When not to leave hyperspace… You might argue that the title has very little to do with this 130 metre (more or less) concept of a large explorer yacht. And still, there are a few parallels…

All 3 versions of the ‘Avenger’ have been developed on a speculative base for an experienced yacht owner. We designers like experienced owners. We feel that the dialogue between him and us, infused with creativity, passion and knowledge, will ultimately lead to a better design. And we feel that someone who already went through the process of building and owning a yacht will have a clearer idea of what he wants and will not be distracted by fancy names and general taste…

Unfortunately, it doesn’t happen that often that this ideal client just knocks on the designer’s studio door. But we see yachts and we imagine who owns them and based on this we just start sketching…. Unlike those really wild ideas we usually have when coming out of the shower (I was asked the other day what it is about creative people and showers, but I’m not sure I have an answer to that… it just works!), speculative concepts with a real or imagined owner in mind do have a certain air of being more ‘reasonable’, but that’s of course debatable when talking about 100 metre plus creations. That doesn’t mean of course that they’re any more boring!

There’s only one little ‘dilemma’ for the designer… will he ever have a chance to show it to the person in mind? And, if so, will he like it? Should he keep the design secret until such day or should he make it public, so that this ‘perfect client’ will find it? Or, indeed, any other potential client?