The amalgamation of rugged spirit and tasteful sophistication appears to be at the heart of Italian yacht maker Riva’s latest motorboat Aquariva.

The Riva Aquariva Super is Riva’s latest version of their Aquariva yacht stemming from the legendary Aquarama yacht launched in 1962. The Italian motorboat maker will be debuting its newest luxurious creation this weekend at the New York Boat Show opening.

Priced at about $944,000, the Aquariva Super pictured above is a 33-footer combining elegant and sinuous lines, precious woods and supreme attention to detail in carpentry, chrome, lacquer-work, leather, and fittings.

If you love collecting yachts or simply looking at them, just check out the “Oculus”. It’s far more different than anything we’ve ever seen floating before. Inspired by an oceanic fish, the Oculus is a 250-foot luxury yacht designed by E. Kevin Schöpfer for Schöpfer Yachts LLC.

The exterior styling resembles the jaw and eye socket bone structure of a large oceanic fish. Featuring a reverse bow configuration, the Oculus’ armature offers a perfect blend of symmetry and structure. The most fascinating aspect of the Oculus is the fact that the backside of the yacht can open up resembling the hungry jaws of a whale.

The luxury yacht can accommodate 12 guests in great comfort and style and can rip the waters with speeds upwards of 25 knots.

Derecktor shipyards is nearing completion on the Cakewalk superyacht for a private client, which at 281 ft. will be the largest luxury yacht built in the U.S. since the 1930s, and at 2,950 tons possibly the biggest ever built in the States when measured by volume.

The result of a collaboration between Derecktor, Azure Naval Architects of Holland, exterior designer Tim Heywood and interior designer by Liz Dalton, Cakewalk features a total of six decks, with the owners’ and guests’ accommodations representing half of that space, and a helipad and swimming platform aft.

One of the world’s rising stars of mid-sized luxury yachts made a glamorous entry to Hong Kong with a lavish launch party ! Marquis Yachts, a US-based luxury yacht builder that sports the latest in Italian design, made a dazzling debut to Hong Kong with a sizzling launch party last month, on 3 September at the Aberdeen Boat Club.

Leisure boating aficionados and high net worth individuals gathered at the Club to witness the first public showing of the Marquis 420 Sport Coupé, a 42-foot yacht that’s been winning praise from boat reviewers for the fine work of Nuvolari-Lenard, the Venetian naval architectural firm responsible for the look and feel of the Marquis line.

The chic launch party took place on a terrace just above Aberdeen Boat Club’s main quay, allowing invited guests a chance to look over the sleek Sport Coupé while champagne and canapes flowed. A number of guests took the chance to personally inspect the 420, and were impressed with what they saw. The avant-garde Italian interior and exterior are beautifully complemented by the functionality, which includes joystick manoeuvring, a fully-enclosed cabin with aircon, a retractable roof and extendable rear deck.

Olivier Besson, managing director of Asia Yachting, the regional dealer for Marquis, said that four serious buyers came forward after just one viewing – a very impressive result.

Indeed, luxury sailing yachts and motorboats are becoming the ultimate accessory of the super-rich in China. Out of the just 400 private boats registered nationwide, almost all of them are motorboats. But, Adrien Magnan of Marine Dragon Consulting in Shanghai cites that the amount spent on luxury boats has been escalating upwards by tens of millions of dollars in the past few years. Pleasure sailing, virtually unheard of in China until a few years ago, is becoming increasing popular. Chinese millionaires are willing to spend a fortune on yachts and aircrafts. Looks like the wealthy Chinese customers are seeking a western lifestyle.

Robert VanGrunsven, the president of Marquis Yachts, arrived in a luxurious Maybach limousine, which dropped him off just yards from the speaker’s podium. VanGrunsven commented on the winning combination of European design standards and US build quality and pricing. Olivier Besson addressed the crowd shortly after, saying that the 420 offered Hong Kong boaters “total comfort, total style and total luxury when cruising local islands and bays.”

One of the key highlights of the glamorous night was a watch display by Blancpain, featuring models bearing best of brand products and riding onboard the 420, which executed several turns past the on-looking crowd. Rebecca Yeung, the 2003 Miss Hong Kong, was master of ceremonies at a night that illuminated and exhilarated. Asia Pacific Boating magazine and sister publication China Boating , both published by Blu Inc Media, were media partners of the prestigious event.

I have personnaly spent a day on this amazing yacht and wow, I must say it was very exciting.

This yacht is one of the first boats designed to take full advantage of the space-saving qualities of the Volvo-Penta IPS drive. The huge 60-sq.ft. cockpit with teak sole flows past a bi-folding door into the flush salon (inlaid hardwood) to create one huge entertaining area. No step up! Just one, large flowing deck which will keep cocktail parties mingling instead of breaking into two groups which always happens when the bridge deck is raised to accommodate the inboard engines. Just Check out the video below : )

Marquis Yachts in Asia are available exclusively through Asia Yachting (www.asiayachting.net).

More information on Asia-Pacific Boating can be found at www.asia-pacificboating.com.

Private yachts are somewhat synonymous to luxury, but does that ever mean that they cannot get ecofriendly? No is the answer from Island Pilot LLC, who have unveiled the first ever hybrid luxury yacht dubbed the Island Pilot DSe Hybrid 12m, powered by diesel fuel, solar energy, and electric power.

The vessel is 12 meters long (39.5 feet) and can cruise at 13 knots on diesel fuel and 7 knots when in zero-emissions mode. A zero-emissions level is achieved with a 6 kW solar array and a 20 kWh battery bank.

The yacht is the first-ever production motor yacht with zero emissions in America, according to Reuben Trane, president of Island Pilot, LLC.

The London-based Stephane Schwarz Studio has revealed the 125-metre superyacht Project IKKO that showcases a counter-proposal to the current market trend by defining a new approach to exclusive yachting.

Her innovative architecture offers a new level of harmony with the landscape: 360° breath-taking sight lines of her upper deck lounge including side transparent floorings, topped by an optimum full view helicopter platform, a 180° panorama on the main deck and a sprawling forward outdoor entertainment space.

Spray on solar-power cells from the exterior faceted surfaces supply energy, amongst others, to Domotics, a cutting edge computing network managing interior-wide automation and communication for appliances and equipment, distributed and remote control of domestic tasks from inside out, enabling more intimacy thanks to a reduction of the crew number.

Over her four decks Project IKKO holds airy cabins overlooking private balconies and adaptable saloons with electro-luminescent sliding panels. With her patented BMT Nigel Gee designed Pentamaran hull she achieves new standards of hydrodynamics to reduce fuel consumption whilst providing more speed and excellent seakeeping comfort.