Andrew Winch Talks 80m Excellence

“The owner is a serial yacht builder with significant experience, so he was able to relay a specific and unique brief,” begins Andrew. The order of the day was an ‘extraordinary’ yacht, as well as one that created a seamless connection between indoors and out - a feat achieved by Winch’s studio with the extensive use of glass.

Excellence is a futuristic specimen with a plumb bow and steel hull, and although no images have been released of her interior, it is safe to assume that they are as impressive as is to be expected from the esteemed London-based firm.

“The owner’s passion for his car collection and the automotive industry played a key part in the inspiration for the iconic interior,” says Andrew, “Silver weave fabric and curved leather panels nod towards the dashboards of the most luxurious sports cars in his collection, and the inspiration for the vanity units in the statement dayheads come from the curves of the seats in the outstanding Ferrari Daytona.”

Excellence truly is a tour de force for Winch, who has worked with Abeking and Rasmussen before on builds such S/Y Hetairos in 1993 (the last wooden yacht by Abeking) and  S/Y Alithia in 2002. Aside from the obvious differences between motor and sailing yachts, Excellence’s scale makes her an entirely different kettle of fish.

“At 80m in length, she is more than double the size of Alithia, providing huge challenges in both her design and engineering,” Andrew explains, “In the 17 years since Alithia was delivered, there have been huge technological advancements in yacht design, completely changing the design process of Excellence.” Despite the fact that the brand new 80m is a completely state-of-the-art superyacht, both yachts share the attention to detail intrinsic to Winch Design and the technical expertise of Abeking and Rasmussen.

Perhaps the most important defining factor for Winch-designed boats, however, is innovation. Excellence heralds in a new era for superyacht design, making her the perfect standard bearer for the design studio.

Following the completion of outfitting on board, Excellence will be delivered to her owner in time for the summer season. We send our congratulations to builder, designer and owner alike, and look forward to seeing Excellence in all her glory on the high seas.