New entry in superyachts market: Van der Valk Continental Yachts at Cannes Yachting Festival

The recent launch of 37m model Santa Maria T marks Van der Valk Continental Yachts’ entry into the superyacht market, a big challenge for the small Dutch yard. The full displacement motoryacht with a steel hull and aluminium superstructure was designed in partnership with Guido de Groot. Great care was taken to ensure the best sailing and seakeeping qualities, including a round-bilged steel hull. Santa Maria T is built to endure the toughest weather conditions and, with large fuel capacity, ensures a transatlantic range. Stabilization underway and at zero speed is also provided by a new two-axis fin antiroll damping system. For the yard, Santa Maria T was a big step forward in terms of dimensions, as she is much larger than any other previous project. Never had Van der Valk built a yacht exceeding 42m before: the clientele, nonetheless, had more ambitious demands. The owners, mainly Dutch, Belgian and German, have requests that are being more and more demanding and specific, which increased significantly the third party involvement. Owners are used to visiting the yard often (from once a month up to once every two weeks) to track progress and provide feedback. The Dutch yard, to keep up with the high expectations for every visit, successfully adapted to best fit the market.
Santa Maria T will be showcased at this year’s Cannes Yachting Festival and Yoeri Bijker, Van der Valk’s marketing manager, reveals the goal of participating to such an international occasion: to enhance orders in a brand new segment of the production. “The success of one large vessel will hopefully lead to a lot of business for us” says Bijker.“The aim for boat show season is to attract new customers and we will also be in discussion with clients who are already close to a deal with us.”