First Impression Perle Bleue

January 2008 update: This yacht is now part of the fleet at International Yacht Collection.

Date toured: October 2007

I have to be completely honest here and tell you that I liked the brand-new, 124-foot Hakvoort motoryacht Perle Bleue before I even stepped onboard. It was a biased tour, to say the least.
    That’s because I’d had the pleasure of interviewing owners Stanley and Peggy Bey in their home state (and mine) of New Jersey a few months before the yacht launched. We spent several hours going over the plans, looking at fabric swatches, and talking—quite excitedly—about all the thought they had put into building this boat. They’ve had several motoryachts in the past, including the 147-foot charter yacht Campbell Bay. As I sat with them, listening to them discuss everything from the feel of the tile beneath bare feet to the thickness of the hull’s rub rails, I realized that the Beys knew what they were doing, had a vision for what they wanted, and had spent years planning every detail to make Perle Bleue just perfect.
     Now, having said all that, I have to tell you that one person’s idea of perfect is not always the same as another’s. The Beys are thrilled with Perle Bleue, and I think that a lot of charter guests will be, too—especially in the guest cabins and sky lounge (shown at right), which are designed to feel like island villas with an added touch of French elegance, a la St. Bart’s. But the main saloon (shown above) and zen-influenced master cabin(show below)  are done in a French moderne décor,  one that is beautifully executed (I quite liked it, especially the main saloon’s murals), but that may be too bold for anyone used to beige tones and neutral fabrics.
     Also interesting is the choice the Beys made to go without a formal dining room inside the yacht. They had one onboard Campbell Bay, Peggy told me as we walked through Perle Bleue, “but it took up all this space, and we never sat at it.” Instead, she and interior designer Donald Starkey fitted two four-seat tables that look almost like card-playing spaces where the dining table would normally be. The tables swing together and can be locked into the floor to create a formal table for eight to ten guests when needed, but otherwise sit apart to give the main saloon a more casually elegant feel.
     You won’t find carpet here, either, but instead caramel-colored, crocodile-embossed leather, just as in the yacht’s foyer. That’s certainly something you don’t see every day.
      One of the most interesting design details on Perle Bleue is the use of shaded mirrors, particularly in the corners of rooms and in spaces like the backs of stairs and the bottoms of beds (see below) that usually seem closed off. The way Starkey designed the mirror sections, they make all of these spaces look open—and by definition make the boat feel much more airy than it really is. I’m a bit embarrassed to tell you that I actually walked right into one of these mirrors at the bottom of a staircase, as it was virtually hidden within the rest of the décor.
     In another interesting choice, the Beys opted for a queen-size bed in the master stateroom (shown above) instead of the more common king. They had the latter onboard Campbell Bay but felt they were swimming in it, as they’re each well short of 6 feet tall. Peggy also said the choice made sense given the size of the cabin: “With a king, the whole room would be mattress.” 
     The master bathroom is a study in design, as are the day heads (see my blog posting for more on this yacht’s bathrooms). And frankly, I could go on forever about a lot of the design details that Perle Bleue offers, each of them more fascinating than the next. (Doesn't it look like the guest bed frame at right is hollow? That's a mirror...)
     But as far as charter goes, I think the most important thing to realize is that the Beys plan to use their dream yacht quite a lot themselves, allowing only about six weeks of charter a year to a select group of clients.
    “We personally say yes or no to the charters,” Peggy said. “We don’t want ungracious clients."
     For this reason—and because “the yacht is full of beautiful things,” as Peggy put it—Perle Bleue’s weekly base rate is $145,000. That’s a price more often associated with 150-foot yachts than 125-footers, and that one longtime, top-notch broker told me she thought was “challenging.” Time will tell if management company Fraser Yachts Worldwide can actually get that rate for bookings, though the handful of reputable charter brokers I saw touring the yacht were quite wowed by its design and décor. As they should be.
     [Update as of early November: The boat is booked for two weeks during the Christmas holidays, and at full price. So there is the market's answer!]--Kim Kavin