Cloud 9, hull one of the 62Steel; Photos: Guillaume Plisson

The numbers are impressive: 61.5m LOA, 11.8m beam, 1,300GT volume and five decks if you count the tank deck. Cabins for 12 guests and accommodation for a generously sized crew of 13 or 14. That all adds up to plenty of space to give Cloud 9, the first Sanlorenzo 62Steel, real nirvana potential.

The exterior lines were designed by Sanlorenzo’s technical and style departments. With long, continuous panes of dark glass that contrast elegantly with the white steel hull, the yacht is slender and elegant with a hard chine at the bow to deflect water from the foredeck.

Open aft decks include the beach club, main-deck pool, owner’s deck and bridge deck

Boarding Cloud 9 feels like walking into a garden on a sunny day. The spaces are vast, open and welcoming. On the main deck, an infinity pool with large lateral sun pads beckons and after a dip you could sit under the cabana, shaded by linen curtains that sway in the breeze.

The indoor and outdoor spaces are so well integrated you almost don’t realise that what looks like a cabana is partly the main deck’s aft cockpit and partly the entrance to the main saloon, in this case set up with a long dining table so guests can enjoy the breeze and a meal at the same time.

The swimming pool on the aft main deck has an infinity view and a glass bottom

Symmetrical staircases lead down from the sun pads to the beach club. Sometimes beach clubs can feel like an afterthought, enjoyable once you get to them, but a bit cut off from the rest of the yacht. Not so aboard Cloud 9, where the stern sections of the lower and main decks are connected both physically and visually, so they feel like one continuous space.

Even the bottom of the pool on the main deck is glass, so it acts as a skylight and gives the beach club beneath it a kind of under-the-sea sensation. As if that wasn’t enough, this already large yacht has a transom and side platforms that open to add an extra 40sqm of space on the water. There’s room for a crowd.

The beach club includes waterside balconies (above) and a hammam (below)

And this beach club doesn’t have to do double duty as a tender garage because there are symmetrical garages midships with their own side-opening hull doors that house a 9m tender, a service tender and toys such as jetskis. With a bar, fitness equipment and a hammam, this beach club is close to sybaritic perfection.

ENTERING A NEW WORLD

Back on the main deck, the dining area at the entrance is subtly divided from the rest of the saloon by a glass wall embedded with a unique metal mesh to give it visual appeal. Silvery grey surfaces shimmer while the colour palette is neutral and never jarring, played out in luxurious natural materials like grey oak, macassar ebony and pale Jerusalem limestone.

The interior is by Francesco Paszkowski in collaboration with Margherita Casprini

“Creating the interior design was an exciting process,” says Francesco Paszkowski whose studio penned the interiors in collaboration with Margherita Casprini. “Our long-standing collaboration with Sanlorenzo allowed us to create interiors with a distinctly contemporary feel.”

While many pieces of loose furniture are by top Italian furniture manufacturers such as Minotti, other pieces were made to measure by the specialised artisans at Yachtline. The designers also created niches and shelves for displaying artwork and other collections.

The formal dining area is forward of the saloon on the main deck

Proceeding fore on the main deck past the comfortable main living area, you arrive at the lobby where a staircase winds around an elevator that leads to all five decks.

Fore on the main deck are six en-suite guest cabins, one of which can do double duty as a massage room. All the guest cabins are fitted with soft and luxurious materials and have carefully crafted details such headboards in suede and walls covered in silk velvet.

OWNER’S PARADISE

Everybody is well provided for aboard Cloud 9, but the owners are even more so. A generous half of the upper deck, over 200sqm, is for the couple’s private suite. The apartment starts with a large living area followed by a study.

The interior of the owner’s deck includes a private lounge

The original owners (the boat has since been listed for sale) tailored the layout to meet their different needs: she chose to have a proper dressing room and a bathtub in her large bathroom. He chose a more conventional closet and was happy with a smaller bathroom with just a shower.

While a couple can go their own separate ways getting dressed and ready, they converge again in the cabin area proper where a centrally placed bed is backed by a glass partition wall.

The stunning master suite forward benefits from a large skylight

The full-beam sleeping area is lit by a large skylight over the bed and looks out over the vast and open foredeck. The highlight of the stunning forward view is a glass-backed counter current pool that nipped a bit of headroom from some of the guest cabins below but allows the owners to have a swim at their own leisure and in complete privacy.

Thanks to a telescopic mast that disappears when not in use, the 140sqm foredeck is so completely open and unencumbered you could use it as a putting green.

The master suite has a welcoming view of the private foredeck

Aft on the upper deck is a cosy home cinema and game room and a large outdoor dining area with a bar. The yacht is ideal for warmer climates as the overall design prioritises outdoor deck spaces over larger indoor areas.

The aft section of the bridge deck can be set up for sunbathing and dining. Proceeding fore, the captain’s cabin is right by the bridge where the yacht is controlled via a Team Italia integrated I-Bridge.

The owner’s deck offers alfresco dining aft and there’s a similar area on the bridge deck above

With touchscreens that manage all nav-com equipment on board, this system can be modified to meet different yachts’ customisation requirements. In fact, the bridge aboard Cloud 9 was purpose developed to respond to the yacht’s ergonomics and technical space.

While the captain’s cabin is on the bridge deck, the rest of the crew have their quarters, mess and galley on the lower deck. All crew pathways including staircases are kept separate from guest areas to protect privacy on a model that shows what it’s like to live on Cloud 9.

www.sanlorenzoyacht.com

www.simpsonmarine.com

Note: The original article appeared in Issue 61