There are few professions with quite the allure of yacht design. With their purity of shape and the sexy promise of drifting at sea, sailboats, in particular, feel like the ultimate objects of desire. Yet designing boats, those in the class we’re about to discuss, requires tremendous expertise. Superyachts can be the size of a hotel; they have to perform all sorts of roles too – be a temporary home, provide entertainment and survive the dramas of the sea.
With this in mind, I was more than excited to meet with the co-director of Bannenberg & Rowell, one of the most famous names in yacht design. Dickie Bannenberg also happens to be the son of Jon Bannenberg, cited as the father of modern yacht design. He authored the 1972 Carinthia VI, coined as one of the most iconic yachts of modern times, and his portfolio included some very exciting projects including the rebuild of Talitha for the Getty family when Paul Getty asked him to simply create ‘something wonderful’.
Today, Bannenberg & Rowell continue to sketch, design and build the most exotic of vessels. ‘We do the best we can to follow his design path,’ says Dickie Bannenberg.
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