First Impression: Quivira

Date toured: October 2006

Remember Corbin Bernsen, who played the skirt-chasing attorney Arnie Becker on television’s L.A. Law back in the late 1980s and early 1990s? He’s apparently trying to make his way back into the spotlight in an upcoming movie titled 419, about a Nigerian Internet scam. I know this because Bernsen was apparently onboard the 121-foot motoryacht Quivira a couple of weeks before I was, shooting a few scenes. The coincidence struck me as funny because, I learned upon touring this yacht, everything that is old can indeed become new again if only it finds the right audience.

Quivira, you see, is a 1979 Benetti motoryacht. Her interior is encased in dark, rich wood, creating a kind of old gentlemen’s club elegance that you don’t find onboard many new launches these days. She’s old in age, but not in style. I’d call her a quintessential classic whose décor is ironically in keeping with many of the “new” looks designers are touting for home designs these days.

For instance, the en suite guest bathrooms include white porcelain farmer’s sinks, which I’m told are original to the yacht but that look amazingly similar to the ones being heavily promoted as high fashion in home decorating stores right now in the United States. “This is one of those boats where you get onboard and you just feel at home,” Capt. Chris Twyman told me during our tour. I couldn’t agree more.

The spaces onboard Quivira are surprisingly large, given that older yachts tend to have smaller rooms (just like older houses). Even the two guest cabins with twin beds are of decent size. I noted that I’d fit just fine in them.

Quivira’s owner has also invested in keeping the yacht’s toys and amenities up to date. There are two Wave Runners and a laser sailboat onboard, plus WiFi for guests to use in U.S. waters. Certified scuba divers can use the four sets of equipment stowed onboard, and Capt. Twyman says an elliptical exercise machine and four mountain bikes are on order for future charters.

The yacht’s weekly base rate is $55,000 per week, according to management company The Sacks Group. That’s for 10 guests with five crew, meaning that including an extra 25 percent for traditional expenses, you’re looking at about $6,900 per person total for the week.

Hey, if it’s good enough for a movie star like Corbin Bernsen… —Kim Kavin