Lady Moura. Looking for the new family

At her launch, 105 meters long Lady Moura was one the most expensive and innovative yacht in the world. She set a new standard in yachting, earning her the modern accolade of the original superyacht. Now the yacht is offered for sale by the original owner, and on the market for the first time. MainSail.Ru was invited to be on board of Lady Moura to face the features of the ship. Alexander Panzeri reports. Photos Alexander Panzeri / Camper & Nicholsons

Lady Moura has been maintained to the ultimate standard, so much so that continuous improvements have negated the need for major refits with her largest yard period to date being a seven-month stay at her original builders, Blohm + Voss, in 2017. Built to Lloyds Classification and delivered in 1990, this steel/aluminium yacht is 6,359GT. She has a phenomenal range in excess of 8,000nm at a cruising speed of 17knots. 

The yacht after 30 years is still in the Top 50 superyachts in the world. I’ll also rank her in the top for the longer single owner time – the businessman Nasser Al-Rashid had kept her as floating home. The yacht had just one owner and never chartered, till nowadays, when the owner family young generation has lost interest to use the yacht. So now the yacht is the first time on the market for sale upon the Camper & Nicholsons.

On board from the main ramp, that was swinging d/t the strong mistral (up to 28 kn), left the security room at the E-deck, climbed the stairs to the D-deck, I have been welcomed by the Lady Moura captain Matthias Bosse in the “formal saloon”. He and the crew have been and are fundamental part of the boat, a big family, some are the second generation.

They are able to take care in all sense of her, like to make all repairs on board alone, if need it, because the boat had been prepared every time before the new season in collaborations to shipyards around the world, to prevent to have problems later.

Two new features/upgrade are just arrived on board: the remote management of the maintenance program, that make very easy and fast the stop at the shops, the other is a torque-meter on the axis of the propeller. As the chief engineer explained, this is a very advance surveillance system, still to be finished by the company, but when ready it will be able to know in advance the life of the shaft and so the performance of the propulsion system.

Left the saloon, thanks to one of the elevator onboard, we have reached the sun deck. On the bow side we find the most scenic zone: the swimming pool area and the private terrace outside. This room has many interesting features like all the teak floor, gym, spa, dining zones. But the most attractive are the swimming pool, that can be fulled in less than 30 minutes (and drained during the navigation), and 3 sections of the sunroof, that thanks to the hydraulic complex system can be open easily giving to the air and sun the possibility to kiss the people there.

On the stern side of the deck, outside there’s a heavy wide helipad, able to support the heavy AB-412 chopper (above 5 tons) and keep it with hooks all around.

Back to the centre, we leave the deck going down through the semicircle staircase to the B-deck. This deck is the operation and daily activities level. Forward the officers quarters and the “plancia di comando” where old and new are mixed. Here the glass is polarised to give the best view outside. The central zone is a multipurpose part, while again the rear is a double living room for the family activities with access to the upper stern terrace.

Going down another floor we arrive to the C-deck which is mostly the sleeping and private zone with 6 personal suites, and all the stern section dedicated to the owner’s rooms with his private terrace.

The D-deck I would define the public zone, with guest suites (4) and the vip-suite. This one is completely different, characterised by black marble and golden finishes versus the rest of the boat with the interiors are soft colours with shades of light woods and reddish briar-roots. Also, there is the owner office and the formal dining room. This one has a traditional long rectangular table with 20 chairs, the room is decorated with 2 Egyptian mosaics and a row of glass jars in front to the windows.

Last users-deck is the E-deck where we find the crews suites/rooms and the 2 boats garages (one for each side). This stern can be called the party zone, with lateral immersible terrace/beach, marine club and a multifunction cinema/disco hall. Of course here we are back to the entrance level.

The lowest decks are the services parts of the yacht. The first one is divided between the propulsion zone the galley, laundry, and many others crew zone. The last level is only engineering, with engines, generators, tanks and so on. Here we find also the 2 flap for the active stability control, this give an extra smoothness to a boat with low centre of gravity.

Speaking with the captain and chief engineer, helped me to catch important aspects of Lady Moura.

Even if she has been heavily used for three decades, she is in perfect condition. I couldn’t see the significant signs of being used. For example some fitted-carpets are still original and look as new. The shipyard, Blohm + Voss has left its fingerprint with a rational/functional and robust structure made to resist for ages (typical of the construction of commercial ships).

The style created by the Italian designer Luigi Sturchio with good proportion of luxury is very clever and functional. The symmetry drawn by the central stairs/hall and longitudinal aisles make easy move inside.

Considering details above and others like the incredible huge hydraulic system of automation or like special transformer windows, that with just a button blow up the bolts and open emergency exit, like the cooled water tanks, like osmosis filtration, or like pizza ovens and so on, all together  Lady Moura in some way is precursor of all modern superyachts. 

She likens the Mercedes-Benz 600 (W100) limousine, that one called by Jeremy Clarkson “the dictators’ car”. They are from the past and the firsts, designed for owners who can have one, with all comfort that before were not available, and it’s possible to use everyday without looking outdated and common.

That has been a great pleasure to dive in the life of this historical and classic yacht of the Côte d’Azur. I hope that the next owner will carefully  drive her for the next generations.