Engines

Galileo G CLASS AMONGST THE PACK ICE

Built in Picchiotti’s shipyard and designed by the Vitruvius Yachts Studio under the direction of Philippe Briand, the prize-winning Galileo G is a wonderful and highly elegant 55 meters motor yacht; but the feature which really distinguishes it is its unusual Ice Class classification. This enables it to reach the remotest corners of the globe while maintaining its mechanical efficiency even when operating in polar temperatures.

Galileo G, equipped with twin Caterpillar 3512C (1,575 hp at 1,800 rpm), can reach a top speed of 16 knots, and at 11 knots has a stunning range of 9,000 nautical miles. Whereas the hull is made of reinforced steel, deliberately designed to stand up to any clashes with the ice, the vessel possesses a retractable telescopic ice detection system that transmits through a 3D monitor in the pilothouse a system that can detect submerged and semi-submerged obstacles along the vessel’s path at distances of over 1 kilometre.

In July 2016 the Galileo G crossed the legendary Northwest Passage, the sea route linking the Atlantic Ocean and the Pacific Ocean through the pack ice of the Arctic, a destination regarded as wholly impossible until just a century ago and still nowadays said by many to be the hardest in the world.

It is hard to imagine just how exciting such an adventure could be, but it’s even more exciting to imagine making the journey on board the splendid Galileo G. A yacht predestined to become as much a legend as the routes for which it has been conceived.

La Spezia , October 2016