Ghost by Luca Brenta Yacht Design, Kitty Hawks, and Lissoni Associati

Ghost takes its name from the metallic-silver paint covering its carbon-fiber form.

At 122 feet long, with a mast stretching up to a staggering 165 feet, the yacht is something supernatural but far from spectral.

Whether docked in Monaco, Saint-Tropez, or the Caribbean, it's formidable and impossible to forget, a result enacted by Lorenzo Argento and Luca Brenta, partners of Luca Brenta Yacht Design; architect Piero Lissoni; and interior designer Kitty Hawks.

The owner's mandate was speed above, luxury below.

The process began in 2000 at Monaco's annual boat show, where, one day, Argento and the owner, who was shopping for a yacht designer, met informally.

The next day, the two sailed aboard LBYD's Wally B, a 107-foot yacht the firm built in 1998.

A day later, almost as fast as Ghost's 28-knot capability, the client was in Milan closing the deal.

"He liked Wally B's open spaces and long axis of visibility," recalls Argento.

Ghost, which was fabricated in English and Dutch shipyards, incorporated these traits and much more.

Most impressive is its immense 22-by-10-foot skylight.

Made from three strips of glass that cap the yacht's saloon, the main living area, it allows those belowdecks "to see things from a totally new perspective," says Argento.

"As soon as you walk inside, you look up