Monaco plays host to an Ethereal World

After an exceptional journey of innovation and development at the Royal Huisman shipyard, the graceful ketch and the world's first hybrid superyacht Ethereal has begun the serious voyaging for which she was created. After completing sail trials at Harlingen earlier in the year and a fast, highly successful shakedown passage to Vigo in Spain, Ethereal headed south-west for the Canaries. Returning to Europe, she has covered many Mediterranean sea miles this summer on behalf of her owners and their guests, as well as offering a taste of “the Ethereal World” to yachting journalists in Barcelona. Her appearance at the 2009 Monaco Yacht Show – a centrepiece of Royal Huisman’s presence there – has enabled invited guests to view for themselves the impressive combination of technologically advanced systems with the relaxed yet sophisticated lifestyle experience offered by this extraordinary detailed yacht.

Ethereal is a magnificent 58m / 190ft classic ketch that uses only a fraction of the energy of comparable yachts and is the world's first hybrid superyacht. When the shipyard team announced Ethereal in May 2005, hybrid technology was still in its infancy: the first-generation Toyota Prius, the world’s first mass-produced hybrid passenger car, had only entered wider markets like North America and Europe few years before. 

A private island, a floating lab

When owners Bill & Shannon Joy decided to build Ethereal they were inspired, first, by a great admiration for the Royal Huisman-built 43m/ 143ft ketch Juliet – also created together with Ron Holland and Pieter Beeldsnijder; and, second, by their desire to create “a private island” offering their family and guests every comfort and amenity, yet conceived and operated to deliver these in the most enlightened and progressive manner to minimize environmental impact.

To achieve these ends the project became, as Bill Joy described it, “a floating lab”. Few off-the-shelf technologies were available to meet the objectives of long range sustainability of operations, energy efficiency, flexible energy management, reduced operational cost and lower carbon footprint. So owner and shipyard worked together with some of the world’s finest specialists to develop solutions. These are not – and never can be – the ultimate solutions; they are steps along a road. But these steps take Ethereal further down that road than any private yacht built to date – with fascinating consequences for those who sail her…

A Moroccan tent can be set up on Ethereal's foredeck. Owners Bill and Shannon Joy share the occasion with naval architect Ron Holland, designer Pieter Beeldsnijder and yachting journalists during Royal Huisman's press reception in Barcelona.

Ambience and tranquillity

Step below decks on Ethereal and you cannot help but be aware of the calm and the quiet – the sheer tranquillity that immerses you – no matter what is occurring operationally on the boat. The entire living area is cocooned, top, bottom and sides, in high-tech insulation materials that ensure a comfortable and stable air temperature without the need for heavy heating or cooling loads – wherever in the world the yacht might be. Noise and vibration, already substantially managed at source, is yet further distanced from the accommodation. The light is easy on the eye (and on the furnishings) because light-switchable glass in the hatches screens infrared light as required for the time of day and the strength of the sun. Switch on some dimmable interior lighting. You’ll be surprised by the warm ambience created, especially when you know that the entire system uses mouldbreaking LED technology. (Who said LED lighting can only produce a cold, white light that cannot be dimmed?) These facilities – and a great deal more – are operated by small touchscreens using an iPhone-inspired interface in each cabin.

“...you don’t need to put any art on these boats, the boat itself is the art”

Space, style and amenity

Ethereal’s owners were determined to create the “perfect mobile gathering place for family and friends” and there can be no doubt this has been achieved, with open, relaxed areas that flow from one to another, complemented by smaller, more intimate areas, when privacy or seclusion are preferred. Clutter has been avoided: “We prefer Zen to ornate” comments Bill Joy, adding “you don’t have to put any art on these boats, the boat itself is the art.” He notes, however, that the yacht does feature beautiful woodwork: “When you go to Royal Huisman, you would be foolish not to let them express all their skill”. Descending from the subtly proportioned ‘al fresco’ teak trimmed pilothouse one enters a light and very airy upper salon. With an atmosphere of easy comfort enhanced by natural materials and panoramic views, this incredibly spacious area is subtly subdivided.

Living in an Ethereal World

To portside, a comfortable seating area is often used for reading or quiet conversation. To starboard, a full sized dining area for ten flows gracefully towards an impressive staircase beckoning access to the magnificently spacious lower salon where, on the port side, a 70” diagonal flat screen TV and surround sound system offers the ultimate in high-impact entertainment. To starboard, a beautifully appointed music den houses a digital piano and a delightfully-presented collection of wind and percussion instruments, drawing guests towards the prospect of late night music gatherings. The mellow ambience is enriched by exquisitely inlaid mahogany veneers and trimmed in textured organic fabrics or deep grained suede leather. Taking departure of this sumptuous retreat, access to the commodious and professionally-equipped galley is found through a door concealed by a unique ship’s model. Linked to a spacious crew mess and the bright, airy crew quarters, this forward area also provides direct access to the lower deck with its wine cellar, extra refrigeration and one of three engine room access points. Aft of the lower salon are the office, complete with full video-conferencing facilities, two large guest cabins and a third utility cabin that can be created by joining the office and the day head. 

The full-beam owner’s suite is aft, complete with a large cedar lined sauna in the bathroom (Royal Huisman’s first, but unlikely to be its last); it enjoys the additional amenity of direct access to the privacy and seclusion of the aft cockpit and swim platform.

Perfecting the lifestyle…

Every superyacht offers exceptional lifestyle experiences but Ethereal’s unique technology takes these to a new level. It’s early morning in the tropics and time for a refreshing dip. You plunge over the side, enjoying a swim around the yacht breathing only the sea air – there are no exhaust gases, as the yacht is operating solely on her stored energy reserve of 400 kWh of lithium-iron phosphate batteries. All manner of household loads such as air conditioning and washing machines are effortlessly running on this reserve. Back on deck, anchors raised, you can’t help but be impressed as the mainsail is hoisted silently – by wireless remote so the crewman has optimum views of the process – and Ethereal has departed harbour and set sail in ‘stealth mode’ using her silent Hybrid propulsion system – yesterday’s late-arriving guests charge their own human batteries as they enjoy uninterrupted sleep. 

On passage to your evening anchorage, you take the push-button, hydraulically operated crow’s nest up the main mast for a stunning view of this powerful ketch under sail and the ocean around, when you spot a pod of whales. The captain navigates to the location, furls headsails, and selects “station-keeping mode” to maintain a computer-controlled geostationary position close to the whales via synchronized control of thrusters, engines and rudder. Everyone gathers to enjoy the show: for those below deck, Ethereal’s underwater video camera in the front of the keel puts camera lens to whale eye for close encounters of another kind.

Approaching a secluded anchorage through reefs in strong afternoon sunlight is always a challenge. But not only does Ethereal’s captain have a man conning in the crow’s nest; the bank of ‘tru daylight’ LED back-lit screens collectively display chart, radar and systems monitoring consecutively at the helm, under the cover and security of the pilothouse, and even in guest cabins to provide the navigational information required with scarcely imaginable contrast and clarity – screens with ten times the daylight viewing power of a laptop in direct sunlight. Ethereal is easily manoeuvred into position to drop anchors thanks to joystick control of her twin engines and the innovative, retractable, hubless electric thrusters that provide the same silent and efficient power, to port or starboard. At anchor once more, the engineer can easily ensure peak loads are met without having to start a second generator – the #1 generator is complemented by the 400 kWh lithium-iron phosphate battery bank instead. Soon all is silent as owners and guests enjoy a perfect, peaceful dinner on deck, beneath the stars.

“Step below decks on Ethereal and you are immediately struck by the calm and quiet – the sheer tranquillity – no matter what is occurring operationally on the boat.”

Considering that she also offers powerful sailing performance Ethereal is, by any measure, a truly remarkable yacht.

Sustainability^3

Thanks to Ethereal’s energy efficiency she requires only 90kW generators rather than the 140kW expected on a yacht of this size – and, in general, she will only utilise one, and without resort to conventional, energy wasting load banks. In addition to greatly enhanced fuel economy, her hybrid propulsion system offers the engineer enormous operational flexibility including a highly innovative “get you home” propulsion system with the generators running the shaft-driven generator in reverse as an electric motor. Even the water-maker re-uses still pressurized discharge water to repressurize incoming water, saving some 4kW. Waste water heat from the generators is also put to good use, supplementing the air conditioning when in heating mode, and contributing to the fresh water heating and towel heaters. Air extracted from accommodation is re-used to pre-condition incoming fresh air. And there is much, much more…

Ethereal, the “private island”, has the resources and the technology to support her guests and crew in new-found standards of comfort, amenity and security, for extended operations, almost anywhere on the planet.

Much, much more...

Ethereal is packed with too many innovations, too many technical, lifestyle and energy-saving features to list here in full...

But, for those who enjoy the details, the selection below provides some indication of the lateral thinking and challenge to convention that has gone into this project:

• Ethereal incorporates redundant propulsion lines: only one propulsion line is needed when cruising. No additional generator is required to run as the hybrid drive train also generates sufficient electrical power for the board and household loads.
• Large VP propellors for improved efficiency; drag rotation of a propeller under sail can generate 20kW in return for 1.5 knots loss of speed.
• The main engines, unconventionally, are housed within purpose built sound shields to further reduce noise in the engine room and accommodations.
• The electrical system has been designed and laid out to provide the option to replace a generator with a fuel cell at a future date.
• Unusually for a yacht of its size, Ethereal has centrally ducted air conditioning rather than individual fancoils. A classic example of the benefits of 3D engineering, RH managed to conceal the ducts and air handlers within the technical spaces whilst respecting Pieter Beeldsnijder’s interior arrangement and styling.
• The yacht naturally has its own on-board telephone network, interfaced with satellite data and voice communication. In the middle of the ocean, guests can be seamlessly reached on their own mobile phones using their normal terrestrial based mobile number.

• All tenders, kayaks and sailboats can be position located from the mother ship – also a useful feature should a tender be stolen or accidentally set adrift. In addition, the locator system is hooked into the onboard charting system, enabling the depth detected under the tenders’ transmitted position to be transferred to Ethereal for extra navigational security when exploring new sailing grounds.
• The guest area provides a highly adaptable space for an office complete with video conferencing system. Together with the adjacent guest cabin it can convert to become a second VIP cabin similar to the owners cabin – an attractive feature for extended families or charter guests. Alternatively, the office can be converted into a fourth guest cabin, for which the day head (with full size shower) becomes the bathroom. The additional two guest cabins are doubles that are convertible to twins (and a third foldout). The owners’ bathroom has a full-size sauna.
• A professional diving board slides out effortlessly from the superstructure amidships.

• Energy management is enhanced by on-the-spot cooling of heat generating equipment and by ducting ambient heat away from the accommodation.
• Keel design includes specially designed failsafe winglets either side of the bulb.
• An underwater camera with night light is located on the forward section of the keel.
• A live lobster locker with seawater circulation system is incorporated in the aft deck area to keep today’s catch fresh for tomorrow’s meal.
• Mast and deck lights are all based on LED technology.

The result is a magnificent 58m / 190ft classic ketch that uses only a fraction of the energy of comparable yachts and is the world's first hybrid superyacht.

This article was first published in INHUIS fall / winter 2009.