Yacht Boardwalk Sends Final Salute to Lürssen

A centuries-old maritime tradition holds that a vessel sounds her horns when she’s ready to depart. It’s one of the most memorable moments even in yachting, a treasured salute to the teams who made delivery possible. Yesterday, the yacht Boardwalk honored that tradition, pulling away from the dock at Lürssen, turning around in front of its head office, and sounding her horns.

Having launched in December, the 384-footer (117-meter) is her owner’s first superyacht with the German shipyard. He’s Tilman Fertitta, the CEO and owner of the hospitality, entertainment, and gaming company Landry’s. He’s also presently the U.S. ambassador to Italy.

Despite not previously building at Lürssen, Fertitta has long enjoyed yachting. Over the past 20 or so years, he’s taken family cruises and entertained business clients aboard successively larger boats. His first superyacht was a Westport 112, in fact, followed by a Westport 130 and a Westport 164. He’s gone on record to say he loved the 164 so much that he held onto her for more than a decade. She sold in 2024, and Fertitta further says he would have remained a Westport customer had the shipyard been able to build a larger steel-hulled project. He chose Feadship for his first steel yacht, a 252-footer (77-meter) that saw delivery in 2021. She’s currently for sale for €149 million ($174.5 million at press time).

yacht Boardwalk delivery — PHOTO: Dr. Duu

While the LOAs have changed over the years, the names of the yachts haven’t. Every delivery has always been christened Boardwalk, an homage to one of Fertitta’s properties, the Kemah Boardwalk in Houston. Similarly, designer Amy Halffman has collaborated with Fertitta on the interior design for all of them. The newest yacht Boardwalk has an entire deck for guests, for instance. She also has a spacious gym. Although other features like the number of staterooms remains confidential, it’s likely a chef’s kitchen is aboard. Fertitta and his family especially liked the country kitchen style of the Westports, additionally requesting this arrangement for his Feadship.

Some of the alfresco amenities onboard are worth noting, too. A putting green sits aft on the main deck, for example. Two helipads—one on the foredeck, the other aft two decks up—make arrivals and departures at anchor swifter. The lower helideck is in proximity to a pool and hot tub, while a spiral staircase connects the deck level with a cozy seating/observation deck fully up top.

When Boardwalk sounded her salute at the shipyard, Lürssen’s CEO, Peter Lürssen, and multiple staff were outside to receive it. Next stop on her itinerary: Gibraltar.

Halffman Designs halffmandesigns.com

Lürssen lurssen.com