Moon Sand, Lürssen’s masterpiece heads for the Thames, here are the photos

Moon Sand, the semi-displacement, simply stunning superyacht launched by Lürssen, could only head for a vibrant city like London. Seeing it in these photos, sailing along the Thames with Tower Bridge as a backdrop, is a unique emotion.

The Moon Sand’s vintage-inspired design is striking, reminiscent of the warship lines of the Carinthia VI, in which the pencil of Jon Bannenberg took part, decorating a truly iconic type of vessel.

It was in 1971 that Lürssen launched the Carinthia VI for tycoon Helmut Horten, but this was followed by a seventh, even larger model. The sixth Carinthia was a 42-meter superyacht, very effective in terms of magnitude. Perhaps because the owner was used to it and wanted one that was just as fast and striking but not luxurious. At that time Lürssen mainly fitted out warships and this was undoubtedly a factor that contributed to the strong lines of the Carinthia VI.

The German shipyard has come a long way in over half a century. And with the launch of Moon Sand, Lürssen is clearly aiming for the 55- to 75-meter superyacht segment. As far as larger yachts are concerned, it goes without saying that the Bremen-based German boatyard already boasts a world record thanks to iconic megayachts such as the 127-meter Octopus and the 138-meter Rising Sun, both of which have been delivered to two hi-tech magnates.

Moon Sand, originally named Project 13800, was also on display at this year’s Monaco Yacht Show. Undoubtedly one of the most beautiful superyachts launched during the pandemic period, the Moon Sand is a 55-meter dream that is not easily realized.

Peter Lürssen, the yard’s top executive, explained to the press that the Moon Sand was a “challenge”, comparing the ample space available in 100-meter yachts to that of the “small” Moon Sand.

With an overall length of 55.4 meters, Moon Sand has four decks (including the lower deck) and a beam of 10.2 meters, while the draft is three meters. All the radar instrumentation is on top of the flybridge, which – curiously enough – in the Carinthia VI was located aft.

Bannenberg & Rowell‘s interior design has chosen bright colours that create modern and very creative furnishings with unusual geometric shapes.

The design studio – which also worked on Carinthia VI in collaboration with the owner’s demanding wife – turns Moon Sand into a melting pot for a thousand materials. On board there is everything mixed together in a truly unique harmony of nautical beauty: mirrored steel in the handrails of the interior stairways, modernity contrasting with the classicism of Rosa Portogallo marble in the heads and ultra-transparent lacquered natural wood on the artistic tables. The interior flooring is laid in a herringbone pattern, covered everywhere with carpets of all sorts and shapes. Everything is well lit by a study of artificial lighting and very surprising special lamps.

“Eclecticism is on the boat” one might say, but the sensation is that of being on board a sailing museum, particularly fast and austere in its external lines.