How Almyra II was the yacht of one couple's dreams

“The energy and flow of this yacht was everything we wanted,” says Rigas. “She had a wonderful open feeling on the aft deck, and inside, the main saloon and dining room could be connected, or a door could slide closed for privacy. We didn’t make any changes to the layout in the end. You have to hand it to Perini – they got that right the first time.”

The layout may have been preserved, but the changes that had to be made during the refit were numerous, mainly owing to the fact that after an Italian bank had repossessed the yacht from its previous owner, she’d had minimal care. “The boat had stayed idle with limited maintenance for four years so naturally there was rust everywhere,” says Rigas. The telltale signs of rust oxidation were easy to see through the paint on the hull. But the Rigases weren’t fazed by the work that would be required.

The Spanopoulos Group’s New Hellenic Shipyards is one of the largest yards in Greece and the only one that had deep enough access to accommodate the yacht’s keel. The yacht was in good hands there, says Nikolas Katsoulis, head of the yachting division at New Hellenic Shipyards. “The shipyard has already had significant experience with this type of yacht due to the fact that 95 per cent of Perini Navi yachts owned by Greek owners belong to clients of the shipyard,” he says.

Though the Spanopoulos Group carried out the work, Rigas and her husband served as the project managers, helming a team of subcontractors, including technical workers brought in from Italy. Taking on such a gargantuan task could be a burden for owners, but Rigas says it made the project all the more enjoyable: “We fell in love with the boat even more – it brought us closer to her and to the crew. And we care more than any owner’s rep ever could.”

The first job was to disassemble and transport the yacht’s two masts, which was followed by dismantling all the doors, gangways, side doors, hatches and fittings. Then, the yard could start to uncover what other tasks were hidden beneath the neglected hull. “The period that the yacht wasn’t in use was a challenging factor,” says Katsoulis. “You have to keep in mind that, in a project like this, something new is always coming up.”

Indeed, the rust wasn’t just skin deep but had run rampant internally as well. Most of the tasks executed on board were structural and mechanical, including new steel work, piping, electrics and hydraulic works, and the air conditioning was updated as well. All of the monitoring and control systems were fully upgraded and modernised, and the lighting systems were upgraded to improve efficiency.

The sailing equipment was also overhauled and recertified, and a new set of sails from North Sails was chosen to maximise sailing performance. The winches, capstans and all the technical areas on board were updated as well. “One challenge of building in Greece is there isn’t as much experience in sailing superyachts as there is in motor yachts, so we had to bring in the right people to help with the rigging,” says Rigas.

She attempted to hire a Greek designer to work on the interior decor but couldn’t find what she was looking for. Some had worked with big superyachts, but motor yachts rather than sailing yachts, and were proposing ideas that Rigas found far too bling for her tastes. “In the end, I did everything on the interior myself,” she says. “I tried to keep the classy Perini style but make it new.”

Rigas lives between Athens, Milan and London, and she spent a lot of time in Milan to find items for the interiors. In a sense, the interior refit was more akin to a restoration, preserving the classic nautical style, teak woodwork and gold fittings, but bringing in new pieces to modernise it all. “I didn’t want to interfere with what Perini had done before, but wanted to introduce a fresh styling, and I did this by bringing in art and furnishings and revising the layout of the furniture,” says Rigas. “I have art videos that play on every screen you can see – that was part of [artist Danae Stratou’s] museum project.”

“We didn’t make any changes to the layout in the end. Perini got that right first time”

The original woodwork was repaired, with any scratches fixed, and varnished to a good-as-new gleam. More than 3,000 goldplated handles and drawer pulls, which were damaged in the salty air during the yacht’s years of disuse, had to be removed and refinished. The carpets were all replaced, but the original style was replicated with a white carpet and black frame. “I just thought it was so classy and nice,” says Rigas. Fortunately, the marble in the bathrooms was all in good condition and, apart from new carpets and soft goods, the guest cabins were kept the same as well. The master cabin has an office with its own entrance that can be converted to a fifth guest cabin.

Rigas liked the nautical feel of the formal dining room. The original dining chairs, which were reupholstered, have gold chains at the bottom so they can be affixed while under way. “Now that I’ve done two Atlantic crossings with her and raced the Bucket [Regatta] in St Barths, I understand how important it is to sail a solid boat that can combine a safe crossing and at the same time offer luxury living and competitive sail performance,” says Rigas. “Almyra II combines very elegantly all of the above. We sailed with a 25-degree heeling angle – I cannot stress enough that everything has to be battened down,” she says.

Rigas’s inspiration for the interior aesthetic was Hermès meets Ralph Lauren. “Not the Ralph Lauren florals, but the use of leather and the colour palette of brown, white and black,” she says. The limited-edition Christian Dior plates chosen for dining feature a compass rose as another nautical touch. Many of the furnishings are finished in white and tan, including the tan Poliform chairs and white sofas in the main saloon, adorned with Hermès throw pillows. “It was important that everything be comfortable and not stiff, so you can put your legs up and feel at home,” she adds. The coffee and side tables in the main saloon are made of Sahara Noir marble, which was used in the bar as well.

One thing that certainly didn’t change was the bar. “Everyone says Almyra II’s bar reminds them of the bar on Onassis’s Christina O in terms of the shape. I didn’t change it because it is a very elegant and classy shape,” says Rigas.

An extra-special piece of furniture is found on the exterior deck in the form of a fighting chair, a rather unusual sight to be found on a sailing yacht. Rigas says it was part of her husband’s wish list, as he does a lot of fishing. Even when not used for fishing, it’s a place to sit and look out at the ocean. Previously on the main deck aft, there was a fixed sofa, which has been replaced with a relaxed sofa and chairs that turn, while the custom-designed al fresco dining table has director-style chairs.

Another important part of the brief was the yacht’s environmental impact. “We wanted to co-operate with scientists as part of an ESG [environmental, social and governance] and sustainability programme,” says Rigas, who heads up the sustainability department for an energy company. “We wanted to make the yacht a suitable space to work with organisations such as Yachts for Science. Almyra II should be a place where owners, guests, crew and scientists can coexist and utilise our Perini Navi.” Rigas has also worked to make Almyra II as green as possible, from minimising the use of plastics and using refillable toiletries, to selecting environmentally friendly water toys.

Later in the refit, the hull was sandblasted and received a full Awlgrip paint job, along with the masts and superstructure. “The summer 2021 heatwave gave us some problems when it came to finishing the paint,” says Rigas. “We had to repaint her three times to get the finish, the gloss and the top quality that we were seeking from every subcontractor. “I have to admit, all of them bought into our vision and co-operated to end up with an excellent result that makes the boat look like new,” she continues. “There were frustrations like this throughout, but it’s a bit like giving birth – you forget all the frustrations and remember the good parts afterwards.”

In addition to the challenges of a refit, the project had to contend with supply-chain delays from Covid-19. Yet the refit was still carried out in a swift manner. “She was completed in just nine months after hauling her out and 10 months after her arrival at the shipyard,” says Katsoulis. When I spoke to Rigas, she and her husband had just returned from crossing the Atlantic and travelling for six months on board. The next stage of their trip will take them further afield to the Pacific Ocean and beyond. “I found the boat felt really safe during crossings,” says Rigas, who would like to encourage other yacht owners to stay on board during ocean passages (see The unexpected joys of sailing across the Atlantic).

“I’d tell them, go and do it yourself. It was so nice to be away from technology, switch off from work and connect to your thoughts.” The longer circumnavigation is still in the works, and dreaming about it is what kept Rigas motivated during the refit of Almyra II. As she says: “It’s our dreams [that] keep us alive.”

First published in the November 2023 issue of BOAT International. Get this magazine sent straight to your door, or subscribe and never miss an issue.