Designing yachts for health-conscious clients

Superyachts have long featured gyms, swimming pools and fitness studios for those who wish to stay active at sea. Now, a new breed of health-conscious client is pushing things even further – ensuring that every aspect of a yacht trip will leave them in better shape.

Take Feadship’s latest project, Escape. In addition to the state-of-the-art wellness centre on board, complete with spa, sauna and massage room, one particular element stands out. The yacht features its own greenhouse, so that the owners can grow their own herbs and vegetables. “Growing your own food on board is the natural next step,” says Ruud Bakker, lead designer on the project. “You can avoid having to buy things wrapped in plastic.” And what better way to fill up after a session in the gym than by tucking into a meal cooked entirely with healthy ingredients grown on your own yacht?

Of course, the addition of a greenhouse to a superyacht is no easy feat, but crucially, it’s not impossible. “All of our yachts are one-offs; everything is a prototype, so we had to work out how it might be achievable,” says Bakker. “The hardest thing is that, in normal circumstances, a greenhouse sits in a fixed place on the earth, whereas this one goes around the world. There are different environments, hot and cold, so the crops need to be adjusted to the season wherever you are.”

Bakker expects that a gardener will be hired to ensure that the benefits of the greenhouse are maximised. “I am sure the owner is interested in tending to the crops personally but when he is away he will want to make sure that everything stays alive.”

Yacht designer Dickie Bannenberg has first-hand experience of the trend, too. “We designed a hydroponic garden in quite a lot of detail for a very big yacht,” he says. “It was designed in conjunction with a hydroponic specialist. The garden didn’t end up getting made, but I think it’s a natural way in which to head.” Indeed, such gardens already exist on Nina J, with its irrigated wall of herbs and vegetables, and on Laurel, which features a four-layer, temperature-controlled herb garden.

In addition to gardens and boat-grown produce, the wider wellness features of a yacht are constantly evolving too, resulting in yachts that are more holistic health solutions than hedonistic party spaces. “I’ve been shamelessly repeating a quote that I read in GQ a while ago,” says Bannenberg. “‘We’re living in the age of sweatpants and not going back,’” and I think there is something to be said for that.”

“It’s not just owners; charter clients also want to have boats with wellness areas so this is pretty common these days,” says Bakker. On Lady S, which the shipyard launched two years ago, the sports-minded owner requested two gyms, including one for the crew. “Service on board a superyacht is prime. You can build the best yacht in the world but if the service is poor, it’s nothing. So a gym is helpful as crew can stay on board for long periods and stay healthy.”

Bannenberg agrees. “All of our recent clients have wanted a gym, even if on some of the smaller ones, there’s not much more space than for a treadmill and a bike. On the bigger yachts, there are also full pilates set-ups and kinesis machines – all that stuff.”

“More clients than ever see a yacht as a means to being on a healthy holiday,” agrees Marnix Hoekstra, creative director at yacht designer Vripack. “It’s a matter of the zeitgeist. Our parents didn’t go to the gym but our kids do. It’s embedded in the current culture. There is not a yacht out there anymore leaving the design board that doesn’t consider the health-conscious client.”

Hoekstra has a wealth of experience in designing gardens and gyms on board, but he believes that wellness goes far beyond these ever-evolving bells and whistles being added to superyachts. “I think people are realising that simply being on a boat helps get your stress levels down,” he says. “The emotion that the sea delivers is good for your blood pressure and your heart – it’s on a different level to anything you could get on land.”