Terry Giles, a Houston-based businessman, fulfilled a longtime dream when he took delivery of Kalliente (below), a Dominator Illumen 28M, earlier this year. He and his wife Kalli spent many a night aboard in the South of France this summer. Together, they’re taking their cruising dreams to new horizons, aboard a new Dominator. They’ve commissioned an Ilumen 38M Tri-Deck.
Despite the short span that they’ve owned the Ilumen 28M (92 feet LOA), Terry Giles says there’s a lot to appreciate. “I had a boat in the 1990s, and was always convinced that there was a way to design a smaller boat, with less draft and crew, but give you the space and elegance of a much larger boat,” he explains. “The Ilumen series was the first time I had seen a design that could match those goals.” Equally important, Kalli suffers from motion sickness, but is unaffected aboard Kalliente. (A big part of the equation: Dominator employs a Seakeeper gyro stabilizer, plus a Humphree Active Ride Control System, which damps pitch and roll.)
“We loved the Ilumen 28, and Kalli fell in love with the lifestyle,” Terry adds. Furthermore, the Gileses cherished getting to know the Pernsteiner family, which owns Dominator Yachts, as well as the craftspeople.
So, why commission the Ilumen 38M Tri-Deck? “As we experienced having family and friends aboard, we realized we would like to spend more time on the boat in the future than we had ever anticipated,” Terry says. “This led to us examining whether we needed additional space—both privately and in the common areas. Our conclusion was that we would like a boat in the 40- to 45-meter range. But we also loved the openness and innovative design of the Ilumen series. It turns out that the Ilumen 38 will give us the space of a typical 40- to 45-meter vessel with all of the bells and whistles of the Ilumen design.”
The Ilumen 38M Tri-Deck, at 125 feet, certainly puts more relaxation space at their disposal. The additional deck will play a role in that, too, of course. For the Gileses, the master suite will feature his and her heads, along with a dedicated office. Simultaneously, the megayacht stays true to the Ilumen series emphasis on glass and natural light. She further will feature carbon fiber construction.
There’s yet another reason why the Ilumen 38M Tri-Deck is coming. The couple is selling a hotel they’ve owned in Eze, France for nearly three decades. That experience afforded them to see much of the Med, so new destinations are on the horizon. Terry says the Ilumen 38M Tri-Deck will cruise the U.S. East Coast for a few years. From Newport, Rhode Island down to Florida and over to the Bahamas, Kalliente II will get good use. After a while, he continues, they’ll cruise the West Coast, from Puerto Vallarta, Mexico on up to Vancouver, British Columbia. “On the way back and forth, we can entertain our friends in Southern California and San Francisco,” Terry adds.
In the meantime, unfortunately Kalliente won’t get much use. Hurricane Harvey flooded the Gileses’ home in Houston, so their focus for the next 18 to 24 months will be rebuilding. She’s therefore for sale via Bluewater. She’s at this week’s Cannes Yachting Festival and will additionally exhibit at the Monaco Yacht Show later this month.
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