When a client commissions a "champagne and caviar superyacht", the result is likely to be a little indulgent – particularly when said client is billionaire businessman Shahid Khan. Add Espen Øino and Reymond Langton Design to the mix, and you have the award-winning Whisper (formerly Kismet), a glitzy, art-deco diva that was recently sold with a last known asking price of €149,000,000.
Now under new ownership and priced at €1,200,000 per week with Y.CO, BOAT takes a closer look at this charter yacht's design details...
The hi-tech, art deco saloon
Spanning two decks and serviced by an intricately wrought staircase, Whisper's main saloon has all the feel of a hotel foyer. Though there are few hotels with this kind of tech – her two video-art walls (made up of 42 individual, 140-centimetre monitors) are linked to a pair of cameras which, mounted outside, can convert the walls into virtual windows. On the main deck, an LED-lit bar sits across from an electronic piano, built into a mirror-buffed table by liquid metal specialists Based Upon. The real crowd-pleaser, however, is the Crystal Caviar chandelier, a Chihuly-style cascade that weighs a staggering 350kg.
The lucky jaguar
As the owner of the Jacksonville Jaguars, Khan commissioned this four-metre statue to grace the bowsprit on game days – one paw resting on an American football helmet, the other in the air. But what wows most about this bespoke feature is how it was made. 3D-printing specialist Materialise is behind the silver feline, which was crafted in a single piece comprising more than 5,000 layers (and measuring 0.5 millimetres each). Each layer is a liquid polymer that hardens when hit by a laser beam. With a lumen rating of 10,260, the protective metallic coating is about four times brighter than a 150-watt lightbulb. The jaguar statue will be replicated on Khan's new yacht, the 122-metre Project Jag.
The individually-styled cabins
Whisper has the same number of decks and cabins as Khan's previous Lürssen, the 74-metre Kismet (now Global). With 20-odd metres to play with, the rooms are wider, multi-windowed and in prime position on the main deck. Each cabin is also individually designed, touting a separate colour scheme and door emblem. Whisper features a fairly unusual accommodation called a "sea cabin" – placed on the lower deck on the portside amidships, motion will be at a minimum for guests who suffer from seasickness.
The "subterranean" spa
Placed deep within the ship, Whisper's Persian-inspired spa benefits from little motion and a darker, moodier ambience – creating what Pascal Reymond calls a "naturally [...] meditative space". Her lengthy list of services include a hammam, cold plunge pool, steam shower, massage room, separate hair and beauty salon and dedicated onboard hairdresser. Hidden access also prevents crew and visiting therapists from disrupting owner areas.
The multi-levelled pool
Read More/The coolest superyacht pools in the worldOval-shaped and mosaic-tiled, this 12-metre superyacht swimming pool has an integrated Jacuzzi that, being slightly raised, doubles as an observation deck. Including the two separate spa pools (one in the master cabin and the other in the spa), Whisper uses 15 tonnes of water – all warmed by a waste-heat recovery system from the gensets. A similar system would be replicated by the shipyard in 2019 with the 95-metre Madsummer.
The private "star bed"
Allegedly one of Espen Øino's favourite spots, this private observation platform has an outdoor bed created for stargazing (but works just as well for sunbathing). It's accessible via a spiral staircase on the sundeck and, forward-facing, overlooks the pool from five decks up. It can be locked off to other guests and crew for extra privacy.
Whisper was sold earlier in 2023 with Cecil Wright & Partners and Christie Yachts.
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