A former Soviet icebreaker has been relaunched by Icon Yachts in Holland after an extensive refit that saw her enter the yard as Giant 1 last year
She will emerge from the yard as Legend capable of carrying 26 guests in luxury, without losing her safety and strength as an icebreaker.
Under her new name will enter the charter market for Verkerk Yachting Projects the same owners who brought the yacht Sherekhan to the charter market.
After an appearance in the Mediterranean during the summer months and after attending the Monaco Yacht Show she will spend her first winter cruising South America and Antarctica.
Alongside the completion of the technical and system upgrades, extensive modifications to her exterior are being made. The stern has been extended by 3.6 metres and will be equipped with a swim platform and a swimming pool.
The helicopter landing pad is commercially certified and a submarine will be stored in a garage on the forward deck. The helicopter and submarine will be offered for charters at an extra cost.
She also features a gym, a Balinese spa with sauna, jacuzzi and beauty salon, a movie theatre and entertainment system, medical suite, swimming pool and any toy you can imagine from paddle boards to jet-skis to snow scooters.
Her interior configuration has been designed to comfortably sleep up to 26 guests in 13 cabins, including a Master suite, two VIP suites, four double staterooms and six twin staterooms (some of them convertible).
She is also capable of carrying up to 19 crew on board, plus an extra 10 expedition crew (doctor, ice-pilot, expedition leaders, naturalists, etc), which will ensure the most relaxed luxury yacht experience combined with the thrills of an unparalleled discovery adventure.
The vessel was originally one of two commercial vessels built in the Netherlands as an ice breaking tug for use with the Soviet Navy who claimed they used her to clear passages for nuclear submarines as they made their way into and out of Russia’s ports.
But when we were part of her crew during her first rebuild to become the expedition yacht Giant we saw a lot of dodgy looking electronics removed that suggested she might have had a more clandestine past that just breaking ice.
Painted a ruby red with a cream superstructure she was rudely nicknamed Rhubarb and Custard by several charter brokers when she previously tried to ply her trade as a charter yacht
As Giant in a photo by Maarten Janssen