On board the 77m Feadship superyacht Boardwalk owned by Tilman Fertitta
A serial yacht owner and design perfectionist looked across the Atlantic when it came to building his latest upgrade. He shows us how American design and European craftsmanship come together on board 76.5 metre Feadship Boardwalk.
Picture this: a sunny day, a few fluffy clouds across pale blue, and a tropical breeze blowing down the decks of a brand-new 76.5 metre Feadship. The new Boardwalk is docked along an alley lined with slim coconut palms, its bow jutting toward the new skyscrapers along Miami's Biscayne Boulevard. The wide transom catches the breeze directly off the bay and long blades reveal an H130 chopper crouching like a lion ready to pounce on the top deck. The vision stops a couple out for a stroll, and they whip out their mobile phones to take a shot. Boardwalk, at 1,848GT and with four decks (plus a tank deck), is an impressive sight in any surrounding.
The owner, businessman, bestselling author of Shut up and Listen and TV personality Tilman Fertitta (he is a frequent guest speaker on CNBC and was also on CNBC's reality show Billion Dollar Buyer), is on board, sitting on a shaded sofa and scanning phone messages.
This is his favourite spot on board this yacht - indeed, of any of the yachts he's had to date, he says. Of course, with a regular increase in size, the aft deck has morphed from a simple sofa with a table and perhaps a bar to a much more expansive space. New Boardwalk's aft deck is far more than a transition area to the entrance of the main saloon. It has the first of several bars, a large television screen, two semi-circular sofas in the centre alongside a larger one, which I can't help but notice as I slide onto it, is pleasantly supportive and protected from the sun and wind.
Fertitta's previous Boardwalk, which he has kept in tip-top shape for 11 years, is a Westport 164. "I love the 164. I still haven't sold it; I enjoy it so much," he says.
So, what led him to such a bigger boat, I ask? He laughs. "I think it just kind of is the natural thing. I think we've gone from 112 to 130, to 146 to 164, and I have to say it took me a while," he says. "And you've got to remember, boats have gotten so much bigger. I can remember when I was at a boat show and the Westship Martha Ann was, at 44 metres, the biggest boat in the show. Houses have gotten bigger, families get bigger, and you want to entertain more people."
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