Cruising sailing super-yacht

flybridgelifting keelketch

In the late 1980s, a Greek yachting family found themselves moored in the Caribbean alongside S/Y Felicità AM. Observing her at rest and in use, they grasped immediately what Perini Navi was introducing to large sailing yachts. The decision was swift: they boarded the first available flight to Viareggio to commission a yacht of their own. Originally launched as Xasteria, S/Y Aquarius was delivered in 1990. More than a single commission, she became the starting point of a new generation of Perini Navi yachts and the first unit of a coherent series delivered between 1990 and 1998. A new language of space At 46 metres, Aquarius introduced a markedly evolved deck architecture. Her full-beam aft cockpit, unusually expansive for the time, redefined the relationship between sailing and outdoor living. Above, a significantly enlarged flybridge expanded the yacht’s social and operational footprint. On the main deck, the half-deck wheelhouse became a defining element. Positioned between the saloon and the dining area, it organised circulation and function with clarity, while granting the dining space a 180-degree forward view—a rare spatial quality that brought light, horizon, and navigation into daily life on board. These choices established a layout that would soon become recognisable within the Perini Navi fleet. Innovation below the waterline Aquarius also introduced a decisive technical advance below deck. The adoption of a lifting keel, integrated between the tanks within the double bottom beneath the night area, allowed a substantial expansion of owner and guest spaces without compromising performance or draught management. This solution marked another Perini Navi first