Best yachting role
REGINA
“Skyfall”
“When I leave, they will start killing you,” purrs the fatal beauty Sévérine to James Bond, leaving him in a Macau casino face-to-face with three thugs. “If you survive, I’ll be on the Chimera. North harbor. Berth seven.” The enticing possibilities are too tempting to resist, and in the following scenes, Bond swiftly dispatches his opponents using a suitcase filled with cash and a Komodo dragon that somehow appears in the casino. Predictably, he then proceeds to enjoy some water therapy aboard the mentioned yacht in the company of Bérénice Marlohe’s Sévérine. While the steamy shower scene was filmed in a studio for technical reasons, the yacht gets enough screen time for a trained eye to recognize the Chimera as the 56-meter schooner from Turkish shipyard Pruva Yachting—Regina (now known as Aria). The yacht looks especially stunning as it sails at full mast toward the lair of the main villain, Raoul Silva.
Built in 2011, the yacht was designed by Ayberk Apaydin and Aylin Urs. It features six luxurious cabins, accommodating up to 12 guests, and a spacious salon with large windows on the main deck. According to Pruva Yachting’s Vice President Dogukan Boyaci, the goal was to create a classic yacht made entirely from natural materials—a true sailing vessel, distinct from traditional gulets. The Turkish company spent a month preparing the yacht for filming, replacing all the soft furnishings and some of the interior upholstery. The spars and rigging were redesigned to ensure less rigging and more deck appeared in the shots. The main deck salon was transformed into Sévérine’s bedroom for the film. All this work was done in close collaboration with EON Productions. Interestingly, the filmmakers’ choice of Regina was almost accidental—someone from the production team spotted the yacht in Göcek and fell in love with its elegant lines.
Needless to say, the film’s release brought a surge of interest in chartering Aria. According to its creators, the yacht is now widely known among clients and brokers as “James Bond’s Yacht.” It is highly sought after on both sides of the Atlantic, with its sails often spotted in the ports and bays of the Aegean Sea and the British Virgin Islands.
WELLCRAFT 38 SCARAB
“Miami Vice”
Michael Mann’s iconic series about tough Miami cops, starring Don Johnson and Philip Michael Thomas, became a tribute to the flashy 1980s. Neon-lit Ocean Drive, voluminous beauties in bikinis, gold Rolex watches on tanned wrists, Colombian cartels, pastel suits over T-shirts, and endless beaches...
Set on Florida’s coast, the series naturally needed boats. Detective Sonny Crockett, living on a sailboat with his pet alligator Elvis, chased criminals either in a Ferrari or aboard the Wellcraft 38 Scarab KV speedboat. “The only way to catch that boat is on television,” claimed the boat’s advertisement. However, the dagger-like boat with turquoise, silver, and black stripes only appeared in the second season of the series. Before that, Crockett and his partner Tubbs used a Chris-Craft Stinger. By the second season, the producers decided the hero needed a sleeker, more racing-inspired boat. Additionally, Chris-Craft refused to rent their boats for filming as they did in the first season, and purchasing them didn’t fit the series’ budget.
Four Scarabs were used during filming, each with minor differences barely noticeable on screen. In the mid-1980s, such a boat cost around $55,000 in Miami. Wellcraft even released a limited Scarab Miami Vice Edition in the show’s signature colors, producing just 33 copies. An exact replica of one of the boats used in the series was gifted to Don Johnson, a passionate boating enthusiast. Johnson raced professionally in the international Offshore Powerboat Tour, piloting the 50-foot catamaran Revenge for Team USA and winning the championship title in 1988. Interestingly, Johnson’s competitors in offshore racing included fellow actors Kurt Russell and Chuck Norris. Wellcraft also developed the 43-foot Scarab Excel Don Johnson Signature Series, equipped with two Lamborghini V12 engines producing 650 HP each. In the 2006 remake of Miami Vice, Colin Farrell’s Crockett also used a high-speed offshore boat—the MTI 40.
ORCA
“Jaws”
Is it worth building a boat just to sink it 24 times in a row? Yes, if it earns you $470 million at the box office. Steven Spielberg’s legendary Jaws was filmed in 1974, long before CGI, when everything was done by hand. Alongside the mechanized sharks, a significant portion of the film’s screen time is devoted to the 42-foot motorboat Orca, captained by the seasoned sailor Quint. It is aboard this boat (and occasionally overboard) that the final battle between Sheriff Brody and the bloodthirsty predator unfolds.
Not many know that Orca had a stunt double with a rather dramatic fate. This is the boat seen in scenes where the shark attacks from the stern, simultaneously biting off part of the boat and Quint. The stand-in for Orca was a lobster boat named Warlock, found near the filming location in Marblehead, Massachusetts. The boat was repainted, its pulpit modified, the wheelhouse windows enlarged, and the entire vessel “aged” to look like a seasoned shark hunter’s craft. Filming on water was a logistical nightmare. On one occasion, Orca partially sank after taking on water. The crew spent an entire day and night pumping it out, drying the boat, and replacing damaged parts to prepare it for the next day. Realizing the boat couldn’t handle another sinking, director Joe Alves ordered a fiberglass replica—Orca II.
Orca II was designed specifically for shark attack scenes. It lacked an engine and bottom, relying on hidden barrels for buoyancy. When the boat needed to sink, a technician remotely filled the barrels with water. Once the scene was filmed, the barrels were emptied, and the boat resurfaced for another take. The replica was so accurate that one crew member once boarded it, intending to start the engine, only to realize it didn’t exist—to the amusement of those nearby. After filming wrapped, the original Orca was sold for $13,000 to a special effects engineer for fishing. Orca II, however, was abandoned on private property until the release of Jaws in 1975, which turned it into a cult relic. Fans stripped it of everything removable, forcing the owners to cut it into pieces and sell them as souvenirs. Even today, a 2"x2" square of fiberglass with a certificate of authenticity can be purchased for $125.
HUNTON 43 GAZELLE
“Sahara”
The adventure film Sahara, starring Matthew McConaughey and Steve Zahn as daring adventurers, failed at the box office despite its dynamic plot, explosions, and thrilling boat chases. However, it left a lasting impression thanks to its speedboat scenes. The producers selected the Hunton 43 Gazelle, one of the best boats on the market at the time. With its sleek exterior, spacious interior, and exceptional performance, the boat was perfect for the high-speed chase scenes filmed in the Ebro River Delta in Spain. The modern version of the Gazelle, the H43, reaches speeds of up to 67 knots. Hunton Powerboats, founded in 1979 by racing enthusiast Geoff Hunton, has a rich history of producing luxury performance powerboats. Despite financial struggles, the brand has been relaunched as Hunton Yachts Limited, with new projects currently in development.
TIMOR CHALLENGER
“The Boat That Rocked”
The film The Boat That Rocked, starring Bill Nighy as the artistic director of an illegal radio station broadcasting from international waters, is based on real events. In the 1960s, radio broadcasting in the UK was monopolized by the BBC, which maintained a conservative and proper repertoire, far removed from the rock ‘n’ roll revolution happening across the Atlantic. Among those dissatisfied with this state of affairs was Ronan O'Reilly, a promoter and close friend of George Lazenby (one of the James Bonds). After failing to get airtime for a musician he represented, Ronan decided to start his own pirate radio station. Broadcasting the best rock hits of the British Invasion from the Dutch ship Federica, Radio Caroline hit the airwaves on Easter Sunday in 1964 with the Rolling Stones’ “It’s All Over Now.”
Pirate stations like Radio Caroline became hugely popular, but they alarmed the British establishment, leading to the 1967 Marine Broadcasting Offences Act, which criminalized pirate radio and its supporters. Despite this, Radio Caroline continued to broadcast, eventually moving to land and gaining legal status. One of its ships, Mi Amigo, sank during a storm, but another, Ross Revenge, remains in use today. For the film, the production team chartered the former Dutch naval hospital ship Timor Challenger, built in 1964, to play the role of the pirate Radio Rock. To recreate the station’s interiors, the team borrowed original Radio Caroline equipment, including mixers and DJ consoles, from Ross Revenge.
CIGARETTE
“Speed Kills”
In 2017, John Travolta starred in Speed Kills, a biopic about Don Aronow, a legend in the world of high-speed boats. Aronow, a descendant of Russian Jewish immigrants, began investing his construction earnings into creating high-performance boats in the 1970s. His first major victory was a 176-mile race from Long Beach, California, to Ensenada, Mexico, aboard the 32-foot Cigarette, powered by twin Mercruiser engines. Aronow’s passion turned into a business empire, with his boats attracting clients ranging from drug lords and smugglers to VIPs like the Shah of Iran and George Bush Sr. His shipyards on 188th Street in Miami earned the nickname “Thunderboat Row.” Aronow’s life was filled with love stories, triumphs, and risks, ending dramatically when he was assassinated in a mob-style hit.
TRIMARAN
“Waterworld”
When Kevin Costner, an avid sailor, read the script for Waterworld, he secured over $100 million for the film and enlisted his friend Kevin Reynolds to direct. The hero’s high-tech trimaran was designed by Lagoon, a French specialist in racing multihulls. Two versions were built: one for high-speed shots, capable of over 30 knots, and another for close-ups, with intricate modifications for the post-apocalyptic aesthetic. Both trimarans were sold after filming. The first continues to race off the U.S. West Coast, while the second, after years in a water show, was restored and renamed Ugli Sister. Fans still recognize it as the iconic boat from Waterworld.
