Nearly four decades of leadership within the superyacht world, Henk de Vries III has retired as Director of Feadship and CEO of Koninklijke De Vries Scheepsbouw. Henk will continue to serve as an Ambassador for Feadship, ensuring the brand’s legacy endures as the next generation drives innovation and excellence in yachting.

A number of leading contemporary superyacht yards can trace their origins to the early 20th Century and to previous generations, but few have the strong family association of Henk de Vries, Feadship director and CEO of Koninklijke De Vries Scheepsbouw, who has overseen the rise of the De Vries yard to the forefront of modern superyacht building. “As you enter the shipyard today, the two big houses at the front were built by my grandfather and great uncle in 1930,” he says. The shipyard’s origins go back to 1906 and Henk’s great-grandfather, a lumber trader who bought some workshops in Aalsmeer.

“In 1916 the first marina was built on the lake. My great-grandfather’s sons tried to convince him there was a market for pleasure-boat building. He said: ‘People only sail on Sundays, and that is very sinful!’ My grandfather was a lot more practical and said: “Yes, if they sail on Sunday and it breaks on Sunday, we can repair it on Sunday.’ He announced he would charge double on a Sunday, give half to the Church, and keep half for himself!” says Henk. “This practical, Christian interpretation of business is what runs the company today. Be honest, be open about making a profit, and nobody will begrudge you it.” 

Henk de Vries joined the family company in 1987 and became director/shareholder in 1996, together with cousin Tom de Vries (who will retire in Spring 2026), playing a pivotal role in expanding De Vries to its current structure of seven operating companies and over 1,200 employees. De Vries still is a completely family-owned company and owns 50% of Feadship. 

An advocate for sustainable innovation, Henk co-founded the Water Revolution Foundation in 2018, where he continues to serve as chairman of the Board. The Foundation leads the yachting sector’s efforts to reduce its ecological footprint through science-based initiatives and preserve the world’s precious oceans.

Feadship Project 824 emerges from the facility at Kaag, 9 May 2025.

Feadship reveals Project 824, a 100-metre pure custom creation that advances the boundaries of technical refinement and architectural expression.  

Designed by Jamsen, Project 824 features a diesel electric propulsion system with ABB pod drives for efficient, low vibration performance. As the second largest yacht built at the Kaag facility, following the 101.50-metre Symphony launched in 2015, Project 824 stands out through a combination of scale, innovation and detail. 

This is Madame Gu (Picture ME)

The way Feadships synthesise past experience, present demands and future-proof expectations is epitomised by the magnificent Madame GU. At launch her 99 metres was the largest superyacht ever built in The Netherlands, this sleek and quick yacht also leveraged lessons learned with Ecstasea a decade before with her giant hidden helicopter hangar. Inside and out, Madame GU’s is a floating Palace of Versailles with a high-tech twist.

Madame Gu is a superyacht built in 2013 at the Dutch Feadship yard in Makkum. She was built as Project Dream. Madame Gu is designed by Andrew Winch Designs, who were responsible for both interior and exterior, opting for contemporary details in a classical style.

Sat, 17 May 2025 | 10:45 Feadship Valor: A bold expression of adventure.

The 79.5-metre Feadship 715 superyacht Valor has been launched from the De Vries shipyard in Aalsmeer, the Netherlands.

Feadship’s latest entry into the genre of explorer yachts slipped from her building hall today in Aalsmeer, the Netherlands. At almost 80 metres, this steel hulled, high-volume yacht uses a two-meter ice belt encircling the hull above and below the waterline to achieve a Bureau Veritas Young Ice 2 notation. Built for a repeat Feadship owner, this long-range yacht can easily fulfil his dream of transiting the Northwest Passage and visiting the most inhospitable places on earth.

Feadship Valor will attend the Monaco Yacht Show in 2025 and will be competing for the World Superyacht Awards.

The 75.75-metre Feadship ONE blends modern elegance with precision engineering.

Her clean lines and generous 12.50 metre beam support a layout that balances luxury with privacy. The sun deck’s 6.5 by 4 metre infinity pool sets the tone for relaxed sophistication, complemented by panoramic salons, six serene staterooms and a full beam owner’s suite. Forward on the main deck lies a lavish VIP suite, complete with a private lounge and its own balcony. This exclusive space offers a peaceful escape, a retreat within the retreat. A beach club with spa and gym connects directly to the sea, while a vast tender garage holds everything needed for true exploration.

Feadship has announced the sale of the 75.75-metre Feadship 825 yacht One through its recently established service, Feadship Resale. One sold with Tim Vickers of Burgess introducing the buyer and Hannah Wolstenholme of Edmiston and Feadship Resale representing the seller.

Words & Pictures Feadship & Mike Edwardson

Known worldwide as an athlete and a businessman, Greg Norman has seen international success both on the golf course and in the boardroom. An icon of the sport, Australian-born Norman started golfing at the age of 15 and joined the PGA tour full-time in 1983. He went on to hold the second-longest reign as world number one and win over 90 PGA tournaments, earning him the name “Great White Shark”.

Now a successful entrepreneur, Greg is chairman and CEO of the Greg Norman Company, which owns over a dozen businesses worldwide – encompassing golf course design, global real estate award-winning wine, lifestyle apparel, and a diverse investment division. He lives with his family in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, where he continues to be involved in sporting, business and charitable endeavors. An avid yachtsman, Greg has owned multiple superyachts, including the 70m Oceanfast superyacht AUSSIE RULES, which he sold in 2004.

Having sold AUSSIE RULES once as FLORIDIAN and then for a second time as NOMAD at the Monaco Yacht Show (agreeing the deal as yacht horns blared to signal the end of the event), Ocean Independence were keen to learn more about what drives Greg and discuss his love of yachting.

Did you have a connection to the water from an early age?
I grew up in Townsville, close to the beach, and my family had a holiday hut on Magnetic Island, only eight kilometers from the shore, so the Great Barrier Reef was in my blood! Every day as a young kid, I would come home from school and we would go out fishing, surfing, snorkeling, and diving. I would ride my horse bareback along the beach, skim-board, and fish in a little boat with an 18-horsepower motor on the back. My sister and I grew up sailing a little boat called Peter Pan with the Townsville Sailing Club. I was very fortunate – I had a wonderful childhood.

And how about golf?
At age 15, we moved to Brisbane because of my dad’s work. I lost all my mates, though I was still surfing a lot at Sunshine Beach and Byron Bay. My golf really came on around the age of 16 after caddying for my mum one day. She was a four handicap, so I figured if she could do it, so could I. After that everything else got tossed aside, including watersports, cricket, rugby, and Aussie Rules.

How did you get involved in superyacht ownership?
It came out of my love of the ocean. My dad built me a boat with wood framing when I was about 11 years old, and I thought the woodworking process was amazing. I had watched my dad working under our house and was fascinated by how much work was involved in shaping, and the tools involved. This whole experience really stayed with me. The first AUSSIE RULES was a 27m sports fishing boat, built by Oceanfast in Australia. My passion for deep-sea fishing and scuba diving were the motivators behind this build: I wanted a platform that would allow me to do both. I shipped it over to the US, and quite honestly it was one of the biggest sports fishing boats there at the time – I was ahead of the game. It was the platform I wanted with the four state rooms and plenty of dive rooms. Great for the Bahamas and the Caribbean. Then I bought a Feadship, which I enjoyed, but at the same time I knew there was something missing. I needed to have another sports fishing boat to go diving and fishing. I had the idea of building the 69m AUSSIE RULES at Oceanfast, with a combination of all the things I needed. I designed it to circumnavigate Australia, which I really wanted to do. It had a flat bottom, because tidal flows in the northern part of Australia are 45 feet. I got involved with the tank testing, the stringers, all those engineering things - I was fascinated with the build process and I really studied hard. I wrote the specification book before I even went to the yard.

What did you like about the build process?
All of it! I loved understanding the engine room and the working spaces, the generators, centrifuges and water- makers, all that stuff. There was the question of where we were going to put everything. There is a refrigerated trash compactor in the transom. The boat just grew and grew to be the 230. To build something of that magnitude and sophistication in the late 1990s, we had to be innovative in our mindset. We won the Showboats Yacht of the Year award. It is very important to remember that the yacht is a testament to Oceanfast, my captain (who was present throughout the build), and all the engineers, the sparks, and the skilled people who did a phenomenal job in Australia. This yacht was ten years ahead of her time. I really couldn’t get to enjoy her as much as I wanted as I was still playing golf. If I had the yacht now, you would never see me working. I regretted the day I sold her!

Tell us about a favorite adventure on AUSSIE RULES.
I remember a month in French Polynesia with my family. We almost ran out of fuel as we got back to Bora Bora. We held like 285,000 liters and used the lot on the most amazing experience I’ve ever had: the most beautiful water, great experiences with oceanic white tips and bottlenose whales. Amazing!

How have your businesses been during the pandemic?
My businesses are global, so it’s not a one-size fits all answer. I think the world is in a confused place right now. From a geopolitical standpoint, there’s so much white noise and media bias. I have this saying: ‘The voice of the critic is far louder than the voice of the advocate’. Nowadays, one person challenging and complaining about a company can change everything. You have to be extremely sensitive to those situations and demands from customers.

Through my travels, I love seeing what happens in different countries. Take Vietnam, a communist country loving free market capitalism! It is a red-hot country - great people, great food, great cities and very safe. The Vietnamese recognise that market capitalism is as good as gold. I was asked to be the Golf Tourism Ambassador in Vietnam, and I accepted wholeheartedly. All of that being said, I love where we are at and I think we’ve done a very good job of managing the whole process with my consumer products during the pandemic. We are in a strong position. Now we are looking into expanding further into the health and wellness space and looking at new opportunities - you have to be a forward thinker. I never look to the past, always to the future.

Conversations conducted and written by By Mike Edwardson.
Published in more than thirty Luxury Publications Worldwide.

First Published with https://www.oceanindependence.com/

World renowned and celebrity endorsed, the acclaimed Mirazur Restaurant in Menton needs no introduction. Established in 2006 by Argentinian Chef Mauro Colagresco, the setting augments his innovative cuisine where clientele can soak up far-reaching views across the achingly beautiful Mediterranean. Within six months Chef Mauro gained the prestigious Galt Millau ‘Revelation of the Year’ award, shortly followed by his first Michelin star before the year was out. By 2019 this totaled an impressive three Michelin stars and Mirazur was topping the list of the World’s 50 Best Restaurants.

With a host of immaculate dishes sure to tease and tantalize, the restaurant attracts serious connoisseurs and novice gastronomes alike, and is often a highly desirable stop during a French Riviera yacht charter.

Declaring his ongoing motivation to evolve and an enduring desire to learn, Chef Mauro exclusively speaks of his drive and passion, alongside his dream to put environmental concerns at the center of his creations.

Tell us about your earliest memories of flavors and aromas.
Chef Mauro: I was lucky to have grown up in a family who believed the table is something very important for sharing. It really is part of the culture of my family. I was born in the city La Plata, but my great-grandparents lived in the countryside. My great-grandfather grew his own vegetables, and I remember the first tomatoes that I tasted, still warm from the sun. Food was a big part of summer holidays and special occasions. My great-grandfather cooked a pork saddle, marinated for a day in the famous Argentinian sauce chimichurri, which has a lot of chilies, olive oil and vinegar. Every time I smell chimichurri, I remember those wonderful days.

My family has an Italian background, so we ate a lot of pasta. I remember the ravioli made by my mother Amalia. She would prepare the filling with spinach and ricotta cheese, and the secret ingredient I learned was a little bit of pig’s brain! She would serve these raviolis with a fantastic home-made tomato sauce, made from the tomatoes growing outside. This was one of my best meals. You know, the memories of food are not just about the taste, it is the whole ambience, the pleasure of being with family and good friends.

What was your first experience of the sea?
I remember being by the Atlantic coast in Argentina, in a place called San Bernardo, where there were strong ocean currents. I remember fishing with my father there. We caught small fish with a net – it’s kinder to the fish! After a few hours, we fried our catch and the taste was very good. When I arrived in France, I tasted oysters for the first time – I was 23 years old. It was a very strong taste for me and a bit of a shock, but this experience is still in my memory and now I love oysters!

What about the food you experienced when you travelled?
I was very lucky that as a small boy I travelled a lot with my parents. In Argentina, the food cultures of the north and south are very different. We travelled to Brazil, Venezuela, Colombia, Central America. I was open to the different tastes. Argentina is a little traditional, it’s very European, so the taste is something similar to the Mediterranean diet. But when you travel to Brazil, or the north of Argentina, or Colombia, you feel a hint of Africa with a meat-based diet. My palate started to develop during these early days.

When did you consider becoming a chef?
It was by chance because I never thought about it when I was young. I first studied literature, and then economics for two years, because my father was an accountant. I tried to continue in my father’s business, but accountancy was not really my passion. A friend who had opened a restaurant asked if I could help. At the time I did not think I would carry on cooking for the rest of my life, but that is when I discovered my own passion for cooking. It was a very special restaurant because he was a personal chef to a famous musician. All the artists came to the restaurant and they played music - it was a very nice atmosphere. I decided to continue to learn to cook, and to go to Europe to discover French cuisine.

Tell me about your experience over the past 18 months.
When COVID arrived last year, I had acquired three Michelin stars and other top accolades, and then - boom - everything was black! Energy levels went down, and everything closed. The shock for the first few weeks of lockdown was very difficult to deal with. But in another sense, I was lucky – I could spend time with my family at home and in our big garden. I started to feel more relaxed, more natural. I was spending wonderful time with my sons. I was cooking at home for them, and it was a time of sharing, doing different things and being in extremely close contact with the garden and nature. I was outside working in the garden being extremely busy every day, and it was a kind of the detoxification. I found a really good balance in my life. And then many months later, we started to talk about reopening the restaurant. A difficult period for me, as I couldn’t imagine reopening as if nothing had happened.

Is this how your new menu came about?
Yes - we needed to relaunch with positivity, enthusiasm and a new, unique menu! I wasn’t feeling the energy two or three weeks before the opening, but I was working with my team in our inspiring garden space, and the idea came to me that we could follow a lunar calendar! It has four phases - for roots, leaves, flowers and fruit. I arrived at my home and said to my wife Julia, I was opening soon, and we need to make dishes focusing on roots, leaves, flowers and fruit. She thought I must be crazy to do this just a few weeks from reopening and after being awarded three Michelin stars.

I called my team together and two weeks later, we opened the restaurant with four menus! The problem with the lunar calendar is change does not happen every week or two weeks - change is every few days. So, we must change the whole menu every few days. The entire restaurant has to change everything - the dishes, the plates, the layout and decoration of the table - this is a huge amount of work. All the changes gave us a new energy. We reached our goal of serving a new, exciting and dynamic menu.

The influence of the moon is strong on our planet. The universe and the stars were created before humanity. We look at the night sky and we feel energized, and we recognize the importance of the universe and of our own planet. I think we must protect nature and become more engaged with the natural world around us.

Conversations conducted and written by By Mike Edwardson.
Published in more than thirty Luxury Publications Worldwide.

First Published with https://www.oceanindependence.com/

An experienced boat owner, Rafael Nadal has been passionate about yachting since childhood, and seizes every opportunity to be on the sea with friends and family. The idea to build a customised catamaran has been part of the superstar athlete’s plans for a while. Seduced by both the yacht’s design and living space, he joined the Sunreef Yachts’ family of owners. Shortly after taking delivery, Nadal and his family celebrated his 34th birthday onboard the 80 Sunreef, GREAT WHITE.

Tell us about Rafael as a child.
Rafael Nadal: “Since I was a kid, I fell in love with the sea. I have a lot of great childhood memories of going out on a small boat with my family and friends. We usually went out early in the morning and came back late in the afternoon - those are very nice memories. When I was young, I was super happy with this small boat that my father owned, and I never dreamt about owning any type of boat. Of course, later I wanted to have my own boat, but the main thing I had in mind was to continue doing what I did when I was a kid, just with a little bit more comfort. I still just want to share great moments with my friends and family and discover the ocean, discover beautiful places that we have here around the island and visit different countries.”

OI: What is it like to own an amazing Sunreef? Do you like the feeling of great open space?
“I’m from Mallorca, I find it difficult to imagine my life without the sea, so I’m very excited about my new boat, also because I’ve never owned a catamaran before. I’ve known Sunreef Yachts for years and my impression of the company has always been great. Since I visited their catamarans for the first time during the Cannes Show years ago, I always thought catamarans have amazing advantages because of the amount of space you have on the boat and the comfort is unbelievable. When I saw the 80, I said, ‘Wow, that’s huge!’ I went inside and loved it. I also knew it was the biggest boat I could have in the small port of my village. I asked Sunreef if they produce a power version, because today I don’t have a lot of time for sailing. Sometimes I like to go and come back on the same day or next morning to keep practicing my tennis, so when I was presented with the project 80 Power, I fell in love.”

OI: Where do you like to cruise?
“Most of the time I’m around the Balearic Islands, because at this point of my life I don’t have much time to cruise long distances. I’m super excited about spending a lot of time on the boat and I’d love to visit the whole Mediterranean like Croatia, Greece, Italy, as well as the Caribbean. Our planet is an amazing, beautiful place. There are plenty of spots I’d like to visit, and I hope I have the chance to go to some undiscovered destinations in the future. Now, I’m still playing tennis and don’t have much time, but I hope I’ll have time to go on these adventures when I’m retired.”

OI: Your favorite location?
“I’ve chartered catamarans a couple of times in the Bahamas, in the Exuma Islands, and I loved it. The Exumas are one of my favorite places, so I try to go back there when I can, and I’d love to go with GREAT WHITE, my Sunreef 80. It would be amazing to visit all these remarkable places.

I’ve been able to spend so much time with friends and family this year, so having the new boat here has been a great opportunity to stay together in a positive atmosphere. We’ve put a lot of love into the project, choosing everything,” Nadal says. “I’m super happy with the boat. It’s very special for me, my family and friends. During the tennis season, I don’t have much time for boating, but I always try to find some. When I come home, I like to take the boat out, winter or summer. When I spend, say, a week on a yacht, I always take my things and do my daily workout to protect my shoulders and knees. I try to swim a lot and I enjoy free diving very much. It’s not good for a professional sportsman to stop exercising completely, so I stay active!”

Conversations conducted and written by By Mike Edwardson.
Published in more than thirty Luxury Publications Worldwide.

First Published with https://www.oceanindependence.com/