[Image: Fraser Yachts]
Reality TV’s favourite maritime soap opera has dropped anchor once again.
Below Deck Mediterranean returned this week, bringing back Captain Sandy Yawn and a fresh batch of crew members tasked with keeping wealthy charter guests happy while navigating the usual cocktail of egos, bad weather and onboard chaos.
But as always, one of the biggest stars of the show isn’t human.
This season unfolds aboard Akira One, a 170-foot (just under 52-metre) superyacht built by Italian yacht maker Benetti and delivered in 1998. The vessel is currently available for charter through Fraser Yachts, where a week onboard starts at a cool €176,000 (around R3,3 million) before extras.
As the first yacht in Benetti’s renowned Golden Bay series, Akira One was designed by naval architect Stefano Natucci, with interiors crafted by Luxury Projects Zuretti Design. While she’s been cruising the world’s oceans for nearly three decades, extensive refits in 2012 and again in 2022 have kept her looking anything but dated.
Behind the steel hull and aluminium superstructure lies accommodation for up to 12 guests across six en suite cabins. The standout is the full-beam owner’s suite on the main deck, complete with a private study and a spacious bathroom featuring a large hot tub. Elsewhere, guests have access to an upper-deck double cabin, two VIP suites and two twin cabins below deck.
The interior also includes two separate lounges and a formal dining area, ensuring there’s plenty of room for both luxury and inevitable reality-TV confrontations.
Outside, the yacht leans heavily into the good life. The sundeck comes fitted with a hot tub, barbecue station and sun loungers, while the upper deck offers alfresco dining for ten guests. Down at water level, a large swim platform provides easy access to the collection of water toys that inevitably feature throughout the season.
Performance-wise, Akira One packs twin MTU engines producing 2,226 horsepower each. That gives the yacht a top speed of 18 knots, a cruising speed of 14 knots and a range of approximately 3,000 nautical miles. Zero-speed stabilisers help keep things comfortable whether underway or sitting at anchor.
The new season follows Yawn, chief stew Aesha Scott, bosun Nathan Gallagher and deckhand Joe Bradley during an eight-week charter season around Croatia. Predictably, things got off to a dramatic start when the season premiere, which aired on June 8, showed Yawn accidentally crunching Akira One into a dock.
Because no season of Below Deck Mediterranean would be complete without a little damage before the champagne has even been chilled.
[Source: Robb Report]
