World at her feet: Lady Lene wows WSA judges

The 34-metre tri-deck explorer Lady Lene has won a host of admirers since her launch as her owners embarked on the first of many adventures. Custom-built by Van der Valk in the Netherlands for repeat clients, Lady Lene has now received official recognition too by winning a prestigious Judges Commendation at the recent World Superyacht Awards in London for “styling and performance quite unlike her rivals in this class” and “a wealth of merits that deserve recognition.”

Originally nominated for a Neptune trophy in the category for Semi-Displacement or Planing Motor Yachts (30-34.9m), the owners and everyone involved in the build of Lady Lene were delighted to be commended in this way by the WSA judges. These annual awards are decided by a panel comprised entirely of leading superyacht owners who were taken by the manner in which Lady Lene offered a “full-custom design for an owner seeking a yacht that would ‘provide comparable levels of comfort to our home on land’, along with impressive performance and economy.”

Optimised performance

These words were music to the ears of the multi-discipline team of talents that had been responsible for realising these bespoke requirements. This included the renowned craftsmen and engineers from Van der Valk, the owner’s representative team from YachtCreators, Guido de Groot Yacht Design, Carla Guilhem Design, Ginton Naval Architects, Diana Yacht Design and Hull Vane.

A debut to remember

The World Superyacht Awards judges were also impressed by other aspects of Lady Lene. “The clean style of interior design throughout her five cabins offers wheelchair accessibility and high ceilings, while high-quality construction by Netherlands-based Van der Valk Shipyard was considered to be the icing on the cake for this versatile vessel that offers a transatlantic capability.”This fresh approach continues within the interior thanks to an ergonomic layout that embraces flow of movement and is very pleasing to the eye. The main salon includes a dining area and bar, while the lower deck features two full-beam double suites with bathrooms. Each bed is angled to provide superb views out to sea.

Loving life

Lady Lene perfectly captures the owner’s thoughts on how an ideal motoryacht should look and feel while taking into account every stage of life. Fully wheelchair-friendly, she has an interior lift for easy between-deck access while the floors are all completely level with no protrusions or steps. Van der Valk is currently working on another project for the same family, a 65-footer with outboards, and the yard is also making excellent progress on a fabulous new 25.50-metre Flybridge which is due for launch this summer.  Both these new builds will also feature bespoke interior designs by Carla Guilhem.

Click here  for more information on the exterior design and technical attributes of Lady Lene including interviews with the main parties involved. Further details of the interior design and an interview with Carla Guilhem are available here.