SLIDESHOW: Alloy Yachts' Vertigo

No matter how colorfully decorated your school was or how great your teachers were, your educational experience no doubt paled in comparison to that awaiting the children who board Vertigo. The 220-foot (67.2-meter) sailing yacht, delivered by Alloy Yachts, has an onboard classroom (above), forward on the main deck. Combine that with a children’s cabin that’s truly a kids’ paradise, with a climb-up bunk, and you quickly sense that Vertigo isn’t your typical sailing superyacht.

The sheer size and scope of Vertigo certainly set her apart. She’s the largest project ever built by Alloy Yachts and designed by Philippe Briand. That partly explains her long planning and build stages. The first rounds of design started in June 2004. Construction began in September 2008, and delivery took place last month. But there’s plenty more that makes her special.

For example, the owners didn’t just want a large, luxurious yacht. They wanted a true sailing platform. Briand therefore planned a hull engineered for speed both under sail and under power. Note the nearly vertical bow in the photo below. The design element is not just aesthetic, it contributes to performance, increasing the waterline length. As for mast height, Briand had a restriction of 223 feet (68 meters), since the owners anticipated transiting the Suez Canal. Related to this, draft was restricted to just over 16 feet (5 meters). (Note that draft does increase to 29’9”, or 9.1 meters, when the daggerboard extension is in place.) Briand selected a ketch rig, with some twists, to respect restrictions and bolster performance. The mainsail and mizzen sail roaches are apparently of scopes that mark first for the yachting industry. Specifically, they create more surface area toward the top of the sails. This allows capturing the higher wind speeds known to be there versus toward the water. This, in turn, required using runners, not permanent backstays, something else Briand says is a first for a yacht this size.

All together, the sail plan and hull design reportedly permit Vertigo to achieve just shy of 20 knots in either a broad reach or close reach and while the true wind speed is 20 knots. Light winds should pose no problem, either. With the twin 1,450-hp Caterpillars operational instead, Vertigo should top at 17 knots and cruise at 12 knots.

As for the relaxation areas, the owners have direct access from their stateroom, aft on the lower deck, to the lazarette and swim platform. All furnishings aboard Vertigo were custom made for her, as were the long swaths of cabinetry lining several rooms. Due to a decided lack of walls separating spaces, you can see the cabinetry snake along the curvature of the hull. You also appreciate the unspoiled nature of the 98-foot-long (30-meter-long) indoor-outdoor space created by the saloon and cockpit.

Overall, the owners directed designer Christian Liaigre to create an “urban at sea” environment. They wanted an abundance of light, too, which explains the use of mostly white-lacquered surfaces. It’s accented by dark-stained walnut and even black-stained oak that’s sandblasted for effect. The superstructure is further lined by an abundance of windows, some of which can be lowered for fresh breezes.

Here’s more of Vertigo, which accommodates 12 guests and 11 crewmembers.

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