WHY... yeah, you read it right

[Chris Ostlind]

Yeah, Will. I sorta-kinda looked about to see if there were any other threads on this and like a kid who says he searched his room for the missing jacket, I came up empty... ;-)

To tell the truth, I kinda like this bad boy. Having it spring from a seaworthy hull type, just pushes the cred up a dozen notches... if it ends up being "out of" a work boat type with a serious makeover of the James Bond variety.

This thing has uber-rich Guido with a half dozen languorous babes written all over it. The petulant wife jet copters in from a shopping spree. The staccato burst of clicking stilettos shatters the numbing drone of polished cabins. The lingering scent of exotic oils. The wenches scurry off to the aft accessed toy garage, where they wait until dark, sipping Ouzo cocktails with water crackers and Foie Gras. A pair of muscled deck hands whisk them away discreetly, where they are comfortably ensconced in a shoreside, Five Star... awaiting Guido's next fervent call.

[Tad]

Hermès exits joint venture with Wally

French high-fashion house Hermès is exiting its joint venture partnership with Monaco-based boatbuilder Wally Yachts, saying it is not experienced enough to complete the project, according to a Reuters newswire report.

The two companies recently unveiled a full-size model of its first creation, the 58m x 38m (190ft x 125ft) WHY superyacht, at the Monte Carlo Yacht Show in September. The yacht was also displayed at last week's Abu Dhabi show.

"We are currently in the phase of carrying out the project, which is technically complex and which requires on-the-spot decisions," Hermès CEO Patrick Thomas told Reuters.

"It seemed a good idea to us to have only one decision-maker and we naturally decided to hand the reins over to Wally."

Hermès will sell its stake to Wally and will be paid back via commissions on boat sales through to 2020, said Thomas.

Founded by Luca Bassani in 1994, Wally offers a range of high-end sail and motoryachts that are built at its WallyEurope facility in Fano, Italy.

Hermès is a French high-fashion house specialising in leather, lifestyle accessories, perfume and other luxury goods. Although the company also works on helicopter design in partnership with the European Aeronautic, Defence and Space Company (EADS), it does not have comparable ship design experience, said Thomas.

Superyacht Business, 10 March 2010

[Willallison]

hmmm.....