Summer superyacht season starts in style at the Monaco Grand Prix

Motors

Every race on the Formula 1 calendar attracts cool, famous, wealthy, and powerful people. But, when it comes combining royalty, intrigue, history, and most of all, superyachts with raw Formula 1 power, few events can compete with the Monaco Grand Prix that takes place this weekend
F1 Grand Prix of Monaco

The F1 field race out of turn one uphill next to the port during the F1 Grand Prix of Monaco at Circuit de Monaco in Monte-Carlo, Monaco. (Photo by Bryn Lennon – Formula 1/Formula 1 via Getty Images)

Formula 1 via Getty Images

Anyone who’s been to the Monaco Grand Prix before knows how hard it is to get a prime spot to watch the races from the deck of a superyacht moored in the harbor. I’m sorry to report I can’t invite you to all of the onboard parties (frankly, I don’t have too many invites either!), but I can give you a little glimpse of some of the yachts that are there already and will be there for the race.

Kismet

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Kismet will be in Monaco for the Monaco GP this weekend

Jarmo Pohjaniemi

I’m just going to call Shahid Kahn’s Kismet the “Queen” of the fleet. I mean, what more can you say about this 400-foot-long superyacht (which was built by Lürssen, features an exterior design by Nuvolari Lenard and an interior design by Reymond Langton Design and is available for charter with Cecil Wright) that hasn’t already been said?

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Kismet’s large beach club area

Bluiprod

Well, she’s fresh off being named Motor Yacht of The Year at the World Superyacht Awards in Venice. She costs well north of $3 million per week to charter. And oh yeah, she has cinema on the lower deck—complete with an underwater seating area—and a 7-star wellness area that’s two full stars better than a 5-star wellness area.

King Benji

Jeff Brown--28

King Benji

© Breed Media

Here are the facts. The 154-foot-long King Benji was built by Dunya Yachts and launched in 2024. The interior was designed by Design Unlimited, and the exterior styling is by Gregory C. Marshall. Now, here’s my take after giving the King Benji’s hot tub a rigorous test during the Palm Beach International Boat Show earlier this year.

Jeff Brown--53

King Benji’s dual hot tubs

© Breed Media

I think the hot tubs—plural—on the foredeck might provide great viewing. The massive aft deck may provide one of the best viewing platforms of any of the yachts that are moored stern-to the racecourse, and it might turn into the ultimate dance floor when the parties kick off after the race cars are back in pits.

Kamalaya

MY KAMALAYA-PHOTOGRAPHY KRISTINA STROBEL-DJI_0683

Kamalaya has a large top deck for watching the Monaco Grand Prix

KRISTINA STROBEL

While I won’t go so far to say Kamalaya’s interior is just like Claridge’s £60,000/per night penthouse. I will say that Kamalaya’s interiors were designed by Remi Tessier who designed Claridge’s £60,000/per night penthouse which spans the entire rooftop of the hotel and features 75 works by Damien Hirst.

MY KAMALAYA-PHOTOGRAPHY KRISTINA STROBEL-7585

The Zen-like interior of Kamalaya

KRISTINA STROBEL

I will also say that when Kamalaya is not trackside at the Monaco Grand Prix, she’s can be found cruising anywhere from Svalbard to San Tropez.

Lady Trudy

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Lady Trudy at anchor

Cecil Wright

Some people say the 42.6-meter long Lady Trudy built by CRN is the perfect charter yacht for the Monaco Grand Prix in that size range because exterior deck spaces are comparable to those found on a 50 meter yacht. Now, I can’t say for sure just how big the deck spaces are. But I will venture a guess that the outdoor cinema and comfortable outdoor seating might just make for a perfect Monaco Grand Prix viewing experience.

Extra Time

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Extra Time underway

Cecil Wright

The Conrad C144s Extra Time was launched last year and features a Reymond Langton Design exterior, a M2Atelier-designed interior, and naval architecture from Diana Yacht Design. And it will be a killer spot to watch the race simply because, no matter what yacht you are on, no other sporting event connects with the fans quite like the Monaco Grand Prix.

Stay tuned as I’ll be adding more yachts to this list as I learn about their presence at the Monaco Grand Prix.

This article was originally published on forbes.com and all figures are in USD.

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