Gazing towards a rocky coast painted orange by the fading sun, the captain is eyeballing the way into harbour. Her eyes flick between the majestic view and the instruments in front of her, the mate's voice occasionally crackling over the radio from the bow. So far so normal, perhaps. But what if this superyacht captain were in fact operating from a windowless control room, just next to the engine room, well below the waterline? And what if that “view” was just a collection of pixels on a large screen?
Drinks in hand, the owners and their children are enjoying the same view – only this one for real, through the floor-to-ceiling glazing of an observation lounge. These are the best seats on board, with a 270-degree panorama. Right forward and high up – on any other boat, this would be the bridge.
It may sound like a fanciful glimpse of the future, but as technology advances, the location of the bridge is being called into question like never before. In addition to an observation deck, this space could also make an extraordinary master suite, or form part of a three-deck owner's apartment; even guests could have cabins with forward views. The potential benefits to superyacht owners are
