“Kismet’s” spacious aft deck © BlueiProd
“Kismet’s” multipurpose sea terrace © BlueiProd
Modern travel is very good at getting us somewhere. After all, that’s what we have spent decades perfecting. Flights are faster, connections are easier, and almost anywhere worth going can now be reached within a day or so. What has suffered along the way is the joy of the journey itself. There are still exceptions, however. Certain modes of transport haven’t yet lost their charm: a long train ride through unfamiliar countryside, a quick but picturesque helicopter ride to a remote location, or a leisurely drive down a road with no particular end in mind. And then there’s the endless adventure that sailing the seas promises, inviting exploration through uncharted territories and infinite horizons.
As you lift the anchor and slip beyond the harbour walls, travel begins to play by a different rulebook when you set sail. With the city shrinking astern, phone reception becomes less interesting, schedules less pressing, and footwear increasingly optional. There is no departure board waiting at the other end, no fixed point you have to reach or time schedule to abide by. If a place earns another day, you stay. If not, you keep moving. For those lucky enough to travel this way, that independence is part of the magic.
Businessman and sports magnate Shahid Khan, who has owned three yachts built by Lürssen, knows this feeling all too well. “Yachting is an expression of freedom and adventure that cannot be equalled,” he says. “Anything is possible, whether it’s a beautiful journey with loved ones or a celebration with hundreds of friends, old and new.” His latest yacht, Kismet, was created with that breadth of experience in mind.
Above & featured images: “Kismet”, a custom Lürssen yacht built for Shahid Khan © Jarmo Pohjaniemi
At 122 metres, Kismet is not exactly discreet, yet discretion is one of the things she offers best. When Khan’s Jacksonville Jaguars are in London, the yacht has been known to take up position on the Thames, serving as a private base around the team’s Wembley fixtures. Beyond the gangway, London carries on at full tilt. Step back on board, and the world belongs entirely to Khan and his guests.
It’s the perfect example of just how many roles a yacht can play. One week, it’s a family’s home on the water; the next, a grand entertainment venue. It can offer a complete escape or bring a crowd together, its purpose shifting according to the needs of those on board. For Lürssen, accommodating such different ideas of life at sea is hardly new territory—this is something the family-owned German shipyard has understood for well over a century.
In fact, Lürssen has been involved in powered leisure craft since almost its inception. In 1886, the company worked with Gottlieb Daimler to fit one of his combustion engines into a six-metre wooden hull, creating what is widely regarded as the world’s first motorboat. There is something extraordinary about the scale of that first experiment when viewed alongside the yachts the company produces today. Six metres has become 70 metres or more, and a small engine in a wooden boat has given way to projects whose construction involves thousands of people, decisions, and calculations.
“Kismet” features a built-in pool bar, a fully kitted spa, gym and various relaxation areas © BlueiProd
The fundamental motivation, however, has remained unchanged. Someone asks whether something can be done, and Lürssen sets about finding a way. That process is perhaps the more interesting side of custom yacht building. The finished boats are easy to admire. They arrive in Monaco or St. Barths with deceptive ease, as though someone simply drew it and, a few years later, there it appeared. What remains hidden from view is everything that had to be designed, created, and solved in between.
An owner might describe an architectural idea, a particular way they want to entertain, a piece of technology they want incorporated, or simply a feeling they want the yacht to have. None of this comes with an instruction manual. The job is to take those thoughts, however vague or ambitious, and turn them into something that can spend weeks crossing an ocean without complication.
With Lürssen, every yacht therefore begins on its own terms. There is no house model to personalise with a different wood veneer and predefined sofa arrangement. The owner’s life feeds into the design from the beginning: how many people tend to travel together, where they want to go, how private the private spaces should be, and how they imagine spending an ordinary Tuesday afternoon on board. Sometimes the answers lead somewhere entirely different.
The 114.2-metre “Nausicaä” features an impressive Skydome © Jarmo Pohjaniemi
The 114.2-metre Nausicaä, delivered in 2026 and designed by Marc Newson, is a case in point. Among her most unusual features is a Skydome formed from seven huge panes of curved glass. Shaping them required heat, gravity, and far more patience than the finished result suggests. The glass was allowed to sag over moulds under carefully controlled conditions until the required compound curves emerged. The reward sits beneath it: a 56-square-metre office drenched in daylight and seaside panoramas. On paper, it sounds almost too simple: a glass roof, a room with a view. But that is often the mark of exceptional engineering—making something complex seem straightforward. Once the difficult part has been done properly, it tends to look as though it was never a challenge at all.
However, not every new yacht needs to make such a grand entrance to be impressive. Boardwalk, a 117-metre Lürssen also delivered in 2026, comes from a more traditional school of thought. Its innovation lies partly in refinement: taking ideas that have already proved themselves and working through them again, at greater scale and with greater precision. That matters because novelty has never been the only measure of a good yacht. Spend enough time looking at superyachts, and it is easy to become distracted by the spectacular bits—infinity pools, dazzling beach clubs, vast pieces of glass, private cinemas, and decks large enough to lose somebody on.
“Boardwalk”, a 117-metre yacht delivered by Lürssen in 2026 © Ruben Griffioen
Owners generally adopt a longer-term perspective: the yacht needs to work well, with as little input as is possible. It must be quiet when it ought to be quiet, comfortable when the weather turns unpleasant, and dependable when it’s thousands of miles away from the shipyard that built it. The air conditioning nobody notices, the machinery that keeps running, and the systems that make a vessel this sophisticated feel effortless are not particularly glamorous subjects. They are, however, the reason people can happily spend months aboard one.
After nearly three decades of yachting, Khan is somewhat of an expert on the matter, and has little hesitation about where his loyalties lie. “The first thing you do if you want to get into yachting is start with the best,” he says. “That’s Lürssen.”
“Kismet” seen from above © BlueiProd
“Kismet” is a masterwork of engineering © Jarmo Pohjaniemi
To find out more about Lürssen, visit the links below:
Lürssen Yachts
Web: lurssen.com
Tel: +49 (0)421 6604 166
Email: yachts@lurssen.com
Instagram: @luerssenyachts
Facebook: @LurssenYachts