You can rent Denis O’Brien’s superyacht - for a price

The latest issue of Boat International – “the global authority in superyachting” – has a report from on board Nero, Denis O’Brien’s vessel, the one that keeled over while being repaired in Genoa in 2019. “On a bright day off the coast of Monaco, I tour the modern-classic build, witnessing the wealth of details that make her such a revered yacht,” trills Holly Margerrison, the magazine’s deputy online editor. One of these “details”, it transpires, is a bust of Horatio Nelson. The one-eyed British admiral may have been knocked off his perch on Dublin’s O’Connell Street but is “tucked behind the door in the owner’s suite” of the Nero.

In fairness, Nelson would have been among the fixtures and fittings when O’Brien bought the 90m craft in 2014 for about €40 million. The Digicel chairman promptly had it refitted. Boat International quotes interior designer Laura Pomponi saying the brief she was given was “contemporary, classic elegance”. To achieve a fresh aesthetic Pomponi introduced more light, cream interiors, and “an amalgamation of cosy textures throughout”. Some 3.2km of fabric was used.

The sofas of the Nero, which Pomponi personally upholstered, “demand to be sat on”, we’re told. Sounds like value for money. A mix of old and new artwork, “chosen in collaboration with the owner and sourced predominantly from Italy and America”, was introduced.

Pomponi was sent for again in 2021, this time with a brief to turn Nero into a wellness boat that would appeal to charter clients – who are being charged from $497,000 (€471, 341) a week for the privilege. For the second refit, “the owner opted for new colours, allowing Pomponi to weave in greens and yellows amongst the teal and blue,” says Boat International. Greens and yellows? One wonders would Nelson have approved ...