Makkum, The Netherlands: Amels Holland is pleased to announce that its new 73.7-metre ILONA-designed by Redman, Whiteley, Dixon with naval architecture by the Amels design team-has just completed her shakedown.

Leaving Holland on 15th December and heading south for Gibraltar, she averaged 16 knots over 3,500 nautical miles. Along the way she sailed through a Force 8 northwesterly gale, which Captain Mike Ebsworth reports, "we put on the quarter and she handled beautifully." With a stopover in Cyprus for the owners to board, ILONA sailed on to Israel for a three-week New Year's cruise.

Built for experienced owners who have circumnavigated four times, ILONA is nearly the largest Amels yacht, by length and displacement, launched to date. And she sets new standards for Amels' technology, innovation, and elegance. ILONA's many stunning highlights include: composite masts; a 33-metre-long upper-deck suite dedicated wholly to the owners; accommodations for 18 guests in 6 cabins, and 28 crew and staff in 13 cabins; an afterdeck helipad and hangar; a cosy 14-seat cinema; four fin stabilisers and 65 underwater lights; sumptuous contemporary mahogany joinery; and an elevator connecting all five decks.

Clearly, from top to bottom ILONA is a yacht to be proud of, and her owners have expressed great pleasure in her performance and amenities so far.