Occupying the largest berth at the Monaco Yacht Show and boasting state-of-the-art everything, Lürssen's latest build is the most impressive yacht we have ever stepped aboard. The 115-metre motor yacht Ahpo reunites the team behind her owner's first superyacht — the Italian studio Nuvolari Lenard, German shipbuilders Lürssen and project managers Moran Yachting — who previously delivered the 86-metre Quattroelle, since sold to Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed, the Crown Prince of Dubai, in 2014. That, however, is where the similarities end. For Ahpo, the brief was to make everything "better, nicer, richer" and, as the designers put it, to "make it known to all who come aboard that this is our new boat."
The name itself sets the tone. Translating roughly from Chinese as "grandmother", Ahpo hints at the multicultural heritage of her owner, the Canadian financier Michael Lee-Chin, one of the country's richest men. That lineage — half Jamaican, half Canadian — is made plain in the boardroom on the main deck, an unusual space that sits between a formal dining area for 22 guests and a tearoom with a grand piano. Its table carries a vintage map of Jamaica, engraved in bronze and floating in a sea of blue resin, while the Jamaican Blue Mountains rise in a mosaic on the wall behind. "The boardroom is where the family will probably enjoy casual dinners, because it's smaller than the grand dining area, which is enormous," says Valentina Zannier, head interior designer at Nuvolari Lenard. "The map atop the table is a real 'wow' piece of furniture." Two drop-down balconies extend the sense of occasion, creating cosy nooks in which to take in a morning coffee with a view.
Central to the owner's vision was making Ahpo charter-friendly, accommodating 16 guests alongside 24 crew and staff. A fully commercial helipad eases transfers and shore excursions, but it is the wellness-focused beach club on the lower deck where the attention to detail truly stands out. The Arabesque Hammam is a mosaic masterpiece, complemented by a sauna, steam room and an elegant white waterfall. A plunge pool and separate Jacuzzi, finished in turquoise mosaic and marble, sit beside a beauty salon and bamboo-walled treatment rooms tended by an onboard beautician. Above it all, a ceiling of twinkling LED stars sets the mood, with far-reaching views out to sea through the stern and side terrace.
Guests also have a second lounge, an IMAX Dolby cinema and a pink custom Carbon Craft tender at their disposal. In keeping with growing demand for more sustainable builds, Ahpo is fitted with e-glass windows, a heat-recovery system and an electric hybrid PTO/PTI arrangement that improves fuel efficiency. Anyone curious about the propulsion can walk a glass corridor running through the pristine, almost operating-room-like engine room — a front-row view that never disturbs the engineer — linking the beach club to an amidships staircase wrapped in bronze balustrades.
The charter brief never displaced the owner's personal preferences, as the family suite makes clear. The request was for a multilevel apartment, and the result is a split-level, full-beam owner's suite decked out in pinks and cream. His-and-hers bathrooms — one in feminine pink blossom, the other in masculine black and gold — each feature extravagant gold baths with showers and walk-in dressing rooms. Directly behind lie the twin daughters' suites; up a staircase is the owner's private salon, along with a sweeping aft deck for al fresco dining, sun pads, lounging sofas and two bars to extend the evenings. "The daughters chose their own bedroom colours — one pastel pink, the other sage green — and both are delicately decorated with gingko leaves," says Zannier.
The Asian-infused interior is heavy with nature throughout: silk wallpaper, hand embroidery and elaborate inlays depicting flying flamingos and red maple trees with bluebirds, punctuated by bursts of gold and white marble. "Madame wanted the yacht to feel feminine, romantic and linked to nature," Zannier adds. "It had to reflect their healthy lifestyle with a relaxing, Zen quality." That maxim is reinforced by four onboard pools and a large Japanese-themed gym, sized for several guests at once and rewarding their efforts with views over a Jacuzzi and a counter-flow swimming pool.
On the sky lounge deck, the outdoors lives large through a panoramic winter garden, where a collection of artificial plants conjures a jungle-at-sea ambience. "It feels like an old-fashioned Indian garden. It's hugely atmospheric," says Zannier. The garden doubles as the family's sun deck, since the top deck is the captain's domain — full-beam wheelhouse, captain's cabin and electrical systems. "They use the winter garden for the family, of course, but it's also their preferred place to work," she explains. "I designed two separate desks with a library behind. It's the ideal flexible office, offering total privacy and inspiring views. It also underlines the fact that they intend to spend a lot of time on board — during their first visit at Christmas, they planned to spend three weeks and ended up staying two months."
Following a maiden voyage that took in a stop in the UK, the owner dropped anchor at the Monaco Formula One Grand Prix before heading off on a Mediterranean cruise. This time around, the family is clearly not messing around when it comes to maximising the fun to be had at sea — and what a way to do it.
