Abeking & Rasmussen 188-Boat, Yacht, Luxury Gulet, Bareboat, Catamaran

8/3/2019 Abeking & Rasmussen 188-Boat, Yacht, Luxury Gulet, Bareboat, Catamaran

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The first thing I noticed as I approachedExcellence III, docked stern-

to along the ancient stone wall surrounding the harbor in Antibes,

France, was Old Glory flying at the center of her wide stern. The 188-foot motoryacht was designed in England by Donald Starkey and built

in Germany by Abeking & Rasmussen, but owner Herb Chambers is aproud American and wanted her registered in the States, a rare thingfor a yacht of this size.

Inside the main deck foyer, I was greeted by a bald eagle, one of only

three of this type sculpted by Rene Lalique, that dominates the centerof a four-deck stair tower. One might guess the yacht was designedand built around this owner's favorite piece, but the eagle, like the flag

on her stern, is just one example of how Chambers made her his own.

Excellence IIIstarted life as a spec build, and her systems and designare the result of excellent timing. Chambers entered into the projectearly enough to add his own touches, but late enough to take

advantage of the collaboration between A&R and Starkey, who hadteamed up on an earlier project of similar size.

The team widened and restyled their earlier build and gave her an

entirely new arrangement and dcor. With the extra beam, minimaltaper in the after hull lines, and just a smidgen of tumblehome in the

superstructure, Starkey had an incredible amount of enclosed volumewith which to work.

As Ray Shore, the yacht's amiable captain, put it, "This yacht is big

for its size, probably the biggest 188-footer afloat.

Originally trained as a landside architect, Starkey says his forte is inspace planning, a talent that was apparent as I walked

throughExcellence III. It would be easy to get lost on a yacht thislarge, but the layout, for all its elegance, is logical and

straightforward. This decision to keep things simple arose from thespec build, but the result dovetailed perfectly with Chambers' plans forthe yacht. As with his earlier boats,Excellence IIIgets a great deal of

use, but is also active in the charter market, through Camper &Nicholsons International. Making it easy to get around the yachtallows guests to settle in quickly and feel more comfortable aboard.


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Chambers bought into the project before construction of the interior

was started, so he could have made substantial modifications to the

original plans. He and Capt. Shore, however, found little to change.Starkey, too, is pleased with the yacht, and enjoyed the creative

freedom Abeking & Rasmussen gave him in the early stages ofconstruction.

"I think this is one of my favorites, Starkey said, "perhaps because

more of my personal tastes went into this than any other yacht.

Those tastes include a great deal of mahogany throughout, finished

dark but with modern rather than traditional detailing. The joinery isaccented with lighter flame and splayed root mahogany. Light-coloredsoft goods also help to keep the interior from getting too dark, as does

the use of honey onyx stonework, which is found in impressivequantities in the saloon, foyer and all baths, at Chambers' request.

Reliability and safety should always be paramount, but these obvious

priorities are too often ignored or shortchanged. Not soaboardExcellence III, which Starkey lauded for being built to astandard, not to a price. Not only are there backups for all critical

systems, but backups for the backups exist. If the electronic enginecontrols malfunction, the captain can send signals to the engineer on

duty with a modern incarnation of an engine order telegraph. Shouldthe topside steering fail, a magnetic compass and wheel in thelazarette will bring the yacht home. Each anchor is held tightly in

place with a windlass brake, a chain compressor and a devil's claw.

From the guest quarters and engineroom, there are at least four means

of egress. Topside, four 25-person liferafts are fitted, two per side,ensuring no one will have to try out for the swim team.

Fire doors can be controlled locally or from the pilothouse, where

monitors indicate their status. Unobtrusive lighted arrows similar tothose on modern airliners mark the path up stairs and along

passageways to exits in the event an emergency knocks out the main

lighting. Power for this and other emergency systems, including a firesprinkler system, comes from an air-cooled emergency generator onthe top deck. Well isolated from engineroom flooding or fire and


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equipped with its own fuel supply and switchboard, the genset is

tested during monthly crew drills, according to Shore. On this all-

Caterpillar yacht, the emergency genset is a 3304, the two maingenerators are 3406 models, and the propulsion engines are massive

3516 diesels operating at a quiet and leisurely 1600 rpm.The fire protection system is about as complete as possible. It includesfeatures I've promoted for years but have seldom seen fully

implemented. The fire detection system throughout the

accommodation spaces includes smoke and heat detectors. This givesan early warning regardless of the type of fire, whether slow andsmoldering, or hot and quickly growing.

The fire suppression system uses sprinklers that are individually

activated and initially charged from the freshwater pressure system,with changeover to saltwater fire pumps if necessary. This will snuff afire in its early stages with minimal damage from fire and water. In the

engineroom, CO2 and mist sprinklers are fitted.

Guest accommodations include four staterooms belowdecks and a VIPstateroom abaft the pilothouse. Forward on the main deck, the full-

beam master suite includes an office and an exercise room with aclever arrangement of doors, passageways and furnishings that allow

guests to use the amenities without disturbing the owner.

Some of the spaces are so large that special features were incorporatedto keep the guests and crew from feeling overwhelmed. Three sofas

and a couple of chairs are clustered toward the center of the saloon,with passages outboard of them. The dining room has spacious seating

for 14 guests, with space left between the seat backs and bulkheads fornot one, but two staff to pass during meals. A room-dividing barseparates the two spaces, and pocket doors at the four corners can

enclose the dining room for formal occasions.

The main crew quarters are forward, with four upper-and-lower cabinson the lower deck and another two cabins below them on the tank

deck level. There are separate mess and lounge areas, so part of thecrew, normally 13 strong, can relax, reading or watching a movie,while others eat.


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In the sky lounge abaft the pilothouse, three sofas are mounted on a

hidden circular track, allowing them to be arranged with a focus aft

for large outside parties, or forward for more intimate movie nights,complete with Linn surround sound and an overhead projection

system. In addition to the sky lounge, VIP stateroom and pilothouse,this deck carries the captain's cabin, the ship's office and an extracabin for additional guests or supernumerary crew, such as a

helicopter pilot.

With tenders and water toys stowed in a stern garage and the MCA-required rescue boat on the foredeck, the after ends of this deck andthe top deck are devoted to guest dining and relaxation. In addition to

tables and bars on each deck, comfortable settees are set a few feetforward of the transom. They face aft rather than forward for a betterview, whether at sea or moored stern-to in the Med.

Sitting here with Old Glory waving in the gentle sea breeze, under taut

mesh awnings that shield the sun's harshest rays without blockinglight, looking over Antibes' ancient wall to the azure seas that give this

section of coastline its name, it was hard to imagine a more enjoyablespot

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Abeking & Rasmussen 188-Boat, Yacht, Luxury Gulet, Bareboat, Catamaran