Sycara V

Sycara V came out of the Nobiskrug yard in Germany in 2010, with an interior by Craig Beale and exterior styling by Pure Design. Her first major prize came in 2011, when she topped her size class, 1,300 to 2,999 GT, among displacement motor yachts at the World Superyacht Awards. An extensive refit finished in 2024 repainted the entire exterior and brought the audiovisual and IT systems up to date, including two Starlink antennas for fast internet at sea.

Her standout space is the owner's suite, placed aft on the bridge deck like a penthouse. It opens with an office, has his-and-hers bathrooms with a Jacuzzi tub between them and a walk-in dressing room, and leads onto a private aft deck with its own bar and a table for twelve, which wind doors and screens can close in when the weather turns. Just forward of it is a single cabin with a pullman, handy for a nanny or an older child. On the lower deck are the VIP, another king, two kings that each add a single and a pullman berth, and one more single.

The main deck reads as one long open space of about 25 metres, from the dining area aft to a library forward that doubles as a home cinema and can become an extra VIP suite. Halfway along, the saloon is anchored by a curved bar with a Murano glass counter, and there is an electronic piano for anyone who plays. The sun deck feels like a compact resort. Meals and drinks happen at the back, workouts in the middle, in a cooled gym that also hides a massage room and a steam shower, and sunbathing up front around the Jacuzzi. A lift reaches every deck, and at the waterline an air-conditioned beach club of about 30 square metres has its own glass bar. Brokers also point to how little noise and vibration she makes under way.

She keeps to the western side of the Atlantic: summers around Nassau and the Bahamas, winters based at St Maarten for St Barts, Antigua and the Virgin Islands. She is right for up to twelve guests, whether one family or several friends, who rate comfort, good food and a quiet ride above a long list of water toys. Anyone set on the Mediterranean, or looking for a recent build with the latest design, should keep searching.