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SeaXplorer: The Director's Cut
Following the success of the recent SeaXplorer mini-series produced to showcase the builders, designers, engineers, experience and minds behind the Damen Yachting range of go-anywhere, luxury explorer yachts, presenter Bill Springer shares his final thoughts on how it was to go on tour with Xplore.
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I’m not a rockstar. But I must admit, I felt like one, an old one, that had just finished a world tour when filmmaker Charl van Rooy and I shot the last segment of our Xplore video series by the Thames in London. We’d just spent the morning shooting Jonny Horsfield and his team at H2 Yacht Design in West London. As you can see in Episode #6, the footage we got with him was fantastic because he not only explained just how challenging and rewarding it is to design an interior for a SeaXplorer 60, he also shed light on why SeaXplorers are so well suited to Owners who want to explore everything from remote atolls in French Polynesia, and marinas in the Med to the Antarctic peninsula.
But like old rockstars at the end of a long tour, Charl and I were ready to rest a bit after that last shoot in London. Looking back, I’m not surprised we were tired. The “Xplore Tour” brought us to the Damen Yachting shipyard in Vlissingen, another Damen Yachting Shipyard in the Turkey, the Monaco Yacht Show and the Explorer Yacht Summit in Monaco, as well as the UK where we visited H2 Yacht Design in London and Design Unlimited on England’s south coast over the span of a few months!
But I’m not complaining. Ever since I was a young boy, I’ve wanted to go on adventures. And that thirst for adventure has only intensified as my “job” as a yachting journalist has brought me aboard superyachts and expedition ships all over the world. So, when the Damen Yachting team came up with this idea to tell the inside story of all the different elements—shipbuilding excellence, creative design, and expedition experience etc.—that makes the SeaXplorer line of yachts so special. I was all in.
And I think the best part of this series is not only being able to learn from the experts like SeaXplorer Design Manager Enrique Tintore and Damen Yachting’s Director of Sales Rob Luijendijk about the genesis of the SeaXplorer line, but how the Damen Yachting team works with clients to customise each new SeaXplorer that gets built. I love how these videos also shed a little light on the people and personalities behind the scenes.
But the truth is even though I’ve visited countless shipyards over the last 25 years (yikes!) I’ve been a yachting journalist, I didn’t really understand just how many talented people it takes to build a SeaXplorer until I visited the Damen Yachting shipyard in Antalya with Enrique. And the cool thing is, the video Charl produced not only shows the two different SeaXplorers that were under construction in Antalya when we were there. (No wonder it’s one of the most viewed videos from the series.) We also learned directly from Enrique and local Project Manager Ilker Yitik how every aspect of each build—from welding to the final preparations before delivery—are held to extremely high standards.
When we finished filming at the shipyard in Turkey, Charl, Enrique and I then flew directly to Monaco to attend the annual Explorers Yacht Summit at the Monaco Yacht Club (like rockstars!). Enrique spoke on a panel while Charl and I learned how some Owners are using their explorer yachts to make a positive difference in the world by helping scientists conduct vital ocean research. We also interviewed the founder of the event that brings the explorer yacht community together as well as a yacht captain that had more stories of expedition excitement and adventure than we could fit in our short video.
Meanwhile, our chat with Rob Calum from EYOS and Erik Spek of Azure together at the Monaco Yacht Show shows how Rob and his EYOS team (with many decades of knowledge and experience leading expeditions around the world) have shared knowledge with Erik’s firm (he has many decades of technical experience in design, marine engineering and naval architecture) to create the ultimate explorer yacht.
So, what have I learned after the “Xplore Tour?” Well, after diving headfirst into the SeaXplorer life, I’m reminded that the sky is the limit when it comes to ocean exploration. Life is about exploring. And what better way to do it than on a SeaXplorer?
Enrique Tintore and Rob Luijendijk sharing their knowledge of all things SeaXplorer with Bill.
Watch the Xplore episodes
Much like her sisterships ANAWA and LA DATCHA, PINK SHADOW stands out as a yacht ready for adventure. With her striking design, masculine lines, unique colour scheme, luxury custom interiors and proven capabilities, this SeaXplorer 58 looks the part. She has been built and designed to meet the adventurous Owner’s globe-trotting lifestyle with family and friends to explore polar and tropical regions alike.