January 22, 2008
Set to open in London sometime in 2011 is a $40 million wave machine provides six-foot waves to surfers. The plan is to persuade surfers to take to their boards in Tower Hamlets rather than make the long drive to the West Country.Water sports enthusiasts will be charged a fee of $60-an-hour to urban surf.
Duncan Scott, 29, the chairman of the British Surfing Association and a professional surfer, said the urban sites have a future. "Everything about the experience is fake, but the fun is real," said Scott, who has tackled artificial waves in Japan and South Africa. "Some think high-performance surfing will only really develop when we can artificially replicate the same wave again and again allowing us to perfect manoeuvres which we can then take out into real waves. It won't replace ocean surfing but it will be a good stop-gap, especially if you have to take a gamble and drive five hours to Cornwall from London. You can very easily get there and find a howling onshore wind [which ruins the waves]."
(Via Trend Hunter)
Posted by Ghostshark under Water | Comments (0)
January 17, 2008
The Hyper-Sub Submersible Powerboat is a combination boat and submarine. It’s capable of hitting speeds of up to 35 mph on the surface and up to 5 mph and as far down as 600 feet, when under water.The Hyper-Sub sports two-inch thick, iron reinforced glass to keep things safe inside during a dive and can hold up to four people plus a pilot.
It's still in the prototype phase, but it just completed two successful months of in-water testing. The prototype, named the Fathom, is on its way home for a refit of the bow in preparation for surface speed testing to occur in February. Once that's complete the vessel will prepare for its public debut and touring.
Currently, the the Hyper-Sub is expected to be priced at around $3.5 million if it goes on sale in the future, with four different models.
You can learn more about the Hyper-Sub at the Marion site HERE.
(via BornRich)
Posted by Ghostshark under Water | Comments (1)
October 11, 2007
The last find in the Newman Marcus Christmas Catalog is the Triton 1000 Submarine. The Triton is U.S. Submarines' latest design and represents an advanced, light weight minimum volume 2-person configuration engineered specifically for deployment from megayachts. With an overall height of 5.9 feet and an overall length of only 9.8 feet the Triton will fit on many mid-level boat decks, and at 3.3 tons it can often be launched with the existing davit systems, and trailered behind a truck or SUV or shipped in a standard container.
The Triton design provides for excellent visibility and high levels of comfort with luxury leather seating and full air conditioning. The machine also comes with a comprehensive two-day training program and delivery to your secluded cove anywhere in the States. Scratch a fender on a sunken chest? U.S. Submarines provides worldwide service and replacement parts.
Cost of your own sub? $1.44 million dollars. You can read about the sub at the Newman Marcus site HERE.
Posted by Ghostshark under Water | Comments (0)
October 2, 2007
The Jellyfish 45, designed by Giancarlo Zema, is a floating dwelling unit for up to six people. The habitat is 33 feet tall, a maximum width of about 49 feet, and five levels connected by a center spiral staircase.
The top level is set up as a study, the next level down contains the night time zone (bedrooms), while the next and largest level is a daytime zone (livingroom) with a kitchen and bathrooms. The lowest living level is semi-submerged and has as a guest room, bathroom and technical spaces.
The Jellyfish 45 is of course set up for all the comforts of home, and is definitely a unique place to live or just vacation. The cost is currently set at $2.5 million, and you can learn more about the Jellyfish 45 at the companies site HERE.
(via BornRich)
Posted by Ghostshark under Design, Water | Comments (0)
September 26, 2007
The Ferretti 630 looks like your standard $3.2 million dollar yacht, but it has something special up it's sleeve. The 630 come with an Anti Rolling Gyro that stops the boat from rocking from side to side, which is the primary cause of sea sickness.
Created by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Anti Rolling Gyro system was created for use in satellites to prevent them flying off course in the event of an impact. The system uses a 154lb steel and aluminium gyroscope located in the bottom of the hull, which is powered by an electric motor. When the boat starts to tilt, the spinning gyroscope compensates for the angle to keep the boat upright, even in choppy seas. The system can be used anytime from when the boat is at anchored to when it's at optimum speed.
You're not just paying for a steady ship, however. The Ferretti isn't short on luxury, though it is on the smaller side holding only 18 people total. You can check out pictures of the interior, get all the tech specs and so on at the Ferretti site HERE.
(via Luxury Launches)
Posted by Ghostshark under Unique, Water | Comments (0)
September 24, 2007
River Cities is selling floating condos that will travel through the intra-coastal waterways of the U.S., from St. Paul Minnesota, to Port Isabel Texas. I'm not sure this would hit enough interesting places to make it worth buying a condo, but with 30 or more cities listed as stops, I'm sure you could find something to do. It appears that The Marquette, the first ship to be built, will be somewhat like a barge, allowing it to travel the shallow waterways.
The Marquette is billed as a floating city, and comes complete with a grocery store, restaurants, concierge service, a rooftop lounge, theaters, activity rooms, a library, hot tubs and pools, fitness equipment, walking tracks, and a rooftop chipping course. The condos range from "The Illinois" at 528 sq.ft. costing $299,000 up to "The Mississippi" at 924 sq.ft. costing $499,000. There are a few areas where you can get a custom floor plan, and I'm sure price depends on what you want in it.
You can read more about The Marquette at their site HERE.
(via Luxist)
Posted by Ghostshark under Travel, Water | Comments (0)
September 24, 2007
XSMG's new luxury powerboat, the XSR48, was inspired by the world’s best supercars. The superyacht, that's being billed as the ‘Bugatti Veyron’ of the sea has 1600hp from two bi-turbo diesel engines (Isotta Fraschini 11.3L engines), supercar like acceleration to match its stylish looks.
The XSR48 was developed by a group of world class design houses and individual designers, including renowned hull designer Fabio Buzzi, and award winning superyacht designers Redman Whiteley Dixon and High Moduluswho are one of the world’s leading exponents in composite marine structures.
The first $2.4 million dollar yatch will be exhibited at the Monaco Yacht Show.
(via BornRich)
Posted by Ghostshark under Water | Comments (0)
June 18, 2007
The Gibbs Aquada is a land-sea hybrid car capable of up to 100 mph on land and 30 mph on water. The car has been available in Europe for the last three years, and they've just recently announced that the car will be sold in the U.S. sometime in the first half of 2009. The Aquada is reported to cost just under $100,000, but if you have the money and some water to splash around in, it might make for some great weekend fun.
(via Engadget)
Posted by Ghostshark under Cars, New, Water | Comments (0)
March 28, 2007
Oh, the things you can buy when you're a billionaire. This article, on what will be the world's biggest yacht, is from Spluch:
Roman Abramovich, a Russian billionaire is getting himself a new yacht. It will be the largest privately owned yacht in the world.
The Eclipse, currently taking shape in a shipyard in Hamburg, Germany, is expected to boast two helicopter landing pads, three launches, several hot tubs, a private cinema, a swimming pool and a submarine. It will require a crew of at least 50. Some of these features appear on the yachts of other billionaires, but the size of the Eclipse is unprecedented. Informed sources say it will be 550ft long — edging out what is currently the world’s biggest yacht, Dubai, the 525ft floating pleasure palace, owned by Sheikh Maktoum, the emirate’s ruler.
The Eclipse is expected to carry a miniature submarine, which could be an escape vehicle for Abramovich and his wife Irina in the event of onboard danger.
No idea of the actual cost of the boat, but when you're talking about something like this, the old saying "if you have to ask, you can't afford it" is certainly true.
For more info on the boat, you can also read the Times Online article HERE.
Posted by Ghostshark under Water | Comments (0)
March 27, 2007
Another great find from BornRich:
Waterfront living is getting really popular among the luxury circles. We have earlier told you about Four Season’s ownership residence on yacht and floating luxury abodes to take you away from the urban congestion to the peaceful ocean. Now, another new development on that front is from Oceanic-Creations, a Swedish based company, which has unveiled plans to build floating commercial and residential buildings around the world with the help of a new composite material. The company’s first project is of this floating pyramid named the “Maya Hotel” is estimated to cost around $209 million and will be located south of Cancun, Mexico, on the Caribbean Sea. The floating buildings will feature built-in insulation that makes the constructions suitable for all types of climate, from the freezing cold to extreme heat. The company also plans to build floating offices, factories, casinos, student dorms & hotels in future. The Maya hotel is expected to open by 2010.
Not a bad idea at all. Hopefully someone starts making individual units along these lines soon.
Posted by Ghostshark under Design, Water | Comments (0)
