GENESIA is a Feadship in the classic sense: built in 1987 to Frits de Voogt’s lines, refitted in 2022, and still carrying the kind of interior that earns the phrase gentleman’s yacht rather than having it applied loosely. Joanne de Guardiola’s interior design leans into that identity, dark wood panelling, nautical art, a main saloon that reads more like a well-kept study than a showroom.
That saloon runs in navy upholstery and warm teak flooring, with a ship’s painting and a wall of bookshelves giving it the feel of a room meant to be used, not just photographed. A bar cart and a stack of well-chosen books do more to set the tone than any amount of marble could. Aft, the formal dining room seats the full party for a proper sit-down dinner, while the wheelhouse above carries the yacht’s working character through to its most functional space.
Six staterooms cover five doubles and a twin, each finished with the same unfussy, well-made character: a master suite in white panelling with gold accents, a striped guest cabin in soft neutrals, and a twin room fitted for either children or guests who prefer their own beds. Nothing tries too hard, which is precisely the point of a boat like this, and it is a point of view that a lot of newer, glossier interiors have quietly lost.
Outside, the forward deck holds a genuine surprise for a yacht of her generation: a jacuzzi tucked into a shaded lounge, ringed by navy cushions and mustard-yellow accents, with the sundeck above adding a second bathing option under open sky. Aft, a teak table seats the group for alfresco meals against the backdrop of the French Riviera, and a stocked toy locker, jet ski, paddleboards and snorkelling gear included, keeps the days active rather than static. Two Capelli tenders handle the trips ashore, and the swim platform gives easy access back aboard between swims.
The 2022 refit did the work that matters most on a yacht this age: mechanical systems, air conditioning and stabilisers brought fully current, so the classic feel above decks doesn’t come with any of the classic-boat compromises below them. Twin Caterpillar engines and a stabilised hull give her a 3,720-nautical-mile cruising range, more than enough to move between anchorages along the coast without a second thought, and enough reserve to make a longer passage feel routine rather than ambitious.
Nine crew run the yacht, a tight, capable number for a vessel this size, and one that keeps the atmosphere closer to a private house than a hotel. Flagged in France and built for exactly this coastline, GENESIA charters the Mediterranean from April through September.
She suits a group that wants the genuine texture of an older yacht, real wood, real brass, a saloon with some history in it, without sacrificing anything on the mechanical side. For charter guests who find modern superyacht interiors interchangeable, GENESIA is the opposite: a yacht with a clear point of view, updated just enough to charter properly and not one degree more.
