End 2018 we delivered custom sailing yacht Qilak 66, to its Belgian owners – father, son and daughter – in the port of Zeebrugge. Safety and robustness were important criteria for them. This is reflected in the design by Owen Clarke Yacht Design from England. It features a collision bulkhead in the forepeak, 10 mm ice reinforcement skin plates, an ice-girder and 5 watertight doors. The ship is built to sail with guests in high latitude areas, pole to pole as the owner puts it. The chartering will initially be done from Tromsø in Norway, from where the yacht will put into Spitsbergen, Iceland and Greenland. The ultimate goal is to sail to the Southern Hemisphere and navigate the Beagle Canal in southern Chile and Argentina.
Owner and captain Phil said on delivery: “Forty years of dreaming, four years of planning and now, after one and a half years of building, the time has finally come. This is one of the best days of my life! To do this together with my son and daughter is very special for me, and I really look forward to making fantastic trips aboard Qilak and showing guests the beautiful world in the North and far South.” The beautiful scenic photos shown here from one of those charter trips to Spitsbergen were made by www.andyexplorestheworld.com.