Yacht Nurja Relaunches at Abeking & Rasmussen: Sunday Superyacht Video

She may look like a catamaran, but the yacht Nurja is much more. She’s a SWATH, which stands for Small Waterplane Area Twin Hull. Each hull is nothing like a conventional cat hull. Instead, they bear submarine-like shapes extending deeper in the water that aid in buoyancy. Briefly, and importantly, SWATHs are super stable and super comfortable—and the case of the yacht Nurja, make for special superyachts.

Previously, the 133-footer (nearly 41-meter) was the pioneering yacht Silver Cloud (below). The late Alexander Dreyfoos, a passionate cruiser, took delivery in 2008. His wife Renate suffered from severe seasickness, to the point that not even stabilizers helped. Alexander learned about SWATH design, which dates back to the 1930s. The Dreyfooses signed a contract with Abeking & Rasmussen after the yard invited them aboard one of its SWATH pilot ships on the rough waters of the North Sea. Extraordinarily, “Renate was able to sit through the ride, reading and knitting without a hint of seasickness. I was convinced,” Alexander told us in 2016. “It has truly proven itself to be an expedition yacht.” Specifically, over the course of a decade, Silver Cloud put an impressive 100,000 miles under her hulls. The Dreyfooses were aboard for 19 of the 20 ocean crossings, too.

Silver Cloud sold in late 2020, to her current owner, who sent the yacht to Abeking & Rasmussen in late January 2021 to embark on an extensive refit. It was so extensive, in fact, that she just emerged on August 19. The owner of the yacht Nurja is reportedly quite happy with the work so far.

Even in the brief views, you can see dramatic differences between the two. Silver Cloud, for instance, had a stark-white topside and nautically inspired blue hulls. The yacht Nurja, by contast, has a grey paint job, two different tones between her hulls and superstructure. Additionally, Nurja has an elongated upper deck, which likely will serve as an alfresco entertainment area. It doubles as a tender-stowage area, too. In fact, a covered tender sits aft on this deck as tugboats move the yacht into position. Finally, a notched-out section is fully forward on the bridge deck, in front of what may be a seating area.

The refit should wrap up before the end of the summer.

Abeking & Rasmussen abeking.com