Summer Superyacht Season Starts In Style At The Monaco Grand Prix
The F1 field race out of turn one uphill next to the port during the F1 Grand Prix of Monaco at ... More Circuit de Monaco in Monte-Carlo, Monaco. (Photo by Bryn Lennon - Formula 1/Formula 1 via Getty Images)
Every race on the Formula 1 calendar attracts cool, famous, wealthy, and powerful people. But, when it comes combining royalty, intrigue, history, and most of all, superyachts with raw Formula 1 power, few events can compete with the Monaco Grand Prix that takes place this weekend
Anyone who's been to the Monaco Grand Prix before knows how hard it is to get a prime spot to watch the races from the deck of a superyacht moored in the harbor. I'm sorry to report I can't invite you to all of the onboard parties (frankly, I don't have too many invites either!), but I can give you a little glimpse of some of the yachts that are there already and will be there for the race.
Kismet
Kismet will be in Monaco for the Monaco GP this weekend
I'm just going to call Shahid Kahn's Kismet the 'Queen' of the fleet. I mean, what more can you say about this 400-foot-long superyacht (which was built by Lürssen, features an exterior design by Nuvolari Lenard and an interior design by Reymond Langton Design and is available for charter with Cecil Wright) that hasn't already been said?
Kismet's large beach club area
Well, she's fresh off being named Motor Yacht of The Year at the World Superyacht Awards in Venice. She costs well north of $3 million per week to charter. And oh yeah, she has cinema on the lower deck—complete with an underwater seating area—and a 7-star wellness area that's two full stars better than a 5-star wellness area.
King Benji
King Benji
Here are the facts. The 154-foot-long King Benji was built by Dunya Yachts and launched in 2024. The interior was designed by Design Unlimited, and the exterior styling is by Gregory C. Marshall. Now, here's my take after giving the King Benji's hot tub a rigorous test during the Palm Beach International Boat Show earlier this year.
King Benji's dual hot tubs
I think the hot tubs—plural—on the foredeck might provide great viewing. The massive aft deck may provide one of the best viewing platforms of any of the yachts that are moored stern-to the racecourse, and it might turn into the ultimate dance floor when the parties kick off after the race cars are back in pits.
Kamalaya
Kamalaya has a large top deck for watching the Monaco Grand Prix
While I won't go so far to say Kamalaya's interior is just like Claridge's £60,000/per night penthouse. I will say that Kamalaya's interiors were designed by Remi Tessier who designed Claridge's £60,000/per night penthouse which spans the entire rooftop of the hotel and features 75 works by Damien Hirst.
The Zen-like interior of Kamalaya
I will also say that when Kamalaya is not trackside at the Monaco Grand Prix, she's can be found cruising anywhere from Svalbard to San Tropez.
Lady Trudy
Lady Trudy at anchor
Some people say the 42.6-meter long Lady Trudy built by CRN is the perfect charter yacht for the Monaco Grand Prix in that size range because exterior deck spaces are comparable to those found on a 50 meter yacht. Now, I can't say for sure just how big the deck spaces are. But I will venture a guess that the outdoor cinema and comfortable outdoor seating might just make for a perfect Monaco Grand Prix viewing experience.
Extra Time
Extra Time underway
The Conrad C144s Extra Time was launched last year and features a Reymond Langton Design exterior, a M2Atelier-designed interior, and naval architecture from Diana Yacht Design. And it will be a killer spot to watch the race simply because, no matter what yacht you are on, no other sporting event connects with the fans quite like the Monaco Grand Prix.
Stay tuned as I'll be adding more yachts to this list as I learn about their presence at the Monaco Grand Prix.
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Inside Yoshi, the hotel's Japanese restaurant, another clutch of effortlessly glamorous people milled around, picking at finger food (nigiri, takoyaki, lobster rolls, choux buns), still sipping champagne, and intermittently strolling out onto the terrace. I followed them, tottering up to the thick baroque balustrade. This, I'd been told, was one of Monaco's finest Grand Prix vantage points – but nothing could have prepared me for the reality of it. Barely five metres below was the track, stretching all the way to Casino Square corner on my right, and down into Mirabeau Haute, one of the circuit's most technically challenging bends (evidenced by its escape lane), to my left. As I gawped, the drivers' parade appeared on the crest of the hill; an open float carrying F1's golden boys, almost close enough to shake our hands. While we waited for the main event, I chatted to evenly tanned people – including a woman in white linen whose cheekbones could only have been the result of carefully considered breeding – who introduced themselves with enigmatic ambiguity: 'I'm an entrepreneur'. 'I have a little business'. I had expected there to be a great rush back to the balustrade when the Grand Prix itself began, but when the low-slung cars started to roar by – the smell of burnt rubber wafting up with every pass – I was surprised to note little change in tempo. People ambled out, watched a few laps, pointed to the car of Verstappen or Norris, then returned to the lacquered tables inside, which were now being laid with dessert. 'Don't you want to see?' I asked a stately 60-something gent – with slicked-back hair and an expression that suggested inherent satisfaction – as he disinterestedly sipped a tot of scotch. 'They go round; someone wins, someone loses. I've seen it before,' he replied, shrugging. 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