Life Aboard

SY Mermaid

A private sail-motor yacht, chartered exclusively for the Egyptian Red Sea — built for calm, unhurried days between dives.

At a Glance

Space to move, built for the water

SY Mermaid was designed and built with divers and kiters in mind — wide, open decks with plenty of room to gear up, move around and relax between sessions. Built to suit all kinds of sea lovers, from first-time snorkellers to seasoned divers, she carries a maximum of 22 guests across 11 cabins and a dedicated guide cabin, keeping the saloon unhurried and the crew's attention on you.

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Bodrum to the Red Sea

A Turkish hull, rebuilt for a second life

SY Mermaid is a Turkish sailing yacht, designed and built in Bodrum — a town that has been turning out wooden hulls for the Aegean for as long as anyone has been keeping count. In 2025 she was taken into the shipyard at Safaga and rebuilt: refitted, modernised and brought up to current luxury and safety standards from the keel up.

What that means in practice: a boat with the lines and the feel of a traditional sailing yacht, and the systems of one built this decade. She carries up to 22 guests on a liveaboard safari and up to 40 on a day trip, with a crew trained for both.

Length & beam: 30 m × 7 m A wide beam is what makes the decks feel unhurried
Guests: 22 · 11 cabins Up to 40 on a day trip; 22 on a liveaboard safari
Built: Bodrum Designed and built in Turkey, in the Bodrum boatyards
Refit: 2025 Stripped back and rebuilt at the Safaga shipyard
Engines: 2 × 420 hp Generators: 2 × 130 kW plus 1 × 35 kW
Tenders: 2 speedboats 100 hp Yamaha each — every site reachable, every time
Compressor: 365 l/min Two filling stations on the dive deck
Life rafts: 3 · for 45 Capacity for 45 people — twice the guest maximum

Deck by Deck

Four levels, each with a job

On a boat this size the difference between a good week and a cramped one is whether the deck you want is free when you want it. Mermaid separates them: sleep and stargaze on top, eat and brief in the middle, dive from the stern, retreat to the saloon.

Upper deck

The star-gazing deck. Mattresses are laid out under the open sky, and on a Red Sea night with no coastline in sight the Milky Way is genuinely bright enough to read the horizon by. The quietest place on the boat between dives.

Mattresses
Open sky
360° views

Middle deck

Shaded, between the sundeck above and the dive deck below — four tables with leather seating and a bar serving soft drinks. Where briefings happen, where the logbooks come out, and where most of the day quietly goes.

4 tables
Leather seating
Soft-drinks bar
Shaded

Dive deck & platform

Large, and deliberately so: two service stations, a 365 l/min compressor, a charging station for cameras and torches, and the platform the tenders come alongside. Gear up once, dive all week.

2 service stations
Compressor 365 l/min
Charging station
2 tenders

Saloon & lounge

Air-conditioned, with deep sofas, four tables, a multimedia station and a separate buffet area with a 24-hour bar: pastries, soft drinks, and water, tea and coffee always free. The chef cooks Egyptian and European, full board, three times a day.

Air conditioning
24-hour bar
TV / DVD / hi-fi
Free water, tea & coffee

Onboard

A rhythm, not a schedule

Mornings begin quietly on the shaded sundeck before the first water entry; afternoons unfold between the saloon, the dive deck and the next reef. Evenings close over a shared table as the sun drops behind the coast.

Saloon and dining area aboard SY Mermaid

Saloon & Table

An air-conditioned saloon and dining area where full-board meals are served fresh, three times a day.

Lounge

Wide, open seating for briefings, downtime and shared meals — built with room to move.

Dive Deck & Tenders

A dedicated platform for kitting up, rinsing gear and stepping straight into the water, with tenders on hand for every site.

Cabins

A quiet retreat to return to

Every cabin is finished in warm timber and soft furnishings, designed as a genuine retreat between the excitement of the reef.

Twin Cabin

Individual reading lights, fresh linen and private storage — ideal for dive buddies or friends travelling together.

Double Cabin

A quiet double-bed cabin suited to couples, finished in the same warm timber and soft furnishings.

Bathroom

Clean, private bathroom facilities aboard, kept fresh throughout every safari.

In every cabin

Eleven cabins: two with a king-size bed, nine doubles. Each one has its own bathroom, and each is fitted the same — nobody gets the cabin that was an afterthought.