Few yachts can follow the ice and the equator in the same season. Aqua Lares was built in 1974 as a working icebreaker, and that origin still shapes everything about her. A steel, ice classed hull of 77.4 metres, a range of roughly 7,000 nautical miles and the quiet confidence of a vessel designed to reach places most charter yachts never see. Her refit turned that raw capability into one of the most complete expedition platforms afloat.
She carries up to 30 guests across 15 cabins, with a crew of 33 whose numbers alone signal the level of service on board. This is a yacht for a large group, a family office or a private expedition that wants the Seychelles in winter and the Norwegian Arctic in summer without compromise.
Life on board is built around exploration and recovery in equal measure. A full spa sits at the heart of the yacht, with treatment rooms, a hammam and a dedicated jacuzzi, so days spent ashore among polar bears or coral reefs end in warmth and calm. A 14 seat cinema, generous saloons panelled in warm wood and a long formal dining room give the interior the feel of a private club rather than a ship. The mood is classic and considered: soft lighting, deep sofas and sea views framed by the original portholes.
Below deck, the fifteen cabins range from a generous suite to comfortable doubles and twins, each finished in warm timber and dressed for rest. The scale of the accommodation, unusual at this length, means a party of thirty travels without anyone feeling they have drawn the smaller room. A crew of thirty three, exceptional even for a yacht of this size, runs the ship around the clock, from the bridge and engine room to the galley, spa and dive operation.
Outside, the decks are made for distance. A certified helideck opens the itinerary to remote landings and scenic flights. Sun decks, a deck jacuzzi and sheltered lounges let guests read the horizon in comfort, while the beach club and a full tender and toy complement put diving, snorkelling, kayaking and shore expeditions within easy reach. Her naval architecture, deep draft and long waterline mean she holds her line in open water, a reassurance that matters when the cruising ground is the Arctic rather than the Riviera.
What sets Aqua Lares apart is reach. Most yachts at this level choose a coast and stay on it. She was engineered to cross oceans and winter in ice, then turn south and anchor off a Seychelles atoll weeks later. For charter guests that translates into itineraries with genuine ambition: Svalbard and the Norwegian fjords, Scotland and Iceland in the long northern light, then the Indian Ocean, Zanzibar and the Seychelles when the weather turns.
She is a rare thing in the charter market, an authentic explorer with the volume, crew and comfort of a much larger private yacht. For a group that measures a charter by where it can go rather than how it looks at the dock, Aqua Lares is one of the few yachts that can genuinely say yes to almost any map.
