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Bystander – 138′ Escort Vessel

Bystander, the escort vessel to J Class Velsheda

Destined to be the escort vessel of J Class Velsheda, Bystander is the fruit of a close collaboration between Vripak naval architects and the English interior and exterior design firm Rhoades Young Design. Rhoades Young Design created a most classical style, inspired by 1930’s work vessels.  The hull is 42m and cut from steel, while the superstructure is aluminium. Bystander has a twin prop propulsion system, two diesel motors, and autonomy of over 5 400 nautical miles.  Particular attention was paid to the fine details, whether exterior or interior, in order to give Bystander her classic look. In 2006 Bystander won the International Superyacht Society Award in the US for Best Superyacht in the 32 to 43m motor yacht category.

Specifications

• Compass Deck

Rhoades Young Design

Interior and exterior designer, rhoades young design had work on this 42m escort vessel in conjunction with vripack naval architects and the jfa shipyard in concarneau – france..

Her profile forward, suggests a rugged workboat with a high bow and steep stem, the concentration of the superstructure weight is forward to leave large working decks aft. The forward section of the boat is very much the rugged end, with painted superstructure and high bulwarks, further aft more yacht style detailing becomes apparent with timber framed windows and panelled bulkheads in the social areas.

The interior is based on a nineteen thirties work boat, refitted for private use.

Furniture detailing reflects the nature of the boat; it is simple, functional and generally understated. In certain areas the detail level is upgraded to lend gravity to areas of importance, whilst pieces of free-standing furniture create a less formalised appearance. Broad plank wooden floors and elements of the original boat form a background of panelled bulkheads and beamed overheads.

The layout provides relaxed, though civilised accommodation with versatility and flexibility when required. A large deck saloon, which can be opened to the aft deck creating one vast sociable area is a rare and impressive space designed with spectating and entertaining in ind. The service areas are kept separate from the guest areas to allow both parties to function without impedance.

Best POWER 32-43m yacht 2007

Awarded by  International Superyacht Society

Bystander in the press

Bystander – mer & bateaux, bystander – the annual yacht report, bystander – the yacht report, bystander – boat international, bystander – barche da sogno.

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M/Y BYSTANDER

Current trip, palma de mallorca.

Current Position

Information.

The current position of M/Y BYSTANDER is in Balearic Sea with coordinates 39.56496° / 2.64018° as reported on 2024-05-17 09:03 by AIS to our vessel tracker app. The vessel's current speed is 0 Knots and is currently inside the port of PALMA DE MALLORCA .

The vessel M/Y BYSTANDER (IMO: 1008736, MMSI: 319103000) is a Yacht that was built in 2006 ( 18 years old ) . It's sailing under the flag of [KY] Cayman Is .

In this page you can find informations about the vessels current position, last detected port calls, and current voyage information. If the vessels is not in coverage by AIS you will find the latest position.

The current position of M/Y BYSTANDER is detected by our AIS receivers and we are not responsible for the reliability of the data. The last position was recorded while the vessel was in Coverage by the Ais receivers of our vessel tracking app.

The current draught of M/Y BYSTANDER as reported by AIS is 2.9 meters

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BYSTANDER Yacht, IMO 1008736

This ship info includes data on what are the dimensions and general vessel particulars, last and next special class survey, who is the owner of the ship bystander , its commercial manager, ism manager, classification society, their addresses and contact details and shipyard where it was built as well as statistics for the number of owned and managed ships and companies related thereto..

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BYSTANDER current position is received by AIS. Ship info reports, fleet analysis, company analyses, address analyses, technical specifications, tonnages, management details, addresses, classification society data and all other relevant statistics are derived from Marine Vessel Traffic database. The data is for informational purposes only and Marine Vessel Traffic is not responsible for the accuracy and reliability of data reported above herein.

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BYSTANDER Jfa Chantier Naval

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BYSTANDER has 10 Photos

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A Summary of Motor Yacht BYSTANDER

The large superyacht BYSTANDER is a motor yacht. This 42 m (138 ft) luxury yacht was created at Jfa Chantier Naval in 2006. BYSTANDER was previously registered as (Escort 138). She could be described as a recent converted private yacht. Superyacht BYSTANDER is a grand yacht that is able to sleep a total of 10 passengers on board and has approximately 9 crew members. This graceful motor yacht has been envisaged by naval architects Vripack Naval Architects and Rhoades Young Ltd. Rhoades Young Design produced the interior design.

Build & Design relating to Luxury Yacht BYSTANDER

The yacht's general design work came from Vripack Naval Architects and Rhoades Young Ltd. The professional naval architect firm plans are the creation of Vripack Naval Architects. Motor Yacht BYSTANDER received her stylish interior designing from the interior design skills of Rhoades Young Ltd. Created by Jfa Chantier Naval the yacht was built in the yacht producing country of France. She was officially launched in Concarneau in 2006 before being transferred to the owner. The hull was constructed with steel. The motor yacht superstructure is made for the most part from aluminium. With a beam of 9.15 m / 30 ft BYSTANDER has fairly large interior. A shallow draught of 2.6m (8.5ft) affects the amount of certain harbours she can visit, depending on their minimum depth. She had refit improvement and modification undertaken by 2007.

M/Y BYSTANDER Engineering & Speeds:

This yacht engages twin proven CATERPILLAR main engine(s) and can find a impressive maximum speed of 14 knots. She is driven by twin screw propellers. For stabalisers she uses Quantum. Regarding bow thruster maneuverability she was fitted with Quantum. Her efficient cruise speed is 13 knots which gives a range of 5400.

Superyacht BYSTANDER Has The Following Accommodation:

The large luxury yacht M/Y BYSTANDER is able to accommodate up to 10 guests and has 9 professional crew.

A List of the Specifications of the BYSTANDER:

Further information on the yacht.

The yacht uses Heinen & Hopman air conditioning system. This motor yacht has a teak deck.

BYSTANDER Disclaimer:

The luxury yacht BYSTANDER displayed on this page is merely informational and she is not necessarily available for yacht charter or for sale, nor is she represented or marketed in anyway by CharterWorld. This web page and the superyacht information contained herein is not contractual. All yacht specifications and informations are displayed in good faith but CharterWorld does not warrant or assume any legal liability or responsibility for the current accuracy, completeness, validity, or usefulness of any superyacht information and/or images displayed. All boat information is subject to change without prior notice and may not be current.

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"Year after year, the know-how of its companions has brought JFA Yachts to the rank of Shipbuilding Yards renowned for their abilities to realize "top range custom-made". This requirement in quality has built the reputation, solidity and durability of the yard, dedicated to the its customers’ satisfaction." - JFA Yachts

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• MY BYSTANDER

Yacht, IMO 1008736

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Het schip MY BYSTANDER (IMO 1008736, MMSI 319103000) is een Yacht schip, gebouwd in 2007 en varend onder de vlag van Cayman Islands.

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Kaartpositie & weather, laatste havenoproep, hoofdgegevens.

MY BYSTANDER huidige positie en geschiedenis van havenoproepen worden ontvangen door AIS. Technische specificaties, tonnages en managementgegevens zijn afgeleid van de VesselFinder-databank. De gegevens zijn uitsluitend voor informatieve doeleinden en VesselFinder is niet verantwoordelijk voor de nauwkeurigheid en betrouwbaarheid van MY BYSTANDER-gegevens.

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BYSTANDER yacht NOT for charter*

42.18m  /  138'5 | jfa chantier naval | 2007 / 2007.

• Amenities & Toys

Special Features:

• Impressive 6,219nm range
• Lloyds Register classification
• Award winning
• Sleeps 10 overnight

The award winning 42.18m/138'5" classic yacht 'Bystander' was built by JFA Chantier Naval in France at their Concarneau shipyard. Her interior is styled by design house Rhoades Young and she was completed in 2007. This luxury vessel's exterior design is the work of Rhoades Young and she was last refitted in 2007.

Guest Accommodation

She is also capable of carrying up to 9 crew onboard to ensure a relaxed luxury yacht experience.

Range & Performance

Bystander is built with a steel hull and aluminium superstructure. Powered by twin diesel Caterpillar (3412E-DITA) 720hp engines, she comfortably cruises at 10 knots, reaches a maximum speed of 13 knots with a range of up to 6,219 nautical miles. She was built to Lloyds Register classification society rules.

*Charter Bystander Motor Yacht

Motor yacht Bystander is currently not believed to be available for private Charter. To view similar yachts for charter , or contact your Yacht Charter Broker for information about renting a luxury charter yacht.

Bystander Yacht Owner, Captain or marketing company

'Yacht Charter Fleet' is a free information service, if your yacht is available for charter please contact us with details and photos and we will update our records.

Bystander Photos

Bystander Awards & Nominations

• International Superyacht Society Awards 2007 Best Power 32m-43m Winner

NOTE to U.S. Customs & Border Protection

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Bystander Luxury Yacht

Bystander is a 42.18 m luxury yacht, built by JFA Yachts and delivered in 2006. With a top speed of 13.5kn, she boasts a maximum cruising range of 5400.0nm at 10.0kn with power coming from two 720.0hp Caterpillar 3412-E-DITA diesel engines. She can accommodate up to 10 people with 9 crew members waiting on their every need. 

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• Tenders & Equipment

Bystander: Inside the refit of the classic America’s Cup tender

Photo: Onne Van Der Wal

In the long and storied history of the America’s Cup , the racing yachts have come and gone with only a handful managing to compete in more than one campaign. However, from 1930 to 1970 there was one (almost) unwavering constant, dutifully towing the Js and 12s, and following alongside, carrying mainsails and jibs.

When Harold S. Vanderbilt saw off Sir Thomas Lipton’s final challenge in 1930, Bystander was there. When the William Justice Strawbridge syndicate defeated Australian challenger Sir Frank Packer in 1970, Bystander was there. And at five of the six America’s Cups in the intervening years, she was present and playing a crucial support role.

No single sailing yacht in the history of the Auld Mug has more than two wins to her name — as the tender to Enterprise , Rainbow and Ranger , Bystander can lay claim to three.

This 12.8 metre motor boat was commissioned for the New York Yacht Club syndicate’s 1930 defence of the America’s Cup. Vanderbilt was immediately taken with Bystander , calling her “absolutely indispensible” and eventually buying her from the syndicate in 1935.

Built by the Greenport Basin and Construction Company , she was fitted with a 175hp Speedway engine that allowed her to tow Enterprise, Rainbow and Ranger  at up to eight knots with unfalteringly consistent performance. What’s more, her deep sail lockers allowed the mother ship to unbend her large mainsail and change to a smaller one much faster than she could reef.

Her America's Cup career continued post-war, serving as tender to Vim 's unsuccessful attempt to become the Defender in 1958, before being loaned to the eventual winner Columbia .

In the 1960s, Bystander passed into the hands of Packer, who had her moved from Newport to Australia after his second unsuccessful tilt at the Cup. There she remained for the next 30 years, gradually succumbing to the ravages of time.

This all changed in 2002, when serial yacht restorer Elizabeth Meyer of the Newport-based J Class Management bought Bystander and had her shipped back home.

After a thorough inspection it was decided that, although she was still intact and in commission, Bystander was in need of a full structural restoration. There was only one problem — the Greenport yard where she was built had long since burned to the ground, taking with it Bystander ’s original drawings.

However, Meyer was undeterred and set about establishing this historic tender’s provenance. “I am virtually certain that W. Starling Burgess designed Bystander because she and Vara were built at the same yard at the same time for Mike Vanderbilt,” she told Boat International .

“He acknowledges that Burgess designed Vara but does not mention who designed Bystander . Bystander is much cooler and a better design than Vara , so who knows, maybe Walter McInnnes designed her.”

For want of a full set of blueprints, Meyer used the original Levick glass plate negatives from the Mariner’s Museum to establish exactly how Bystander looked in her heyday. High-resolution scans, processed with the help of yacht photographer Onne van der Wal, allowed Meyer to replicate key details like the mahogany bench, rub rails, name boards, and much more. With this foundation in place, the work could begin in earnest.

Bystander was carefully laid up on her waterline stance at Narragansett Shipwrights in Newport. Hull supports allowed the backbone and transom to be removed without affecting the hull shape. “When I restore a boat, no matter how desperate her condition, the restoration is done one element at a time so that the entire boat is there the whole time,” Meyer adds.

The stem was in good enough condition to be restored and put back into the boat, but the rest of the keel, including the stern knee, was replicated piece-by-piece in oak, in keeping with her original construction. The hull itself was also replaced, but the original cedar planking was retained above the waterline, where Bystander was double planked.

Meyer also put her own signature on Bystander by modifying the layout and deck fittings in a few key places. The original hinged hatches were left out of the cockpit design, freeing up more deck space, while the interior layout was redesigned to allow for a bath tub and a larger galley.

A modern 440hp Yanmar turbo diesel engine was fitted, allowing for a top speed of 17 knots, and a new swept-back propeller was designed by naval architect Matthew Smith, but Meyer was keen to retain Bystander ’s classic handling characteristics. For this reason, her original cable and quadrant steering was kept in place.

“It is an awful mistake to put in hydraulic steering in a restored boat,” Meyer argues. “It just wrecks the feel of steering and I wish naval architects would stop plumping for it.”

After a painstaking, historically accurate restoration that took more than 23,000 hours of careful work, Bystander was relaunched in May 2009.

Over the past eight years she has proven her worth as a fast and agile cruiser, perfectly suited for gliding around some of New England’s finest yachting haunts.

With great reluctance (and longer-range cruising in mind), Meyer has put Bystander up for sale, but she is confident of finding a suitable owner for this unique artefact from the golden era of the America’s Cup.

Photogaphy courtesy of Onne Van Der Wal, Elizabeth Meyer, Billy Black, the Mariners Museum’s Edwin Levick Collection and the Mystic Seaport Museum’s Rosenfeld Collection.

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Motor Yacht

Bystander is a custom motor yacht launched in 2006 by JFA Chantier Naval.

Bystander measures 42.18 metres in length, with a max draft of 2.50 metres and a beam of 9.15 metres. She has a gross tonnage of 560 tonnes.

Bystander has a steel hull with an aluminium superstructure.

Bystander also features naval architecture by Vripack.

Performance and Capabilities

Bystander has a top speed of 13.5 knots. She is powered by a twin screw propulsion system.

She also has a range of 5,400 nautical miles.

Accommodation

Bystander accommodates up to 10 guests . She also houses room for up to 9 crew members.

Other Specifications

Bystander has a hull NB of 19C.

• Yacht Builder JFA Chantier Naval No profile available
• Naval Architect Vripack View profile
• Exterior Designer Rhoades Young Design No profile available
• Interior Designer Rhoades Young Design No profile available

Yacht Specs

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After Living Much of Life at Sea, Captain Sandy Finds Love on Land

Sandy Yawn of “Below Deck Mediterranean” married Leah Shafer on — what else? — a superyacht in Florida.

By Tammy LaGorce

Sandra Dolores Yawn has been locked up, left for dead on a Florida highway and chased through the Red Sea by pirates.

In the summer of 2018, Leah Rae Shafer reached out on Facebook to send Ms. Yawn her blessings. Not because she thought Ms. Yawn, who goes by Captain Sandy, needed her well wishes, but because she had started watching “Below Deck Mediterranean” on Bravo.

The show follows a crew tasked with catering to a revolving cadre of guests who have chartered a superyacht. Ms. Yawn, a star of the series, is at the helm. Ms. Shafer had written to congratulate her on the show’s success. There was another reason, too. “I thought she was hot,” she said.

Ms. Yawn, 59, has been a yacht captain for more than 30 years. Her foray into television, which started in 2017, was not exactly foreordained. Until her mid-20s, “I was a mess,” Ms. Yawn said. “I was always in trouble. I got kicked out of 11th grade. I didn’t go to college.” At 13, at the start of an adolescence spent between Dundee, Fla., where her father lived, and Bradenton, Fla., where her mother lived, she started drinking. By 17, “I was getting arrested so many times I couldn’t even count how many,” she said. Usually a parent bailed her out. Her father’s refusal to do so after one drunken incident landed her a night in jail.

In 1989, when she was 25, the revolving door of South Florida treatment centers she had been pushing through quit spinning when a counselor told her she couldn’t return. “She said, ‘Sandy, as soon as you get some money in your pocket you’re going to start drinking again,’” Ms. Yawn said.

Fearing real jail time, she joined Alcoholics Anonymous. To start paying off the thousands of dollars she owed in legal fees and addiction treatment center bills, she got a job washing boats in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. By 30, she had earned her captain’s license from Maritime Professional Training, a school in Fort Lauderdale for mariners and yachting professionals.

Rehab — she still has an A.A. sponsor and attends meetings whenever possible — helped her pin down the roots of her teenage rebellion. “I think a big part of my drinking was that I couldn’t accept my sexuality,” she said. “When I got sober is when I accepted that, oh my gosh, I actually prefer women.”

For Ms. Shafer, that level of acceptance took much longer. It also cost her a career as a gospel singer.

Ms. Shafer, 50, is the entrepreneur behind a skin care line, Skin by Leah, and a jewelry business started with a friend, Cuff Me. When she messaged Ms. Yawn to congratulate her on the success of “Below Deck Mediterranean” in 2018, she and her husband of 20 years, then living with their teenage daughter in Denver, were going through a divorce. The relationship had gone stale years earlier, Ms. Shafer said, but fear and uncertainty prevented her from leaving.

“I had the security of not worrying financially, because he took care of everything,” she said. Her gospel career at a nondenominational church had taken off when she was still in high school in Hesperia, Calif. But that was mostly a labor of love.

“I toured and went to college at the same time,” said Ms. Shafer, who graduated from California State University, Northridge, with a bachelor’s degree in liberal arts.

By her 30s, she was recording albums, touring megachurches and singing at major Christian conferences. A flirtation with secular performance in the 2000s landed her on the 2003-04 revival of “Star Search” and later a recurring role on NBC’s “The Singing Bee.”

But “I loved God and I loved inspiring people, and the platform I was given was on the stage of churches,” she said. The only problem: “There was really no money in that.”

Before their divorce was final in 2019, she and her husband tried therapy and prayed together. Finally, in 2018, “I just jumped,” she said. “I took a leap of faith. I wanted freedom.”

She found it financially first. Skin by Leah Studio, her Lone Tree, Colo. facial salon that she founded in 2017, was successful right away, she said. When she first saw Ms. Yawn on TV, she was settling into life as an entrepreneur. She didn’t expect to get a response to her Facebook message. But when she got one three months later, in October 2018, it came with an invitation.

In addition to her job as a TV star, Ms. Yawn had started touring with “I Believe,” a series of motivational talks she created to inspire women in leadership positions. When she finally read Ms. Shafer’s message — thousands had been piling up, she said, but something drew her to Ms. Shafer’s — she was in the market for an entertainer for the talks.

In her message, Ms. Shafer had included a video of herself singing the national anthem at a 2014 Denver Broncos game. Once Ms. Yawn clicked the link, she replied right away. “She gave me her phone number and said, ‘I heard you sing,’” Ms. Shafer said. “‘Let’s meet up and talk about how we can do something together.’”

The two continued to talk on the phone and over email. Ms. Yawn was then living in Los Angeles. Ms. Shafer had been planning a Disneyland vacation with her daughter, Lauren, in November, a trip that gave her an excuse to meet Ms. Yawn in person.

Both say they fell in love seconds after Ms. Shafer pulled into Ms. Yawn’s driveway in mid-November 2018. “I offered to park her car for her, and that’s when we hugged,” Ms. Yawn said. “I felt this energy I had never felt. I knew I had to pay attention to that.”

It was a life-changing hug for Ms. Shafer, too. “It was not a normal feeling when I met Sandy,” she said. “She wasn’t the stern captain you see on TV. She was just so fun and so beautiful. That hug melted me.”

Over dinner at Catch, a Los Angeles seafood restaurant, they acknowledged their attraction. “I was really honest with her,” Ms. Yawn said. But Ms. Shafer wasn’t ready to date a woman. “I knew I wanted to be with her,” she said. “I was just freaked out.”

By the end of the evening, Ms. Yawn told her she should take her time. It had been two years since Ms. Yawn’s last relationship. “So at that point I was like, ‘Why rush it?’” she said. “I was older and I’ve learned a lot of lessons. One was, let things happen naturally. Slow and steady wins the race.”

Six months later, the race was over. The women were in a committed relationship, and Ms. Yawn had moved to a place near Ms. Shafer’s in Denver. It was smooth sailing until the end of 2019, when news of the couple’s relationship started circulating in entertainment media.

The public outing ended Ms. Shafer’s gospel career. “I knew the minute I came out as being in love with a woman it would be over, and it was,” she said. Her six CDs, sold in dozens of church bookstores, were pulled from shelves and shipped to her doorstep. Christian radio stations stopped playing her music.

“I had worked for 35 years,” she said. “And it was over.”

Most painful of all were comments after her father’s death from Covid in 2020. “People in the church told me he died because of my sins,” she said. “But he had met and come to accept Sandy before he passed, and I thank God that happened.” Now, “my family adores Sandy.”

Ms. Yawn lost both her parents to heart attacks before she became a TV star — her father in 2006, and her mother in 2009. In 2015, she was en route to the Miami Boat Show on her motorcycle when she was hit by a car. The driver left the scene. “I felt my mother’s presence while I was flipping through the air, and I felt peaceful,” she said.

When she hit the pavement, she had a fractured pelvis and her foot “was on sideways,” she said. By then, though, she was used to navigating life and death scenarios, including fires at sea and run-ins with pirates. She credits her fortitude and empathy, qualities highlighted on “Below Deck Mediterranean,” which she joined in 2017, to her sobriety. “I’ve got nothing to hide and everything to share,” she said.

In 2022, Ms. Yawn and Ms. Shafer bought a house together in Parker, Colo. In September 2023, while Ms. Yawn was filming in Greece, Ms. Shafer flew overseas to visit. Ms. Yawn proposed with a diamond engagement ring on the beach , with violin players in the background.

Binge more Vows columns here and read all our wedding, relationship and divorce coverage here .

On May 11, Ms. Shafer and Ms. Yawn were married in Fort Lauderdale aboard She’s a 10 Too, a superyacht lent to the couple by their friend Carolyn Aronson. Fifty-five guests, the maximum allowed aboard the vessel, were in attendance. Among them were “Below Deck Mediterranean” castmates Aesha Scott, Kate Chastain and Dave White, known to viewers as Chef Dave. (And yes, there were cameras filming.)

Ms. Shafer, in a long white wedding gown by Leah Da Gloria, walked down the aisle with her two brothers, Matthew Dale and Justin Dale, to an altar decorated with white roses and hydrangeas; her daughter, now 18, was her maid of honor.

Ms. Yawn, in a white Veronica Beard suit, was escorted down the aisle by Mark Dunham, her brother-in-law. Michelle Dunham, Ms. Yawn’s sister, was her maid of honor. Most guests were barefoot, as is common on yachts. The brides and their wedding party were granted an exception.

Nadine Rajabi, the showrunner of “Below Deck Mediterranean,” who is ordained by the Universal Life Church, married them on the yacht’s bridge aft deck, a job made more difficult by the weather: wind caused her microphone to cut out and blew the pages of her speech around. But nothing could disturb the focus of the brides as they read handwritten vows.

Ms. Shafer told Ms. Yawn that she had taught her to be more optimistic, more playful and “to jump.” Ms. Yawn told Ms. Shafer that she had given her patience and grace.

The captain had been hoping to make it through the ceremony free of tears. But that, she said shortly after they were pronounced married, was impossible. “The minute I looked at Leah and started reading her all the reasons I fell in love with her I started to cry,” she said. “It’s so amazing to find this kind of love in your lifetime.”

On This Day

When May 11, 2024

Where Aboard the superyacht She’s a 10 Too, in Fort Lauderdale, Fla.

Rescue Mission The couple chose “She’s a Lady” for their first dance during an onboard reception. Chef Dave prepared short ribs and a three-tiered, gluten-free vanilla, chocolate and strawberry cake that threatened to topple in the wind and heat (temperatures were in the 90s).

Cruising After the wedding, the brides took off for a five-day honeymoon to Little Palm Island on a yacht lent by Mr. Flynn. Ms. Yawn was at the helm, of course.

Onward In June, Ms. Yawn and Ms. Shafer will move from Denver to Ponte Vedra, Fla., to be closer to Ms. Dunham, who runs a private school for children with autism, Jacksonville School for Autism, in Jacksonville. On June 3, season nine of “Below Deck Mediterranean” premieres on Bravo. And on July 1, Ms. Shafer will open a skin care studio in Ponte Vedra.

An earlier version of this article misidentified   the man who escorted Sandy Yawn down the aisle. It was Mark Dunham, her brother-in-law, not her friend John Flynn. An earlier version of a picture caption also misidentified Mr. Dunham as Mr. Flynn. Additionally, the article misstated   the shoe rule aboard   the superyacht on which the wedding was held. The brides and their wedding party were allowed to wear shoes; other guests were not.

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