The winners of the World Superyacht Awards 2016 were announced at a gala dinner at Palazzo Vecchio in Florence.
All three Voyager’s Award finalists submitted reports of enviable cruises, attracting the judges’ admiration. However, the judges unanimously leaned towards one in which the owner’s enthusiasm and commitment shone through.
This was the near 11,000-mile cruise of Latitude, submitted by her owner, Anil Thadani.
Plying through ice jams and managing to avoid becoming polar bear brunch, Anil Thadani took on an at times perilous 19th-century Arctic exploration route. The 1,600km adventure is seen in breathtakingly beautiful images.
Lee Marine International Marine Brokerage and Campers & Nicholsons co-brokered to sell LATITUDE 1 – 45 metre steel-hulled Vripack expedition motor yacht to the owner of this journey, Anil Thadini.
Starting in Fort Lauderdale, Latitude headed up the US East Coast to Maine, Newfoundland and Battle Harbour, Canada, then crossed the Labrador Sea to Greenland before taking the legendary Northwest Passage around the top of Canada to Alaska and the Pacific Ocean.
For Thadani, a self-confessed polar bear enthusiast, seeing 19 of these magnificent creatures was a voyage highlight, along with a visit to Franklin’s base, Northern Lights sightings and encounters with musk oxen, walruses and whales. There were worrying close-calls with ice as well. This adventurous expedition, interestingly described and illustrated by excellent photography, is a worthy winner of the 2016 Voyager’s Award.
LOA: 44.98m
Builder: Timmerman
Naval Architect/Exterior designer: Vripack
Interior designer: Bannenberg & Rowell