The best sports you can do on your superyacht

Few and far between are the modern superyachts which don’t find space for some form of exercise. But, even if you have one of the best superyacht gyms around, when surrounded by stunning views and brilliant sunshine, there’s a lot to be said for working out in the open air. Luckily, there are a whole host of superyacht sports which will let you do just that…

Basketball

Thanks to the ever-increasing size of outdoor deck spaces it is now more than possible to fit a good-sized sports court on your superyacht. It is believed that the famously private superyacht Madame Gu has one but it will take a lot to beat that of 78 metre Feadship Hampshire II. Her owner is a great sports lover, as evidenced by his foredeck, which can be transformed into courts for basketball, tennis, badminton and football – as well as being used to land his helicopter, of course. There's a similar court on the foredeck of Feadship Joy, while the YXT Evolution support vessels from Lynx Yachts can be fitted with a basketball hoop aft.

A sunrise yoga routine needs very little space and is a great way to enjoy the calm before the storm of the day’s fun. The experts from London’s KX Gym suggest repeating the following simple routine for an invigorating workout that will improve flexibility and strength:

Start in a standing position, take three deep diaphragmatic breaths and, on the last inhale, raise your arms over your head. Bring your palms together with your chest open. Raise your gaze up to your hands.

Exhale and bend at the waist, keeping your core strong. Inhale and bring your gaze up and straighten your back. On the next exhale, place your hands on the floor in front of you and jump backwards into a press-up, plank position.

While holding this position, walk your hands out in front of you to challenge your core. Keep your breathing normal and brace your core muscles. Walk the hands out as far as you can while maintaining your form, then return your hands to the press-up, plank position.

On your next exhale, lower the press-up, then inhale and move into an upward dog position (chest up, hips down with legs active and strong).

It's not everyday that a yacht's brief is centred around sports, and especially tennis. But on 98.4 metre Aviva, one of the largest yachts in the world, this was a goal from the outset. “Build a big yacht around a padel tennis court was the main brief” says the yard’s project manager Andreas Hering. The hybrid squash/tennis court is part of the owner's daily routine, who had before limited his travels to places where there was a court on shore. Now he can take his workout of choice everywhere he goes.

This one might sound obvious – superyachts are surrounded by the sea and almost always have their own private pools – but how much exercise can you really get when paddling around in the ocean or confined to a deck-size pool? The owner of Palladium, an exercise fanatic who is said to train for up to five hours a day, solved this problem by turning the entire stern of his 96 metre yacht into a fixed swimpad/sports area. His cavernous tender garage also contains 14 jet skis and 11 windsurfer rigs for good measure.

When X Games skateboard champion Bob Burnquist was invited to take part in Visit California’s global “Dream Big” campaign, the Brazilian superstar came up with a suitably ambitious project: to build the world’s first floating skate-ramp. Teaming up with production designer Jerry Blohm and ramp architect Jeff King, Burnquist’s blueprint was constructed in just four days. The resulting 10 metre long birch and redwood platform features two split ramps and an open-ended grind rail for pulling gnarly tricks into the open water. Blohm is now taking custom orders for those in search of big air on the high seas, and has redesigned this most exclusive of skate parks to incorporate a bathroom, fridge and sundeck to ramp up the fun.

Perhaps the newest addition to the world of superyacht sports, these bespoke climbing walls developed by FunAir are perfect for partnering with your hugely fun superyacht slide. Each wall has three routes to the top, colour coded by difficulty, which makes them ideal for a challenging workout but also sees them included among our pick of the best water toys for children.