Designing a love-letter to the sea

Welcome to Yacht Charter Market, the weekly newsletter dedicated to the world of yacht charter.

In today’s newsletter:

• Top story: Designing a love letter to the sea: step onboard Amor á Vida

• Charter Updates: The need for speed onboard Royale X | Enjoy the South of France onboard JoyMe | Explore Croatia onboard Beyond Capricorn | End summer in style onboard DB9 The Bahamas onboard Vivierae II | Winter in Caribbean onboard Liv Love

• Superyacht Spotlight: you NEED to hear this 🔊

TOP STORY

Designing a love letter to sea: Step onboard Amor á Vida

Glittering under the Caribbean sun, the 67-metre superyacht Amor À Vida sits quietly at anchor. The fully custom yacht marks CRN’s most recent delivery and another significant milestone for the Italian yard. Naval architecture was developed by CRN and Ferretti Group Superyachts Division Engineering Team, with exterior styling and interior design by Nuvolari Lenard, complemented by Valentina Zannier, Interior Art Director from Nuvolari Lenard.

The yacht’s name, translated from Portuguese as ‘love for life’, offers an early insight into the philosophy behind the project. This is not a yacht conceived as a floating showroom, but as a platform for living well at sea, designed to host family, friends and charter guests with equal ease.

Sculpted lines and quiet confidence

From the dock, Amor À Vida presents a sleek yet dynamic profile. Her exterior is elegantly sculpted, with long horizontal lines that emphasise length and fluidity rather than volume. There is a sense of restraint to the design, a deliberate avoidance of excess, which allows the yacht’s proportions to speak for themselves.

This calm exterior masks an advanced technical foundation. Amor À Vida is the first CRN to feature a hybrid propulsion system, developed to increase fuel efficiency for both main engines and generators. Powered by two MTU engines, she is IMO Tier III compliant, cruises comfortably at 15 knots and reaches a maximum speed of 16 knots. The system also improves onboard comfort, reducing noise and vibration both underway and at anchor.

Captain John Penman, who transitioned to Amor À Vida after captaining the owner’s previous 46-metre charter yacht Mystic, describes her simply as “a real ship”. He notes that “she doesn’t appear to be affected by weather conditions,” offering a level of stability that is immediately felt onboard. This sense of quiet competence underpins the entire guest experience.

A seamless relationship with the sea

With a beam of 11.80-metres and a gross tonnage of 1,447 GT, Amor À Vida offers generous interior volumes without ever feeling overwhelming. The defining design principle throughout is “having a great indoor-outdoor continuity onboard was an initial request from the owner,” Costanza Pazzi, CRN Project Architect for Amor À Vida notes.

Full-height, full-beam windows appear on every deck, flooding the interiors with natural light and maintaining an uninterrupted visual connection to the sea. On the aft main deck, a large swimming pool with a transparent bottom, “illuminates the beach area below with natural light, all with the aim of creating infinite connections”, Pazzi shares. The beach area itself features three shell doors, opening the space directly to the water and transforming it into a multifunctional wellness and relaxation zone.

Architecturally, the superyacht avoids thresholds: “all decks are flush deck, they don’t have thresholds, steps, or obstacles”, Andrea Le Moglie, CRN Project Manager for Amor À Vida, emphasises. The transition between inside and outside is seamless, resulting in a vessel that feels open, fluid and instinctively connected to her surroundings.

Interiors designed to soothe

Stepping onboard, there is an immediate sense of calm. The interior palette is predominantly neutral, softened by natural materials and punctuated with subtle accents of colour. “The interiors are designed for maximum comfort, with soft, neutral colours blending harmoniously together”, Vittorio Blengini, Sales Director Custom Business at Ferretti Group highlights. Teak also plays a central role, reinforcing the maritime atmosphere and adding warmth throughout the living spaces. 

Valentina Zannier’s influence is evident in the gentle curves, custom-designed furniture and careful layering of textures. “More than 60 percent of the loose and fixed furniture pieces were designed specifically for the yacht”, Valentina notes, “it allows the interiors to feel cohesive and deeply considered rather than assembled.”

The main saloon sets the tone, with light woods, upholstered surfaces and refined detailing creating an environment that is both elegant and welcoming. Occasional touches of blue and peacock echo the surrounding seascape without dominating it.

Amor À Vida accommodates up to 14 guests across six staterooms, each distinguished by its own colour scheme. Red, yellow, orange and blue accents define the guest cabins, offering subtle individuality while maintaining a unified design language. The variation allows guests to orient themselves intuitively onboard, an understated but thoughtful detail.

Forward on the main deck, the owner’s suite enjoys sweeping views over the bow. A private office leads into the owner suite, finished in soft beige, grey and white tones. Floor-to-ceiling windows draw the eye outward, while the ensuite bathroom, clad in white marble, features a bathtub, shower and his-and-hers sinks. Outside, a cosy foredeck lounge provides a private retreat for sunrise coffees or sunset cocktails.

On the upper deck, a second saloon functions as a television lounge, furnished with deep sofas, an abundance of cushions and custom gold-plated coffee tables. Sliding doors open onto an outdoor bar area complete with an authentic Italian pizza oven and large screen, reinforcing the yacht’s role as a social platform designed for shared moments.

Built by collaboration

Behind the finished yacht lies a build process defined by collaboration and mutual respect. Moran Yacht & Ship acted as the owner’s representative and project management team, working closely with CRN, the designers and the crew.

Owner’s representative Travis Motta notes how the owner’s clear vision remained consistent from concept to delivery. Design changes were minimal, a rarity in fully custom builds, allowing the original intent to be preserved throughout. “The most rewarding part is seeing someone’s vision come to life,” Travis adds. 

Crucially, the crew was deeply involved during the final year of construction. Captain John Penman explains that heads of department rotated through the shipyard during this period, building relationships with the engineers and craftsmen who will later handle warranty and maintenance. The result is a yacht that feels intuitively understood by those who operate her.

The atmosphere during the build was notably inclusive. The crew organised informal shipyard appreciation gatherings, reinforcing a sense that everyone involved was working towards a shared goal. “We are all on the same team,” John says, a sentiment echoed across all parties involved.

A charter yacht with ambition

Now delivered, Amor À Vida enters the charter market with quiet confidence. Managed by Moran Yacht & Ship, she will operate in the Caribbean and the Bahamas during winter, before crossing to the Mediterranean for the summer season. Beyond that, the possibilities remain open.

Captain John brings clear optimism to the programme, drawing on the success of Mystic, which maintained a busy charter schedule. His ambition is unequivocal: to make Amor À Vida “the very best charter yacht the industry has ever seen”.

What sets her apart is not only her design or technical capability, but the cohesion of the team on board. Crew selection has focused as much on personality and chemistry as on qualifications. Even during downtime, the crew chooses to spend time together, an energy that inevitably carries through to the guest experience.

A love for life, realised

In an industry often defined by scale and spectacle, Amor À Vida stands out for her clarity of purpose. She is a superyacht shaped by people who understand life at sea, built through collaboration and delivered without compromise.

As she embarks on her first charter seasons, moving between the Caribbean, the Mediterranean and potentially further afield, Amor À Vida feels like a love letter to life, written in steel, teak and quiet confidence, and signed by those who brought her to life.

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🔊 SOUND ON…You NEED to hear this.

At just 1.5 knots, 53m Damen Yachting support vessel Emotional gently nudges an iceberg aside, clearing the way for Xplorer 60 After You. The raw sound of shifting ice is unlike anything you’ve heard before.

After You and Emotional were featured in our neewspaper Issue 55, following their departure from Damen Yachting after refit. Read the full article via our website!

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