JOY is a 70-metre motor yacht built by the Dutch shipyard Feadship and delivered in July 2016, the result of a rare collaboration between exterior designers Bannenberg & Rowell and interior studio Studio Indigo. Conceived as her owneru2019s first yacht, she set out deliberately to challenge the convention that bigger always means better, and the result is a yacht that feels genuinely cosy despite her scale.
Her exterior is bold and unmistakable, built around extensive use of glass set against the sculpted shapes of her superstructure. Beautiful concave lines and floor-to-ceiling windows do more than let in light: they dissolve the boundary between interior and exterior, with air-conditioned u2018winter gardensu2019 allowing guests to dine al fresco on the main deck, sheltered from the elements at a table for 14, while still enjoying uninterrupted ocean views.
Inside, Studio Indigo created a deliberately human-scaled interior using more than 250 finishes and materials, favouring warmth and comfort over vast, underused acreage. The main saloon, scattered with Holland & Sherry cushions, was built to be used rather than admired, and the build quality is exceptional throughout: JOY runs almost silently underway, even in open water, a detail her captain has singled out as one of the finest aspects of the build.
JOYu2019s deck spaces are equally distinctive. Feadship used more teak on her decks than almost any comparable superyacht, and the owneru2019s deck forward functions as a genuine promenade, wide enough to walk hand in hand, or even jog, the entire way around the superstructure on one level. A basketball court on the owneru2019s deck forward and a disco add genuine playfulness to a yacht that could easily have settled for understated elegance alone, while two drop-down terraces on the bridge deck create intimate spots for coffee with a view.
Accommodation is arranged across an unusually flexible layout that sleeps 12 guests in seven cabins: a master suite, a VIP cabin, four doubles and a twin, all finished with the same quiet luxury as the rest of the yacht. An elevator services three of JOYu2019s five decks, making every level effortlessly accessible regardless of mobility or occasion.
Wellness is a real strength on board. Guests will find a large, fully equipped gym with a dedicated fitness instructor, a beauty salon, a steam room, a spa room and an onboard masseuse, alongside a deck Jacuzzi and a beach club opening onto the water for relaxed indoor-outdoor living. JOY is a certified RYA watersports centre, and her toy inventory includes three tenders, among them an 11.3-metre, 16-person Wajer, a 10-metre slide descending from the beach deck, a Fliteboard, an electric surfboard and a wide range of inflatables and towables.
With a highly experienced crew of 19 on board, including two rotational head chefs and a sous chef, JOY splits her charter calendar between the Caribbean in winter and the West Mediterranean and Aegean in summer, occasionally venturing further afield to the Indian Ocean. She is fully licensed to charter in Spanish waters. For an owneru2019s first yacht, JOY is a remarkably confident piece of design, and one of the most distinctive 70-metre charter yachts currently on the water.
