First Impression: Inspiration

Date toured: October 2006

It’s not often that I know a yacht better than my tour guide, but that was the case with the 156-foot Broward motoryacht Inspiration. I’ve been onboard this yacht several times during the past decade, always as a guest of the yacht’s previous owner. He sold Inspiration in late 2005 to the yacht’s current owner, who hired my tour guide, Capt. Peter Scott, just a few weeks before my most recent tour. As Capt. Scott showed me all the changes the current owner has made, I couldn’t help but be impressed at the dramatic shift in the boat’s tone and style.

The current owner hired interior designer Claudette Bonville (who is well known in yachting circles) to change the entire onboard feel from Inspiration’s previous look. “There was nothing wrong,” Capt. Scott explained. “He just didn’t like it.”

No major construction was part of the interior refit, which included all new carpets, soft goods and decorations. The only structural change to the yacht was the upper-deck helicopter pad, which has been lengthened and strengthened.

I was happy to see that the current owner left the general arrangement onboard Inspiration alone. She has a terrific master stateroom including a huge walk-in cedar changing room. “Somebody asked me the other day whether it was a sauna,” Capt. Scott quipped as we walked by.

The current owner also left intact the four belowdecks guest staterooms, two with queen-size beds and two that each have a double and a twin bed. They’re the best design element onboard Inspiration for charter, as far as I’m concerned, because they mean that among all five guest staterooms, you can have five couples each sleeping in comfort. Yes, one couple will get the more elegant master suite, but the other four couples could split the cost of this charter yacht and all feel as though they got their money’s worth in terms of sleeping arrangements.

I also very much enjoyed the new look of the sky lounge, which includes a huge bar surrounded by large, cushy chairs for chatting the night away. “Every boat I’ve been on before,” Capt. Scott said, “the bar is big, but you can’t sit at it. Here you can actually get a few guests around it, and the chairs are comfortable.”

Inspiration’s new look made me feel at home, and given the owner’s choice to keep the best structural elements of the yacht intact, I’m guessing the boat’s longtime reputation for wowing charter guests will continue.

To learn more about Inspiration, go to the website of management company International Yacht Collection.—Kim Kavin