The Dutch superyacht designer Cor D. Rover was quite literally born on the water. “I was born aboard an inland barge like one of those you can see in this marina,” he casually told me waving to the run of traditional Dutch boats lined up outside his floating office on the Nieuw Maass river in Rotterdam, the Netherlands. With the lights gently swaying above our heads as his floating office rode the undulating waves, he continued his story. “I’m one of six and all of us have a strong connection with the water. In the warmer months we were always swimming, sailing, or enjoying all types of water sports,” he said with deep nostalgia.

As a Dutchman, Cor and his siblings lived a life not out of the ordinary; for anyone that’s visited the country or knows its inhabitants well, the waterways are much more than a picturesque backdrop. But not every Dutchman makes a career out of this lifestyle – in that regard, Cor is one of the few exceptions. “It nearly wasn’t to be though,” Cor chuckled. “I have always been interested in technology – everything that moves, in fact – and the plan was originally to become an aeroplane designer.”But he couldn’t shake the itch for ships and shipbuilding; living amongst the great yards just outside Rotterdam in Hardinxveld-Giessendam inspired him…