M/Y ELIXA – HER STORY FROM START TO FINISH

 MEANING: PULCHRITUDO IN MARI / BEAUTY IN THE SEA 

M/Y ELIXA is the embodiment of yet another ambitious plan of Piotr Rączyński, co-founder and CEO of ‘Apart Jewellery’.

Piotr has always had the desire to explore new places from a different perspective, leading to the build of ELIXA and viewing how beautiful life is, from sea.

Piotr had dreamt about building his very own boat and turned to Sunseeker with this very dream. As a man with a clear vision of what he wanted, equipped with incredible intuition, he knew exactly what he was looking for and felt that Sunseeker was the very best fit.

His passion for travelling the world by sea started at an early age as a hobby, sailing smaller vessels that in Poland. Later on, as an admirer of first-class watches, Piotr made many trips to Switzerland and explored his love of sailing on the magnificent Swiss lakes. However, Piotr did not want to stop at inland sailing – he craved bigger challenges and more space to be able to spread his wings.

A memory that Piotr often looks back on, is acceptance of his very first boat in Alicante, a very special day held close to his heart. Alicante Marina is also the most ideal starting point for his first cruise around the Balearic Islands.

During one of those cruises around the Balearic Islands, Piotr’s vision for his next yacht came into his head and reflected his personality and aspirations. The most important parameters for him were high-quality workmanship, spaciousness, a large flybridge, size of up to 24 meters (so that there is no need for a large crew), reliability and technical support of the shipyard when cruising across multiple waters. 

Having exceptional observation skills and having been to various marinas, Piotr always took notice of the vessels moored there. He did not want his yacht to bring admiration or envy among people, he just wanted a reliable yacht that would meet his expectations and let him follow his dreams. That’s why he rejected open-deck, racing or custom-made models and kept looking for the perfect Shipyard.

His vision of an ideal yacht took shape after conversations with neighbours who sailed long distances with their families and it was their opinion that mattered the most in his decision to choose the Sunseeker Manhattan 68. The 21-metre-long vessel is an upgraded version of the Manhattan 66 yacht with a proven, refined and comfortable design.

The decision was made, the contract was signed and most importantly, a plan was set for a maiden voyage during the 2022 holidays, an impressive journey starting in Poland and ending up in Istanbul.

Just like that, Piotr’s dream – vacation and experiencing new places from the perspective of the sea – came true.

ELIXA then set out on her first leg of the cruise, from Poland to Alicante, proving her beautiful name to those on board, when the most magical things kept happening: a NATO submarine in the English Channel passed 100 meters to the side, surf kayakers from the Portimão Sports Club followed in ELIXA’s wake and countless dolphins and whales were spotted en route. A truly special first trip.

When ELIXA finally reached Alicante, she was expected to star in a commercial for ‘ELIXA’, a brand of jewellery and watches distributed by Apart. The project, was super exciting and took a week to shoot. The video is now shown front page on their website – https://www.elixa.net

A photoshoot was then set up in the picturesque port of Moraira, where the Manhattan 68 was the largest vessel in sight. The shoot was super fun, and looked great with all of the drones and cameras whizzing around. The footage was captured near a rocky cliff, so both of the boat’s thrusters came in handy and held the yacht in place while the photo crew worked their magic. The shoot took place in three different locations; the final result of the campaign can be viewed on the brands Instagram account –  www.instagram.com/elixaofficial/

Piotr’s wife then joined those on board at Santa Pola, ready for the rest of the cruise. Aleksandra has excellent taste, after being awarded a degree architecture, so is well aware what details and materials determine the quality of a project, which is why it was such relief when the yacht gained her approval.  

On 19 July 2022, ELIXA left Santa Pola and set off for Istanbul… the itinerary included en route visits to the most amazing destinations across the Mediterranean Sea which was set to end in Istanbul in September.

Starting with the Balearic Islands: Ibiza, Mallorca and Menorca, ELIXA set on an adventure to search out the islands picturesque and intimate coves. Being under the bright sun and travelling through the warm waters, those on board now finally felt that their vacation had begun.

There was a lot to see but also a lot to do while on board, including making use of the Williams Jet Tender and Seabob, while also enjoying time on the flybridge, which quickly became their favourite spot.

After Mallorca, they sailed to Menorca, Sardinia, Corsica and Elba. On every one of those islands something new was discovered: the crystal-clear water off the north coast of Sardinia, the beautiful Porto-Vecchio in Corsica, the sites associated with Napoleon and his exile to Elba. On top of that, at every anchorage there was a chance to explore the boat and enjoy what she had to offer, like the flybridge BBQ station.

She then set on her Italian adventure, making a short stop at Marina di Scarlino in Italy and then visited Porto Ercole, Nettuno, Palmarola and Ponza, Ischia, Capri, Acciaroli, Tropea, and the area around Tortori. Cruising at an average speed of about 21 knots, the yacht burned around 300 litres of fuel per hour.

After passing through the Straits of Messina, a bad weather warning was received, so a little shelter stop in Marina di Policoro was booked, to gather strength to sail from Policoro via Galilipoli to Corfu all in one go.

After setting foot in Greece, those onboard were given a large amount of paperwork, which was associated with crossing the maritime border. Up to that point, the most problematic encounter with EU border services was in the North Sea, where the crew of a Dutch helicopter questioned everyone about the purpose of the trip. While other EU Member States only required a single document and a list of crew members. Thankfully, after border clearance, the green light was given to continue the cruise to Corfu, Paxos, Lefkada, Zakynthos, Ithaca, Kefalonia and Meganisi.

While in Greece, there was a change of plan for the final destination that has been set… instead of heading to Turkey, everyone agreed to cruise to Croatia for the winter and to finish the 2022 season in Dalmatia. ELIXA then set off from Corfu and sailed along the coast of Albania and Montenegro to Dubrovnik, where she was checked in for entry. Croatia, in particular Dubrovnik, which is a true architectural gem of the Adriatic, made a very good impression on Piotr, who had visited it many years ago. After Mljet, Korcula, Hvar, Vis and Solta, they finally arrived at Rogoznica, where they wrapped up the holiday season.

Throughout the whole cruise from start to finish, ELIXA encountered zero technical issues, which made the whole journey an amazing experience.

Sunseeker supported the journey for the full duration, scheduling periodic maintenance for the engines and generator, which due to the large number of operation hours had to be conducted in Spain (engines) and Greece (generator), meaning that everything was smooth sailing.

So in summary, throughout the first four months since her handover, ELIXA:

1. Sailed approximately 5,500 NM.

2. Logged 490 hours of engine operation.

3. Travelled through 9 seas: Baltic Sea, North Sea, Alboran Sea, Balearic Sea, Tyrrhenian Sea, Ionian Sea, Mediterranean Sea and Adriatic Sea, as well as a portion of the Atlantic Ocean.

… and now plans for another holiday, this time from Croatia through the waters of Greece to Turkey, before residing in Turkey for the winter months.