It’s a good thing Oceanco’s Alfa Nero was docked toward the end of Jettee Nord in Monaco’s Port Hercule last week, because she stopped onlookers dead in their tracks and kept them there, practically slack-jawed. (No doubt the same happened to Neil Heyes, the amateur shutterbug who took the photo above in Greece this summer.) Those of us journalists who got to tour all 269 feet of her had the same reaction, but mostly over the attention to detail given to her technical spaces.
For example, there’s a provisioning area outboard of the galley near the waterline with a fold-down hatch to speed loading of supplies. There are six walk-in refrigerator/freezer rooms, each easily the size of the galley aboard a 100-footer, in addition to the equipment in the galley. And the galley itself handily accommodated 20 of us with room to spare.
But Alfa Nero’s engine room really got us going. No photos were permitted inside, so consider the following conversation I had with Capt. Michael Howorth, who writes for a few marine magazines. Upon entering the two-level area, which could have hosted a rousing game of hide-and-seek, I joked, “I think we can safely call this a walk-around engine room.” Howorth quickly quipped, “Aw, c’mon, Diane, I think you can do better than that—it’s a drive-through engine room.”
Who knows whether the owner’s guests or potential charter guests (there’s talk of her going into charter) will ever venture to the engine room? They’ll probably have a hard time tearing their attention away from the transom pool, which had everyone at the yacht show transfixed. I tried shooting some video of it, but let’s just say it didn’t do it justice. Instead, I’ll refer you here, to Oceanco’s own sea trials video, where you can see the pool floor raised to deck level (it looks like a wood insert), serving as a helipad.
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