Erik Vonk, Scintilla Maris - Luxury Means Leaving Marinas Behind

Rough seas, barnacled commercial pilings, and a midnight decision to cross to the Faroe Islands don’t sound like “luxury yachting,” and that’s exactly the point. We’re joined by Eric Vonk, owner of the rugged explorer yacht Scintilla Maris, to talk about a style of cruising built around purpose, presence, and a boat that feels like it has a soul. If you’ve ever wondered what separates expedition yachting from a marina-to-marina loop, this conversation makes it real.

We dig into why Eric chose to reimagine a North Sea fishing trawler and why he worked to preserve her original character instead of transforming her into a conventional-looking yacht. That choice unlocks true seaworthiness, long-range autonomy, and the freedom to travel where many pleasurecraft simply can’t. From the Outer Hebrides to Icelandic waters, we talk about how the journey itself shapes decisions, why weather is part of the experience, and how capability expands your world rather than “ticking boxes” off a list.

Then the story widens into ocean conservation and marine science. Through Yachts for Science, Scintilla Maris becomes a stable research platform for scientists mapping marine biodiversity around Iceland with underwater drones, helping document what actually lives in huge areas of the ocean we still barely understand. We also explore a powerful idea: science-led charter trips where guests dive, learn, and explore with scientific guides, turning leisure into discovery.

If you want to understand cruising that feels meaningful and you’re willing to get comfortable with being uncomfortable, press play. Subscribe, share this with a fellow ocean-lover, and leave a review telling us: would you take the rough-water route on purpose?

Transcript

Diane M. Byrne 0:00

Hello everyone, I'm Diane Byrne and welcome to the first episode of Inside the Owner's Suite. What you're about to listen to isn't a recording or Q ⁇ A. It's a genuine conversation, the kind that almost never happens outside of closed doors. In fact, the inspiration for Inside the Owner's Suite is actually what you're about to hear. I had the pleasure of speaking with Eric Vonk, the owner of the rugged explorer yacht Skintilomaris, a few months ago, and from the first moments it was a relaxed, reflective, and open conversation. For Eric, yachting means going where few others travel, pointing Skinilamaris's bow into seas that keep most at the dock, and finding good excuses to further ocean conservation and science. With every new episode of this podcast, the mood and the flow will be equally relaxed and reflective. So settle in next to us and enjoy the conversation. But going back to when maybe even you bought your very first boat, what decision has really mattered more to you than you ever expected it would.

Erik Vonk 1:23

I don't know whether there's been a surprise in there, but what I've always liked is the combination of using a vessel for a purpose to go places. So it's it's a full spectrum. I see so many people who own a boat and who have no clue and/or couldn't care less. It's their hotel or home away from home, and their staff there,

A Boat As Companion And Soul

Erik Vonk 2:00

and life is good. And for the rest, uh everybody better take care that things are in order and goodbye. For me, that's very different. For me, the boat has a soul, and I I like that. Um and I like to make sure that I have boats that have a soul that I like. So there's a I think there's a level of identification that rings through when you use the boat, then um it is a companion with a soul that you go on a journey with.

Diane M. Byrne 2:38

I like that. It sounds like it sounds like in effect you developed a philosophy about cruising. It's not just the experience of cruising, right? It's a whole well-rounded vision, gut feeling, etc.

Erik Vonk 2:54

It is. Um, you know, um, I think when you when you use a boat to go from place to place, there's varying degrees in what the expectations are of that journey. Is it the destination that you like, or do you also like the journey itself? And I think that if there is an answer yes, that that makes the the use very different. There's no no good or bad way to to use a boat. We all know that there are many owners who often don't even join the boat when it travels from A to B. For me, that uh that wouldn't happen very often. I don't think it has ever happened. But if you enjoy both, then also the choices in what you do, where you go, are influenced by what body of water you cross. Because um, taking the boat across the water somewhere is is the journey, and there can be a demand that as strictly flat because I don't want the boat to move, or that can be seen as something, hey, it's okay if it's uh if it's bad, because that's the type of boat I have, and that's the soul of the boat. I enjoy how the boat handles adverse circumstances and all the reasons why not to go from A to B.

Diane M. Byrne 4:26

Elaborate on that a little bit more because I really like that that viewpoint and that philosophy. You know, Skintila Maris was never intended to be conventional. She certainly does not look conventional, and that influences everything about her. She was not built as a conventional vessel either, being a former fishing troller. So there are other owners who have taken commercial projects and converted them, and they use them like a conventional yacht. And like you said, there's nothing wrong with that, but that's not your personality, that's not your vision. So, to me, what's fascinating is the ultimate purpose of Skintilomaris and her ultimate usage

Why Preserve A Working Vessel

Diane M. Byrne 5:14

are really the story that so many people don't get to hear. And what has she allowed you to do that conventional cruising just can't compare with?

Erik Vonk 5:29

Um, your observation about conversions and what you intend to achieve with a conversion of an existing vessel can go into all sorts of directions. And the traditional way of doing it is to turn a commercial vessel into something that looked like a yacht, as close as possible. And it may continue to keep some of its lines and sturdiness and so forth, but for the rest, it's fair, there's stainless steel everywhere, and peak, and it's it becomes a yacht. In um in my case, I've tried to preserve as much as possible of the original boat, uh, because to me, that original vessel had the soul I can identify with, and um which has developed over centuries by generations and generations who have been fishing in the northeastern Atlantic, among the most unpleasant pieces of water in the world, and have developed vessels in which they could survive. This whole vessel is about survival, had the ultimate in seaworthiness, in being able to go out under any any circumstances. Now, against that picture, we have traveled in the Nordic area and far Iceland for, I think, most conventional yachts, you would have to wait for a weather window to quickly go there, because you know it's going to be between unpleasant and dangerous with most conventional yachts to cross that water under adverse circumstances. Then when you arrive, uh, because not many yachts do it, because they're not built for it, there are no traditional marinas or docking places that are designed to hold fared holes that can't touch anything, and so forth. Instead, you have a very rough case with large pilings full of barnacles and very different circumstances that you would find in the uh marina in Anti. So both there, the journey as well as the destinations are suitable for the soul of Skintilimars, and would be between difficult and impossible to go to with a white yacht.

Diane M. Byrne 8:13

I was just getting such a visual image in my head of what it was like pulling into those ports, waiting on the seas, the whole experience. I'm wondering if there's another moment where the whole purpose of the yacht really became tangible or or you know, an experience just really brought it all home for you.

Erik Vonk 8:39

Yeah, the first time that we went to places like I just mentioned in 24, we found ourselves in northern Scotland and had been in the outer Hebrides, which are you know, nobody, nobody goes there. Beautiful, but rugged. And um one afternoon, looking on the EGDIS system, uh, realized what the relative proximity was of the Pyro Islands north, like two days, two days and nights of travel. And at the spur of the moment, it was possible to say, you know, let's go, let's do it. And weigh anchor and off we go. And it was in the afternoon, so a few hours later, we found ourselves in the middle of

Nordic Waters That Demand Seaworthiness

Erik Vonk 9:26

the night and on our way to something that took a few wild rocks there in the middle of the of the ocean. Um, that long story to say is that that spur of the moment decision could only have been taken on a vessel like this. As far as I know, the Fire Islands have only one port, that's a small commercial port. And so long autonomy and the ability to dock in in a commercial port, and for the rest, if not if that's not possible, stay autonomous at anchors for a long period of time, were not issues. You know, it was okay, and that is that is really magnificent, anyway. Is um sets a vessel like this, distinguishes a vessel like this. Yeah, because the teak is mahogany, or the mahogany is teak, or you know, the stainless steel has been polished five times instead of four, it's it's it's different. It has it has a different soul and can be used for very different purposes under very different circumstances than the average pleasure crafts.

Diane M. Byrne 10:43

Right, right. I'm wondering if those spur of the moment decisions, those spur of the moment opportunities, have been the ones that have been the most satisfying. Um, or is it the is there a nice mix between those and the ones that you planned well in advance?

Erik Vonk 11:01

Oh yeah. Going to a number of places here along the East Coast, like Portland, Maine, had been long on a on a wish list. And um uh Rhode Island, uh going to Boston, going to New York, etc. I've been long on a on a on on a list of wow, if that that would ever be possible to do that, then uh we're we're going to do that. And so it's it's both, but both the uh the spur of the moment as well as places considered to be desirable to go and visit, and journey too, yeah. For me, it has to be both. The it's the the prospect of the journey as well as the destination need to be both there.

Diane M. Byrne 11:50

Yeah, yeah. And I would imagine too that some of those destinations that were along on your wish list, once you were able to go, those might have even inspired more. Okay, now wait, we can if we did this, now we can do that.

Erik Vonk 12:06

Absolutely. That is that is absolutely right. It opens the archer further and further, and that and that is nice. I think you you hit on a very important point there. In instead of working on a diminishing list by taking it off, it it becomes wider and wider and more and more. And um that's a good point, and that's absolutely true.

Diane M. Byrne 12:30

It makes me remember when I was a kid, there was a a TV program that I loved, and they kept talking about they would use the phrase this big blue marble in reference to the world that we lived in. And I never forgot that because it really gives you such a great image, a mental image of how there are so many places to visit, so many vast seas, more so to explore that frankly, not too many people do explore.

Erik Vonk 12:59

It's absolutely right. And and here the operative word is exploration in general, and the way uh yachts and pleasure crafts have been used and have developed a certain reputation of you know, the ultimate in luxury and opulence that you can have has given rise to people who have been looking for a bit more meaning and for exploration, and hence the development of the explorer yacht. Okay, now San Lorenzo builds explorers, and it's the it's the same boat, it's the same structure, but it has a different bow and a longer aft deck and so forth. The boat isn't suitable for any more exploration than a sister ship that's a motor yacht, but it has that image that this has been built to explore. I think what we're beginning to see is more and more people who have uh who have had longer-term yachting experiences who develop more and more interest in that. They've seen the little runs from Marina A with a little town with Gucci stores to Marina B with a little town with Gucci stores, and they want to go to more exotic places that are harder to reach and where there are fewer boats. That has been the whole purpose of Skin Villamaris from the get-go, and with you know, the anthysis also as a purpose, and that is not to go to those towns where the white yachts go. I I I think chances to see that you will see Scintilla Maris in the Med are slim to none. We won't go there. Um, or you know, replicas of that on a smaller scale further uh around the world. What has further piqued interest in real exploration is the time that we've spent with scientists on board under auspices of Yachts for Science. We have been able to make the boat available for real research that is being done around mapping of biodiversity in the oceans. There are vast, vast portions of the oceans where that hasn't been done, where we human beings do not know what lives there. We don't. So there is global research going on or global activities going on to achieve that, to get a picture of that. And by staying in touch

Yachts As Science Platforms

Erik Vonk 15:58

with the Yachts for Science organization, we learned about the need for a research platform in the Iceland area around the time that we were there. Long story short, we ended up there for uh about 10 days or so with a group of scientists on board doing just that, uh, taking drones, underwater drones, and mapping, doing a systematic mapping of areas on the northwestern part of Iceland and catalog what is there, and found new species, living organisms that up to then didn't exist. Um so that has been a phenomenally gratifying and eye-opening experience, and even to a point where it there was mutual, the the scientists also liked well, liked the fact that we on board were very interested, but uh liked the boat. They said, Oh, we we so often have an opportunity offered graciously by gout owners to be on their boats, but now the dog is caught the car because now we are on a platform. Um we have to be very careful launching tenders and coming to the boat and launching rovers and drones and uh etc. Is is all not what the boat has been intended for, and needs to be done very carefully. And here it's comfortable, you have access to the water, the boat is extremely stable, it has a dynamic positioning system. Oh man, where are you the other 365 days a year? This is this is the best of the best. Those those folks have become so enthused that they've asked, or two of them, two of the scientists from uh the University of Western Australia, said, Hey, if you find people who want to give an true exploration slant to charter, or even a scientific exploration slant to charter, count as in. We can be your guests' scientific guides, not as part of an official research project, but if people say, Hey, can we in a certain region learn more about the biodiversity and go dive and swim and so forth, and be guided, and after dinner have a video presentation of what has been explored and uh etc. And so I've said absolutely that is fantastic.

Diane M. Byrne 18:54

Oh, absolutely. That's I think one of the most well-kept secrets that needs to be unkept, if you will. The first and foremost, scientists have very small budgets. That is what holds them back from being able to do so many things that they really want and need to do. There's extremely limited opportunity on top of their limited budgets to be able to go to regions that they've just never been able to access before. Yacht, like you were saying before, spur the moment. Okay, well, great. Let's go here, let's go there. That's rare if it ever happens with a commercial vessel. They have a timetable, they need to be at point B by a certain date. The yacht owners really are, and the yacht owners' families, the charter guests, everybody. I mean, think about the stories that they would have and the memories they would have for the rest of their lives, the pride of the families, the mind-blowing nature of the discovery alone, to sit there and be able to say, wow, we made that happen. That's that's amazing.

Erik Vonk 19:59

It is, it is, it is. Fortunately, I hear from the elsewhere science that more and more owners volunteer their boats for research. And I think, from my experience, I can't encourage that enough. It is absolutely worth it. It allows us to learn a little bit more about planet Earth. 75% of it is covered in water, and we hardly understand it. This kind of work allows us over time, as human beings, to be better custodians of the planet that we live on. For the scientists now to flip it around and say, hey, when we're not doing research, and the boat has guests that say, we we like diving. Can we take Scantila Mars, go to the Sea of Cortez, and dive there, but be guided scientifically. Hey guys, tomorrow we're going there and there, because that is a mating ground for mana rays. And we're going to swim with them, and this is their behavior, and so forth, and augment pleasure and leisure with purpose. That's what we're beginning to do. We're talking to through brokers, a couple of potential charter clients who would desire to have the scientists that I just mentioned on board. It further enhances and breeds further interest in science.

Diane M. Byrne 21:40

Right, right, definitely. It's only a positive thing. So for somebody who might be considering similarly minded, purposeful cruising and discovery oriented cruising, is there something that you think they should get comfortable? Not doing. There's that old saying about get comfortable being uncomfortable. Traditional cruising, you could argue, would be comfortable, right? It's it's luxurious, it's glamorous, all those adjectives. Not to say that what you do is not comfortable, but it's a different comfort level. It makes you challenge certain givens. So is there something that you would say that these owners should

Enjoying Discomfort As The Price

Diane M. Byrne 22:29

keep in mind along those lines?

Erik Vonk 22:31

Yeah, that's that's a very good question. And uh I have two answers. Number one, don't underestimate it. When you now have your explorer platform, well, make sure it's a true explorer. It is it is a vessel that either has proven or can be reasonably uh expected to be completely fit to meet all the circumstances that you're looking for. Number two, don't underestimate it. It is the uh discomfort needs to be a source of enjoyment, otherwise, don't do it. If heavy sea movement is seen as discomfort, and the type of boat is seen as one where that is less, then it's still discomfort. You decrease it by having a more seaworthy boat, but you're increasing it by going areas under weather circumstances where it's very uncomfortable. Like in my case, that's flipped around. That is a form of discomfort that is extremely exhilarating for me. It is I I that's when the true soul of the boat shows itself, and it's a it's it's an enjoyment to see and feel how the boat handles heavy seas. Maybe there's somewhat of a parallel with sailing. Sailing is not always comfortable, but you sail, you make use of the wind to get places or to develop speed or to race someone else, and what normally would be seen as a discomfort would be under an angle with your boat and do heavy work and live with all uh the characteristics that come with sailing, those need to be a source of enjoyment and not of discomfort. And so, to go back to your question, when I say don't underestimate it, it has got something to do with your ability to either accept or enjoy discomfort. I mean you go to Iceland, you're not going to sit on beaches, right? So if if discomfort is warm weather and beaches, then by implication the opposite is discomfort, then don't go there.

Diane M. Byrne 25:23

Right. Right. I think that's a perfect note to end on.