The WHY Yacht - Luxurious 58x38 Yacht from Wally Hermès

Outline
Email forward claims that a series of attached images show an innovative and luxurious new yacht of enormous proportions dubbed the WHY 58x38.

Brief Analysis
Such a yacht is currently being designed and developed in a collaboration between Monaco based yacht builder Wally and French fashion house Hermès . When built, the 58 metre long and 38 metre wide "floating island" is expected to have a price tag of $160 million. A full sized model of the WHY was displayed, at the 2010 Abu Dhabi Yacht Show. However, it is currently unclear exactly when the yacht will be completed and ready for sale.

Detailed analysis and references below example.

Enter your email address to subscribe to the Hoax-Slayer Newsletter:

Scroll down to submit comments
Last updated: 8th March 2010
First published: 8th March 2010
Article written by Brett M. Christensen
About Brett Christensen and Hoax-Slayer

Example:

Subject: FW: Now this is a boat

A famous French shipbuilder ship company and one of Monaco joined hands together to build this yacht with enormous dimensions: the WHY 58x38. (58meter long and 38 meter wide) After the first pictures of this project.

WHY Yacht 2

The yacht, an area of 3400 m2 with seating for 12 passengers and 20 crew.
WHY Yacht 3

This is a "green" yacht.

Wally et Hermès use green energy to 20 to 30% fuel savings and 40 to 50% electricity consumption on board. Therefore there are 900 m2 equipped with solar panels, producing a daily output of 500 kW.

equipment:
WHY Yacht 4

Three decks, a 25 meter pool, a spa helicopterpad a 100m2 with hammam, sauna, gym and massage room, a promenade of 130 meter, a music room, a dining room, a cinema, sun decks, suites, terraces, a lounge, a bibi . The luxury is at the rendez-vous.

The decks are connected by stairs but there is also an elevator.

The suite of the owner (ie ikke !!!!!):
WHY Yacht 5

With an area of 200m2 and completely covers the third deck. (This is the bedroom) The sea view is great and there is a private terrace of 25 meter long.

A sea of light.
WHY Yacht 6

The yacht has the shape of a horseshoe and has a roof so everything is bathed in a sea of light.

The spacious lounge.
WHY Yacht 7

On the lower deck are the common premises, such as lounge, piano bar and dining area .......

Dining Room
WHY Yacht 8

The dining room opens onto the sea view.

Suites for the guests
WHY Yacht 9

For the guests, 5 suites with sea views (on the middendek). There is also a reading room equipped. WHY Yacht 10

Detailed Analysis
This widely circulated email forward features a series of images depicting a very large and luxurious yacht dubbed the "WHY 58x38". According to the email, the yacht is the result of a collaboration between Monaco based shipbuilding company Wally and Parisian fashion house Hermès .

A project to design and build such a yacht does exist. With a projected price tag of $160 million, purchase of the yacht will be in reach of only the very wealthy. A full sized model and designs of the yachts were displayed at the 2010 Abu Dhabi Yacht Show. The exhibitor profile for WHY Yachts notes:

WHY is the result of a partnership between Hermès and Wally, to develop a new type of motor yacht redefining the art of living on the sea. Fully involved in all aspects of the conception and design of the project, the iconic Parisian house and the iconic Monte-Carlo yacht brand have led to revolutionary yachts. Mostly described as the ‘leap of imagination' in today leisure yachting, WHY 58x38 and WHY 37x24 offer unparalleled living space at sea with extraordinary volumes, comfort, independence and stability, backed up with a truly environmental friendly set of technologies, delivering a drastically reduced energy consumption for both propulsion and generation.

And a March 3 article published in The Australian notes:

LUXURY on the sea is set to get even better with a new yacht designed to resemble a floating island.

Wally Hermes Yachts unveiled the designs for its WHY craft at the Abu Dhabi Yacht Show this week.

The French fashion house Hermes teamed up with Monaco-based ship-builder Wally to create the yacht, which will cost around $160 million.

The 58x38 metre yacht is designed to offer a more peaceful lifestyle, as well as be environmentally friendly.

More details about the WHY Yacht is available on the project's website.

It should be noted, however, that an actual working version of a WHY yacht has not yet been built and it is currently unclear when the first of such vessels will be completed and ready for sale. A March 4 Reuters news report indicate that Hermès is in fact withdrawing from the project:

French luxury brand Hermes is exiting a luxury yacht joint venture with shipbuilder Wally, saying it is not experienced enough to complete the project, its chief executive told Reuters. The two partners had unveiled a full-sized model of their mega yacht, "WHY", in Monte Carlo in September. "We are currently in the phase of carrying out the project, which is technically complex and which requires on-the-spot decisions," said Hermes CEO Patrick Thomas on Thursday. "It seemed a good idea to us to have only one decision-maker and we naturally decided to hand the reins over to Wally."

Thus, the images in this email forward are genuine in the sense that they provide an idea of how the WHY Yacht should look when and if it is completed. However, they do not depict a completed, working vessel as implied in the email.

comments powered by Disqus

References:
WHY - A new art of living on the sea
Luxury at sea on 'floating island' yacht
WHY Yachts Website
Hermes to exit luxury yacht joint venture

Last updated: 8th March 2010
First published: 8th March 2010
Article written by Brett M. Christensen
About Brett Christensen and Hoax-Slayer