35 years of Pendennis: a round up of 2023

Throughout the year we’ve reflected on stand-out moments from Pendennis’ 35-year history. We’re finally up to date, and today we’ll be focusing on the best moments from this year. 2023 has been a special year indeed, with it being our 35th anniversary, 25th anniversary of our apprenticeship scheme and the 5th anniversary of our investment into Vilanova.

Marala’s World Superyacht Award win

We were delighted to be awarded “Best Rebuild” at the prestigious World Superyacht Awards in May for classic Camper & Nicholsons motor yacht Marala. The judges recognised Pendennis’ meticulous period-conscious rebuild of the 92-year-old classic motor yacht and considered her worthy of a Neptune award. Marala’s restoration at Pendennis took place over two and a half years, in which she undertook a truly transformative process, resulting in her being preserved for generations to come, all the while restoring her to her original glory. Read more about Marala here.

5 years of Pendennis Vilanova

2023 marked 5 years since our investment into Pendennis Vilanova, and how far we have come! What started as a marina with a simple repair yard for Med-centric yachts has flourished into a multifaceted technical hub for superyachts in the Mediterranean. This year saw Pendennis Vilanova celebrate its 300th project and saw the completion of the brand-new paint facility which complements our other workshops. We look forward to Pendennis Vilanova’s continual development and future success. Notably, we also launched a brand-new website for Pendennis Vilanova, all part of our wider rebranding project. Look at Pendennis Vilanova’s website here.

37th America’s Cup Preliminary Regatta

Furthermore, in September of this year Pendennis Vilanova hosted the first Preliminary Regatta of the 37th America’s Cup which was a huge success. Pendennis Vilanova served as the technical area to host the race teams and their AC40s. Since its inauguration in 1851, the America’s Cup has come to Europe only twice – we were honoured to be chosen as the host location. You can view the action and round up videos from the event on our social channels.

25 years of the Pendennis apprenticeship scheme

This year we celebrated the 25th anniversary of our award-winning apprenticeship scheme, and this year the scheme was listed at number 35 in the Government’s Top 100 Apprenticeship Employers. We’re very proud of our award-winning apprenticeship scheme and delighted to receive recognition for our commitment to maintaining world-class standards of training and development. The essence of the scheme has remained the same throughout the years: to educate and train young people with the skills to build and repair superyachts to an excellent standard, whilst helping them develop into well rounded individuals.

35-year anniversary dinner at Lord's

To round up the year, we celebrated our 35th anniversary in style at Lord’s Cricket Ground in London, we added a unique element – dinner in the prestigious Long Room overlooking the Lord’s Media Centre, which was built by Pendennis in 1999. We had a wonderful evening celebrating with friends and reminiscing on Pendennis' history.

We have a lot to look forward to in 2024 with the planned delivery of our latest bespoke build, expedition yacht Project Fox. We’ll also be redelivering classic M/Y Seawolf following her extensive rebuild.

Another exciting year beckons!