With his James Bond themed yachts, groundbreaking designs and larger than life personality, John Staluppi is one of our industry’s most recognisable figures. Staluppi, who expects his latest yacht, the 69m Spectre, to be delivered by Benetti in May 2018. Staluppi described his 57m Skyfall as his “interim” boat, when he met Felix Sowerbutts earlier this year at the Palm Beach Boat Show.

Staluppi’s competitive nature and need for speed, stemming from his younger days in powerboat racing, has led him to push the boundaries of yacht building. “I’ve built the fastest boats in the world. To this day, no one has built a boat faster than The World Is Not Enough [42.4m] – it’s still the fastest ever, at 69.6 [knots],” he says. Interestingly, as his time in the industry has progressed, his use of his yachts now is slightly more relaxed, “Now I’ve decided to go more for luxury, comfort, good seakeeping and ocean-going boats, because we do a lot of travelling,” he adds.

Throughout the interview, Staluppi provides his honest, unadulterated views on the market. Not shying away from speaking his mind, he freely compares the various yards across Europe, looking at all aspects from plumbing, to woodwork to electrical systems. Illustrating how hands-on the Staluppis are, he comments that owners should be more involved in managing the boats, throughout the design, build and ownership process. “Anyone can buy a boat,” he says. “You buy a boat, you buy a boat. But building one from scratch is a completely different story.” A story you can read in full in The Superyacht Report issue 179.

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Third image: copyright Jim Raycroft

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