Lap of sustainable luxury

Catamarans have always been popular sights off the coast of South Africa. Tourists can regularly be seen lounging on them enjoying sundowners near Clifton. With its twin hulls, the famous Robben Island ferry technically fits into the same category, albeit on a more practical level.

In recent years the move towards efficiency and sustainability has seen catamarans become more popular. Their twin hulls cut through the water faster. They are also lighter, and in many cases more stable, than single-hull vessels.

Where once the catamaran was typically a sailboat, today the design is being used more than ever by luxury yacht manufacturers. Polish shipyard Sunreef Yachts has been focused on sustainable yachting for years, producing a number of multihull vessels. Formula 1 driver Fernando Alonso has a Sunreef, as does Rafael Nadal, but theirs are all about slowing down and relaxing.

Sunreef has also acknowledged another trend in the yachting industry: the explorer vessel. They have all the luxury and amenities on board to enjoy the waters around Mauritius or the Seychelles, but they also aim to satisfy a sense of adventure.

Sunreef’s latest offering is the 40m Explorer Eco, featuring two hulls and what the company describes as a solar skin. This skin is able to generate the power for two 540kW electric motors, enough to manage all on-board equipment and technology while giving the vessel a cruising speed of as much as 14 knots. In theory, its solar power gives it an unlimited cruising range, weather permitting.

The theme of sustainability is more than skin deep, though; the interior benefits from environmentally-friendly materials.

“Sunreef has been at the cutting edge of sustainable yachting since its launch,” says founder and CEO Francis Lapp. “We are the only superyacht builder to have successfully developed the idea of embedding solar cells into large-scale fibreglass structures.

“But we’re not content to let technology alone do the work. Many elements of our wonderful, custom interiors can also be sourced from recycled and renewable materials. From hemp composite to recycled fabrics — it’s all up to the owner.”

The interior can accommodate up to 10 guests and seven crew. There’s an opulent stateroom spanning the vessel’s beam. A king-size bed with a walk-in dressing room, bathroom and its own lounge space covers the upper deck and has its own semi-covered leisure area for relative privacy. Beneath it, on the main deck, are four large guest cabins. In addition, there is a jacuzzi and plenty of on-board entertainment systems to keep guests occupied when the weather is less favourable.

Large windows on all the decks provide plenty of natural light and there’s a vast entertainment deck for lazing under the sun or enjoying an evening of fine dining under the stars. If you want to add some water fun to your exploring then there’s an aft bathing platform from which you can launch a range of water toys or embark on a diving expedition. It even features fold-out wings that increase the size of the platform.

It’s an impressive design, a far cry from the traditional styling of luxury yachts. While modern and refreshing it’s also guided by the philosophy of sustainability. The fibreglass body is sleek to ensure it cuts through the water with maximum efficiency.

The Sunreef 40m Explorer Eco is the latest in a series of yachts that blend design and technology to add a dimension to luxury yachting that has surprisingly been lacking in environmental awareness. It is a hot topic throughout the industry, from materials to propulsion. The industry itself is making changes and so are the clients, who are demanding more sustainability as with their homes or cars. This is creating exciting opportunities to break the norms for designers and yacht builders and they are embracing it with enthusiasm. They are seeking out even more innovative ways to create craft that not only meet modern trends, but also inspire others and future generations.

Be it a luxury catamaran, a superyacht or even smaller house boats and pleasure cruisers, exploring ways to make life on the water cleaner and greener is more evident than ever.