Big Fish departs Auckland

After three years of construction and industry anticipation the 45-metre Big Fish, the ultimate Luxury Expedition Yacht, finally left Auckland Harbor Viaduct on 28 June, pointing her bows toward her first destination of Papeete in the Society Islands.

Combining innovation and imagination, Big Fish’s design includes the world's first use of maintenance-free, ecologically responsible and virtually indestructible granite decking, opening hull platforms, large-volume bow storage for tenders and toys, extended cruising range, marine research instrumentation, low fuel and electrical consumption and extraordinary water access from a transformer-style swim platform. She will also feature the world's most sophisticated night navigation equipment from British Columbia-based Current Corporation.

The cruising plans for Big Fish are further evidence of her design and construction as a go-anywhere yacht. Making the most of her steel hull and 10,000-mile range, she is embarking on an extraordinary one-year circumnavigation of the globe via both poles. This epic journey will take her down the western coast of South America to Patagonia and the Antarctic Peninsula, where she will be available for fly-in, fly-out charters in January and February. From the mysterious Antarctic, Big Fish will cruise north into the Upper Amazon Basin, where she will offer charter guests the chance to catch a glimpse of the region’s remarkable flora and fauna and experience isolated indigenous cultures.

Notably, Big Fish will conduct the first-ever yacht crossing of the Northeast Passage in September of 2011. Undoubtedly a voyage of discovery, Big Fish will be accompanied by scientists and film crews to document several of the most unspoiled regions and archipelagos left on earth. Equipped with SeaKeeper 1000 ocean/weather/climate monitoring technology, Aquos hope that Big Fish will be able to “make a contribution to better understanding our rapidly changing planet.”

Rugged but unquestionably luxurious, Big Fish is the first in a series of world cruisers from Aquos Yachts. Construction is already underway at McMullen & Wing Shipyard in Auckland on the second vessel in the series, a 50-metre, six-stateroom version code-named Star Fish, which is scheduled for delivery in 2012. Aquos Yachts will present plans for this newest member of the line aboard Big Fish during October’s Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show later this year. A model of Big Fish will also be on display at the Monaco Yacht Show.

Look out for more on Big Fish in ‘Owner’s Brief’ in Q4 and in The Yacht Report, Issue 117, both out in September.

To subscribe to SuperyachtDesign, click here.

Related Links:

Aquos Yachts - company website

---

Click here to become part of The Superyacht Group community, and join us in our mission to make this industry accessible to all, and prosperous for the long-term. We are offering access to the superyacht industry’s most comprehensive and longstanding archive of business-critical information, as well as a comprehensive, real-time superyacht fleet database, for just £10 per month, because we are One Industry with One Mission. Sign up here.