I got the call Halloween morning that I had been waiting on for the last 3 months.  It was the PR director from Derecktor Shipyards telling me that the photoshoot for Cakewalk was on, and to be at the dock at 7:00 pm ready to rock.  Yes, I was going to be photographing Cakewalk, the largest privately owned yacht ever built in the United States…Ever.

This isn’t your run-of-the-mill megayacht (if there is such a thing).  This is creme de la creme of the ultra-luxury, mega-yachting world.  Not only based on sheer size, (281 feet, 2998 tons) but on her unbelievable interior luxury appointments, all of which were designed by Liz Dalton of Dalton Designs.  From the intricate wood design, to the hand-woven carpet, to the state of the art electronics, this is quite possibly single most significant story in American yachting history.

Just to give you an idea of what we’re talking about, Cakewalk is made up of 6 decks. She carries 3 separate (large) ultra luxury, 35′ + tenders in her hull that are lifted out of a giant door in the side by a 40 ton crane.  She has a crew of 24, to take care of just 14 guests.  This boat is so large, that two people could have free reign over the entire place and never see each other.

And speaking of crew… These folks are hand-picked and happen to be some of the nicest, kindest, most genuine folks I have ever met.  We worked two nights in a row, all night.  At one point around midnight, one of the stewardesses asked me if I’d like some coffee.  Sure thing!  I was expecting something in a Styrofoam cup with a plastic stir stick and powdered creamer.

Oh no….That’s not how things are done on Cakewalk.  About 10 minutes later she returned with a fine china cup and saucer containing freshly brewed cappuccino with carefully layered foam and little cinnamon sprinkles along side a sterling silver spoon and a complete setup with a couple of types of sugar and other various sweeteners (all the packets printed with the Cakewalk logo, incidentally).  Might’ve been the single best cup of coffee I’ve ever had….

Anyway…  Many of the images from this gig are currently featured in a 12 page spread in the December/January 2011 issue of ShowBoats International.  Pick up a copy to learn more about her.  Other yachting magazines from around the world will be featuring these images of Cakewalk in the near future.

Here are some additional images from my time on Cakewalk. 

Enjoy…

AF