This powerboat clearly isn’t a superyacht. Not even close. But, there’s one heckuva story behind it—one of the most emotionally powerful stories you’ll ever learn, in fact. Which is why we want to share it with you: Stories often move us to smile, to laugh, and even to cry, whether tears of sadness or joy. This is the story of a twentysomething (!) who borrowed £5,000 from a friend to set up what became one of the world’s most successful boatbuilding businesses. More than that, though, it’s the story of how, 50 years later, a speedboat is being built in his honor.

If you’re a longtime cruiser, you may recognize the name Robert Braithwaite. He and his brother John were the brains, and the beauty, behind Sunseeker International for the past half century. In fact, Robert started the company in England in 1969, seizing an opportunity to buy the molds to a suddenly ceased model line. Within two years, Robert had built two boats. He promptly sold them both upon their global debut at the London Boat Show in 1971.

The years that followed saw sport cruiser after sport cruiser, bearing model names like Tomahawk, Thunderhawk, Superhawk, Predator, and more. While Sunseeker entered the superyacht market about 20 years ago, it never forgot its roots. Neither did Braithwaite. He was involved in the creation of all sorts of craft, including the boat pictured here.

Which brings us to our story. This boat is the Hawk 38, the newest Sunseeker. “Hawk” is meant to harken back to the early offshore powerboats that Robert loved to build. He even had a hand in creating her, naturally. Sunseeker announced production plans for the 62-knot Hawk 38 this past March—just one day before Robert sadly passed away.

To say that Robert was a true visionary is not hyperbole. He had a profound impact on the state of recreational boating and yachting. Fittingly, his spirit will live on in the Hawk 38 in a very special way. The first 10 Hawk 38s will be part of a limited-edition series, bearing a polished stainless steel plaque at the helm. They’ll bear the series numbers RB001 to RB010, with “RB” being his initials.

Sometimes the smallest gestures stir the most in our souls, and make for the most magnificent stories.

“For saving the kingdom, what doth thou desire?” asks the queen of the knight in this popular television commercial (below), which you’ve likely seen in recent weeks. The knight has just slain a dragon to protect the kingdom, and he can have anything he wants… which, it turns out, is a perfect cup of Nespresso coffee. Between the famous stars—actress Natalie Dormer and actor George Clooney—the Peter Gabriel song “Solsbury Hill” (about a personal epiphany) playing in the background, and the amusing cross-century cultural encounters that ensue, the story of “The Quest,” as the commercial is known, is entertaining.

It’s also absurd. I mean, really: A knight from a bygone century steps through a movie screen into modern-day times and traipses through New York City until he finds the Nespresso coffee his heart desires? Then he takes the whole kingdom on a double-decker bus ride to ensure they all get a cup, too? Seriously? But that’s not the point. The point is, the story is engaging.

Nespresso weaves its story without hammering you over the head. It also doesn’t have a talking head insisting that a taste test proves its coffee beats 4 out of 5 other brands. That would have been boring, and boring isn’t memorable. Rather, Nespresso avoids taking itself too seriously—witness the billboard of George Clooney as himself drinking Nespresso come into view when George Clooney the knight emerges from the subway. It plays on a basic human emotion that those of us who love coffee (and you know who you are) will go on a quest of our own to get the flavor we enjoy most of all.

 
This is what we mean when we talk to clients like you about the art of storytelling. Storytelling isn’t simply writing down information about a yacht, or a fact about the build, or a memory from your times onboard. It involves weaving nuance and emotion into the threads of the information, or fact, or memory. This gives it color, even a life of its own. It makes it memorable, and enjoyable.

It may not be as funny as gathering an entire kingdom aboard a double-decker bus… or perhaps it will be even funnier. That’s the beauty of your story: It’s yours to enjoy, or to laugh at, as you please.

Let’s tell your story, together.

PHOTO: Vripack

“’I want to go on adventures and photograph wildlife.’ Who could pass up an opportunity for that?”

Thus begins Capt. Sean Meagher’s story of how he came to helm the motoryacht Latitude for some of the most extraordinary cruising a superyacht has ever done. It also begins his nearly seven-minute video posted below. Meagher mostly talks about Latitude’s astounding crossing of the 3,000-mile-long, notorious body of water known as the Northwest Passage—twice. The details are riveting. Equally important, though, are the quick laughs, one-sentence mentions, and snapshots, collectively reflecting the lifetime of memories he has from the trips.

The Northwest Passage connects the Atlantic and Pacific coasts via the Canadian Arctic. Nearly impassable due to ice at times, it’s not to be taken lightly. In fact, only eight yachts in history had ever crossed the Passage when Latitude’s owner, guests, Meagher, and the crew embarked on their journey in 2014. It took her nearly one-third of the year. “It was the most amazing trip I’ve ever done in my career,” Meagher says. “It was also the most intense.”

Seven minutes is like an eon in today’s digital world. Yet, you’ll find yourself so captivated by Meagher’s storytelling that, like his audience, you won’t even know how much time is passing. All you’ll want to do is keep hearing his story.

“Why do we do this?” he asks at the end, philosophically. “Why do we push ourselves to go to higher limits and in this case, higher latitudes?… We’re all explorers.” In other words, it’s all about making memories—unquestionably, unrivaled memories.

We’ll add one more reason: It’s all about sharing stories. Let’s share your story, together.