Motor Yachts
09.09.2024
Arsenii Zaguljaev

The genteel side of power

Eternal Spark is a four-deck nightclub with five bars and seven lounges. On board this 50m Bilgin superyacht, you can throw a party with up to a hundred guests anywhere in the world's oceans.

/upload/iblock/7b0/DSC00425_3.jpg

Promises demand patience, and this certainly applies to the first hull of the 50m Bilgin 163 series. Three years in the making (which is a long time for a semi-custom), recalled by those involved in the process as being a great creative challenge and requiring a constant hand on the pulse. The result — a superyacht of a sought-after size with sporty and elegant exterior lines by Unique Yacht Design of Turkey — can be seen at the Monaco Yacht Show in September.

In the Star Wars universe, there is an artefact called the Eternal Spark that makes the wearer powerful and immortal. A holiday on the eponymous superyacht should be a step in the same direction. The yacht was conceived as a floating entertainment palace for 12 guests with a busy charter routine in all parts of the world. When moored in Monaco, Bodrum, Dubai or St Barth's, a hundred guests can be summoned for a big party. To make sure guests don’t feel cramped, the shipyard carefully designed the open spaces on board. The entertaining area is 20 per cent larger than the average for previous Bilgin projects. With four decks, five bars and seven separate social areas as well as two cinemas (indoor and outdoor), the yacht offers endless possibilities for entertainment and allows the evening's programme to be truly all-inclusive, so that guests can spread into various groups without interfering with each other's activities.

/upload/iblock/3be/DSC00795.jpg

The galley with a spacious cold room is located on the main deck. Directly above it on the upper deck, there is a pantry where dishes are delivered to via a ‘dumb waiter’. Here the crew can comfortably prepare the food before serving and the routes of passengers and staff will not overlap.

The yacht was originally designed for charter, so special attention was paid to the quality of service on board. Both a light breakfast and a dinner party on Eternal Spark are served at the level of a five-star hotel. Tablecloths, crockery and cutlery were ordered from the best manufacturers. The stewardess is trained as a florist and can decorate the table with compositions of flowers, glass, stones and shells. The chef, as the owner assures, is worth a Michelin star rating, and large storages can be stocked with plenty of provisions for a long cruise.

Each deck has its own mood and purpose. Sundeck is 21sqm of relaxation. Here you can work on your tan, sip cocktails in the bar, mingle on the deep sofas and, of course, soak in the 5000 litre main pool with hydromassage. On the upper deck, alfresco lunches and dinners are served in a relaxed manner and you can also watch a film or play a game in the lounge. The main deck is conceived in a ‘you don't get a second chance to make a first impression’ style. The favourable effect is guaranteed: the welcoming environment does not overwhelm with luxury, helping guests to be themselves and feel at home (it goes without saying that ‘home’ means luxury villas). Forward on the main deck is the owner's suite with a dressing room and an office.

/upload/iblock/47c/DSC01231.jpg

Five guest cabins are located on the lower deck. Four of them sit symmetrically on the sides of the guest lobby with a spiral staircase, and one more — a full-beam VIP suite — is placed in the centre of the hull. At stern, a beach club with a full lounge, sauna, ice fountain and windbar hides behind the opening transom.

Inside, Eternal Spark looks much more relaxed than Bilgin's major project from last year, Leona, with its leopard colours and gilded stumps. Milan-based Hot Lab studio characterises its approach as ‘pliable minimalism’ — the richness of detail should not compromise the purity of lines and volumes. There is little wood and leather, and the colours are natural, typical of the Mediterranean. Nevertheless, some 60 different materials are used, including 14 varieties of marble.

Bilgin is among the shipyards that have their own high-level carpentry production, which makes it possible not to outsource complex finishing works and, moreover, even to do without purchasing furniture and produce it in-house to bespoke designs instead. This is exactly what was done in case of Eternal Spark. The craftsmanship is evident in the many pleasant details, such as the floor patterns or the carefully selected veneer pattern that forms a single wave on the wall panels and doors with steel inlays.

/upload/iblock/4ee/main_saloon_dining.jpg

The abundance of mirrors expands the space and creates a bizarre play of light and shadow in the evening. Many rooms are split into zones by partitions made up of mirrored plates only a few centimetres wide each. Hot Lab is particularly proud of the spiral staircase, which begins in the lobby on the lower deck between the guest cabins and culminates in a skylight at the bottom of the pool on the sundeck. The staircase is wrapped around a chandelier of multiple glass tubes attached to steel rods. It is framed with mirrored plates along its outer contour. Twisting at different angles, they create a magical effect of luminous jets. As you ascend, you find yourself in a surreal space of optical illusions. The dining area in the main saloon is located near the staircase, so the mirrored rain is next to the table for a gala dinner, and on the upper deck this sparkling partition serves as one of the walls of the small saloon.

The master suite bedroom is clearly for those who love with their eyes. Mirrored surfaces are everywhere: the drop-shaped light fixture under the ceiling, the symmetrical fronts of the doors to the ‘his’ and ‘her’ bathrooms, the wall between them, the headboard of the bed, the decorative panels dividing the window opening behind the sofa into three. The warm light has been cast along the contour of the oval dome, along the skirting boards and along the lower edge of the bed. And there is also a floor lamp and a sconce. So you can endlessly combine light sources, making the room more luxurious, more mysterious, more intimate, enjoying the play of reflections again and again.

/upload/iblock/2a1/master_cabin_3.jpg

According to Ernesto Lumini, Head of Design at Hot Lab, each of the cabins is meant to create a different mood through nuances and a different colour scheme. ‘We wanted the design to remain fresh and colourful without overusing colour. Not too beige, but light, fresh and sunny, it suits a villa on the Côte d'Azur,’ he explains.

The tender, jet skis and water toys are stored undisguised on the bow. This decision was taken to free up more space in the beach club.

Two CAT engines with a combined output of 2,900 hp will allow cruising at a speed of 12 knots (maximum 17 knots) with low operating costs. The superyacht will be able to travel up to 5,000 nm without refuelling. Bilgin Commercial Director Berkay Yilmaz notes that Eternal Spark is comparable to the 80m Tatiana and Leona in terms of technical equipment.

Two more Bilgin 163 hulls are under construction at the Istanbul yard. More colourful premieres await us.

SS Delphine is up for auction
SS Delphine is up for auction
News
05.01.2025
A symbol of the roaring '20s and the only operational steam yacht nowadays is looking for a new owner.
R9: a new project of EVO Yachts
R9: a new project of EVO Yachts
News
03.12.2024
EVO Yachts revealed its 1st aluminium yacht concept, the R9.
Sir Ben Ainslie quits team INEOS Britannia
Sir Ben Ainslie quits team INEOS Britannia
News
24.01.2025
Skipper Ben Ainslie and America's Cup team INEOS Britannia have announced the end of their partnership.
Panerai revealed a new watch with 3 days power reserve
Panerai revealed a new watch with 3 days power reserve
News
06.01.2025
The new model in a patinated case pays tribute to the brand's historical heritage.
Whale at six!
Whale at six!
Экспедиция
01.01.2025
Natalia Belyakova, Director of the Expeditions and Tourism Department of the Russian Geographical Society (RGS), tells about her favourite...
Type 00: the new Jaguar is not everyone's cup of tea
Type 00: the new Jaguar is not everyone's cup of tea
News
03.12.2024
Jaguar has undergone a controversial rebranding and unveiled the design of its future vehicles. The new brand philosophy is called Exuberant...
Frauscher x Porsche: the 2nd motor boat collaboration
Frauscher x Porsche: the 2nd motor boat collaboration
News
12.12.2024
The Austrian premium boat brand adds another electric boat to the line-up.
New info about Mengi Yay Virtus XP52
New info about Mengi Yay Virtus XP52
News
30.01.2025
New details and renderings of 53 m Virtus XP52 yacht under construction have been revealed.
All content, designs, text, graphics on this website belong to Yachting Magazine and/or its content providers and cannot be reproduced without the written consent. Copyright © 2003 - 2025 Yachting Magazine.