Coral Ocean is one of those names that has a special place in the hearts of superyacht aficionados. Launched from the Lürssen yard in 1994, the 240-footer achieved instant pedigree because it was designed by Jon Bannenberg, considered the godfather of modern yacht design.  His yacht-design career started with the interior of Queen Elizabeth II, and then progressed through a succession of 200 yachts that included The Highlander, Limitless, Thunder and finally Larry Ellison’s Rising Sun.

Coral Island, as it was originally named, was also noteworthy because it was one of the largest superyachts of its day, with what was considered a highly adventurous interior. The “Polynesian beach-house” included tribal cloth from Africa, bronze taps with conch shells and repurposed driftwood furniture.

It was purposely designed as an anti-bling alternative to the gold, marble and platinum used on superyachts of the late 80s and early 90s.

Eclectic is a polite way to describe Coral Ocean‘s interior, but like it or not, successive owners largely kept everything intact, even during its 2015 refit that modernized its audio-visual and other systems to make it legal for charter. While some cosmetic changes were made, the owners seemingly felt that tampering…