Nero

NERO began as a restoration that never happened. The British entrepreneur Neil Taylor wanted to bring a genuine classic back to life, could not find a suitable hull, and decided to build one instead. His model was Corsair IV, the 103-metre yacht J. P. Morgan cruised in the 1930s. Taylor even set up a company for the job, Corsair Yachts, and had the hull built in China; she was completed in 2007.

From the water she is pure period piece: a clipper bow, a black hull, a yellow funnel and a sheer line that rises towards the bow the way it did on yachts of that era. Her keel runs the full length of the hull, which, according to her captain, makes her sit at anchor more like a sailing boat than a modern motor yacht. On board, the references keep coming, from a bust of Nelson in the owner’s suite to a figure of Lord Byron, whose poem The Corsair gave Morgan’s yachts their name.

Inside, she is lighter than the exterior suggests. A refit at MB92 in Barcelona in 2016, led by the designer Laura Pomponi, swapped the original dark gloss wood, purple and gold for lime-washed oak, cream fabrics and chrome. A second round in 2021 aimed at charter guests: the lounge up top was turned into a fitness room, and the space where guests used to train now hosts beauty treatments and massage. Among the crew are people trained to give massages, beauty treatments and personal training sessions; for laps, a 5.7-metre counter-current pool does the job.

The owner’s suite is a duplex with its own study, sitting room and separate bathrooms, and films can be shown outdoors at night. She is also an RYA training centre for guests who want to learn on the watercraft.

NERO is for twelve guests who enjoy a yacht with a story and a slower, more traditional rhythm. If you want floor-to-ceiling glass, a minimalist interior or the feel of a brand-new build, she will feel like the wrong century.