AUTUMN 2009I sea& iI91 a s moody clouds drift across the ink- blue of the early evening sky, a ray of sun breaks through and falls on Ethereal. Her white hull shines against the dramatic backdrop of Lanzarote's ragged, lava- dark moonscape as she swings peacefully to anchor, a gentle breeze blowing across the deserted anchorage and ruffling the Moroccan tent that has been set up on the foredeck. Ethereal seems at ease here, an extraordinary 58m ( 190') yacht that nevertheless blends com-fortably with her natural surroundings. For her guests, she offers every convenience and luxury to make a stay on board an unforgettable experience. Her hull, designed by Ron Holland, rises gently to the bow and features balanced overhangs and a stern that conceals a drop- down bathing platform, while her Pieter Beeldsnijder- style exterior lines are broken only by the well-proportioned deck saloon, low coachroofs and subtle aft cockpit. But while she may appear on the surface to be a conventional - some might even say conservative - sailing superyacht, she is one of the most technologically complex of her kind yet launched. Ethereal is the vision of Bill and Shannon Joy, who sought to create a yacht that pushed the boundaries of energy efficiency while retaining as environmentally sound a profile as possible. Future- proofed to allow for the fitting of fuel cells when the technology is ready, she is the culmination of several years of planning, design and building by her owners, a phalanx of technical experts, and her build yard, Royal Huisman in the Netherlands. Her captain, Andrew Barry, was skippering Hyperion when he first met the Joys at the Monaco Yacht Show. Hyperion was on the market, and the Joys were viewing her as potential clients. " I started talking with Alan Prior, who was project manager for Hyperion and Athena," says Barry. " I decided to leave Hyperion for a break, and then Ethereal came up. It was an exciting prospect to be working at a yard on such a project, surrounded by great people, and with exceptional owners." Breaking the boundaries of energy efficiency and sound insulation, the 58m ( 190') Ethereal brings new levels of technology to the ocean By Tim Thomas Ethereal newbuild green goddess ?