Southern Wind SW 105 GT – Taniwha

After long tests at sea, Southern Wind 105GT Taniwha faced her maiden voyage from South Africa. Four men and three women have delivered the fourth and lightest boat from the Southern Wind series to her owner in the Mediterranean Sea, sailing off the coast of Saint Helen, Cape Verde, the Canary Island and Gibraltar. A 7400 mile test, as it happens for every Southern Wind.

“When Southern Wind introduced us to the owners we carefully listened to all their directions and wishes -says Nauta Design Partner Massimo Gino- and we were immediately inspired by them. We gave birth a more elegant and sportier version of the boat, inspired by car design, with her new deck project that we decided to call “Granturismo”. The owners’ enthusiasm clearly told us we had respected their brief, ever since our first presentation of the new SW 105 GT project”

Nauta Design, sole designer for the yard’s sailing ships, has designed the exterior and interior of this fourth SW 105, treasuring their previous experience that allowed the creation of a seducing innovative style. The boat was delivered last summer, yet she had debuted at the 2021 Yacht Show in Munchen, where she didn’t struggle to find full consent.

Southern Wind has always built carbon hulls, sharpening their skills to create lighter and stronger ones over the years. They carefully considered all design elements to reduce weight at no expense for efficiency. The result was a 66 metre yacht displacing no more than 66 tons. 3.5 tons less than the previous SW 105, without affecting the typical comfort of a superyacht.

“We wanted to save weight cleverly. We proposed a rating for every saved kilogram. Saving weight upwards is the finest solution, with distance from barycenter highly benefitting from this”, confirms Andrea Micheli, Southern Wind Commercial Director.

Nauta completely re-designed deck and deckhouse. The traditional design for the latter, the yard’s signature, was put aside to develop a cutting-edge and previously unreleased version to convey the right sense of speed. A lower gunwale, a compact and sleek deckhouse and a bigger yet less deep cockpit: everything was thought and combined to provide Taniwha with a far more dynamic look

“The new deck design has conferred cleaner and innovative lines that recall regatta boats, as well as the composite construction method and its sandwich-like structure”, says Massimo Gino. “The final result is a yacht that combines a light construction with a powerful sail surface, still keeping all comforts of a Bluewater cruiser”.

The sea cover flanks are teak upholstered, which allowed Nauta to create teak seats inside. Besides being a practical foothold, both internally and externally, this perfectly matches the general aesthetic geometry of the GT version: a composite structure with a nomex soul and external teak upholstery.

The owner’s brief for the interior was extremely clear: a coherent connection between inner and outer spaces, so that the clean, light and sober style of the deck would be mirrored below deck.

Taniwha’s interior distinctive element is the prow owner suite, the layout Southern Winds is most frequently asked for. Behind the living room, aft area, two cabins are found; a Vip one, private bathroom and walk-around bed, and a double guests cabin with private bathroom. Ahead of the living room, before the owner’s suite, a hallway and a study separate the former from the latter.

They are placed on a three-step lower level, to respect the purest Nauta Design scheme, that has now been followed for nearly thirty years since it was first found on the 93-foot Desirade II. While featuring a deep sofa and a large desk, the study can easily be converted into a double cabin with private bathroom.

The crew area, aft, is a perfect working context for five people. The owners significantly contributed to the interior decorations, their main challenge being to keep furniture as light as possible without forgetting those little things that make a yacht look like a home.
Natural and sustainable materials were used for the interior furniture. Every single detail was designed to set a new reference point in interior design.

The main transparent companionway is sided by glasses to keep a visual connection with the exterior, as well as a direct communication between inner and outer spaces.

Internal geometry follows and exalts the hull natural curves, thanks to the gunnel hanging furniture that emphasize the lines of the underlying hull instead of hiding them. Beds are also hanging, with sloping sommier to harmonize with the rest of the hull and increase the walking surface.

“We desaturated teak and treated it with oil before we used it for the interior, to create a warm and bright atmosphere. Pleasant details to see and soft to touch. Indeed, combining light floor and clothed wall panels makes the interior bright and peaceful”.

Bathrooms surfaces and basins were all treated with a hand shaped resin, specifically conceived by Italian artists for a modern “venetian stucco” effect in its nautical version. The main living room includes a stunning lowered counter-ceiling, also teak decorated, which frames the skylight to exalt height and the natural light flowing in.

Teak tables in the full beam living room may serve as dining tables when upright, or coffee tables if lowered. Tables are also designed to look hanging, thanks to a thin-bordered surface and its metal inlays that recall what is seen elsewhere in the boat.
“Taniwha’s interior take a further step to improve sail superyachts design, says Massimo Gino, and this yacht shows many of our design innovations coherently matching the GT exterior style”

These are just a few of the countless details that make Taniwha supernatural, as her Maori name reminds us.

For further information Southern Wind Shipyard

Text by Roberto Franzoni – Photos by Giuliano Sargentini and Rob Kamhoot