Good Vibes
You could soon be exploring the personal luxury of an eco-friendly cruise aboard Sunreef Yachts.
We’ve all learned a little about different ways of doing things lately. Individual attention. Bespoke experiences. Fresh air with a small group of friends. That’s what the future of cruising could look like aboard the sustainable catamarans of Sunreef Yachts.
This luxury shipbuilder has taken the small-ship experience of lines like UnCruise Adventures, Saga Cruises, and SeaDream, and combined it with the cutting-edge vision of ecological leaders like Hurtigruten and innovators like Virgin Voyages to create what they call “advanced solutions for sustainable cruising.”
Their vision for the future consists of two kinds of catamaran: the Power Eco Yacht and the Sailing Eco Yacht. Both are customizable to take into account every cruiser’s needs, and both are designed to be sleek, quiet, and kind to the air, sea, and land. The Power Eco Yacht combines hi-tech green propulsion with exceptional comfort. The Sailing Eco Yacht adds top quality recyclable sails in addition to advanced electric engines powered by ultralight, custom-engineered battery banks which are recharged by inhouse produced solar panels.
While most cruise ships are welded together from massive sheets of steel, Sunreef ships use carbon fiber as an ultra-light, ultra-strong building material. The Sunreef 60 Eco Yacht, one of the company’s smaller sailing models, has a carbon fiber mast, boom, and Bimini top with in-built curved solar panels to generate electricity. The railings are made of strong, lightweight titanium. But the sailing ship also uses Earth-friendly sustainable materials, like floors made of reclaimed teak, countertops made of compressed paper, and even recycled sails for propulsion.
And, as Sunreef R&D Director Nicolas Lapp explains, the concept behind the Eco Yacht goes beyond building materials.
“No plastic bottles are allowed on board, fresh water being supplied from a state-ofthe-art watermaker and modern filtering system,” Lapp says. “With our Eco Yachts,
There are more and more people looking for a responsible cruising experience, and I believe electric catamarans are the answer here.
we respond to increasing demand for green solutions. We’re happy to introduce trendsetting, environmentally friendly craft.” Sunreef Yachts have started to turn heads among those fortunate enough to be able to charter private yachts, earning praise at the Festival de la Plaisance in Cannes and at the Monaco Yacht Show. Maritime experts say it’s only a matter of time before Sunreef’s economical and ecological innovations make their way into the wider cruise world. “Hurtigruten took one of the first steps toward weaning the cruise industry off diesel fuel with Roald Amundsen, a hybrid ship that cuts fuel costs by 20 percent because it burns 20 percent less fuel,” explains environmental analyst Douglas MacGillroy. “That ship proved that sustainability was more than just marketing. It was good business. Marco Ottiker owns a personalized Sunreef Yacht. At 50 feet long, it’s the smallest of the company’s sailing vessels, with room for 12 guests, solar panels built into the composite structure, and 80kW lithium batteries that power two 40kW electric engines in addition to the traditional, 860-square-foot sails.
“There are more and more people looking for a responsible cruising experience, and I believe electric catamarans are the answer here,” Ottiker says. “The fuel savings are massive, so we are really looking at a clean alternative. Add silence, autonomy and comfort to the equation, and you have the perfect platform to enjoy sailing without harming the environment.” ⠛ ⠛
The fuel savings are massive, so we are really looking at a clean alternative.