It’s described as the “most head-turning yacht on the planet,” and this week, the classically styled Corsair Yachts Nero is the undisputed headliner at Palm Beach International Boat Show.
At just under 300 feet long, the beautiful hull is too lengthy for the docks at the main show area on the West Palm Beach waterfront, so it is being displayed to potential charter clients in the nearby Safe Harbor Rybovich superyacht marina.
Nero is at the show to entice charter clients (through Burgess Yachts) for summer cruises in the Med and winters in the Caribbean. With Nero’s British captain David McMorrow as our guide, Robb Report took a tour of this iconic superyacht, discovering fascinating facts about this so-called “Spirit of Corsair,” based on financier J.P. Morgan Jr.’s series of Corsair yachts in the 1920s and 30s.
Here are eight unknown facts about this remarkable vessel.
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One Man’s Success Leads to Another Man’s Dream
Image Credit: JP Morgan Library Back in 2004, the British videogame entrepreneur and yachtsman Neil Taylor set out to find and restore a classic motoryacht in the style of American banking legend J.P. Morgan Jr.’s series of yachts named Corsair. Unable to find a suitable candidate, he took the bold decision to build his own, styled on Morgan’s last Corsair, the 350-foot Corsair IV (above) launched in 1930. Such was Taylor’s commitment and passion to the project that he designed both the yacht’s exterior and interior layout himself, only turning to U.K.-based IMT Marine Consultants for the naval architecture and hull design. Built under tight secrecy, the steel-hulled Nero, as the yacht was christened, was launched in 2008.
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A Shipyard Was Created to Build It
Image Credit: Getty Images Taylor had hoped to use a European yard to turn his dream into reality. But in the end, he formed his own company, Corsair Yachts, and signed a deal with China’s Yantai Raffles Shipyard to rent its entire facility and 400-strong workforce. He also pulled together a team of 30 specialists who had previously worked with pedigreed builders Lürssen, Benetti, and OceanFast for the most technical work. It was not a quick process: Taylor micro-managed every stage of the yacht’s construction, which took over four years.
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Plenty of Power and a Fake Smokestack
Image Credit: Burgess Yachts Nero is powered by a pair of slow-spinning, commercial-grade MaK/Caterpillar diesels, rated 2,333 hp each. Flat out, it can run at 16 knots, though Capt. McMorrow prefers to cruise at a more sedate 11 knots. With the fuel tanks topped off with 46,000 gallons of diesel, the yacht has a range of over 4,500 nautical miles, burning just 118 gallons an hour at 14.5 knots. To keep it stable in those Atlantic swells, the yacht has four Naiad fin stabilizers, a full keel and extensive ballasting. “She’s incredibly stable even in the roughest of seas, and remarkably quiet,” says McMorrow. As for that distinctive yellow and black funnel on the top deck, it’s just for decoration.
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A Fitness Lover’s Dream
Image Credit: Burgess Yachts As part of Nero‘s major refit in Genoa, Italy, in 2021, the cozy sundeck den, or “snug,” was transformed into a state-of-the-art gym. It’s filled with the latest Technogym equipment, including a multi-function Kinesis machine, treadmill, cross-trainer and cardio bike. Steps away is the 18.7-foot-long resistance pool on the foredeck, along with a Jacuzzi at the stern. Naturally, one of the crew is a certified physical trainer. The previous location of the gym is now a beauty salon and massage area. Nero‘s teak-covered top deck, at over 200 feet long, makes a perfect jogging track. And when the yacht is under way, that forward pool is drained and becomes a garage for the yacht’s 16-foot Nautica RIB.
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The 2016 Refit That Changed Everything
Image Credit: Burgess Yachts When Neil Taylor sold Nero in 2014, reportedly to Irish billionaire and Digicel telecommunications founder Denis O’Brien, the yacht headed to the MB92 shipyard in Barcelona for an eight-month major interior refit. The yacht’s original interior designer, Laura Pomponi of Italy’s Luxury Projects, oversaw the process, and it involved an exhaustive process of refinishing all the golden, high-gloss walls, ceilings, furniture, and joinery to a more contemporary, Hamptons-beach-house style. That meant many months of varnish removal and complex lime-washing. The refit also included stripping over 4,000 pieces of brass hardware and refinishing them in silver. Reupholstering Nero‘s multitude of chairs and sofas involved well over a mile of new fabrics.
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Toppled Over in a Drydock
Image Credit: Liguria Nautica Preparing for routine maintenance work at the Amico & Co dry-dock in Genoa, Italy, in 2019, Nero tipped over on to its port side while the dry-dock chamber was being emptied. According to a report at the time by Italy’s Liguria Nautica website, six crew members suffered minor injuries after a hull support in the dry dock collapsed under the strain of Nero‘s weight. Despite the 30-degree angle, the vessel was said not to have touched the concrete walls and was successfully refloated.
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The Owner’s Suite Spans Two Levels
Image Credit: Burgess Yachts “It really is fit for a king, and to me it’s the jewel in Nero‘s crown,” says McMorrow, describing the vessel’s sprawling owner’s suite. Located on the main deck, it spans the yacht’s full beam and features an adjoining lounge on one side with a big-screen TV, and, on the other, twin, over-stuffed sofas, and a private den with a desk and conference table. Separate his-and-hers marble-lined bathrooms have huge walk-in closets and dressing rooms. A staircase leads up into Nero‘s private observation lounge with access to the pool on the foredeck.
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The Mini-Me Tender
Image Credit: Burgess Yachts A classically styled yacht requires a classically styled tender. So Nero‘s elegant 31-foot ’30s-style wooden launch was built by Corsair Yachts in China by the same craftsmen who constructed the mothership. And when Nero went in for its latest refit in 2021, the tender also got a new coat of paint and varnish, new upholstery and a mechanical overhaul. “It’s a piece of art. Guests love seeing this tender as it approaches a dock for pick-up,” says McMorrow, noting top speed is an impressive 30 knots. The launch features mahogany construction, teak decks, and a low-profile cabin to keep guests protected from the elements.
