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Boat of the Week: Inside Malcolm Forbes’s Iconic ‘Highlander,’ Once the Ultimate ’80s Party Yacht

If these teak decks could talk. Paul McCartney tinkling the ivory keyboard. Elizabeth Taylor sunning herself on the top deck. Margaret Thatcher discussing world peace with Canadian Prime Minister Brian Mulroney. Harrison Ford taking a turn at the wheel.

Back in the 1980s, an invitation from Forbes magazine owner and consummate bon vivant , Malcolm Forbes, to join him aboard his beloved superyacht The Highlander was a reason for celebration.

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And Forbes was a master when it came to celebrating. His first of many Fourth of July parties aboard The Highlander , anchored off Governors Island in New York Harbor, saw the world’s greatest movers and shakers piped aboard by tartan-clad Scottish bagpipers.

<img loading="lazy" class="wp-image-1234631010 size-large" src=" https://robbreport.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/2.-Highlander-10-bridge-deck.jpg?w=1000&quot ; alt="Joanne de Guardiola’s interior design is light and sometimes whimsical, as opposed to Highlander ‘s previous formal, corporate look. - Credit: Courtesy IYC" width="1000" height="563" srcset="https://robbreport.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/2.-Highlander-10-bridge-deck.jpg 1000w, https://robbreport.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/2.-Highlander-10-bridge-deck.jpg?resize=150,84 150w, https://robbreport.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/2.-Highlander-10-bridge-deck.jpg?resize=300,169 300w, https://robbreport.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/2.-Highlander-10-bridge-deck.jpg?resize=768,432 768w, https://robbreport.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/2.-Highlander-10-bridge-deck.jpg?resize=980,551 980w, https://robbreport.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/2.-Highlander-10-bridge-deck.jpg?resize=640,360 640w, https://robbreport.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/2.-Highlander-10-bridge-deck.jpg?resize=320,180 320w, https://robbreport.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/2.-Highlander-10-bridge-deck.jpg?resize=660,371 660w, https://robbreport.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/2.-Highlander-10-bridge-deck.jpg?resize=480,270 480w, https://robbreport.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/2.-Highlander-10-bridge-deck.jpg?resize=960,540 960w, https://robbreport.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/2.-Highlander-10-bridge-deck.jpg?resize=230,129 230w, https://robbreport.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/2.-Highlander-10-bridge-deck.jpg?resize=184,103 184w, https://robbreport.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/2.-Highlander-10-bridge-deck.jpg?resize=170,96 170w, https://robbreport.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/2.-Highlander-10-bridge-deck.jpg?resize=600,338 600w, https://robbreport.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/2.-Highlander-10-bridge-deck.jpg?resize=125,70 125w, https://robbreport.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/2.-Highlander-10-bridge-deck.jpg?resize=110,62 110w, https://robbreport.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/2.-Highlander-10-bridge-deck.jpg?resize=285,160 285w, https://robbreport.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/2.-Highlander-10-bridge-deck.jpg?resize=800,450 800w" sizes="(max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px" /> Courtesy IYC

There on the yacht’s decks were the likes of Fiat boss Gianni Agnelli, Henry and Nancy Kissinger, David and Peggy Rockefeller and Brooke Astor. More than 150 Maine lobsters and 30 pounds of Scottish smoked salmon were reportedly flown in to feed the elite crowd.

During the five years Forbes owned the yacht, before his death in 1990, she traveled the globe; everywhere from then Communist China, to Bora-Bora, to Thailand, the Philippines and Alaska.

Launched in 1985, this was the last of five Forbes-owned yachts named The Highlander, after his family’s Scottish roots. But this one was unique. Designed by world-renowned designer Jon Bannenberg and built in Holland by Feadship , her dark green hull—said to be the color of dollar bills—stretched 162 feet bow to stern.

<img loading="lazy" class="wp-image-1234631066 size-large" src=" https://robbreport.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/michaelforbes.jpg?w=1000&quot ; alt="Malcolm Forbes used The Highlander , which traveled around the world, to entertain political leaders, celebrities and other billionaires. - Credit: Courtesy John Barrett/Celebrity Archaeology/The Mega Agency" width="1000" height="563" srcset="https://robbreport.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/michaelforbes.jpg 1000w, https://robbreport.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/michaelforbes.jpg?resize=150,84 150w, https://robbreport.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/michaelforbes.jpg?resize=300,169 300w, https://robbreport.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/michaelforbes.jpg?resize=768,432 768w, https://robbreport.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/michaelforbes.jpg?resize=980,551 980w, https://robbreport.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/michaelforbes.jpg?resize=640,360 640w, https://robbreport.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/michaelforbes.jpg?resize=320,180 320w, https://robbreport.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/michaelforbes.jpg?resize=660,371 660w, https://robbreport.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/michaelforbes.jpg?resize=480,270 480w, https://robbreport.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/michaelforbes.jpg?resize=960,540 960w, https://robbreport.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/michaelforbes.jpg?resize=230,129 230w, https://robbreport.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/michaelforbes.jpg?resize=184,103 184w, https://robbreport.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/michaelforbes.jpg?resize=170,96 170w, https://robbreport.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/michaelforbes.jpg?resize=600,338 600w, https://robbreport.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/michaelforbes.jpg?resize=125,70 125w, https://robbreport.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/michaelforbes.jpg?resize=110,62 110w, https://robbreport.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/michaelforbes.jpg?resize=285,160 285w, https://robbreport.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/michaelforbes.jpg?resize=800,450 800w" sizes="(max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px" /> Courtesy John Barrett/Celebrity Archaeology/The Mega Agency

“She was nicknamed ‘The Ultimate Capitalist Tool’ for good reason,” the yacht’s current owner, New York-based interior designer Joanne de Guardiola told Robb Report . “Anyone who was anyone stepped aboard at some time during the ’80s.”

De Guardiola and her husband, investment banker Roberto de Guardiola, bought The Highlander from the Forbes estate back in 2012. And just as she’d done with the couple’s previous Feadship, the classic 159-foot Audacia , de Guardiola commissioned a top-to-bottom refit, this time with Florida’s Derecktor Shipyards.

“We had no thoughts of buying another yacht; we loved Audacia. But back in 2012, we had heard The Highlander was for sale and I went to take a look. She was not in great shape, but as a huge fan of Jon Bannenberg’s designs, and knowing her amazing history, we couldn’t resist,” she said.

Courtesy Jim Raycroft

The exhaustive, two-year refit took the steel and aluminum superyacht down to the studs. The yacht was extended by 12 feet to add a swim deck and rear “garage” for water toys; the top deck was lengthened. Effectively doubling its size, and the master stateroom was moved to where the observatory used to be.

The entire interior was redesigned and refitted with more modern materials and finishes. Out went the padded leather ceilings, the somber, dark green carpets and ornate Chippendale antique chairs; in went bleached-white Anigre paneling, wide-planked dark wood flooring, and brightly colored pop art.

One especially jaw-dropping feature de Guardiola created was the stunning, open-tread marble staircase from salon to upper deck. That and the new, glass-enclosed sky lounge with its disco vibe and blue onyx floor.

<img loading="lazy" class="wp-image-1234631013 size-large" src=" https://robbreport.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/4.-Highlander-7-back-deck.jpg?w=1000&quot ; alt="The top deck nearly doubled in size during Highlander ‘s two-year refit. - Credit: Courtesy IYC" width="1000" height="562" srcset="https://robbreport.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/4.-Highlander-7-back-deck.jpg 1000w, https://robbreport.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/4.-Highlander-7-back-deck.jpg?resize=150,84 150w, https://robbreport.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/4.-Highlander-7-back-deck.jpg?resize=300,169 300w, https://robbreport.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/4.-Highlander-7-back-deck.jpg?resize=768,432 768w, https://robbreport.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/4.-Highlander-7-back-deck.jpg?resize=660,371 660w, https://robbreport.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/4.-Highlander-7-back-deck.jpg?resize=980,551 980w, https://robbreport.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/4.-Highlander-7-back-deck.jpg?resize=640,360 640w, https://robbreport.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/4.-Highlander-7-back-deck.jpg?resize=320,180 320w, https://robbreport.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/4.-Highlander-7-back-deck.jpg?resize=480,270 480w, https://robbreport.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/4.-Highlander-7-back-deck.jpg?resize=960,540 960w, https://robbreport.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/4.-Highlander-7-back-deck.jpg?resize=230,129 230w, https://robbreport.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/4.-Highlander-7-back-deck.jpg?resize=184,103 184w, https://robbreport.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/4.-Highlander-7-back-deck.jpg?resize=170,96 170w, https://robbreport.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/4.-Highlander-7-back-deck.jpg?resize=600,338 600w, https://robbreport.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/4.-Highlander-7-back-deck.jpg?resize=125,70 125w, https://robbreport.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/4.-Highlander-7-back-deck.jpg?resize=110,62 110w, https://robbreport.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/4.-Highlander-7-back-deck.jpg?resize=285,160 285w, https://robbreport.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/4.-Highlander-7-back-deck.jpg?resize=800,450 800w" sizes="(max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px" /> Courtesy IYC

“The yacht didn’t really suit a family’s needs—she was really designed for Malcolm Forbes-style corporate entertaining,” says de Guardiola. “And if you wanted to splash in the water, you had to jump over the sides. Mr. Forbes didn’t like to swim.”

But de Guardiola is quick to add that her primary focus with the refit was evolving and not compromising Jon Bannenberg’s iconic design. “That’s what attracted me to the yacht in the first place.”

Mechanical improvements included the installation of Quantum zero speed stabilizers and full rebuilds for the trusty 900 hp Detroit Diesels. They still give the yacht a top speed of 18 mph, cruising at an easy 14 mph with transatlantic capability.

<img loading="lazy" class="wp-image-1234631011 size-large" src=" https://robbreport.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/7.-Highlander-9-lounge.jpg?w=1000&quot ; alt="One of Highlander ‘s lounges. - Credit: Courtesy IYC" width="1000" height="563" srcset="https://robbreport.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/7.-Highlander-9-lounge.jpg 1000w, https://robbreport.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/7.-Highlander-9-lounge.jpg?resize=150,84 150w, https://robbreport.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/7.-Highlander-9-lounge.jpg?resize=300,169 300w, https://robbreport.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/7.-Highlander-9-lounge.jpg?resize=768,432 768w, https://robbreport.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/7.-Highlander-9-lounge.jpg?resize=980,551 980w, https://robbreport.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/7.-Highlander-9-lounge.jpg?resize=640,360 640w, https://robbreport.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/7.-Highlander-9-lounge.jpg?resize=320,180 320w, https://robbreport.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/7.-Highlander-9-lounge.jpg?resize=660,371 660w, https://robbreport.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/7.-Highlander-9-lounge.jpg?resize=480,270 480w, https://robbreport.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/7.-Highlander-9-lounge.jpg?resize=960,540 960w, https://robbreport.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/7.-Highlander-9-lounge.jpg?resize=230,129 230w, https://robbreport.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/7.-Highlander-9-lounge.jpg?resize=184,103 184w, https://robbreport.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/7.-Highlander-9-lounge.jpg?resize=170,96 170w, https://robbreport.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/7.-Highlander-9-lounge.jpg?resize=600,338 600w, https://robbreport.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/7.-Highlander-9-lounge.jpg?resize=125,70 125w, https://robbreport.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/7.-Highlander-9-lounge.jpg?resize=110,62 110w, https://robbreport.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/7.-Highlander-9-lounge.jpg?resize=285,160 285w, https://robbreport.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/7.-Highlander-9-lounge.jpg?resize=800,450 800w" sizes="(max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px" /> Courtesy IYC

With kids in mind, Highlander —de Guardiola dropped the “the”—is brimming with water toys. Everything from Waverunners, Seabobs, banana floats and kayaks, to Malcolm Forbes’ much-loved, Ferrari-red 22-foot Donzi speedboat. Sadly, his other favorite, a custom-built Cigarette Racing powerboat, is no more. After being fully restored during the refit, the boat caught fire while Highlander was anchored off the Amalfi Coast in Italy.

“My husband was just heading off with our daughter and friends when the fire broke out,” de Guardiola says. “Everyone ended up in the water but were okay. It was one cool boat. It ran at over 60 mph.”

Since the refit, the de Guardiolas have taken friends and family all around the Mediterranean, hanging out at the Monaco Grand Prix, Cannes Film Festival, and hitting most of the Greek islands. Winters were in the Caribbean. Typically, they spent eight to 10 weeks a year aboard.

<img loading="lazy" class="wp-image-1234631068 size-large" src=" https://robbreport.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/Highlander14HarrisonFord.jpg?w=1000&quot ; alt="A young Harrison Ford, taking the wheel of Highlander , was one of many celebrity guests in the 1980s. - Credit: Courtesy The Highlander Archive" width="1000" height="563" srcset="https://robbreport.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/Highlander14HarrisonFord.jpg 1000w, https://robbreport.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/Highlander14HarrisonFord.jpg?resize=150,84 150w, https://robbreport.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/Highlander14HarrisonFord.jpg?resize=300,169 300w, https://robbreport.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/Highlander14HarrisonFord.jpg?resize=768,432 768w, https://robbreport.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/Highlander14HarrisonFord.jpg?resize=980,551 980w, https://robbreport.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/Highlander14HarrisonFord.jpg?resize=640,360 640w, https://robbreport.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/Highlander14HarrisonFord.jpg?resize=320,180 320w, https://robbreport.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/Highlander14HarrisonFord.jpg?resize=660,371 660w, https://robbreport.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/Highlander14HarrisonFord.jpg?resize=480,270 480w, https://robbreport.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/Highlander14HarrisonFord.jpg?resize=960,540 960w, https://robbreport.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/Highlander14HarrisonFord.jpg?resize=230,129 230w, https://robbreport.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/Highlander14HarrisonFord.jpg?resize=184,103 184w, https://robbreport.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/Highlander14HarrisonFord.jpg?resize=170,96 170w, https://robbreport.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/Highlander14HarrisonFord.jpg?resize=600,338 600w, https://robbreport.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/Highlander14HarrisonFord.jpg?resize=125,70 125w, https://robbreport.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/Highlander14HarrisonFord.jpg?resize=110,62 110w, https://robbreport.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/Highlander14HarrisonFord.jpg?resize=285,160 285w, https://robbreport.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/Highlander14HarrisonFord.jpg?resize=800,450 800w" sizes="(max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px" /> Courtesy The Highlander Archive

So why the decision to sell? De Guardiola says she’s looking for her next project: “As with my interior design work, I love the intellectual challenge of a makeover. It’s also time. We feel we’ve been good custodians. Now someone else should enjoy her.”

Highlande r is listed with IYC in Fort Lauderdale for $8.5 million.

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The Highlander

About The Highlander

Arguably the most famous and most photographed Feadship of all time, Malcolm Forbes’s fifth yacht called The Highlander broke the mould. Although Azteca was the styling nexus, The Highlander was bigger and more extreme. Her winglike, dark green superstructure and dramatic glass upper deck providing endless views became a Manhattan icon. The boat was built to wow, court and entertain, and Bannenberg’s interior was all about flow whether there were six or sixty guests. Among the special features were the toy garage for Harley-Davidson motorcycles and the helipad, still a rarity in those days, that straddles the observation deck.

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Family updates Highlander, a former Malcolm Forbes yacht

As an interior designer who loves yachting, Joanne de Guardiola bought Malcolm Forbes’ last yacht, Highlander, took it down to the studs, and remade his corporate-entertaining yacht into something she and her husband, Roberto, could enjoy with family and friends.

“I am a big fan of Jon Bannenberg, its designer, and it’s a Feadship, which are the best of the best. Bannenberg only designed three or four Feadships,” Joanne de Guardiola says.

She and husband were acquainted with the Forbes family, and they knew the yacht was available.

“It was one of those things,” de Guardiola says. “We took a look at it, and ended up buying it. She’s a great boat, and I loved her.”

Roberto grew up on the water in Havana, and boating has always been part of his life. Not so Joanne; she grew up in Michigan.

“Roberto and I chartered a few times, and I fell in love with boats. About a dozen years ago, we bought our first Feadship, Audacia,” she says.

“With kids 8, 10, or 12, they are not on their phones or computers all the time, and doing water sports with them is fun. We have this inflatable gym that you can get flipped off of, banana floats, kayaks, paddleboards, Seabobs. Everyone has a blast. Being on the water is phenomenal for families.”

They keep their yacht in the Mediterranean and the Caribbean, depending on the season, and they spend about 10 weeks a year on it. Some of their favorite trips have been to Ponza Island, Istanbul, Greece, Croatia and Venice. The Palm Beachers now are planning a trip to Capri, and they are hoping to go to the Galapagos Islands soon.

Highlander, launched in 1986, was legendary, de Guardiola says.

“People often come up and talk to our crew because they have fond memories of being on board with Malcolm.”

When preparing to renovate and redecorate, de Guardiola studied Bannenberg’s original designs; she looked at the yacht’s bones, and let them lead her.

“I cleaned up exterior lines, and I took off the teak handrails. It broke my heart, but that change makes the boat look younger.” She repainted the yacht a slightly lighter shade of green, removed striping and extended sidewalls where necessary.

She also extended the top deck forward, doubling its size, and added “brows” for a finished look and to provide shade.

She moved the satellites to the stacks, which made room for a custom Jacuzzi with fountains that change color for a fun water feature.

Secured aft are Forbes’ Cigarette boat and Donzi, which de Guardiola also renovated. The space between them, where Forbes used to keep his motorcycles, now has a big sun pad.

Water accessible

De Guardiola extended the lower deck, making it more accessible to the water.

“Malcolm didn’t swim, and that’s why I designed a swim platform like floating stairs at the back. We can sit on it, or raise it up and use it for diving, or we can lower it down in rough waters for swimming. We can also use it as a passerelle.”

Throughout, she rearranged the interiors to make them work for her family’s lifestyle.

“This (162-foot) boat (with seven cabins as well as room for 11 crew) has a lot of interior space, and I actually cut a room out,” she says.

On the main deck, the salon and media room now flow together. De Guardiola removed padding from the ceilings and walls, replacing it with bleached-white anigre paneling, European walnut trim and bronze ceiling squares. She put in a wide-plank dark-oak floor, and she changed window boxes to match the shape of the windows. Also, she designed a stunning floating stairway in Brazilian granite, creating a very dramatic focal point.

Contemporary furniture, covered in practical indoor-outdoor Perennials textiles from David Sutherland, is functional as well as beautiful. For example, in the media room, furniture includes bronze and parchment tables by Holly Hunt, a Le Corbusier chaise, and a custom bronze bench.

Exotic anigre wood covers the walls in the master stateroom, which is located on the main deck forward, where de Guardiola designed a floating bed in custom woods. “We raised it up off the floor, so that when sitting on the bed, we can look out the surround windows. This room used to be the observatory and we decided to moved the master to this location.” The stateroom also includes closets, his and her marble bathrooms, and, on this deck are Roberto’s office and the galley.

On the bridge deck, a custom dining table can seat two or it can be extended to seat 18 people. Placed around it are Philippe Starck aluminum and teak chairs designed for David Sutherland. The sky lounge, with a disco vibe, is completely glass, with a blue onyx floor and a custom bar.

“It’s a greenhouse room, with the windows coming up around, so you can sit in there when anchored off of Monaco, for example, and you see the twinkling skyline. It’s fantastic.”

On a boat, you get to be inventive on how to use space on different ways, she says.

“Bannenberg played with angles and circles, and was very innovative. I am really proud that I was able to update the boat, and you can’t tell where the boat has been altered. It was a complicated process.”

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Highlander is no ordinary superyacht. Here’s why…

From housing its own pop art collection to hosting a wealth of hollywood’s finest stars, this is what sets highlander apart from the rest.

Words: Gentleman's Journal

In association with:

There are yachts on the water that turn heads with their beautiful and meticulously-designed looks. And then there are others, still sumptuous to behold, which also prick ears – with tales of past guests, iconic voyages and histories unrivalled. Highlander is the latter, a boat with such secrets and individuality that it has become a character in of itself.

With star-studded stories and style in abundance, Highlander was first built by Feadship De Vries for publishing magnate Malcolm Forbes – yes, that Forbes – in order for him to court and entertain a wealth of Hollywood’s finest stars – from Elizabeth Taylor and Harrison Ford to Robert De Niro – on board. It’s a enviable list of guests, one even to challenge Christina O ‘s roster of Marilyn Monroe, Winston Churchill and Jackie Kennedy. And, fittingly as Highlander’s deck has been walked by some of the biggest media stars and icons of the past century, inside Highlander boasts a varied and expansive pop art collection.

And it wasn’t just film stars who walked up the gang plank. Politicians from Ronald Reagan to Margaret Thatcher, and even royalty – in the form of HRH Prince Charles – took to Highlander for jaunts across the water along the coast of the South US. Needless to say, if her decks could talk, they’d likely be served a super-injunction.

"With star-studded stories and style in abundance, Highlander was first built for publishing great Malcolm Forbes..."

Recently, Highlander was purchased by new owners after a comprehensive refit at Derecktor in Florida in 2014. Today, the interior of the motor yacht has been completely restyled, with the Jon Bannenberg-designed exterior staying much the same save for a hull lengthening. The iconic exterior still turns heads in any port, with the elegant dark hull striking against the water. And, along with major mechanical updates, a plush new paint job has completed the new look.

Inside, the yacht has accommodation available for 12 charter guests in seven staterooms – all attended by 11 crew members. But the bedrooms are unlikely to see much of your time. And why would they, when the vessel is also luxuriously equipped with a multi-coloured Jacuzzi, disco lounge, media room, and large swimming platform. And, of course, a massage room for when everything gets a little much.

In the water, she can reach a cruising speed of 12 knots. But, when you’re taking things more leisurely, and want to play with the toys and tenders, there’s a wealth of fun to be had. Seabobs, waverunners and water skis are just the tip of the iceberg, with kayaks, paddle boards, snorkelling gear and an inflatable gym ready to be used as well.

A particular favourite to be chartered for the Cannes film festival, this is among the most stylish of superyachts. A big bold interior is perfect for partying, and – as history can attest to – Highlander’s very high standards have been enough to keep some of the biggest stars in show business entertained. And really, if it’s good enough for De Niro, it’s good enough for you…

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LEGENDARY YACHT OF THE FORBES'S PUBLISHING MOGUL!

   The 'Highlander' - previously named 'The Highlander' is the famous and stunning 162.24ft /49.45m custom motor yacht. Originally built by the Royal Dutch Feadship dockyard in 1986 and owned by billionaire magnate Malcolm Forbes she was one of the most iconic yachts in the world, the center of attention of the press and the public during the 1980’s and 1990’s. In her's 30 year history, the Highlander has been hosted hundreds of personalities, from Ronald Reagan, Margaret Thatcher and Prince Charles of England, to Robert de Niro, Mick Jagger, Liz Taylor, Paul McCartney and Chris Brown, among others.

IMAGE GALLERY

SPECIFICATIONS

According to the owner’s special request, Highlander   imposing steel hull was painted in a shade of green known as “dollar green”, and was long seen as one of the best-known symbols of big business, cruising the East Coast of the US as a corporate yacht for Forbes magazine. Thank to that fact she represents one of the most instantly recognizable superyachts around the world. Superyacht HIGHLANDER received a comprehensive refit by Derecktor shipyard in 2014, fully respecting the groundbreaking exterior lines of her legendary designer Jon Bannenberg. 

Legend has it that Malcolm Forbes, already a three-time Feadship owner, was visiting the yard in Holland to sign the contract for a new yacht when he saw «Azteca» one of several revolutionary Bannenberg designed projects then being built at Feadship. Forbes took one look and exclaimed   “Oh my God, we’ll have to paint mine green!”

He promptly engaged Bannenberg to create the next The Highlander and the result was spectacular for yacht's industry. The Highlander  was built with a steel hull to suit the need for long range cruising to then-communist China, Alaska and Bora Bora. Her interior layout incorporated large reception and conference areas, enabling Forbes to entertain countless dignitaries, heads of state and business leaders in unrivalled style. 

The Highlander remained in the Forbes family for over a quarter of a century. When she was finally offered for sale, it was clear that Bannenberg’s designs had lost none of their attraction. “We are very big fans of Feadship,” explain the owners  Joanne and Roberto de Guardiola. "The Highlander had Feadship’s outstanding quality and Jon Bannenberg’s iconic profile. The Feadship and Bannenberg mix was irresistible.”

The enormous refit project was made by American shipyard Derecktor of Florida and included upgrading and modernising all the mechanics while extending the stern by 12 feet to create a contemporary transom and accommodate a lifting transformer platform. The top deck has also been extended forward for al fresco relaxation. The upper terrace was enlarged to provide more space for the solarium and relaxation area, and the old stately classic style that decorated the interior was replaced with more contemporary furnishings, colors and textures, including light woods like Wenge. 

The redesigned interior allows comfortable accommodation for 12 guests, a more appropriate arrangement for family use. Towards the stern, you’ll find the master cabin with a double en suite bathroom. Six more guest cabins were built, also with en suite bathrooms (1 VIP suite, 2 doubles, 2 Twins, 3 Pullmans and a Bunk Cabin).

However, the new provision goes beyond mere aesthetics. The ship is also equipped with the latest technology in every room. This includes a new Quantum Zero-Speed stabilization system, new command post, new video and audio systems in every corner of the vessel, as well as LED lighting and wireless internet. Even the tender custom-made for Forbes by Cigarette Racing Team was refurbished.

The updated version also offers all the amenities of a modern yacht; it has several Jacuzzis, helipad, disco lounge, cinema, gym and a hinged gangway in the aft with access to the water. 

She is also capable of carrying up to 11 crew onboard to ensure a relaxed luxury yacht experience.

HIGHLANDER'S impressive leisure and entertainment facilities make her the ideal charter yacht for socialising and entertaining with family and friends.  

She’s also a favourite to charter for the cannes film festival..

winter season:

Low Rate: 150,000 $  / per week *

High rate: 190,000 $  / per week*, summer season:, low rate: 150,000 €  / per week*, high rate: 190,000 €  / per week*.

* + VAT & APA

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Victor Muller on the refit of his classic superyacht The Highlander

Refitting his classic 1967 Feadship superyacht The Highlander with a celebrated history was a testing experience for Victor Muller. The Dutch sports-car magnate tells Stewart Campbell and Sacha Bonsor what he learnt in the process.

Profound epiphanies don’t often happen in garages in southern Holland, but when superyacht owner Victor Muller visited an oily workshop in 1983, the occasion was formative. “Sonny,” said an 80-year-old mechanic with a funny accent, “let me tell you something about the human eye… it only notices imperfection.”

Muller was a 24-year-old lawyer and had taken his car in to get the bumpers chromed. “What do you see?” the man asked. Nothing, thought Muller. “Look closer, look properly,” the man pressed.

And then he saw it, a tiny imperfection in the metalwork. “He was right,” Muller says over tea in London’s Connaught Hotel. “That blemish became all I could see. If you walk into a room and everything is fine but there’s a socket hanging from the wall, the socket’s the only thing you remember. You have to have a design so flowing that your eye doesn’t stop. That’s what I learned from an 80-year-old chromer in Holland.”

That brief moment informed everything the 54-year-old Dutch millionaire went on to accomplish: running the biggest tugboat fleet in the world, starting supercar company Spyker and amassing an enviable collection of classic cars. All of the excruciating adherence to detail, design and quality has been done with a nod to that old man, says Muller, and nowhere is this more apparent than in his latest project: the refitting of classic 1967 Feadship The Highlander .

This 37 metre icon of Dutch boatbuilding has been impressively redesigned by Muller in the US, creating something sublimely seamless. “A good design is only pleasing to the eye when it’s consistent everywhere, with one design language throughout the yacht,” he says. “I have a hard time reconciling how, on some boats, you walk from a Louis XVI room into an art deco space and on to modern realism. With my yacht, I tried to make it as consistent as possible. It’s very smooth, very calm. Nothing is flashy. It takes three things to build a brand, or a boat: consistency, consistency, consistency.”

It’s clear within minutes of meeting Muller that he’s a fanatic; whether it’s cars, boats or helicopters (he has recently learnt to fly one), his interest and enthusiasm for everything he does is extreme. “I could say car before I could say mummy,” he says, proudly. “She’s still a little upset about that!”

At the height of his auto obsession, around 1997, he owned 50 classic cars, but that’s now down to a slightly more manageable 18. Following a series of Lancias in the 1970s, he bought his first true sports car, a Maserati, in 1983, after borrowing money from his grandmother.

This infatuation wasn’t inherited – his dad had “terrible taste” in cars, a point Muller could not let go even after his father’s death: “In my eulogy, I reproached him for driving a Ford Cortina. And a big, ugly Opal Kapitan. Oh, God, and then he started buying American cars. When I was 12, I forced him out of American cars because it was an embarrassment. So he bought a Volvo 244 GLE, still a tank but at least it was a decent car. Then he started buying BMW 7 Series. This is when our relationship improved.”

"It takes three things to build a brand, or a boat: consistency, consistency, consistency."

Victor Muller

For Muller, this gradual move up the car-quality league table reached its apotheosis in 1997 when, having left law to successfully revive a number of businesses, he bought classic Dutch car-maker Spyker. In the early 20th century, this manufacturer was a big deal, building state coaches, planes and rally cars that took part in Victorianesque adventures from “Peking to Paris”, but it ceased trading in 1925.

Seventy-five years later the brand was back, with Muller at the helm, displaying the C8 Spyker concept at the Birmingham Motor Show. “I was buying new Astons and Ferraris and they were so poorly built in the 1990s. And I thought, as a classic car collector, that there must be a way to bring back the craftsmanship of the golden age of car manufacturing, from, say, 1925 to 1955. Hand built, nothing but pure materials, no plastics, no cheap shit. I thought that must be possible, so that’s what I did,” he says.

Every single Spyker starts life in Muller’s head; he just draws what he loves. “I’m very visual, I know exactly what the car’s going to look like, and I have a young guy who translates it into 3D drawings. The design of our latest car, the Venator, we did in 22 days from a drawing I did on a napkin in China.”

Muller has no formal training in design, and attributes his love of aesthetics to his upbringing. He grew up in comparative wealth, largely thanks to his father’s successful accounting firm (eventually sold to Ernst & Young) and the money was spent educating him and his sister on beauty. They were regularly taken to Italy, for example, where Victor soaked up la dolce vita: “I’m so old I actually know what that means. This was the time of (legendary Italian film director Federico) Fellini, so yeah, I love that era. I love the cars and boats made then.”

But it was his grandmother who he really has to thank. “She was like a little queen,” he recalls. “She really taught us to appreciate quality.”

It’s more than money he’s got his father to thank for, however. As a child the two of them would go birdwatching on the Dutch coast near a town called IJmuiden; the birds were interesting, he recalls, but the tugboats plying the canal between the coast and Amsterdam were fascinating: “I would see the boats come in and out and I was intrigued.”

They were owned by a company called Wijsmuller, which Muller, at just 32, would later buy and turn into the biggest tugboat operator in the world. “I sold it off to Maersk in 2001. It was my single biggest deal,” he says.

Money from the deal was ploughed into Spyker, which in turn allowed Muller to think about boats: before The Highlander , which he keeps in the US, he bought a Riva Aquariva and a nine-metre sloop that he keeps at his home in Mallorca. He previously owned a wooden Aquarama too, but got sick of having to take her in and out of the water to keep her from falling apart.

It was only when Muller was leafing through a copy of Boat International in 2007 on the island of Capri that he seriously considered buying a superyacht. “I saw an ad for a Feadship and started looking into it. I thought, heritage is very important,  I want to buy the one with  the best heritage.”

The search stopped when Muller saw The Highlander , then called Avante , nestled behind a house on the Intracoastal Waterway in Boca Raton, Florida.

The 36 metre classic scored on all counts: it was from an era when design briefs might as well have read “Elegant”; it had an enviable past, having been owned by legendary publisher Malcolm Forbes and, perhaps most importantly, it was a Feadship. “Everyone makes beautiful yachts,” explains Muller, “but there’s only one Feadship. If you buy a Feadship, you’re saying ‘I like quality and I don’t care what it costs.’”

In the 40-odd years of the yacht’s life to that point, it had hosted presidents, captains of industry and celebrities and now it was all Muller’s. “And it was still completely intact,” Muller adds. “Forty years of being in the harshest environment on the globe and externally there was nothing wrong with it.” The internals were a different matter, however. “It looked like a cheap whorehouse,” he remembers. “There was a fire on board in 1980 and the interior had been redone for a Californian owner. It was all white leather and brass. And Plexiglas. It was the worst of 1980 – nauseating – so I knew the first thing I had to do was rip the interior out.”

The Highlander spent three years at the superyacht refit yard in Fort Lauderdale, and Muller freely admits that he got it all wrong. “I was a novice and I made every classic mistake: I wasted money on the wrong things, I had to do lots of things twice. With hindsight I should have picked the yacht up and brought it back to Feadship. But I thought  at the time that I couldn’t afford it: penny-wise, pound-foolish.”

Despite often contemplating canning the whole project, slowly the yacht came together and today it stands as a testament to Muller’s exacting eye and love of detail. He went big on teak and nickel (“because it’s so much more beautiful than chrome”) and chose white and orange for the main colours; white because it contrasts beautifully with the teak, and orange “for Holland”.

What he’s created is the ultimate family getaway. Sadly his father died before the yacht was finished but his mother, still going strong at 85, loves it. “The reason for buying the yacht was because my family is so important. The yacht offers a unique place to have everyone together in a confined but spacious area. Nobody is sitting too close together, and everyone can do their own thing. But you are together. And that’s invaluable,” Muller says.

Does his family appreciate the blood, sweat and tears he has poured into the detail? The seamlessness? The aesthetic? The design? Muller pauses. “You can learn quality,” he says, slowly. “It’s handed down from generation to generation. My children appreciate it, because I tell them, ‘This is crap, and that is good.’ If you see it enough times you will recognise it yourself, if you’re open to it.”

That 80-year-old chromer would approve.

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Malcolm Forbes` Iconic Yacht The Highlander Now Available for Charter

By Brody Patterson

Updated on August 31, 2017

One of the most iconic ships in the world of business, the superyacht Highlander is, for the first time, available for charter.

The ship was built in 1986 for millionaire publisher and businessman Malcolm Forbes, a man known for his extravagant lifestyle and lavish parties. Among the many illustrious guests Forbes entertained on this stunning vessel were Elizabeth Taylor (who was a close friend of his), Prince Charles, Margaret Thatcher, Ronald Reagan, Robert de Niro, Harrison Ford, Paul McCartney, and Mick Jagger.

The yacht is now owned by American financier Roberto de Guardiola, who purchased it in 2012 and had it undergo a comprehensive overhaul, a process which included interior changes, lengthening of the hull, major mechanical revamp, and a full paint job. The ship is now 162-feet long and has a cruising speed of 13 knots. Up to twelve guests can be accommodated in its six staterooms, with adequate spaces for the eleven crew members left as well.

The Highlander, which is currently based in the Mediterranean but is set to move to the Caribbean later this year, is available for charter through superyacht broker Edmiston.

About Brody Patterson

Brody has worked as a full time staff writer for Luxatic for over five years, covering luxury news, product releases and in-depth reviews, and specializing in verticals on the website alongside the tech & leisure section, as well as men's fashion, watches and travel. Learn more about Luxatic's Editorial Process .

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No One Needs a Superyacht, but They Keep Selling Them

Billionaires won’t stop buying superyachts. You can even thank Donald Trump .

“Joy,” at sea.  Credit... Bannenberg and Rowell

Supported by

By Peter Wilson

• Oct. 8, 2019

L ONDON — The end of summer is a nervous time for superyacht designers, and not because they fear that the owners of their latest creations may be disappointed with the first outings in the Mediterranean.

The worry is about the designers’ next vessels, because this is the time of year when clients whose boats are still in production come back from holidays with a wish list of new features — usually, based on what they saw on their friends’ yachts or at the Monaco Yacht Show , which ended Sept. 28.

“Right now we are quite far down the line in completing a big yacht in northern Europe for one client who has just spent time on a friend’s boat, which is not necessarily helpful,” said Dickie Bannenberg, the head of one of the world’s best-known superyacht design houses, Bannenberg & Rowell . He was in his London studio, an airy two-story space lined with sleek models of its creations.

“The delivery date is in the first half of next year, and that is sooner than it might seem,” Mr. Bannenberg said. “It’s fine when it’s superficial — let’s say they liked the plates or towels on their friend’s yacht — but if you’re not careful it can verge on, ‘Oh, my friend’s gym was like this, can we have something similar?’ or, ‘I would really like to add a submersible vessel.’”

The complex production schedules of these vessels mean shipyards will resist significant changes. “Re-engineering or rebuilding is going to cost a lot of money,” Mr. Bannenberg, 58, said.

Protecting the Picassos

That end-of-summer tension illustrates some inescapable truths about life dealing in the world’s most expensive consumer products and ultimate discretionary purchases. One vessel alone can cost $5 million to $500 million, with annual operating costs of perhaps 10 percent of that.

This is an industry in which problems include protecting the owner’s Picasso collection from salt air, clumsy crew members and faulty sprinklers.

Or maybe you have to decide whether to build one 330-foot vessel (100 meters) or join a trend of the last few years by opting for a “smaller” 200-foot yacht with a 165-foot support vessel to carry a submarine, helicopter, speedboats and other toys. Aviva, a 320-foot yacht launched in 2017, was the first in the world to include a full-size indoor paddle tennis court.

William Mathieson, the editorial and intelligence director of the Superyacht Group, the leading analyst of the industry, said there are about 3,500 active vessels in the world that meet the loose definition of a superyacht by measuring more than 100 feet; just 55 top 330 feet.

Mr. Bannenberg’s father, Jon Bannenberg, who died in 2002, used to say that nobody in the world needs a superyacht, so it was the designer’s task to make them want one.

Jon, a charismatic Australian, is widely credited with inventing the profession of superyacht designer. In the 1960s, he brought together interior and exterior design skills with an understanding of marine engineering to replace what had previously been relatively simple structures sitting on top of hulls designed by naval architects.

He had waves of clients, starting with Greek shipping tycoons in the 1960s. Then came Middle Eastern royals in the 1970s, German and American industrialists in the 1980s, tech titans from the United States in the 1990s and wealthy Russians.

After Jon’s death, Dickie, who had worked as his father’s project manager for 15 years, brought in Simon Rowell, a hotel designer, as the studio’s creative director.

A short walk from Wandsworth Bridge on the River Thames, the studio holds 15 people, who manipulate detailed computer images of planned vessels, pore over design drawings and phone Italy to order marble fittings.

There are usually six or seven projects at various stages of a construction process that takes four to five years, and that often extends to designing stationery and a logo for crew uniforms, as well as commissioning sculptures to go on board. Jon Bannenberg liked to design the cutlery and crockery, flower vases, the light fittings and door handles.

He ran his practice like a Renaissance artist, training a stream of apprentices who now run some of the world’s top studios, and relying on wealthy patrons for commissions.

Those patrons included J. Paul Getty, Malcolm Forbes and Larry Ellison. Projects were discussed with Fidel Castro and the Shah of Iran that never made it to the water.

Almost inevitably, many people rich enough to spend tens or hundreds of millions of dollars on a yacht have proved to be controversial. The Australian billionaire Alan Bond was a Bannenberg customer before being jailed for fraud, and so was the Saudi arms dealer Adnan Khashoggi , who commissioned a 280-foot ship called Nabila. Donald Trump bought that one (and renamed it Trump Princess) in 1987 for a reported $30 million, with a running cost of $2.5 million a year, justifying the expenditure by saying it was “the ultimate toy” and that he hoped it would make other yacht owners feel inferior.

A string of Bannenberg yachts were built for the British businessman Gerald Ronson, who also did jail time for fraud, and the American magnate Bennett LeBow was forced to repay millions of dollars to companies he controlled for loans that were spent on his yachts.

The body of Robert Maxwell, the publisher and fraudster, was found floating off the back of his Bannenberg yacht, the Lady Ghislaine, which was named after his daughter who is now in the headlines over her involvement with Jeffrey Epstein, the financier charged with child sex trafficking.

Mr. Epstein, who died in jail in August, represented the retail tycoon Leslie Wexner during the construction of his 300-foot yacht Limitless, another Jon Bannenberg project.

Five imposing models of Limitless still sit on the walls of the studio. Dickie Bannenberg said he never dealt with Mr. Epstein, though Ms. Maxwell “may have come to a design meeting but I have never met her.”

“It’s a tricky one,” Mr. Bannenberg said. “Legally in any industry you have a requirement to know as best you can the source of your client’s money, so in our contracts our lawyers require us to find the beneficial owner behind the project.”

“The shipyard asks the same questions,” he said. “They won’t just build for Mysterious Corporation of Grand Cayman, they need to know who is behind it.” The ownership of some yachts is a tight secret, with the owner’s passion for privacy and security often extending to teams of private guards in every port.

Adam Ramlugon, a lawyer who specializes in superyachts, said the legal obligations to avoid “dirty money” fall on regulated professions rather than on designers and builders themselves.

“It is the designer’s bank and lawyers who are required to know the source of funds, but any company should be very careful because their bank might decide to stop acting for them if they don’t know the source of some money sloshing around in their bank account,” Mr. Ramlugon said.

Mr. Bannenberg said that “in real life, there is a limit to what we can do.”

He recalled being hired by a Moscow shipyard to do design work for a client whom he and Mr. Rowell met “once or twice including one memorably uncomfortable meeting” in a Majorca villa.

One sign that something was odd was that the meeting was held in what felt like a “safe room.” Mr. Bannenberg said that “a much bigger sign came three years later.”

“After the yacht had been delivered, Simon was a bit terrified to notice a newspaper photo of the client being led away in handcuffs by two Spanish police officers wearing balaclavas. He was allegedly the head of an organized crime gang. How could we know that?”

Mr. Rowell, 50, said that “once or twice” the firm has made its own inquiries and decided to stay away from a potential client, but a lot of these problems, especially white-collar crime, “only become obvious with hindsight.”

Doing More With More

The types of buyers and their demands keep changing. More than a decade of heavy spending by Russian and East European clients began drying up after the Russian annexation of Crimea — “we lost one job half an hour after that,” Mr. Bannenberg said — as Western sanctions on Russian oligarchs have continued to bite.

The rising number of billionaires in mainland China has not yet translated into new buyers, and Mr. Bannenberg believes the Chinese face political and cultural restraints “on being so upfront with your wealth.”

More promisingly, there has recently been a pickup in buying from the United States, Mr. Bannenberg said, “because America still has the most high-net-worth individuals.”

The Trump tax cuts have fueled demand for superyachts, according to industry analysts, and shipyard order books are solid. Notably, this is despite recent softness in top-end sales of art, cars and real estate, amid broader fears of an economic slowdown.

Research by the Superyacht Group shows that after peaking in 2008 and then slumping after the financial crisis, the production of luxury yachts has been stable in recent years, with an annual output close to 150 new vessels.

While Americans remain the biggest buyers, the United States’ own yacht output has shrunk, with the global industry consolidating into fewer shipyards. The Italians now make the most vessels, and Dutch and German builders dominate the top of the market.

The most striking change in the industry is a shift in what the boats are actually for, as a new generation of owners want to do more than show off while anchored off Sardinia.

“The clients that approach us nowadays don’t really want a floating palace,” Mr. Rowell said. “They want a boat they are going to live on and even work on, and use for more than two weeks a year.”

The Microsoft billionaire Paul Allen, who died in 2018, is often cited as an example of a more active owner, as he used his yachts for ocean research and roaming the world.

A 600-foot-long monster called REV that emerged from a Romanian shipyard in August took that trend even further: Its Norwegian owner had it designed to double as a marine research vessel capable of supporting 60 scientists. The world’s largest yacht , REV (short for Research Expedition Vessel) can sail around the world without refueling.

“Owners today do realize that these are extraordinary bits of equipment that can go to pretty exciting places that are really difficult to reach, and that changes the way you design the yacht,” Mr. Rowell said. Modern owners sail everywhere from the Northwest Passage to Antarctica.

There is “still a minority of attention seekers, status seekers, whatever you want to call them, who really are happy sitting off St.-Tropez and Cala di Volpe and the Amalfi Coast,” Mr. Bannenberg noted.

There is a movement, he said, “towards a much greater sense of connection between the yacht and the immediate sea, by which I mean swim platforms, ‘beach clubs,’ folding terraces and hull doors that open up to the sea.”

A growing sense of environmental issues is also having an impact, Mr. Bannenberg said. “There are a few yacht-based movements and marine foundations, which are sometimes labeled as a yacht-owner’s guilt trip, that are part of the whole environmental conversation going on at the moment,” he added.

“It all adds up to a much bigger desire to actually interact with the ocean rather than sitting in a glitzy apartment that happens to be floating.”

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Luxury Toys / Marine

Highlander: malcolm forbes’ yacht available for charter.

By Federico Tibytt

October 19, 2014

• Luxury Toys
• Highlander: Malcolm Forbes’ Yacht Available…

The Highlander, owned by billionaire magnate Malcolm Forbes, who died in 1990, was one of the most iconic yachts in the world, the center of attention of the press and the public during the 1980’s and 1990’s. Originally built by the Royal Dutch Feadship dockyard, this stunning 147-foot superyacht, designed by Jon Bannenberg , was delivered to the Forbes family in 1986. According to the owner’s special request, the yacht’s imposing steel hull was painted in a shade of green known as “dollar green”.

In its nearly 30 years, the colossal yacht has hosted hundreds of personalities, from Ronald Reagan, Margaret Thatcher and Prince Charles of England, to Robert de Niro, Mick Jagger, Liz Taylor and Paul McCartney, among others. In fact, its original design featured large reception and meeting rooms, as the vessel was used to hold private meetings with dignitaries, politicians, celebrities and businessmen from all over the world.

After the death of the owner of Forbes magazine, his offspring decided to put the boat up for sale. The new owner, American financial tycoon Roberto de Guardiola, commissioned American shipyard Derecktor of Florida to make a full renovation. Read more here about yachts and luxury autos.

The redesigned interior allows comfortable accommodation for 12 guests and 11 crew, a more appropriate arrangement for family use. The upper terrace was enlarged to provide more space for the solarium and relaxation area, and the old stately classic style that decorated the interior was replaced with more contemporary furnishings, colors and textures, including light woods like Wenge. Towards the stern, you’ll find the master cabin with a double en suite bathroom. Six more guest cabins were built, also with en suite bathrooms.

However, the new provision goes beyond mere aesthetics. The ship is also equipped with the latest technology in every room. This includes a new Quantum Zero-Speed stabilization system, new command post, new video and audio systems in every corner of the vessel, as well as LED lighting and wireless internet. The updated version also offers all the amenities of a modern yacht; it has several Jacuzzis, helipad, additional boats, cinema, gym and a hinged gangway in the aft with access to the water.

Currently, the Highlander is moored on the beaches of southern France. The good news: it is available for charter at a cost of $210,000 a week. ■

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Malcolm Forbes’s Historic Yacht Is Reimagined

The Highlander , a yacht owned and renovated by decorator Joanne de Guardiola and her husband, Roberto, idles off the Bahamas. Jon Bannenberg Limited designed the boat in 1985 for Malcolm Forbes.

The De Guardiolas relax in the yacht’s renovated tender, which was custom made for Malcolm Forbes by the Cigarette Racing Team.

Chaise longues by John Hutton for Sutherland line the top deck of Highlander ; the cushions are clad in fabrics by Janus et Cie, Perennials, and Link Outdoor.

In the sky lounge, a Frank Stella painting overlooks sofas designed by Joanne de Guardiola, with pillows in a C&C Milano fabric from Holland & Sherry; the red chair is vintage Verner Panton, the cocktail and side tables are from Holly Hunt, and the floor is paved with Brazilian blue onyx.

A mixed-media piece by Cindy Workman (left) and a portrait by Chuck Close (right) are displayed in the main salon and adjacent hall; Joanne de Guardiola designed the banquette and chaise longue, the Robert Lemariey bench is clad in an Edelman leather, the cocktail table is by Holly Hunt, and the side table (at right) is vintage Jacques Adnet.

The bridge deck’s dining salon is centered by an adjustable-height table set with china designed by Christian Lacroix for Vista Alegre; the chargers, napkins, and napkin rings are by Kim Seybert. The chairs are by Philippe Starck for Sutherland; a Missoni fabric from Stark trims the seat cushions.

A vintage Le Corbusier chaise longue stands in front of a Slim Aarons photograph in the media room, which is furnished with a stool and tables from Holly Hunt; beyond the doors are John Hutton for Sutherland teak slipper chairs.

Exterior teak steps lead from the bridge deck down to the main deck.

Titanium-black granite lines a powder room; the sink, fittings, and towel rings are by Sherle Wagner International.

In the main salon, a Herbert Ypma photograph joins an expandable table by Resource Furniture and Mario Botta chairs from Galere.

The wine cellar.

Sapele mahogany panels the office; the bookshelves are brightened with Blue Koto veneer from UltraWood, the vellum-top iron desk is by Julian Chichester, and the door handles are original to the yacht.

The master cabin is sheathed in bleached-anigre veneer from UltraWood; the vintage lamp is an Achille and Pier Giacomo Castiglioni creation for Flos, and the embroidered bed linens were designed by Joanne de Guardiola.