Story highlights
- The $15 million yacht features an iPad controller, luxury interior
- Features aerodynamic 'wings' to help glide along water, cut fuel consumption
- Space-age shaped vessel could spell the future of superyacht design
With her curved 'wings,' long pointed nose, and gleaming underbelly propped high above the waves, this space-age yacht might be better suited to the sky than the sea.
Just a few square meters of the futuristic vessel -- valued at $15 million -- actually touch the surface of the water, allowing it to skim across the waves with ease.
The innovative design, along with high-tech features such as an iPad-controller, helped glossy "Adastra" win three prizes at last week's prestigious ShowBoats Design Awards in Monaco, including Best Naval Architecture.
The yachting world is clearly impressed. The honor follows a prize for the Most Innovative Design at the 2013 World Superyacht Awards earlier this year.
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So could this alien shape -- resembling something between a spaceship and the Concorde supersonic plane -- be the future of superyacht design?
"The superyacht industry is pretty traditional," designer John Shuttleworth, told CNN. "But the establishment has given a 'yes' to this idea which is a huge step forward."
"Inevitably, there has to be a trend for reducing fuel consumption -- and I think superyachts will have to look something like this in the future. Initially I don't think economics will drive it -- these are wealthy owners and cost isn't an issue. Instead, it will be from an ethical, environmental point of view."
Billionaire's toys
Billionaire shipping magnate Anton Marden is believed to be the proud owner of the plush 42.5-meter vessel, which took more than five years to design and build.
The Hong Kong-based mogul and wife Elaine will be able to remotely control their luxury yacht from up to 50 meters away, simply by sweeping their hand over an iPad.
If you want to appeal to the mega rich, such flashy gadgets -- and room to house them -- are now an essential part of superyacht architecture.
"We have recently seen an increase in new and exciting superyacht toys on the market and clients are increasingly looking for more space to house these," said co-exterior designer Orion Shuttleworth.
"Our new designs incorporate lots of space to accommodate jet skis, sailing boats, kayaks, paddle boards and other toys."
Speed machine
With just 20% of the enormous 52-ton boat submerged in water, Adastra is able to glide along the waves without the same drag as traditional superyachts, hitting up to 43 kilometers per hour.
It also means the vessel, made from a super-light glass and carbon material, consumes a lot less fuel -- around 14% of a conventional superyacht the same size.
"Adastra's longer, slender main hull has extremely low drag, which is why she is so fuel efficient," explained Orion.
"The smooth, seamless, unbroken surfaces also help to reduce weight," he said of the boat, which can travel up to 6,400 kilometers -- the same distance from London to New York -- without refueling.
In fact, the three-pronged design -- featuring a slim hull and two 'wings' -- is similar to the world's fastest sailboat Hydroptere, which broke the speed record in 2009 at 95 kilometers per hour.
Photos: Celebrity superyachts available for hire
Photos: Celebrity superyachts available for hire
Beyonce's ride – Introducing Asfar, the 30-meter superyacht used by pop princess Beyonce during a holiday in Dubai. For around $100,000 a week, you could sailing the Gulf in the very same boat.
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Photos: Celebrity superyachts available for hire
Luxury lifestyle – Many wealthy superyacht owners use their luxury vessels just a few times a year. And if you've got cash to splash, you could hire the same elegant boats used by the world's A-list celebrities, such as this one used by Beyonce.
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Photos: Celebrity superyachts available for hire
Style and Grace – If you've ever wanted to be treated like a princess on holiday, this is the superyacht for you. The iconic M/Y Grace was the vessel of choice for Princess Grace and Prince Rainier of Monaco during their honeymoon in 1956.
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Photos: Celebrity superyachts available for hire
Fit for royalty – Today, the luxurious boat has been refitted with nine staterooms and a top-deck hot tub. Guests can enjoy fine dining as the yacht winds its way around the exotic Galapagos Islands.
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Photos: Celebrity superyachts available for hire
Cruise control – Musician P. Diddy knows how to holiday in style, chartering opulent superyacht Solemates. The high-tech vessel features an iPad controller, aromatherapy shower and an award-winning on board chef.
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Photos: Celebrity superyachts available for hire
Celebrity lifestyle – The spectacular boat is not for the faint hearted, costing $686,00 per week in July and August. Then there are expenses, estimated at around $137,000.
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Photos: Celebrity superyachts available for hire
Sweet spot – If only the Honey Fitz could talk, the stories this presidential yacht could tell. Built over 80 years ago, the pretty wooden boat has served five U.S. presidents and after a recent makeover is now available for hire by the public.
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Photos: Celebrity superyachts available for hire
Camelot's captain – The Honey Fitz's most famous owner was John F. Kennedy, who would spend Easter and Christmas holidays on the yacht in Palm Springs, Florida.
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Photos: Celebrity superyachts available for hire
Branson's boat – Business magnate Richard Branson's elegant 32-meter catamaran includes four luxury suites, a roof-top diving board and scuba equipment.
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Photos: Celebrity superyachts available for hire
Underwater adventure – The state-of-the-art vessel also includes three-person mini sub, "Necker Nymph," for underwater exploration.
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Photos: Futuristic underwater hotel
Photos: Futuristic underwater hotel
Deep space – It might look like a spaceship, but this remarkable design is in fact a luxury underwater hotel.
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Photos: Futuristic underwater hotel
Surreal seascape – The brainchild of Polish designers Deep Ocean Technology (DOT), the futuristic building features saucer-like lounges connected to 21 underwater bedrooms.
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Photos: Futuristic underwater hotel
Magnificent Maldives – The sleek design, which can cost up to $50 million, is now set to be built on the remote tropical island of Kuredhivaru in the Maldives.
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Photos: Futuristic underwater hotel
Water world – "The biggest challenge is to sink the hotel," said designer Pawel Podwojewski. "In this case, we'll take care of the construction, which means the underwater hotel will be completed in Poland and shipped to Maldives."
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Photos: Futuristic underwater hotel
Sky-high opulence – The unique structure may plunge 30-meters below the water, but its luxury facilities are sky-high, including a helicopter landing pad, opulent restaurant and rooftop swimming pool.
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Photos: Futuristic underwater hotel
Room with a view – Guests can enjoy views of vibrant coral reefs and sea creatures, all from the comfort of their bedroom.
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Photos: Futuristic underwater hotel
New depths – More adventurous guests can dive straight into the water from a special airlock compartment, including its own decompression chamber.
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Photos: Futuristic underwater hotel
Stairway to heaven? – The lounges are connected by a glass tunnel. In an emergency, the doughnut-shaped underwater room can slide to the surface of the ocean.
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Photos: Futuristic underwater hotel
Next stop...Dubai? – The unique hotel may soon be built in the United Arab Emirates, with Dubai construction company Drydocks now in negotiations with designers.
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Photos: Futuristic 'flying' boat aims to smash record
Photos: Futuristic 'flying' boat aims to smash record
World's fastest sailing vessel – Skimming across the water at 95 kilometers per hour, with its giant wings stretched out over the waves, it would be easy to mistake this sleek machine for a plane preparing to take off.
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Photos: Futuristic 'flying' boat aims to smash record
World's fastest sailing vessel – In fact, the record-breaking vessel -- called Hydroptere -- is one of the fastest sailboats in the world, harnessing wind power much the same as an airplane.
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Photos: Futuristic 'flying' boat aims to smash record
World's fastest sailing vessel – The brainchild of French sailor Alain Thebault (pictured), the state-of-the-art yacht features a 28-meter mast -- roughly the same height as the Christ the Redeemer statue in Rio de Janeiro in Brazil.
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Photos: Futuristic 'flying' boat aims to smash record
World's fastest sailing vessel – Named after the Greek words for water (hydros) and wing (ptere), the innovative vessel broke the World Sailing Speed Record in 2009, notching up 95 kilometers per hour over 500 meters. That record was broken by Australian Paul Larsen's Vestas Sailrocket last year, which hit 121 kilometers per hour. But the battle for the fastest sailboat isn't over yet...
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Photos: Futuristic 'flying' boat aims to smash record
World's fastest sailing vessel – Later this month the Hydroptere team hope to break the record for the fastest crossing of the Pacific, between Los Angeles and Honolulu. Compatriot Olivier de Kersauson currently holds the record for the fastest crossing of four days and 19 hours, set in 2005. Thebault aims to beat that time by at least 24 hours.
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Photos: Futuristic 'flying' boat aims to smash record
World's fastest sailing vessel – Hydroptere features six-meter wings called "floats." Once in full flight, just 2.5 square meters of the boat are in contact with the water. "We use hydrofoil wings, which lift up with the wind," Thebault told CNN. "It's exactly the same as an airplane -- we reduce drag and increase acceleration."
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Photos: Futuristic 'flying' boat aims to smash record
World's fastest sailing vessel – Submerged beneath the wings are foils which lift the boat out of the water, giving it its speed. The streamlined seven and a half ton boat can shoot from 37 kilometers per hour to 83 kilometers per hour in just 10 seconds.
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Photos: Futuristic 'flying' boat aims to smash record
World's fastest sailing vessel – While the Hydroptere easily zips across flat water, one of the biggest challenges for the crew in the upcoming transpacific challenge will be negotiating waves around four-meters high. "Twenty years ago everyone said it's not possible to make a boat fly. I did it. Now they're saying it's not possible to make it fly over swell. I will do it again," Thebault said.
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Photos: Futuristic 'flying' boat aims to smash record
World's fastest sailing vessel – The ambitious project has been more than 25 years in the making, with 50-year-old Thebault saying it cost "20 years of passion and a few million euros." The father-of-three recently sold his home to help finance the scheme.
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Photos: Futuristic 'flying' boat aims to smash record
World's fastest sailing vessel – The Hydroptere is no stranger to record-breaking performances. In 2005 it crossed the Channel three minutes faster than Louis Blériot did in the first plane in 1909, with a time of 34 minutes. In September last year, it also broke the one mile speed record on San Francisco Bay, notching up 69 kilometers per hour.
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Photos: Futuristic 'flying' boat aims to smash record
World's fastest sailing vessel – As a youngster growing up in a children's home in France, Thebault dreamed of making a sail boat lift off. "I felt like I was living in a jail and I wanted to fly," he said, pictured here with a model boat outside the Palace of Versailles in 1985.
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Photos: Futuristic 'flying' boat aims to smash record
World's fastest sailing vessel – "I grew up in a home for children with no parents -- my father was living in Africa and my mother was in a psychiatric house," said Thebault. "I discovered freedom through windsurfing."
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Photos: Futuristic 'flying' boat aims to smash record
World's fastest sailing vessel – Despite Thebault's success, it hasn't all been smooth sailing. In 1994 Hydroptere broke the speed record at a whopping 104 kilometers per hour -- unfortunately capsizing shortly after.
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Living in luxury
Step inside the sleek Adastra and you'll find all the luxury of a five-star hotel, including five elegant bedrooms and four bathrooms.
The plush yacht also features a saloon, a lounge and an industrial kitchen. The rear deck has an open-air bar, allowing guests to gaze out at the water while they enjoy a cocktail.
At night, the glowing underbelly of the boat lights up in neon blue, giving it the impression of a futuristic spacecraft.
If the reams of recent awards are anything to go by, this yachting future could be a lot closer than you think.
