Akiko is a 34 metre explorer yacht built by Alloy Yachts in New Zealand in 2007 and refreshed in a 2023 refit, and she was made for the kind of cruising most yachts only promise. She took five awards at the 2008 World Superyacht Awards, and the reasons are easy to see: a rugged aluminium explorer hull with the range and the shallow draft to reach remote coral atolls, wrapped around expansive living areas with full height windows that pull the sea and the light into every room. For a group of up to twelve she offers the space, the toys and the crew of six to spend a week a long way from the crowds.
Her decks are built for living outdoors. The flybridge is the social heart of the yacht, a broad open deck with a sprawling L shaped sofa, armchairs and a dining table under the sky, high above the water with clear views on every side. The main deck aft carries a long sofa and a dining table for meals in the shade, the foredeck opens into its own run of sunpads and seating away from the busier decks, and the bridge deck folds tender storage neatly out of the way so the living space stays clear. Wherever the anchor drops there is somewhere to gather.
Down at the water she is an explorer through and through. The stern gives onto a broad swim platform and boarding area, and a proper fishing cockpit sits ready with fridge and freezer stowage and live bait tanks, a rare and welcome feature on a yacht of this size. The tender launches for a run to a distant reef, and snorkelling, diving and paddle gear turn a quiet atoll into a day in the water. Her shallow draft and long range are what let her anchor where deeper yachts cannot follow.
Inside, the interior is calm, contemporary and full of light. The main salon gathers a comfortable L shaped sofa around a low table with the sea framed in full height glass, and a separate secondary salon gives a quieter room for a film, a book or a card game apart from the main gathering space. Forward, a dining saloon seats the whole group at a round table beneath the windows, with the galley within easy reach. The finish is soft and pale, warm timber and light upholstery, a restful counterpoint to the adventure outside.
Accommodation is arranged for up to twelve guests in five cabins. A grand full beam master suite sits on the bridge deck with its own en suite and long hull windows at eye level, matched by a full beam VIP on the main deck and further double and twin cabins below, each finished in the same quiet, contemporary style with its own bathroom. The six crew live and work forward in three cabins, running the yacht and the fishing and diving programme without ever crossing the guest areas.
Akiko cruises the West Mediterranean through summer and winter, an easy displacement explorer that holds a steady ten knots between anchorages and carries the range to wander well off the beaten track. For a group that wants space, a serious set of water and fishing toys and a yacht genuinely built to explore rather than simply to be seen, she is a rare and rewarding charter, an award winning explorer with the comfort of a much larger yacht.
