There were a few quiet weeks at the turn of the year. The holidays left every one in a relaxed and quiet mood, it seemed. And then, in the last week, so many yachts from a number of different yachts splashed that I'm pretty sure I felt the spray from my desk.

One of those launches was Heesen's Project Zentric, which her owner has christened Lady L. Begun on spec, this eighth of the 44-meter (144-foot) all-aluminum series was sold in November of last year.

By Jason Y. Wood

Boat buying has become a truly international sport over the last few years, and the foibles of the world financial markets have made for a pitching and rolling playing field. One month may see Australians dropping dollars on merchandise in marinas Southern California and South Florida, while the next may put Koreans in a buying mood, only to be followed by a South American spending spree. Globalization has finally ended the last of the real-estate analogies for boat buyers. Location, location, location is dead, dead, dead.

This summer, London may well be on par with the summer megayacht destination of St Tropez or Portofino. 

Not only are megayacht berths being constructed for during the Olympics, but now British Education Secretary Michael Gove suggests that the Queen's Jubilee celebrations should go above and beyond and - perhaps - include a new royal yacht.

You may have heard rumors of a new, much larger Nordhavn in the works. Well, the rumors are fact—the next new Nordhavn will be a 120, and construction is already well underway in China, with an expected launch date of mid-2012. Here are some construction photos just released by Nordhavn. Below you see an interior shot (looks like maybe one of the main staterooms) with some cabinetry and lacquer work already finished.

Photo Credit: Carl Groll / www.theyachtphoto.com

Lürssen's Project Rocky emerged from the sheds this week with the moniker ACE clearly emblazoned on her sides. The 87-meter (285-foot) vessel is one of the largest launches of the year.