HIGH SEAS

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HIGH SEAS

PEARL JAM

WE TAKE A WILD RIDE ON THE BRAND-NEW PEARL 72 LUXURY YACHT

BY HOWARD WALKER

It’s not what you’d call a great day for boating. A feisty 25-knot blow is frothing up gnarly, 6-foot, white-capped swells in the Atlantic waters off Fort Lauderdale Beach. As we poke our nose out of Lauderdale’s cruise ship channel into the ocean, it feels like we’re in an episode of that Haulover Inlet show on YouTube, about to get slammed by confused rollers lunging every which way toward us.

Nothing to be concerned about here. We push forward on the throttles, feel the thrust of 3,200 horsepower, and in seconds we’re slicing and dicing the waves at an impressive 32 knots, water cascading off each side of that towering bow.

This is the sleek and sexy Pearl 72, an ultra-luxe, design-focused mini superyacht brimming with innovation. It is the latest debut from British boutique builder Pearl Yachts, which has been around since 1998 and today offers a lineup of flybridge motor yachts that includes a 62, an 80, and a 95. It pulled the wraps off this all-new 72-footer at last year’s Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show, and we were given the chance to put it to the test.

See the 72 at the dock outside Lauderdale’s Boatyard eatery and she exudes high style. She’s from the drawing board of longtime Pearl naval architect Bill Nixon, who seems to have focused on filling the superstructure with swaths of dark-tinted glass—from floor-to-ceiling saloon windows, to oversize windshield panes, to mile-long windows along the hull.

And the hull is full of cool inventions, like the massive transom garage (unheard of in a 72-footer) that is big enough to swallow a Williams 345 jet tender and a Jet Ski. There are also electric drop-down side sections just ahead of the swim platform where you can tie up those water toys.

Best seat in the house? That would be on the foredeck with its sofa, table, and vast sun pad big enough for an army of sun worshippers. Second best seat? Up on the flybridge behind the wheel.

So much thought went into the flybridge layout, with its full outdoor kitchen, U-shaped sofa alongside the helm, and even more sun pads at the back. Another cool feature is the industry-first, multi-positional,

powered sunshade in the flybridge with louvers reminiscent of extra-large Venetian blinds.

But it’s inside the Pearl 72 where the style and innovation really shine. The whole interior is the creation of British designer to the stars Kelly Hoppen, who has channeled the vibe of a hip Manhattan loft. In the saloon, that means a central, full-beam galley with the dining area way forward under that huge glass windshield, plus a sofa and chairs close to the back deck and sliding rear doors to facilitate indoor/outdoor living. There’s another surprise on the lower deck: twin master cabins. They’re perfect for when two couples are cruising, so nobody ends up feeling like a second-class citizen.

Easing into the narrow canal leading out into the Intracoastal Water-

POWER FILE

PRICE: $3.4 MILLION BASE/$4.6

MILLION AS TESTED LENGTH: 72 way is a breeze thanks to the bow and stern thrusters. Standard power FEET, 2 INCHES BEAM: 18 FEET, 10 for the 72 is a pair of 1,400-hp MAN V12s, though most buyers are optINCHES DRAFT: 5 FEET, 7 INCHES ing for the optional and highly desirable twin MTU V10s packing 1,600 WEIGHT: 55 TONS POWER: 2 X hp apiece. Flat out they’ll punch the Pearl to that 32-knot top speed, or 1,600-HP MTU V10 (OPTIONAL) TOP cruise serenely at 25 for a range of around 250 nautical miles. SPEED: 32 KNOTS WHY WE LOVE IT: The mastery of that hull design comes into its own when you spin BECAUSE IT’S THE COOLEST, MOST the wheel hard over for a series of tight figure eights. Even in those big INNOVATIVE 72-FOOTER OUT THERE. swells, the 72 feels rock solid, unperturbed, and super responsive to the helm. This is a remarkable cruiser, with great style, form, and performance, all backed up by an unprecedented five-year warranty. You might call it a real pearl of joy. «

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