MYS 19: Winch Design’s Award-Laden Show

“We’ve been very lucky that we have had 3 new deliveries, Tis, Excellence and Aurora Borealis, and 3 previous yachts,” said Aino Grapin. For their work on 80m Abeking Excellence, Winch Design won both the award for Exterior Design and Best New Superyacht, while the 111m Lurssen yacht TIS won the Interior Design Award. The other yachts on display include 90m Lurssen Phoenix II and the 83m Amels yacht Here Comes The Sun, completing what is more than arguably the best line-up in the show.

“TIS’ interior is a French classic,” explains Ignacio, “inspiration coming from special places where the owners have been, and the exterior of the yacht is timeless.” TIS is one of the largest yachts at the show, but there is plenty more to these Winch designs than just length alone. “TIS is one of my favourites,” Aino admits, “I hope guests have been able to see the variety of creativity and different styles that Winch is able to attain, from Art Deco jazz-era on Phoenix II to the more classical TIS.”

On the topic of the 80m Excellence, which Aino quickly points out was Ignacio’s own project, the pair talked about how the design was very much driven by attention to the interests of the owner. “You can see all the glass we used, it is very much inspired by the owner,” says Ignacio. “The owner is very much about cars as well. It is very contemporary and throughout the yacht we incorporated various elements of iconic vehicles, cars, and we subtly introduced those into the interior. It’s a remarkably well-thought charter yacht and an owner’s yacht as well. It ticks all the boxes.” Aino adds her appreciation for an owner who was willing to take risks, including in the never before done 6-metre high glass windows.

Looking forward, Winch has upcoming project Cosmos in construction. At 80 metres, Cosmos will become Dutch shipyard Heesen’s flagship yacht, and is progressing well with her keel laying taking place earlier this year.

There is an unusual trend that we are set to see coming from a design house that is renowned for creating some of the world’s largest yachts. “We are looking into an unprecedented area for Winch,” reveals Ignacio, “lower length, we are focusing as well on 50 metre length.” Aino warns that we “should expect the unexpected from Winch. Everybody expects us to deliver larger size yachts, but we believe we can apply the same creativity and attention to detail and service in the 50, 60 and 70 metre segment.”