They say the two best days of owning a boat are the day you buy it
and the day you sell it. From a photographic perspective, though, that
might not necessarily hold true. As we see in these shots by Benedict Redgrove,
there’s something uniquely striking about a yacht that’s in the process
of being built, still weeks or months away from touching the water.
What we see here is arguably the peak of their pristine beauty–before
the sea salt and the barnacles do their work. It certainly doesn’t hurt
when the place they’re being built is nearly as immaculate as the boats
themselves.
Wally makes some of the most sophisticated yachts money can buy.
The workshop is that of Wally Yachts, a Monaco-based company
(naturally) responsible some of the most sophisticated yachts money can
buy. A quick scroll through the company’s website will find something
for everyone, from the lowly multimillion dollar recording artist up
through your standard captain of industry. For the most lucrative Bond
villain types there’s the Wally Why, a concept designed in collaboration
with Hermes that is half-boat, half-private island (and still
purportedly highly friendly to the environment!)
These shots show three different vessels: a motorized yacht called
the Wally Ace; the single-deck, 630 horsepower vessel called the Wally
One; and the largest carbon fiber sloop produced by the company to date:
the 164-foot Better Place. That one, Redgrove recalls, was in the
process of being painted the same color as the owner’s Bugatti.
Redgrove, who splits time between London and New York City,
specializes in these sorts of images, capturing strikingly sterile
scenes of jets, cars and boats in production. It’s something a bit
different than what we’re used to. Hero shots of yachts gliding through
the water are familiar stuff, but rarely do we get to glimpse them
hoisted up on terra firma, parked underneath a warehouse ceiling. They
don’t even necessarily read as boats here so much as massive
sculptures–it’s not entirely surprising that Wally has won the Compasso
d’Oros, the prestigious industrial design award, twice in recent years.
Unfortunately, the rebranding effort for which the photographs were
taken fell apart, and the company never asked Redgrove back to finish
the job. “I’m just sad we never got to see them being launched and shoot
them in the water,” he says. Because you can’t truly appreciate the
beauty of a $30 million yacht until it’s in its intended habitat,
accruing a ludicrous bill for upkeep.
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