ILONA Pairs a 30m Owner's Deck With the Mileage of a Genuine World Traveller

ILONA is a yacht whose lifestyle credentials are backed by unusually serious mileage. Amels says the 73.7-metre custom yacht covered almost 150,000 nautical miles in her first ten years, travelling to all corners of the globe before a major 2012 refit reshaped key areas around the owner's evolving needs.

Real mileage teaches an owner what matters

Nearly 150,000 nautical miles in a decade means ILONA was not designed merely to sit in familiar marinas. Long-distance operation exposes every weakness in storage, circulation, machinery access and guest comfort, giving an experienced owner a very clear understanding of what should change at refit.

That kind of knowledge is difficult to reproduce in a first build because it comes from living aboard through different climates, sea states and destinations. The best later modifications are therefore often practical responses to repeated use rather than fashionable additions chosen from a trend list.

A helipad hangar became a large swimming pool

During the 2012 Amels refit, the previous below-decks helipad hangar was replaced by a large swimming pool with a movable floor, while a new helipad was created on the top deck aft. The change reallocated valuable volume from aircraft storage to daily guest enjoyment.

A movable-floor pool is useful because the same area can support different activities when swimming is not the priority. It turns one major amenity into a flexible piece of deck architecture, allowing the yacht to adapt more easily between exercise, relaxation and social use.

The owner's deck stretches for around 30 metres

Amels highlights a 30-metre Owner's Deck as one of ILONA's defining features, creating a substantial private territory within the yacht. A deck of that scale can contain sleeping, working, lounging and exterior spaces without requiring the owner to move constantly through shared guest areas.

This kind of separation changes the emotional experience of ownership. The owner can host a large group aboard while still retaining a private apartment-like environment, choosing when to join the social programme rather than having privacy depend on an individual cabin door.

Six-thousand-mile range keeps the world open

The official specification lists a 6,000-nautical-mile range at 12 knots, aligning the yacht's technical capability with her proven history of travel. Range matters most when it is actually used, and ILONA's early mileage gives the figure more meaning than a theoretical brochure number alone.

For owners drawn to genuine global cruising, this combination is compelling: private space on an exceptional scale, a yacht repeatedly proven over distance and a refit history that demonstrates the platform can evolve as tastes and operational priorities change. That combination makes the yacht as credible in practice as it is impressive on paper.

Official sources: www.amelsyachting.com.