Galactica Super Nova  may be five metres longer than her Heesen Yachts predecessor Galactica Star, but this evolution is about much more than extra length. For one thing the new 70 metre has an extra engine packed inside and, while Galactica Star was the first incarnation of Van Oossanen’s Fast Displacement Hull Form, the younger yacht really tests the “fast” in that description.

A centreline booster engine coupled to a Rolls-Royce water jet can be engaged when the wing engines and propellers push Galactica Super Nova above 20 knots. Then it’s time to hold on to your hat. “We did a speed run for the boss,” says the yacht’s engineer, Jan Kamstra. “On the main 20V MTUs alone we reached 26 knots.”

Once you have firmly grasped the concept of a 70 metre yacht with four decks of living space zooming by at 26 knots, consider what comes next. “If we know we are going to want to run fast, we will put the booster engine in warm-up mode,” says Captain Chris Guy. “In the wheelhouse, speed is controlled by a single throttle lever. I just keep pushing it and once the yacht is going faster than 20 knots the centreline jet is engaged automatically as I push the lever. We go from zero to top speed in 75 seconds.”