The winners of the 2017 ShowBoats Design Awards were announced on February 5, 2017 during a glittering ceremony in Kitzbühel, Austria. 18 coveted golden Neptune awards were presented by double Olympic gold medallist, Shirley Robertson OBE, in front of a sell-out audience of superyacht owners, designers and icons of the superyacht industry from around the globe.
The evening's big winners included Perini Navi sailing yacht Sybaris, taking three Neptunes. Her first award was for interior layout & design, by PH Design, followed by a win in the new category Best Lighting Design by PH Design in collaboration with Lindsey Adelman. Sybaris was PH Designs' first yacht commission and their boldness of materials and unique details in their design led to their victory in the Newcomer of the Year category. Watch this and many other highlights from the evening in the video below.
Wider motor yacht Genesi picked up two Neptunes, winning in the exterior design & styling below 48m category, thanks to Fulvio De Simoni, as well as picking up the award for most innovative motor yacht. Joy also won for best exterior design & styling for motor yachts above 48m and My Song clinched the win for best exterior in the sailing yacht category.
The winner for the Naval Architecture Award for Sailing Yachts was the colossal Vitter's AQuiJo measuring in at 86m. A ship by virtue of her equipment and gross tonnage and certainly comparable to a large motor yacht in size, displacement and appointments, this is nevertheless a true sailing yacht for safely circumnavigating the globe.
In the motor yacht categories, the naval architecture for displacement motor yachts went to Galactica Super Nova, who also won a Judges' Special Award in the interior design and layout category for her central staircase. Otam's Gipsy scooped up the gong for the Best Naval Architecture or Semi-Displacement Motor Yacht thanks to Umberto Tagliavini.
The Young Designer of the Year Award, in association with Oceanco was split for the first time into two categories for Student and Professional Designers. After lengthy discussion between the judges the award for Student Designers went to Thibaud Le Merdy for his concept's modernity, elegance and his knowledge of how the vessels outlined in the task interacted with their crew and guests. Eric Laurent was awarded a Neptune for the Professional Designer category after the judges found his concept Hearsay to be practical, elegant, and his hand-drawn renderings the most accomplished among this year¹s entries.
The Lifetime Achievement Award, presented by Leonardo Ferragamo, honoured naval architect Germán Frers. After designing some of the world's fastest racing yachts through the years, starting at 16 years old and continuing today, Germán's star shines in the stratosphere of superyachts. We congratulate Germán Frers for a lifetime of yacht design excellence.