Exploration Charter

Cruising the western coasts of the Americas, M/Y Absinthe accents rugged outdoorsmanship in her sporting offerings, yet is graced by furnishings and amenities fit for royalty: you!

Absinthe. The very name conjures up images of individualistic elite transported in highest style to where none had previously ventured.  Vincent van Gogh, Edouard Manet, Pablo Picasso and Ernest Hemingway all were inspired by absinthe, a liqueur distilled with the Old World plant Artemisia absinthium, famed for inducing a

singular inebriation marked by a heightened, ultra-clear perception of the cosmos. 

Now, there is an exploration-grade megayacht distinguished by the name Absinthe.  Originally built in Spain in 1973 by Astilleros y Talleres Celaya, she was acquired by Sea to Sky Adventures and Megayacht Adventures and then given a comprehensive, years-long refit rendering her superior to many a brand new yacht.

Thanks to Absinthe’s helipad, charter guests may take advantage of Sea to Sky’s “Double Mobility Concept.”  While there certainly are other megayachts with helipads, few of them offer copter sightseeing of otherwise unreachable terrain and no other offers heliskiing.

Absinthe’s cruising grounds are the western coast of the Americas.  During heliskiing season, from early February through the end of April, she travels along the British Colombian shoreline, her copter whisking skiers up to lofty mountain summits where virgin boot-top powder fills wide open snowbowls surrounded by towering ancient glaciers.  Après-ski indulgences may include a relaxing soak in the yacht’s fly bridge 80-hydrojet massage Jacuzzi with its towel warmer, fiber-optic lighting system and first-class entertainment center. 

The ambitious charterer will naturally also want to book Absinthe during the period from September to February when she explores Panama, Costa Rica, and the Sea of Cortés between the Baja Peninsula and mainland Mexico.  The Sea of Cortés is among the world’s most wondrous ecosystems, host to California Gray Whales, giant manta rays, leatherback sea turtles, and tuna and other fishes in schools over 100 miles long.  In Costa Rica, the Monteverde Cloud Forest Reserve, seen from a helicopter, is an unrivalled exhibition of nature’s bounty.  

The months of June to August find Absinthe traveling the Inside Passage of Alaska and the northern coast of British Colombia.  While urbanites are huddled around their central air-conditioners at the height of the dog days of summer, the Absinthe’s guests can be enjoying a champagne and smoked salmon picnic on a sparkling, deep-blue, massive glacier.  Using the AStar  B2 helicopter, they can then explore spectacular wilderness areas, or enjoy a jaunt in a sea kayak, marvel at the sight of humpback whales, or stay aboard to be pampered with a world-class, spa quality, professional rubdown in a dedicated massage room.

Absinthe’s interior boasts an uncommon visual warmth, a fulfillment of the vision of Karin Civitella, head of Civitella Design.  Ms Civitella says that she favors voluptuous interiors reflecting joie de vivre while manifesting the feel of a gracious home.  She is given to blending beautiful, classic antique furnishings with ultra high-tech details.  For the outdoor areas of the yacht, she chose pieces and materials that harmonize with natural settings.  Ms. Civitella further says that her team’s mandate in designing Absinthe was to bring the refinement of European style and service to remote areas of the West Coast of the Americas.  If you notice a fully-developed and integrated aesthetic aboard Absinthe, it is entirely due to Karin Civitella’s intense involvement in this project; she even designed the crew’s uniforms. 

Smoked oak wood flooring throughout the yacht themes perfectly with the extraordinary natural settings that Absinthe visits, while also setting a tone of great luxury.  Hand-carved solid mahogany, maple wood and oak furnishings, paneling, displays, and cabinets give an aristocratic impression.  The al fresco dining table is complemented by a wet bar topped with prized Brazilian river stone granite.  Many other materials whose prestige stems from their great beauty and rarity are found aboard this megayacht.  The sophisticated evening ambience of the bar area is augmented by the yellow tourmaline marble top and illuminated onyx in the bar.  All through the vessel there are royal blue draperies with gold embroidery piping, doubled with voile de jour (Fr. for ‘daylight veil’) window coverings.  

In the sky lounge are Persian style divans whose luxuriant fabric covering includes touches of silk, while in the media room there is a welcoming blue leather Chesterfield modular couch, custom-made in Tunisia.  Soft velvets upholster the red Nautilus dining chairs in the dining room as well as the Carousel blue and yellow swivel chairs and asymmetric love seats in the bar.  Bathroom countertops are of local native-carved pewter; doorknobs are of brushed nickel.  Bathroom fixtures and accessories are from the esteemed ateliers of the French company Herbeau, and namely their Pompadour/Gargoyles collection.