SCOUTING REPORT

Written By: Robert Cocuzzo | Photography By: Jeff Brown / Breed Media

A rare glimpse inside a spectacular super yacht.

Anyone entering Nantucket aboard the Hy-Line Ferry this summer has likely caught themselves gawking at the yellow-trimmed super yacht docked at the end of Straight Wharf. Splitting its time between Palm Beach, St. Barths, the Bahamas and Nantucket, SCOUT has made port on the island for the last two summers, captivating the curiosity and the imagination of all those who pass it on the docks. N Magazine had an opportunity to get a glimpse inside this spectacular floating home.

Although the owners named the yacht after their rescue dog, a ten-pound rat terrier mix, SCOUT is hardly the runt of the litter. At 209 feet long with seven decks, four guest cabins, two staff cabins, crew quarters and a sprawling owners’ apartment, SCOUT was the largest vessel ever constructed in the hundred-year history of the Hakvoort Shipyard in the Netherlands. Launched in 2019, SCOUT began as a sketch on a napkin four years earlier. The owners wanted a vessel equipped with ice-classed capabilities, long-range fuel efficiencies and sophisticated telecommunications to explore the globe for months at a time. Unlike other super yacht owners who might only spend a handful of weeks a year aboard their ships, SCOUT’s owners built it to sail around the world while also serving as their main base of operations.

Prior to the coronavirus, SCOUT’s owners were about to embark on a nine-month global voyage beginning in May. When their plans were put on hold by the pandemic, the couple was more than happy to return to Nantucket and tie SCOUT up to the end of Straight Wharf this summer. “We will do our cruising from here,” indicated the owners. “We love Nantucket because of everything available to us with the docks being right in town. We can walk and bike. Our guests can shop. We all appreciate the beauty of the island, the gardens and, of course, having CRU only steps away!”

Although the owners enjoy spending ample time on the island, SCOUT was designed to be an island unto itself. With the expertise of designer Jonny Horsfield, the owner of H2 Yacht Design studio in London, SCOUT’s imposing exterior—complete with two twenty-eight-foot tenders on the bow that can lowered into the water by crane—is matched with a dazzling interior design that the owners say was inspired by the 1927 sci-fi film Metropolis, the fictional submarine from Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea, the villains’ lairs from every James Bond film and a dash of Looney Tunes.

Customizations abound, from the plunge pool, to the full-scale gym with steam room, to the Turkish bath, to the climate-controlled winter garden, to a wholly contained dive store where scuba tanks can be refilled with nitrox. “SCOUT also has a greenhouse complete with a potting shed and watering system,” described one of the owners. “It is my ‘man cave’ that’s unique to SCOUT.” Indeed, no other yacht in the world has one.

SCOUT’s overall grandeur is enhanced by mesmerizing details throughout. There’s the SCOUT replica made of LEGO bricks, the industrial squid sculptures made from carbon fiber and Formula 1 race car parts, the traditional deep-sea diving helmets and an enchanting array of antique bells, clocks, levers, telephones, gauges and cogs. Buffed silver cleats double as handles, while portholes are framed in bolted steel and appear to have glacial water sloshing behind them. Perfect for entertaining, a giant wet bar globe made of metal is set into a wall and curls shut like an armadillo’s shell.

In the main lounge, a sprawling twenty-foot overhead addressable LED screen gives the illusion of being underwater with a video of hammerhead sharks circling. The highly polished stainless steel table below appears to be made of rippling water with droplets literally splashing off its surface. Set behind the table and circular couches is a metal wall embossed with the map of the world, above which is a quote from Walt Whitman’s collection of poetry, Leaves of Grass: THE UNTOLD WANT BY LIFE AND LAND NE’ER GRANTED, NOW, VOYAGER, SAIL THOU FORTH TO SEEK AND FIND.

The owners’ private quarters are located through a library with shelves stacked with a wide variety of books and nautical antiques, including a hundred-year-old reciprocating steam engine that is still operational and plumbed directly from the engine room compressor. With a stateroom, two dressing rooms and bathrooms, and a dog bar, the suite is charming and sophisticated. Directly off the master suite is the “Puppy Park,” a custom garden where the owners’ two rescue dogs can play. (In keeping with their love of animals, every aspect of the SCOUT was made with animal-free materials and is “puppy-proof,” with gates, sensors and scuppers to keep their furry friends safe at sea.)

There’s more to discover outside on SCOUT’s six above-water decks. An expansive sundeck with plush lounge seating and a plunge pool boasts uninterrupted views of the surrounding waters below. For a quick exit, there’s a helipad as well as access to the two twenty-eight-foot tenders on the foredeck. One of the tenders is a ten-person water limousine custom-designed and built by Cockwells that can speed upward of forty-two miles per hour. Aft of the bridge is the owners’ “man cave” greenhouse where they can continue to cultivate their love of gardening no matter how far from land they sail.

Much can be said about the overall execution of this super yacht. Every exquisite detail, clever customization and ingenious design element—both inside and out—feel unified and connected to that first sketch from 2015. Though SCOUT has many high-seas adventures ahead and plenty of far off ports to explore, Nantucket hopes to remain on its radar in the summers to come.

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