Finally, Serenity
Well, folks, I’ve seen a heck of a lot of boats here today at the Miami International Boat Show. And of them all, the one that I am just busting at the seams to tell you about is the new 116-foot motoryacht built by Lazzara and called Serenity.
What makes me so excited about this yacht–which is available for charter, but with limited publicity–is that it is owned by a man whose sister-in-law uses a wheelchair. The family wanted the sister-in-law to be able to come along on yachting vacations, so they built the entire main deck of the yacht to be wheelchair friendly. There’s also a chair lift that runs along the corridor that leads down to the guest cabins on the bottom deck, where one of the cabins has extra-wide doors, a low sink, and an adjacent cabin for a nurse. Even the steps that lead to the swim platform are built extra-wide, so that a wheelchair can slowly be brought down on hot days when everyone wants to take a dip in the water.
This is the first motoryacht available for charter that I have seen in this size range that has so many handicap-accessible features. Serenity is not what I would call completely wheelchair friendly (in particular, there is no access to the top deck) but she is a very big step in the right direction for anyone seeking this kind of charter yacht.
That includes her crew, I think, too. I spent some time talking with Capt. Scott Gaffga–formerly of the 98-foot charter motoryacht Destiny–and he told me that he’s worked for this same yacht owner the past two years and has learned how to work well with the sister-in-law and her nurse. “I recommend that help or a family member comes with the person,” he told me, “but we do know what to do.”
She’s a darn nice yacht in general, too, the first 116 ever built by Lazzara. She takes 12 guests in five cabins–including the two adjacent guest/nurse cabins, as well as one kids’ cabin that has four twin-size, bunk-style berths. Her charter base rate is $165,000 per week, a price that includes a 27-foot Intrepid center-console fishing boat–and a price that both the captain and the owner’s sales representative told me was negotiable.
Talk to any reputable charter broker for more information. I’ll have a full First Impression review with photos here on CharterWave soon.