars and seven lounging areas.

A small asymmetrical saloon with a bar on the starboard side and a cool wood floor, leather walls, crocodile tabletops and velvet chairs forms the transition from the aft arrivals deck to the interior. Forward of this is the dining area, set apart by its leather flooring, Macassar table and black emperador marble and white onyx countertops. This splash of drama sets the stage for the beautiful and dramatic foyer, with its gleaming glass lift, marble floors and a custom stair surround that is a majestic, four-storey, deco-style tableau of transportation.

A stairway takes guests on board Excellence V to a lower foyer opposite the beach club, and glass walls with a sandblasted pattern are all that separate them from the blue beyond when the club deck is lowered. Pass through the glass doors and this club is like an island. It has a shaded bar, a seating area and open teak decking large enough to host a couple of lounge chairs just above the surface of the sea. With its access to the stairs and lift, it’s a great place to arrive by tender.

The beach club isn’t the only reason to venture to the lower deck of the superyacht; forward is a state-of-the-art cinema with 102-inch screen and nine reclining chairs that vibrate along with the heavy bass audio tracks of action movies. A ‘candy store’ and beanbags for children complete the scene.

As pleasant as the guest cabins on Excellence V are (two twins, two doubles, and a VIP), the master suite is the sort of show-stopper you would expect of an owner with 30 years’ experience of messing about in boats. The suite’s subtle arrangement of doors and stairways helps give the owner privacy or informality when needed, and allows him to interact with the captain and crew. A fore and aft private outside staircase takes the owner down to the main side deck, while a circular staircase brings him directly to the bridge deck above. Thus the owner can arrive by tender or passerelle at the stern and move to his suite without going through the rest of the superyacht.

But the pièce de résistance is the waterfall, which splashes down the back of the superstructure and seems to disappear under the sole, only to reappear in a glass-fronted spa pool flanked by a bar with stools and sunpads. It’s a fitting feature for this yacht, which with equal emphasis mixes youthful relaxation and fun with the highest quality finish and technical sophistication.

Excellence V is available for charter at rates starting from €595,000 per week.

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More From Forbes

Billionaire businessman herb chambers talks about owning one of hottest superyachts in the world, the 263-foot-long excellence.

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Herb Chambers' 263-foot-long award winning yacht Excellence underway in the Med.

Superyacht owners are often, um, how should we say, pretty aloof . And I can’t say I blame them. But every now and then, I meet a superyacht owner who loves his new yacht, and loves the process of designing and building something so unique , and appreciates the incredibly talented designers and engineers and builders who can make his dreams a reality so much, that he’s willing to share some of the experience with me (on the record).

The mirrored windows on Herb Chambers' 263-foot-long supuperyacht are some of the largest ever used ... [+] on a private yacht.

But I’ve never met anyone in the superyacht world quite like the owner of radical, new, 263-foot-long  Excellence  that was designed by Winch Design , built by Abeking & Rasmussen , and fresh off winning both the “Best Exterior Design” and “Finest New Superyacht” awards at the Monaco Yacht Show .

Herb Chambers' 263-foot-long yacht has massive windows and custom-built furniture designed by Winch ... [+] Design

He’s a straight taking American who’s smiling face and common sense one-liners are on nearly every billboard near where I live in downtown Boston. His name is Herb Chambers . And he’s on all those billboards because he owns (and is the face of) numerous car dealerships in New England that bear his name.

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The bow of the 263-foot-long superyacht Excellence was inspired by the beak of an American Bald ... [+] Eagle

But we couldn’t have been further from Boston when we met on board his new yacht in Monaco recently. And he couldn’t have been more gracious or forthcoming either. 

Herb Chambers at one of his many car dealerships in New England.

“Well, I've had six yachts,” he says when I ask about how he came to own of one of the hottest superyachts in the world. “I built two in Holland and then I started building them in Germany at Abeking & Rassmussen.”

“Why so many?” I ask. 

The windows are mirrored and massive on Herb Chambers' superyacht, Excellence

“It's fun to build a boat” he says with a twinkle in his eye. “As a matter of fact, from my standpoint, it's probably more fun to build them than it is to use them.

“You're creating something. You're watching something grow,” he continues. I think people who develop real estate know what I’m talking about. Watching a project grow. 

Here's what it looks like behind the mirrored glass of the 263-foot-long megayacht Excellence

“I'm in the automobile business, so it’s quite not the same. But building a boat gives you an excuse to go to Europe every three or four months so you see the progress and what's going on at the yard. And that, to me is very exciting.

“Then you have the opportunity to make a lot of choices.”

Tall glass sections on board the megayacht Excellence brings the outside in.

When it comes  Excellence ’s radical (and award-winning) design, “choices” may be a bit of an understatement. Chambers’ design brief called for his new yacht to be “extraordinary” and to create a seamless feeling of openness and connection to the outside world. “I also wanted the boat to be what I'll call a ‘happy boat.’ There are many boats out there that are overdone. They become an exercise in excess. I didn’t want that.”

He just needed to meet the designer that could create what he wanted.

Herb Chambers superyacht Excellence lights up the night.

“So how did you decide to build such a radical new yacht,” I ask.

“We were at a boat show when I still owned my previous boat [ a 198-footer also named Excellence and built by Abeking & Rasmussen ] but I was thinking about building something new. Then I walked into the Abeking & Rasmussen stand. And they had a rendering on the wall.  And ‘he,’ Chambers’ says pointing at the man who just sat next to him at the bar on the lower deck of his award-winning new yacht, “had done the rendering.” 

We conducted our interview at Chambers' poolside bar aboard his 263-foot-long superyacht Excellence ... [+] in Monaco.

(The “he” Chambers is referring to was Andrew Winch, the founder of Winch Design and the head of the design team that designed every element , from the striking exterior and complicated naval architecture to every detail in the interior of the yacht.)

The owner's apartment onboard Excellence has a forward-facing wrap-around view thorugh large ... [+] windows.

“I was thinking about a boat with lots of glass. And then I stopped and said, ‘I like that boat,” he says pointing at the imaginary rending he saw that day. “I like that boat a lot." At the time, the rendering was just a concept Abeking & Rasmussen and Winch Design were collaborating on. Soon Chambers was making changes and making it his own. And not too long after that, the boat was being built.

Winch describes the process with Chambers like this: “Herb trusted us to design and build something that was so new it was way beyond the comfort zone of most people. He had the courage to do it.”

The massive glass on board the megayacht Excellence is a work of art.

In fact, the team at Winch Design came up a superstructure that’s so unique it’s no wonder Excellence has been so well received. The reverse bow instantly identifiable and the yacht’s  profile that’s built around huge areas of mirrored and curved floor-to-ceiling glass that Abeking & Rassmussen executed brilliantly, may point to where the future of superyacht design and construction is headed.

Watch this space.

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Excellence // Abeking & Rasmussen // Winch Design

Abeking & rasmussen launched the new excellence for a repeat client with an eye-catching reverse bow..

Megayachts are not rare on the Weser river in northern Germany but a superyacht with a reverse bow is a new sight here. The exterior and interior design comes from the well-known UK-based studio Winch Design .

The yacht has a sleek design and alongside the clear lines, there are also round elements on the superstructure forward and aft. The mirrored glass surfaces around the bridge and the owner’s deck are another eyecatcher. According to the yard, the in-house engineers installed these curved windows without disrupting structures.

Furthermore, Swimming pool, Jacuzzi, beach club and bathing platform complete the typical superyacht amenities. The tender garage hosts a limousine tender.

“Excellence represents a huge milestone. A completely unique superstructure, she signifies an innovative and exciting new genre for Winch Design.” – Andrew Winch

Photo by René of yachtemoceans

Photo via Abeking & Rasmussen

The owner Herb Chambers purchased the first A&R with Excellence III in 2001 when the yacht was an on spec project one year away from delivery. Also, number five came from the Weser river. In an interview with A&R he comments:

“There are many beautiful yachts being built. It really is a personal thing in the design. I have been fortunate that the yachts I have built were appealing to many people.” – Herb Chambers

EXCELLENCE  is a totally different design in comparison to the previous yachts of the owner. In an interview with the Forbes magazine , he announced a polarizing one like the motor yacht A .

“I really like it, but 75% of the people dislike that boat, they think it looks like a submarine.”

Motor yacht EXCELLENCE accommodates 14 guests and a crew of 20 people. The gross tonnage is 2115.

Motor Yacht EXCELLENCE in a nutshell

Length Overall

Number of Excellence

Video by Superyacht Times

Motor Yacht EXCELLENCE on river cruise (sea trials)

Video by DrDuu

“We are very proud of this extraordinary yacht and our exceptional workforce, who mastered all requirements bravely. Never before have glass panels been installed in these dimensions. The unusual lines also repeatedly presented employees with major challenges. Now we have developed and successfully finished this masterpiece and can hardly wait for the sea trials.” – Hans Schaedla (CEO of Abeking & Rasmussen).

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This 263-Foot Superyacht Is The Ultimate Pleasure Craft

The ultra luxury vessel won “Best Exterior Design” and “Finest New Superyacht” awards at the Monaco Yacht Show.

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Self-made billionaire Herb Chambers, known for the high-end car dealerships throughout New England that have made his name a household word, is one of the great American success stories. He’s also one of the world’s most renowned commissioners of luxury yachts , having just launched his sixth vessel christened Excellence , which has immediately taken its place on the list of the world’s most beautiful superyachts . 

Built by Abeking & Rasmussen, the legendary shipyard founded in 1907 on the banks of Germany’s Weser river, the 263-ft. craft is immediately recognizable thanks to its slightly intimidating reverse bow; but any hint of menace is offset by massive, multi-level windows that reflect the sea and the yacht’s surroundings, altering its appearance with every journey. Designed by the UK’s acclaimed Winch Design , it captured both the “Best Exterior Design” and “Finest New Superyacht” awards at the Monaco Yacht Show in 2019. 

“Her interior takes cues from Floridian East Coast Art Deco, near where the owner grew up, as well as from the details found in his impressive automotive collection,” Ignacio Oliva-Velez, Senior Partner, Yachts for Winch Design tells Maxim . “These automotive references are found throughout her interior…. Excellence has a modest volume but an incredibly generous feel, ergonomically designed with socializing in mind.” “It’s fun to build a boat,” as Chambers told Forbes . “As a matter of fact… it’s probably more fun to build them than it is to use them.” 

As one of the country’s savviest businessmen, Chambers is also apparently out to make it profitable as well; Excellence is being offered for charter by Burgess with rates starting at about $1.1 million per week. Although with an estimated fortune of $1.7 billion, which began with $500 borrowed from his mother to start his first company, a copier distributor, which he sold for $80 million in 1983, he surely doesn’t need the money. Having built his own fleet of superyachts must be especially satisfying however to the former Navy recruit. 

The new Excellence can accommodate 12 guests in seven cabins along with a crew of 20. The sophisticated style of Winch’s interiors, flooded with natural light thanks to a triple-height glass atrium, belies the yacht’s power; despite its size it is capable of a maximum speed 16.8 knots with a cruising speed of 13 knots. The owner’s suite, complete with a private deck with a Jacuzzi and sun loungers as well as a separate terrace, is especially impressive with floor-to-ceiling glass providing 180-degree views. 

There is a large swimming pool on the yacht’s main deck aft with a swim-up bar, while the sun deck features another Jacuzzi. 

A spa with a sauna, a gym and a tiered cinema are all in keeping with the billionaire lifestyle, as is a spacious beach club with a sea terrace and bathing steps on the swimming platform aft. And Excellence carries two custom limo tenders crafted by Hodgdon of Maine for excursions to shore, stored in a large water-level tender garage. 

“I wanted the boat to be what I’ll call a ‘happy boat,’” Chambers explained to Forbes . “There are many boats out there that are overdone. They become an exercise in excess. I didn’t want that.” For all its luxurious appointments and design flourishes, Excellence evokes elegance above all. And fully lives up to its name.  

Three years in Moscow

This blog was commenced in late 2011, at the beginning of a three year posting to Moscow. I returned to Australia at the end of 2014. My intention was to provide a pictorial commentary on my observations of Moscow, a city most people in Australia know little about. The blog has now been wound up and there will be no more entries. Nor will I respond to any more comments. Thanks for visiting.

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Moscow marks Swami Vivekananda’s 150th birth anniversary

India’s Ambassador to Russia Ajai Malhotra dwelt upon the contributions made by Swami Vivekananda. Source: Embassy of India in Moscow

This week, the Jawaharlal Nehru Cultural Centre at the Indian Embassy in Moscow, the Ramakrishna Society – Vedanta Centre and the Institute of Oriental Studies, Russian Academy of Sciences, jointly commemorated the 150 th  birth anniversary of Swami Vivekananda.

In his opening remarks, India’s Ambassador to Russia Ajai Malhotra dwelt upon the contributions made by Swami Vivekananda, one of the most influential spiritual leaders of the 19 th  / 20 th  centuries. The sage was a social reformer and a great scholar whose teachings influenced many across the globe and continued to do so even today. The Indian ambassador highlighted the message propagated by Swami Vivekananda that “service to God can be rendered by service to mankind.”  

Other prominent speakers on the occasion were Swami Jyotirupananda, Rostislav Rybakov and Mark Mokulsky who highlighted various aspects of the life and teachings of Swami Vivekananda and their enduring contemporary relevance.

The Labour Valour Fund honoured Professor Rybakov and Swami Jyotirupananda with awards on the occasion.

Swami Jyotirupananda, president of the Ramakrishna Mission in Moscow, was the first speaker. He emphasised Vivekananda’s role as a fighter for the rights of the suppressed members of society in India. Jyotirupananda reminded that in India that April 15 - the birth anniversary of Swami Vivekananda – is celebrated not only by holding lectures and functions but also by holding charitable activities. During the 4 years from 2010 to 2014, special attention is devoted in India to helping women and children, as well as other members of society who are in need of support. Within the framework of the programme, children from poor families and orphans are fed, tended to by the doctors and given primary education. Another part of the action is the support of mothers.  There is also a moving exhibition of Vivekananda in train which travels from state to state.

Source: Embassy of India in Moscow

Jyotirupananda reminded the audience that Swami Vivekananda was the first person to suggest spreading the great Vedic wisdom across the world. “Scientists say that a human being is an economical and biological creature,” he said. “But this is not the whole truth. The wise philosophers even before Ramakrishna and Vivekananda spoke against it. The scientists say that they acknowledge the consciousness but they don’t understand its nature.”

Mark Mokulsky, Prof. and Dr. of physical and mathematical sciences at the Institute of Molecular Genetics, Russian Academy of Sciences, followed the discussion about Vievakananda by sharing his hypothesis on the connection between spirituality of Vedanta and genetic-molecular science. Mokulsky is very much interested in the in-depth interpretation of ancient religions. He spoke about a number of signs forming human genetic code and the mysteries ciphered in the ancient Vedic scriptures.   

Another eminent speaker Rostislav Rybakov, Indologist, Dr. of historical sciences and Director of the Institute of Oriental Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences in 1994-2009, elaborated about the relevance of Vivekananda’s teachings to the issues Russia has to face in our day. Rybakov maintains that Vivekananda’s philosophy is very much on the agenda for Russia and Russians of the 21 st century.

He called Vivekananda a man that came from the future to teach people the great wisdom, and people are very slowly and gradually moving towards the understanding of his ideas.

Recalling the recent Day of Cosmonautics in Russia, Rybakov also quoted the legendary Yuri Gagarin who said: “India looks like a big human heart from the space.”  According to Rybakov, such an observation coming from the first cosmonaut shows that India represents the centre of spirituality for the world even at the sceptical epoch of scientific and technological progress.

Professor Rybakov believes that in the past Russia, which had a lot of things in common with India, has lost its traditional values. “Disrespect is one of the toughest issues that Russians have to fight today,” he says. “All kinds of disrespect. Disrespect towards people, towards history, towards law, and, finally, towards ourselves.”

Among the big problems of contemporary Russia, Rybakov singles out a lack of education, and, what he considers even worse, poor education; when a person has heard a little on every subject but doesn’t have profound knowledge on anything. This idea is intertwined with what Alexander Pushkin said in his famous work Evgeny Onegin about Russia’s high society in the 19 th century: “We all meandered through our schooling      haphazard; so, to God be thanks, it's easy, without too much fooling, to pass for cultured in our ranks.”

Rybakov believes that the only path to follow is to educate children from the youngest age, but not simply educating but imbibing them with moral and ethical values that will lay the foundation for their future view of the world. “The way that we need to go is lengthy, torturous and complex,” Rybakov says. But it is the only possible way.”

The finishing stroke of Rybakov’s speech was drowned in enthusiastic applause: “Recently, the French actor Gerard Depardieu has become an honourable citizen of Russia. But, in my view, Swami Vivekananda should become an honourable citizen of Russia, even after his death. We need him very much in our lives today.”

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