If you’re on the West Coast of the USA, keep your eyes open for this new launch from Christensen Shipyards, Casino Royale. The 163-footer will soon be in the hands of her owner, John Staluppi. The car dealer and collector has earned renown in megayacht circles for naming his yachts after James Bond flicks. He’s also a big fan of speedy yachts. This particularly makes the Christensen project all the more noteworthy.
If you’ve been a yacht enthusiast for some time, no doubt you recall Staluppi’s 116-foot Moonraker. She broke the motoryacht speed record in 1992 by officially topping just shy of 67 knots. (I say “officially” because she actually registered a few knots more. As the story goes, though, either someone didn’t have the stopwatch active, or some other protocol wasn’t in place when the higher speed occurred. It therefore didn’t count for the record.) Staluppi’s most recent megayacht, The World Is Not Enough, was a Millennium 140 from 2005. She was capable of hitting 70 knots. Surprisingly, Casino Royale is a far more traditional yacht when it comes to speed. Christensen says she will hit 18 knots max, and 12 knots at cruise, with twin MTU 12V 4000s.
So why the change? Well, Christensen doesn’t build super-fast superyachts, so that’s one obvious reason why Casino Royale doesn’t fit the profile. However, judging from what Staluppi said at the christening a few weeks ago, he was attracted to the customer service. Speaking with the yard’s management and seeing some of the builds impressed him. “Christensen in my eyes is the best-kept secret in all of yacht building,” he says. “I’ve built 15 boats, and this has been the easiest and best-assembled yacht I’ve ever been in. When they build a boat, you really feel good about it, and when you’re done building the boat, it really feels like your boat.” He went on to add, “Building this boat has been the most customer-friendly and enjoyable experience I’ve had.”
There’s still some final fit-out going on at the Vancouver, Washington yard. However, when work finishes, Casino Royale and Staluppi will head up to Alaska. The yacht will then travel on her own bottom to Fort Lauderdale. She then will premiere at the Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show in October.
I’ll get a good look at her then, so I’ll give you my impressions shortly thereafter.
Leave a Reply