Aspire of London is a Sunseeker Predator 72, a sleek, fast British sportsyacht that makes an ideal base for exploring Corsica, Sardinia and the French Riviera. Delivered in 2007 and refitted in 2016, she carries eight guests in four cabins with a crew of two, and she is built for guests who want pace, style and the freedom to move on a whim between the glamorous harbours and hidden coves of the western Mediterranean.
The Predator name has always stood for performance, and Aspire of London lives up to it. Her planing hull, driven by a pair of MAN engines, cruises comfortably in the low twenties and will run into the low thirties when the day calls for it, so a lunch in Bonifacio and dinner in Porto Cervo is an easy plan. That speed, paired with her shallow draft, lets her slip into the shallow, sheltered anchorages that larger, heavier yachts have to admire from a distance.
She is arranged for open air living. The aft deck is set for dining and lounging in the shade, a broad sun pad on the foredeck offers a quiet spot away from the action, and a swim platform brings the sea within a step of the cockpit. Her toy locker is generously stocked with the tenders, towables and dive gear that keep the watersports going from breakfast to sundowners, and her sociable, open plan layout makes her a natural choice for a group of friends or a family who want to spend the week on and in the water rather than tied to a marina.
Inside, the main salon is light and contemporary, finished in pale timber and soft leather, with a comfortable lounge, a dining area and large windows that keep the coastline in view. It is a calm, uncluttered space that flows straight out to the cockpit, so the yacht lives as one open plan when the doors are slid back, and it gives guests a cool retreat when the sun is high.
Accommodation is arranged across four cabins on the lower deck. The master is a bright, full beam space with its own bathroom, while the guest cabins offer a VIP, a double and a twin, each individually presented and comfortably finished. It is a layout that absorbs a family or two couples with ease, and the crew of two keep the service personal and unobtrusive throughout the week.
Aspire of London is the sort of yacht that rewards spontaneity. Her crew know these waters well and run each day around the weather and the mood of the guests, whether that means an early run to a quiet cove, a long lunch at anchor or a fast evening transfer to a favourite harbour for dinner ashore.
For a family or a group of friends who want a fast, stylish yacht for the islands of the western Mediterranean, without the scale or the cost of something much larger, Aspire of London is hard to beat. A week aboard tends to settle into an easy rhythm of morning swims, sunlit lunches and evenings watching the harbour lights from the cockpit.
