Holland Ahoy

New Zealander Ron Holland is one of the world’s top naval architects. Based in the small Irish sailing port of Kinsale, his latest project is designing and building a 190-foot, $50 million superyacht Ethereal for Sun Microsystems co-founder Bill Joy. The brief: to be the most efficient, eco-friendly boat afloat. Holland’s design of the hull and rigging will allow her to slip through the water at speeds most motorized superyachts could not match – and without consuming a drop of fuel. Largely self-taught – he began his career 40 years ago as an apprentice in a New Zealand boat yard – Holland has been drawing winners since 1973, when he skippered his own design, the 24-foot Eygthene, to victory in the world Quarter Ton Cup. He has been called “the pioneer of modern superyachts. He was the guy who early on understood how to make these huge ships handle like real sailboats. If they didn’t, there would be no super-sailing-yacht business today.” Adds Holland: “It’s something in the soul. Sailors can imagine themselves following in the wake of the great seafarers like Magellan, Vasco da Gama, and Cook.”