Italian shipyard Cantiere delle Marche (CdM) has signed a contract for the sixth hull in its 31-metre Darwin 102 series of explorer yachts.
The model was commissioned by an experienced British owner who viewed the recently delivered Darwin 106 Uptight at the Cannes Yachting Festival in 2022. Andrew Bond of Fraser was responsible for securing the sale and the new build will join sisterships Archipelago and Hvalross on the water once launched.
The Darwin class is designed in-house as rugged semi-custom series with "go-anywhere" capabilities delivered in a compact package. Customisations to this particular model include a modified wheelhouse windscreen and a tender crane hidden in a compartment at the farthest end of the sun deck, as seen on the shipyard's RJ series.
Design and styling of her 245GT interior has been awarded to London-based studio Lawson Robb, whose portfolio includes Royal Huisman's 58.5-metre PHI and Extra Yachts X86 26.2-metre Haze.
The owner opted for a five-cabin configuration with four guest cabins on the lower deck, two of which are fitted with a Pullman berth, and the master suite on the main deck forward sleeping a total of 12 guests. Further accommodation sleeps five crew.
The shipyard said one of the biggest appeals to the owner was that "the Darwin series feature hulls with much more volume than those of conventional motor yachts of the same size", as well as fuel and storage capacity.
Over the years, the commercial result of this highly customisable series of explorer yachts exceeded our wildest expectations,” said Ennio Cecchini, co-founder and president of CdM. The shipyard has launched 15 Darwin models to date.
“All models belonging to the Darwin Class share the same ocean-going, go-anywhere nature yet each one is designed to meet its owner’s requests and way of using it," said Carlo Aquilanti, sales manager at CdM.
Power will come from twin Caterpillar C18 Acert engines delivering a range of 5,000 nautical miles at nine knots. The Darwin 102 will be available for charter.
Cantiere delle Marche has 12 yachts currently under construction, including two Darwin 86 models, according to BOAT Pro data. Other vessels in-build include four Flexplorer models and two models from the shipyard's RJ series.