This past April, Turkish Mengi Yay Yachts launched the 42-meter (138’) super yacht L’AQUILA II, the latest of the yard’s flagship NB 99 design. This luxurious motor sailing yacht features exterior design by Ginton Naval Architects, interior design from the boards of Rush Design, and sails from UK Sailmakers Turkey. It was only recently that L’AQUILA II went for her first sail.
This grand navy-blue yacht has a steel hull with an aluminum-composite superstructure. Below, in addition to the master suite and the four cabins for her crew of six, L’AQUILA II boasts of five guest cabins, two VIP cabins and two double cabins to accommodate ten guests.
During her initial shake down sail, her UK Sailmakers sails got the boat moving 10-11 knots in 18-20 knots of wind. The 820m2 (8826 ft2) sail plan is divided between the main (335m2), genoa (377m2), and staysail (108 m2).
During the initial sea-trial, the Captain was thrilled by the fit, shape, and quality workmanship of the yacht’s Dacron sails. Baris Celik of UK Sailmakers Turkey said, “Making smooth, well-shaped sails this size out of Dacron is difficult. We did it by two-plying the leech and foot sections. All the hardware was spec’d out to meet the computer-predicted loads. Moving these massive sails around the loft floor took extra man-power and careful management of the floor space in the loft – we had other sails to make at the same time. Luckily, our big sewing machines were strong enough to make these giants.”
This year, L’AQUILA II will sail in the Black Sea to stay close to home while they work up the boat in stronger and stronger conditions. Once the boat is ready, she will sail through Bosporus and past Istanbul to the south coast of Turkey and then to ports throughout the Mediterranean.
