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The 2010 Top 100 Superyachts
12/01/2010 - While uncertainty still dominates the global economy, 2010 is set to be a ground breaking year for the superyacht industry worldwide, as bigger, longer and more luxurious boats are being delivered in record numbers and a new dedicated web portal, superyachts.com, is bringing new life to this traditionally closed and secretive industry. In 2010, 19 new yachts are expected to launch themselves into the Superyachts.com Top 100 list. That’s almost 20 new builds delivered of 73 metres or over in length in one year, up from 5 in 2009. Bolder superyachts are being released also thanks to new composite materials and pioneering designs, which help to reduce price and negative impact on the environment. German and Dutch shipyards lead, however, is being challenged by new entrants from countries such as Chile but most of all Italy. As much as 5 among the entrants in the top 100 list are “Made in Italy”. "Our data shows that Italy is moving from the volume market into the super luxury end, and is beginning to assert itself in a market sector traditionally dominated by German and Dutch shipyards. Italian Finacantieri has received the biggest order placed in the past 12 months for a 140 m motor yacht, with 7 bridges, designed by Espen Oeino. This is also a signal of recovery for the industry, being the first yacht order over 80 m placed since the crash of the financial markets in 2008”, said Kevin Boddington, co-founder of Superyachts.com. According to Boddington, Fincantieri’s new commission demonstrates the strength of the Italian position: “in this sector sometimes there are new manufacturers that build one yacht and then fold.” Like most opulent products destined for wealthy owners, details of the upcoming deliveries remain well-protected by the shipyards and designers lending their talents. With each of the yachts still shrouded in secrecy, predicting a future top 100 list is a difficult task. If speculation proves to be correct however, Roman Abramovich's giant motor yacht Eclipse built by the Blohm + Voss will become the new number one spot holder in the Superyachts.com Top 100, surpassing the 162m Dubai. Long gone are the days when delivering a 60 metre vessel would earn a place amongst world’s largest yachts. As it stands the bare minimum to appear on the Superyachts.com Top 100 jumps to an impressive 73 metres. Back in 2007, just 62 metres would have earned a place in the Top 100 world’s largest yachts listing, whilst 60.3 metres in 2006 would have been sufficient. The influx of superyachts joining the Superyachts.com Top 100 in 2010 also sees a shift in the spread of countries producing the giant vessels. As to be expected, the German and Dutch powerhouses remain top of the shipyards with German companies building a believed seven of the new entries and those based in the Netherlands thought to be delivering three. A promising deviation from the yacht building meccas however can be seen with Chilean company Marco Yachts, anticipated to produce two new entries for the Top 100 list. The New Year is not only set to ignite the superyacht world for the astounding number of large yachts jumping into the Superyachts.com Top 100, but also for the innovations these vessels bring to the realm of superyacht design. With recent advancements in composite construction technology, builders have found they can construct bigger and bolder superyachts while minimising price and negative impact on the environment. The beauty of composites seems to finally have caught the attention of modern yacht owners who have taken advantage of its flexible moulding capabilities and opted for aesthetically appealing, multi-curved deck structures. While making for a decidedly distinctive and contemporary design, the low weight of composites also allows a yacht to reduce vessel mass overall rendering it more stable and easy to navigate. Whether the streamlined, futuristic shapes are a sign of things to come in general superyacht design or if the tried and tested traditional design of the luxury vessels will prevail is yet to be seen, but eager trend-watchers are sure to be keeping a keen eye on the Superyachts.com Concepts database. Top of the concepts-to-watch list is the 200m motor yacht design by Donald Starkey, which would become the largest private yacht ever to grace the water upon delivery. Originally thought to be a top secret under construction vessel coined Everest, this super-sized concept is anything but a rumour and brings promise that even well after the excitement of 2010 has passed, there will be plenty to look forward to in the world of superyacht design.
Porto Montenegro and Compositeworks together for superyacht full service
12/01/2010 - Porto Montenegro, the premier superyacht marina development in Tivat, Montenegro, will soon offer a full range of refit and maintenance services to its European yachting clientele. In cooperation with the Adriatic Shipyard in Bijela, Porto Montenegro will invest with Compositeworks, of La Ciotat, France, to establish a full range superyacht refit facility of the highest quality in the Bay of Kotor, Montenegro. The new facility will be located on 3 hectares of waterfront property three miles across the bay from Porto Montenegro's marina. The facility will offer a full range of services similar to those offered at Compositeworks’ yard in France. The facility is expected to begin operations in the autumn of 2010 and will also be a base for a range of specialized subcontractors. “This partnership represents a major step towards our vision of bringing the superyacht industry to Montenegro and validates our vision for Porto Montenegro," said Oliver Corlette, managing director of Adriatic Marinas, the developer and owner of Porto Montenegro. "Previously, many superyachts were discouraged from coming to the Adriatic because it was missing a reliable, top-end operator who understood the specific needs and challenges of today's yachts. With the addition of a Compositeworks repair and maintenance facility, many more yachts and charter vessels will be based at Porto Montenegro and will enjoy the spectacular cruising area of the Adriatic." The addition of a refit facility is an important component to the creation of a comprehensive home port for yachts in the Adriatic. Says Corlette: "Porto Montenegro is located in the heart of the fastest growing cruising destination in the Mediterranean, and is a fully fledged port of entry to Montenegro with its berths ranging from 15m to 150m. Additionally, it offers duty free fuel, provisioning services and a low tax environment,. Add to that two local airports and a flying time of less than two hours to most European capitals, and it becomes clear why many captains and owners regard Porto Montenegro as the new centre for yachts in the Adriatic and a year-round location for the yachting community.” “Compositeworks is excited to enter a region fast becoming a major rival to the south of France," says Ben Mennem, co-founder of Compositeworks. "With its impressive maritime history, skilled workforce and close proximity to some of the best cruising grounds in the Mediterranean, Montenegro is poised to become the next centre for the yachting world. We are thrilled to be at the forefront of this exciting evolution of our industry and to be partners with Porto Montenegro.” Stanko Zlokovic, President of the Board of Directors in the Adriatic Shipyard, added: “Adriatic Shipyard Bijela understands the compelling opportunities luxury yacht repair will bring to the region, including the employment of the existing and highly skilled labour in Montenegro for yacht repairs,” Compositeworks is a leading French operator that owns and manages a construction and refit facility for super and megayachts in La Ciotat, France. The company was founded in 1998 and quickly established a leading position in the superyacht refit industry. To date, it has performed work on more than 250 vessels. Porto Montenegro is a luxury superyacht marina development in Tivat, Montenegro. The project’s plan includes a state-of-the-art 600-berth marina with 140 berths for superyachts, luxury apartments, hotels, spas, casino, shopping areas and restaurants. The project is the vision of a group of international investors, led by Peter Munk of Toronto, Canada, founder and chairman of Barrick Gold, the world’s largest gold producer. Adriatic Shipyard Bijela is the leading ship yard in the Southern Adriatic and enjoys a strong reputation in the commercial shipbuilding and repair industry. The yard is located in the Bay of Kotor, just across from Porto Montenegro.
Angelo Bonati, love for the classic boats
12/01/2010 - All fairy tales should have a happy ending and this one surely does. It doesn’t involve witchcraft or secret potions but there is a pinch of magic. Officine Panerai CEO Angelo Bonati is in the role of protagonist together with none other than, Eilean. Their story began on a balmy spring day in Antigua in 2006. “I had an appointment on the other side of English Harbour bay,” says Bonati. “So I got a lift on a boat. At a certain point, I noticed Eilean. She was completely abandoned, but what struck me wasn’t the state she was in but her lines. She was a very special boat, different. I asked about her and after a bit of quick research I knew I was right: Eilean has that aristocratic elegance about her that only a master of the calibre of William Fife III could have given her. It took three minutes for it all to happen,” he continues. Those three minutes stretched into three years. But then in October 2009 the spell was broken and Eilean woke from her long sleep to reclaim her role as a beautiful princess. Her arrival on the scene marks the completion of a cycle begun four years ago when Angelo Bonati decided to sponsor the Panerai Classic Yachts Challenge. The watch company’s commitment is really unequalled and has extended with each new edition to turn the event into a reference point internationally. The traditional Mediterranean stages in the series have recently been joined by new ones in Newport (Museum of Yachting Classic Yacht Regatta and Robert Tiedemann Classic Weekend) and Nantucket (The Opera House Cup). In 2010, the Antigua Classic Week comes aboard too. Yes, Antigua where it all began and to where Eilean will make a triumphant return as guest of honour. “It will be a very special moment probably just as emotional as the day Eilean splashed again after her restoration was complete. I won’t ever forget that. I was aboard and I saw three years of my life condensed into that fraction of a second. Three intense years during which I learned a lot and which brought into focus the many problems involved in restoring a classic boat. I met extraordinary people through the project too,” continues Bonati. As with every challenge the human factor is just as important as the professional one. “They really were three tough years,” says Bonati. “Sometimes the idea of getting into the car to go to Viareggio after a week’s work and spending the weekend in the freezing cold yard talking about and managing the various aspects of the restoration was far from tempting. There were times when I wondered if it was worth getting involved in this kind of adventure. The Eilean project was on top of my normal workload and took away the few short hours of free time I could afford. But all that melted away like snow in the sunshine the minute she came out of the yard.” It took over 40,000 man hours for the Del Carlo yard’s craftsmen to bring the ketch back to herself and preserve as much as they could of her in the process. “It was a complex operation. The aim was to stay faithful to Fife’s design. That’s why the Burmese teak deckhouse was taken apart and restored down to the last detail without changing anything from 1936. Sixty per cent of the hull is the original planking. Wherever it was compromised we used the techniques of the day including hot riveting,” explains Bonati. Only three years have gone by since Eilean first came into his life, tied up to a mangrove tree, minus her mast and with her interiors gutted. Three years that involved a trip back in time to the day in 1936 when the Bermudan ketch slid down the slips in Fairlie in Scotland, watched by her designer William Fife III, and the brothers that commissioned her, James V. and Robert W. Fulton. Seventy-three years later history has repeated itself. “Eilean wasn’t just a restoration,” concludes Bonati. “By doing this, we’ve helped salvage an important part of maritime tradition, put value back into the traditional skills and knowledge that are becoming rarer and rarer these days. We’ve helped perpetuate the memory of a yard that has become legendary.” And, we would add, they’ve helped write a story with an ending as noble as it is happy.
Yoker boat online news
12/01/2010 - “Put your inflatable on the front page” might be the slogan for the Your Videos section of the Joker Boats website (www.jokerboats.it). Anyone who has posted a video of their Joker Boat on YouTube, in fact, can simply inform the webmaster through this section and a link will be put up on this particular page to it. As is to be expected, the site showcases all of the Joker models, of which there are no less than 25. However, it also lists all of the boat shows and trade fairs the yard will be attending on its Events page as well as offering an updated list of brokers. Visitors can also sign up for the Newsletter or enter the Joker Boats world by joining a close-knit group of fans of these very rigid inflatables which absolutely epitomise Italian technology and styling at their finest.
Volkswagen Marine and the new TDI 350-8
12/01/2010 - Exceptional weight/power ratio, outstanding performance and a compact footprint are the features of the new 8-cylinder common rail TDI 350-8 from Volkswagen Marine. The marine version of the V8 Audi, installed on the Q7 and the A8, it has a torque curve equivalent to powerful industrial vehicles, but it offers a much smoother delivery. Its power, compact size (802 x 835 x 850 cm) and low weight (only 380 kg) make it suitable for a range of applications, and it easily replaces old petrol units, usually less bulky than diesel engines, without sacrificing performance. Compared to petrol engines, the TDI 350-8 guarantees fuel savings of 50%, meaning a yacht’s fuel capacity provides a much longer range.
Super Indios 24, electrically speedy
12/01/2010 - She’s the first fast Italian electrically-powered craft. The Giacomo Colombo yard, in collaboration with Austrian dealer Ortner Boote, has created a special version of the 24 Super Indios, recently presented in a new vintage version in white with teak finishings. Her electric 70kW (95.2hp) Piktronik Sac 60 motor means she can reach a speed of 20 knots. She can reach full charge in less than six hours, using a double charging circuit to connect to two jetty sockets. Her average range exceeds four hours, and she can cover 25 miles at a cruising speed of 11 knots. She offers rapid availability of her ample power, plus the advantage of switching from forward to reverse with no mechanical intervention. She has a specially modified hull, while the deck and equipment are the same as on the petrol version. On sale at 148,000 euro, plus VAT.
An economic policy that doesn\'t address the nautical industry
12/01/2010 - Minister Giulio Tremonti seems to be basing his entire economic policy for 2010 on a passive approach. Italy is simply trusting that the massive economic measures taken by other nations, first and foremost the United States, will work for the Bel Paese before we have to resort to the promised structural reforms which, once again, won’t be implemented. The government does not believe the International Monetary Fund’s opinion that Italy will emerge from recession more slowly than the other G8 members. Pre-crisis GDP levels won’t return for at least the next three years (and in some segments won’t return at all, heavy industry being one). It will take even longer for job numbers to rise to previous heights too. This long drawn-out stagnation should (and we emphasis the “should”) result in a tighter rein on public spending and with that greater economic and social stability. On the other hand, though, there is a risk that we will have to extend social easements, which would up our spending and really put the credit system under strain as it struggles to cope with more insolvencies. As far as the nautical sector is concerned, there’s nothing new. Thus far not a comma has been expended on the sector with the greatest added value in the Italian economy. And yet just two months ago, at the opening of the Genoa Boat Show, UCINA presented the Nautical Plan, a three-year programme that would attract three billion euros in investment, create 15,000 new jobs and bring in 450 million euro to the country’s coffers (direct VAT) through eight initiatives (ranging from upgrading berths at existing commercial and port facilities and in decommissioned military zones to bringing pleasure boats back in under the Italian flag and relaunching the market through clarification of leasing laws). Part of the aforementioned would be achievable by simple administrative changes. The Ministers present (Altero Matteoli, Michela Brambilla, Claudio Scajola and Vice Minister for the Economy Giuseppe Vegas, pictured in the photo) were ecstatic and then went on to do…. nothing. Merry Christmas everyone!
Vripack 60M
24/11/2009 - The Vripack 60M Expedition Motor Yacht is a highly efficient, steel-and-aluminum vessel combining extreme seaworthiness and an outstanding range of 8,000 nautical miles at 12.5 knots with a high-volume, custom interior. “This project is ideal for Derecktor Shipyards with their experience in constructing both high-quality custom superyachts and large commercial vessels. They are uniquely set up to build this no-nonsense, go-anywhere boat,” said Vripack Sales Director Marnix J. Hoekstra. The Vripack 60M Expedition MY is designed for unrestricted, long-term transoceanic voyaging with the owner and guests on board. Vripack’s naval architects gave her a round-bilge displacement hull with a flared blow, transom stern and straight, even keel for optimal seakeeping, speed and fuel efficiency. Measuring 61 meters (200 feet) overall, she has a maximum beam of 12 meters (39.4 feet) and a draft at half load of 3.2 meters (10.5 feet). Top speed with twin-engine propulsion is projected at not less than 14.5 knots at half load. The yacht’s 8,000 nautical mile (nm) range is calculated at 12.5 knots using one engine at 80 percent of load and includes a 15 percent weather allowance. “That’s the longest range you’ll find for a boat of this size and capabilities,” Hoeksta said. The hull’s enhanced scantlings will enable her to operate in arctic conditions. “She’s not Ice Class, but she’ll definitely be capable of nudging ice out of her path,” he added. Designed with seven levels of living space, including a private owner’s deck, the Vripack 60M will accommodate up to 14 guests served by a crew of 14 to 16 persons. The actual number of staterooms and the interior design are up to the owner’s discretion, however. “With a yacht of this volume, we can make any vision a reality,” Hoekstra said.
Lorenzo Pollicardo enters the team of Federagenti Italia
24/11/2009 - Lorenzo Pollicardo will support Marco Paifelman, Federagenti’s Secretary General, in all activities related to statistic data elaboration, economic evaluations, institutional relations and on informational activities for yachting section’s partners, to national and international level. "The of Federagenti Yacht’s objective is to make the economic and occupational value produced by yachting visible to institutions and the public on national scale - Fabio Pesto, Federagenti Yacht’s President, declared - with the entry of Mr. Pollicardo we aim to increase the already solid amount of activities of elaboration of technical documents, normative guides, directories”.
The future of the yards is the Stock Exchange
24/11/2009 - Luca Peyrano joined the Borsa Italiana (Milan Stock Exchange) in 1999 and until 2004 was in charge of listing procedures for companies. He headed the Star and Standard segments, both focused on small to medium companies. Following the recent merger of the Borsa Italiana and the London Stock Exchange (LSE), he was appointed Head of Continental Europe – Primary Markets. Which makes him the perfect man to talk to about the opportunities offered by listing to Italian yards, most of which are SMEs. How would you describe the current financial crisis? No one expected it or realised what was happening. The current crisis has structural roots. It began with the international banking system and became much more severe than any we’ve seen in the past. Financing, that much maligned term, which is the engine driving production activities, shrank. That revealed weaknesses in companies that thus far had been undetected and a bit undervalued. The first of these weaknesses was that, in the case of many companies, the ratio between equity (financing using their own capital) and debt was way out of proportion. The other Achilles heel was an inability to properly interpret company and macro sector phenomena: an ability to manage risk in other words. To do business today you need: a stable economic-financing balance, more equitisation; and a managerial capacity to control and manage risk. Did the stock exchanges have a role to play in the genesis or development of the crisis? That’s a prejudice that has to be done away with. The stock exchanges had no part to play in the genesis of the crisis and in fact greatly limited its effect. Look at financial derivatives. They are handled separately (Over The Counter: ed.’s note). If they had had to go through the stock exchange system, this crisis might have been very different because the operators on it are so transparent. So you think the Borsa could offer a way out of the crisis? The Borsa would be an extraordinarily tool in that regard. Companies that raised capital by floating are doing better because private ones were overly dependent on the banks. Being floated alone guarantees you greater credibility with the banking system because of the vigiliant control systems in place and the transparency rules. Unfortunately, when a company floated on the stock exchange goes under, it makes much bigger headlines than the thousands of others that have, thanks to being floated, weathered their problems better. You are currently involved in the AIM (Alternative Investment Market). Explain please. This is one of the results of the merger of the Borsa Italiana and the London Stock Exchange. The AIM was created in London 15 years ago with the specific objective of targeting small and medium enterprises (SMEs). Absolutely pioneering stuff, at the time. It has proved extraordinarily successful: over the last 15 years, around 2,500 companies have floated, raising around 60 billion sterlings in capital. Right now there are 1,400 companies. The AIM’s greatest success has been to have gradually created a veritable SME ecosystem in which various figures have found a comfortable niche: small cap investors, specialist analysts, journalists, legal people, the banking world. And all that has been made possible by the flotation of so many companies. The AIM was created here in Italy in May of this year. It is a very specific market as it is not regulated by supervisory bodies but directly by the Borsa itself. It’s a lot quicker to float on and a lot less costly too. It targets start-ups and established companies. In the latter case, they need to provide three balance sheets certified by an auditor. What role does the Nomad (Nominated Adviser) play in the flotation process? The Nomad is absolutely central to the whole AIM quotation process. It doesn’t have to be a bank (another novelty) but will carry out the whole process for the company. The Nomad’s role is to ensure that the whole operation is above board and assemble the admission document. The Nomad doesn’t leave the company at the end of the process but carries on working with them. That is a major guarantee for the company and the people investing in it. So the Borsa leaves the controls to the Nomad. This is why being added to the list of Nomads involves a highly complex and difficult process. There are 12 Nomads in Italy right now. What other figures are central to listing on the AIM? An auditor and a lawyer capable of conducting due diligence are essentials. It is also advisable to use a PR company to ensure that investors are made aware in a full and correct fashion of all news that is considered useful. It’s been a major success in Great Britain. Can we hope for similar results here in Italy? Will our investors and businesses realise the potential of AIM? I feel they will. Right now AIM is offering SMEs an ideal operating environment to help them develop. We have a huge number of SMEs here in Italy and they’re the real engine of our economy. Culture will be the real challenge though. We at the Borsa are trying to put in place any initiative we can to develop that culture, to point Italians’ savings towards Italian SMEs. The nautical sector performed on a par with 2007 in 2008 in terms of overall revenues (6.2 billion euro). So will the crisis have concentrated in 2009 mostly? I think so. Last winter was very tough for the nautical sector too and the effects of the crisis will only become clear at the end of this year when turnover data becomes available for the whole of 2009. There have been different reactions to the crisis within the segment. The sectors that depended on leasing have fared particularly badly but the very smaller craft, under 10 metres, have suffered a lot less. It is definitely a sector which needed a client cleanout. Until the other day, they were buying very serious boats thanks to heavy leveraging through leasing. That will probably happen less but, although that is a negative effect in the short term, it will have positive knock-ons in the medium to long term. So while I do believe that 2009 will be much worse than 2008, it is also the year of rationalisation, mergers, and the disappearance of the weaker elements that had more problems anyway. This phase will allow the foundation to be laid for a development which I believe we’ll be seeing positive results from within three years. Not many have gone down the flotation route in the nautical sector? What do you think of that? Will AIM be a better alternative? It definitely will. The straightforward nature and comparative inexpensiveness of becoming listed makes it ideal for this kind of company – normally small in size and based on the artisanal skills of the people that work there. The fact that so few nautical companies are listed isn’t just an Italian phenomenon. But the listings in Italy, which are always quoted as examples of what can go wrong, are a demonstration of how the stock exchange market can function. Looking at the cases of Aicon and Ferretti you can see how much liquidity those companies accessed by floating. Things went wrong for very complex reasons that I think weren’t strictly connected to the flotation dynamic. Are there any specific Italian Borsa initiatives for the nautical sector? We’re trying to get as close as we can to the nautical world by participating in or staging events. On May 16th I attended a meeting organised in Venice by UCINA on the nautical industry and the challenges it’s facing. About two months ago we organised an event dedicated to the Borsa and the nautical industry. The Borsa Italiana hosted the presentation of business bank Pentar’s launch of its Osservatorio Nautica e Finanza 2009 (Nautical and Financial Overview 2009). It gave an overview of the state of the nautical market and business done in the sector, and looked at the main financial characteristics of same. In that regard, I have to stress Italy’s talent in the sector – even though that’s no news to anyone. Our nation is a protagonist in terms of quality and on a global level. That is why it is a good idea to focus on this sector. However, it needs support from across the spectrum. I’m thinking of the terrible lack of infrastructure here in Italy, particularly in certain areas: that’s the sector’s real problem and one that’s not easy to solve. Might smaller yards that although well organised might not have great numbers fear the vicissitudes of the markets and go for more traditional venture capital or private equity solutions? AIM is ideal for many but not for everyone. To get listed you need to be a highly motivated, ambitious entrepreneur that’s not afraid to share your economic initiative with others. Anyone deciding to go for it today stands a good chance of leading their sector within 2-3 years. Anyone that has that kind of ambition and can prove they’re transparent and capable of developing a clear business plan has enormous potential right now. In general, apart from the nautical sector, AIM is very suitable for many other sectors in which Italy is particularly competitive on an international level. I refer to the consumer goods, construction, clothing and furniture.
Louis Vuitton Trophy: Azzurra\'s triumph
24/11/2009 - Azzurra overturns the predictions and beats the favourite Emirates Team New Zealand. The Italian team from the Yacht Club Costa Smeralda made its international sailing debut at the 1983 Louis Vuitton Cup but has been in hiatus since the 1987 event off Western Australia. The team was re-launched last month and today Azzurra won the first race by 25 seconds and the second by 17 for a well-deserved championship. Emirates Team New Zealand entered the final as the favourite. It won the round robin, suffering just one loss in 10 starts, and then defeated the upstart Synergy Russia Sailing Team in a hard-fought semi final match. The northwesterly wind blew between 6 and 10 knots for the two races and was very shifty and patchy. Pressure differences often accounted for different sailing angles as 1 or 2 knots more wind can lift a yacht as much as 10 degrees higher than its opponent. Despite the win, Azzurra had its mishaps on the racecourse. The skipper and tactician both described three problems in the two races. In Race 1 a helicopter got too low to the water and disrupted the wind flow, reducing a four-boatlength lead to one. In the second race the crew didn’t judge a bias in the leeward gate. They made a starboard rounding, but the mark was farther downwind and again they gave away three boatlengths. The biggest mishap came at the top of the second beat in the second race. Approaching the windward mark on starboard tack with Team New Zealand two or three lengths behind, Mantovani, the mid-bowman, slipped overboard while preparing the spinnaker for the rounding. As the yacht sailed past the aft grinder, Romero, ran into the scoop and grabbed him out of the water “like a fish,” according to Bruni.
Louis Vuitton Trophy: day 2 semi finals
24/11/2009 - Emirates Team New Zealand d. Synergy Russia Sailing Team – Delta: 20 seconds This match featured three lead changes and the Kiwis won it by getting the lead in the last quarter of the run to the finish. Synergy led at the first windward mark and leeward gate. Team New Zealand overtook on the second upwind leg by being to the left in a left-hand shift. Synergy was 15 seconds behind at the second windward mark when it gybe-set to starboard. Team New Zealand covered but Synergy was in a heading puff and rolled over the top and back into the lead. The Kiwis gybed away to port and when the two boats converged again in a port-starboard situation, Synergy had to gybe to port to avoid fouling the Kiwis. The Synergy crew couldn’t quite pull off a clean gybe, and Team New Zealand luffed. Synergy had to press up hard on starboard to keep clear as windward yacht, and Team New Zealand bore away to a controlling leeward position. The crews had one last gybe to port, but Team New Zealand had control and scored the win. Synergy Russia Sailing Team d. Emirates Team New Zealand – Delta: 50 seconds Team New Zealand was penalised in the pre-start for jibing too close. The Kiwis led this match around the course, but couldn’t pull far enough ahead to complete the 270-degree penalty turn and clear the finish line in the lead. The two crews raised their genoas and lowered the spinnakers as they got into the final quarter of the run to the finish. The pair wound up outside the committee boat end and to leeward as Team New Zealand was looking for an opportunity to complete its penalty or offset it on the Russian crew. But Synergy stayed clear through all the manoeuvring. In fact, Team New Zealand was assessed a second penalty for causing a collision. TeamOrigin d. Azzurra – Delta: 2:29 TeamOrigin evened its semi final match against Azzurra at 1-1 with a dominating performance. British skipper Ben Ainslie cleaned out Azzurra at the start, pushing the Italians over the line early at the boat end and gaining two penalties on them. Azzurra had to circle around the committee boat end to re-start and then had to perform one 270-degree penalty turn after entering the racecourse. By that time TeamOrigin was upwards of 10 boatlengths ahead. TeamOrigin led by 59 seconds at the first mark and never was threatened the rest of the way. BMW Oracle Racing d. TFS – PagesJaunes – Delta: 1:06 BMW Oracle Racing won this match in the pre-start. Entering on the favoured starboard tack, helmsman Gavin Brady dialled-up his counterpart on TFS – PagesJaunes, Bertrand Pace, and held him head-to-win for nearly the entire 5-minute period. With about 30 seconds to go and both boats well over the start line, Brady was able to spin his bow behind TFS and head back to the line. Brady got below the start line before the gun and had a clean start while Pace was left one length to windward of the line. It was a full 30 seconds before Pace was able to get behind the line and start properly. BMW Oracle Racing led by 55 seconds at the first windward mark and was never really threatened. BMW Oracle Racing advances to the match for 5th and 6th place against either the winner of Knockout Pair B, Artemis or All4One. TFS – PagesJaunes moves onto the match for 7th and 8th versus the loser of the pair B match. All4One d. Artemis – Delta: 27 seconds All4One, the host team at the Louis Vuitton Trophy Nice Côte d’Azur, has advanced to the match for 5th and 6th place against BMW Oracle Racing after beating Artemis in their one race sail-off. All4One started on port tack at the boat end of the start line and took the right side of the racecourse. The two yachts slammed through the big seaway as they beat upwind on starboard tack, separated by a few lengths. All4One was to windward, however, and led by 7 seconds at the first mark. The combined French/German team extended that lead to 30 seconds at the leeward gate and then applied covering tactics on the rough conditions for the well-earned win.
Econavigare, the nautical artisans in exhibition
24/11/2009 - To introduce the high quality of Lombardy’s artisan enterprises operating in the nautical sector to the great public of Artigiano in Fiera and to create important chances of purchase: these are the goals of Econavigare, the new exhibition devoted to nautical handicraft, which will be held in Fieramilano since 5th to 13th of December, inside Artigiano in Fiera 2009. A new boat show for Milan, key city for the nautical sector, given to its position, at the center of the biggest area of lakes in the whole Country. Econavigare is a great chance of visibility for all the nautical firms and the craft companies that will show their boats, especially those between 5 and 8 meters, and will display their absolute excellence. Visitors will have the opportunity to get closer to the nautical world, often considered an elite section. The public of Artigiano in Fiera will discover Lombardy’s nautical tradition, the technologies and the innovations of these craftsmen, among the best in the whole world. Econavigare will be inside Artigiano in Fiera, the international exhibition of the greatest craftsmanship of the world that will have 3 million visitors and around 3.000 exhibitors coming from 107 Countries of the world, all over an area of 140.000 sq.m. All the information about the demonstration are on the website www.econavigare.it.
Swan 90 S, beauty equals speed
24/11/2009 - There’s one golden rule for sailing yachts. A rule first mooted by the great Olin Stephens and later seconded by German Frers. It states that if a boat is a beauty, it must also be fast. Fittingly, the names of both designers are inextricably linked with the Nautor name and the boats it builds. From the very first Swan ever, the 36’ Tarantella, launched in 1966, Sparkman & Stephens designed all the Swans until 1980 when the pen was passed to the Argentinian designer. Needless to say, the latest addition to the Nautor fleet, the Swan 90 S, is as beautiful and as fast as its sisters. You only have to look at it to know the first part of the equation is true. The hull is clothed in classically contemporary lines with the maximum beam aft. The deckhouse is high enough to be windowed on three sides and large enough to house an only partly raised saloon (the S in the new Swan’s name actually stands for semi-raised saloon). It also incorporates a technical space under its flooring where the plant and tanks have been situated to keep weight concentrated amidships. Nonetheless, the superstructure is a seamless part of the yacht’s overall structure and is very easy on the eye, despite being more obvious than the classic flush deck look of Swan’s more commercially successful models. The main deck is completely cleared of any bulky sail controls, which are tucked away beneath its sleek teak surface. The crew working area is concentrated at the stern. The wheels, the mainsheet and its winch are in the lower steering part of cockpit in front of which is a raised guest area with four foresail winches. This means that guests have their own dedicated cockpit with two tables and seating with the seat backs acting as a divider. The latter are useful under way and when people want to sit down, but they can also hideaway when not in use which lightens the overall look. To test out the second part of the beauty equals speed rule, Yacht Capital took the Swan 90 S for a spin in the waters off Pietarsaari on a day when there was around 18 knots of air. We clocked over 13 knots ourselves – which translates into average speeds comparable to those of an equivalent motor-powered displacement yacht. The credit must go to the new Swan’s very efficient sail plan, clean hull lines and appendages that include a long, narrow rudder and torpedo bulb. This system keeps a high righting moment without requiring excessive length along the keel which is fixed (by choice). Below decks, architect Michele Bönan has reinterpreted Nautor’s classically elegant interiors beautifully too. The bulkheads, cabinets and tables are all veneered in teak, with pigskin trim on many features, such as the dinette in the saloon and the desk in the owner’s cabin. Apart from the large full-beam saloon at the foot of the only companionway, there are four guest cabins (two are twins and the owner’s is aftmost). The bow area, from the galley onwards, is given over entirely to the crew.
Itama Fifty, amazing interiors
24/11/2009 - An Itama is an Itama, there’s no doubt about it. Its charm, lines and gutsy appeal are all immediately recognisable, unaffected by any restyling and no matter how new the model may be. The same can be said about the Fifty, the new 16-metre yacht that made its international debut at the last Genoa Boat Show. One look is enough to make the family name clear, even though the stylistic choices, especially in the interiors, may come as a pleasant surprise. “We were given clear instructions to highlight the Itama DNA without spoiling it,” says Marco Casali. Together with the yard’s engineering department and the Ferretti Group’s Advanced Yacht Technology, he has created the latest arrival from the Rome-based yard. “It’s a bit like what happened with the Porsche 911,” Casali continues. “In its first forty years it’s had a number of facelifts. Every time it was more beautiful, while remaining true to itself.” The Itama Fifty isn’t a restyled version, it’s a brand-new design, but her main deck, square windshield and waterlines leave no room for doubt about her pedigree. So we’ll take a look at the new elements – the owner’s cabin, for example, has been repositioned beneath the aft sunbed, resembling the models of 1980s vintage, because with the in-line transmissions this layout provides a new look. The exterior lines have also been given a revamp. “At first they were parallel to the water,” Casali explains. “Now they’re curved, especially where the deck’s concerned, to make them less rigorous, but still feisty.” The new element on display in the cockpit is a reinterpretation of older splendours. “It’s true,” says the architect Casali. “We’ve redone the small window at the bottom of the windscreen. We thought it was a distinctive feature, and it was worth taking a new look at it.” The result of all these new touches and returns to the past is a modern 16-metre design that takes its place between the Forty and the FiftyFive, offering an unusual yet ideal synthesis between day-cruiser and open cruiser. She can comfortably host 12 people for day cruises and six for longer journeys. The location of the owner’s cabin under the aft sunpad means that it’s been possible to lay out three double cabins with en-suite bathroom, a generous number for a 16-metre yacht. And that’s not all – as the aft cabin is accessed directly from the cockpit, the double cabin forward and the twin cabin amidships enjoy an unprecedented degree of privacy for a vessel of this size. The roomy aft deck and generous cockpit allow guests to enjoy a direct, unobstructed relationship with the sea. But It’s the Itama Fifty’s interiors that really amaze. Visitors going below deck will be struck by the amount of light and space, and especially the ample headroom. White, open-pore oak dominates throughout, creating a neutral environment where the upholstery colours form the most distinctive furnishing motif. The general impression is one of outstanding freshness and simplicity. Some sections of the walls have been left untouched to emphasise this yacht’s seagoing personality and to challenge current yacht design thinking, where yachts are treated as floating extensions of the owner’s urban apartment. “We looked for inspiration by commissioning some research into what living aboard means nowadays, and we also looked at the furnishings in some of Italy’s most beautiful seaside hotels. These provided unquestionable results – white is the most maritime colour of all, the one that best expresses the idea that Italians have about the sea.” If it is then combined with blue fabrics, the appeal of the Itama style is one hundred per cent certain. For the record, the Itama Fifty is powered by two 800hp MAN engines, providing a top speed of 34 knots.
Indio, conquering elegance
24/11/2009 - Indio is the new jewel created for expert yachtsman Andrea Recordati. She’s a 101-foot Wally, and embodies the elegance we’ve come to expect from Germán Frers. The owner was actively involved in the yacht’s design, as designer Giacomo Lais, the project supervisor, tells us. “Every day, together with the owner, we studied every detail and its use. Nothing was left to chance and we cut weight by getting rid of useless frills. Every angle has been optimised. At the same time the interior and exterior design has been simplified to create the same feeling. The final result is a functional, comfortable, elegant yacht with a good turn of speed.” Indio’s construction reflects the high-tech concept we’re used to seeing from Luca Bassani’s innovative yard, with a pre-preg carbon hull, super high modulus carbon fibre mast, titanium deck reinforcements, fixed 5m keel with trim tab, dual ratio steering to provide the right feel in all sailing conditions, and a pulley system built into the mast collar to reduce stresses on the deck. The result of this technological perfectionism is a 30-metre luxury cruiser with a displacement of just 59 tonnes, a combination that provides good performance. “We wanted a family yacht, where the kids can enjoy the open air in safety,” explains the owner, who already owns the previous Wally Indio 80, “which explains the double cockpit.” The deck is generous, enhanced by the distinctive lightness that’s a hallmark of all Wally designs, where the basic concept always focuses on spaciousness rather than excess. The bridge and helm stations are separate from the rest of the deck in a terrace laid out with a sunpad and relaxation area. The deckhouse forward of the helm stations is only slightly higher, with a play of panoramic rectangular portholes around the aft companionway, continuing to the central cockpit. Here the glass skylight strip runs centrally from the foot of the mast to the terrace. “The deckhouse has angular yet harmonious lines, and the aft section, clad in teak, is so well integrated with the deck that it seems to blend in totally,” Lais continues. “The hinges of the deck hatches are invisible, giving the deck a clean, uncluttered surface. Even the doorstops have been given a new twist, with retractable Teflon cylinders. The exterior seating forms an integral part of the deck and deckhouse. The only separate piece of furniture is the teak dining table. It can be lowered with a lever system to create a 3-metre by 2.8-metre sunbathing area in the central cockpit, sheltered from the wind and safe for kids.” Here, a second hatch leads below deck. A typical Wally feature is the fabulous “terrace on the sea”, with a living area that develops beneath the aft deckhouse, absorbing most of the available space and transforming itself into the focus of on-board life. “I preferred to avoid particular brands for the furnishing elements, relying instead on the Wally Design Studio instead. We have a perfect understanding,” Recordati says, “except for a slightly too modern approach with lacquered interiors and an over-use of white, we agreed on warmer, natural woods, where the teak can be appreciated without colouring, almost rough, with horizontal grain. This style is maintained throughout the yacht, including the crew area.” The style in the saloon/dining remains sober and intimate, with an angular horseshoe of modern divans in white cotton upholstery. “Less delicate than linen”, the owner says. “For the interiors,” explains Lais, “we chose materials and colours that make all the spaces hospitable and welcoming. The furniture and walls are in teak, covered only with a water-resistant varnish. The cabin and saloon wall panelling are clad in beige, water-resistant suede.” The galley top port is flanked by the engine room amidships. To starboard are two double bunk cabins with heads, and further forward lies the chart room with electronic instrumentation, while the rest of the sleeping area is in the bow area. “The flooring is in wengé. Of course, we’ve used light structures like honeycomb or foam throughout,” Lais emphasises. Two double cabins face each other. Both have en-suite bathrooms and a pullman berth when needed. The fittings embody a concept of essential coherence, making the most of the space available and expressing a low-profile personality with clean, straight, chic lines. 
Light wood dominates every interior, extending without interruption into the bathrooms. The owner’s stateroom forward offers a more expansive interior, with wardrobes and a functional, compact desk/office area - it’s amazing how much the designers have obtained from the interiors 
of a sail yacht, even one of this length. The bathrooms 
offer an attractive display of natural woods, with squared lines and a certain striking solemnity in the arrangement of the washbasins. That is because absolutely everything is considered down to the very last detail.
Streamline 105’
24/11/2009 - It all happened a couple of years ago. “Milan was almost deserted. The office was winding down for the holidays, and we were enjoying a moment of calm after months of running around. That’s when the idea came. A friend had told us about an owner considering a 44-metre build. The specifications were very sketchy and the briefing was equally vague, so it all ended inconclusively. The basic idea appealed to us, though. We’d started designing this yacht with a new concept for the superstructure shape. We liked it and we worked on the preliminary plans, which we included in the publication celebrating the studio’s 20th year.” That’s how Mario Pedol, who founded Nauta Design alongside Massimo Gino, describes the birth of the exterior styling created by the Milanese studio under the name Streamline. Originally intended for a 44-metre yacht, it will soon take shape in a 105-foot design. “The 44-metre yacht was the springboard,” says Pedol. “Then, after we presented the project to some of our clients, who gave it a favourable reception, we received a concrete commission – to interpret the new shape in 
a 120-foot design, then definitively in a 105-foot build.” Things have gone very fast and the preliminaries are almost complete. The 3D renderings show a sloop with a superstructure influenced by what Pedol calls a ‘wave’, drawing the eye from helm to mast. It’s a development of two lateral elements that surround the cockpit and extend forward to embrace the deckhouse. “It’s a very striking formal solution that developed as a free stylistic exercise, as it grew from a design without restrictions based on only 
a handful of elements. When you work on a 44-metre 
yacht with only a few specifications, or even none at all, except the need to develop new stylistic elements, 
it leaves you plenty of room to experiment. This alchemy gave rise to the Streamline concept.” While the wave is the dominant element in the side view of the 105-footer developed by Nauta Design, the other distinctive element is the deckhouse roof. “We thought of it as a transparent glass wedge,” Pedol continues, “which, with the two lateral wings of the wave, plunges towards the bows and penetrates the deck. We’ve created a play of lines and used a variety of materials and colours. In fact opaque, composite lateral elements surround the two windows, which I’d describe as ‘eagle’s eyes’, and these also descend to deck level. There’s also the transparent upper glass section of the deckhouse.” Overall it’s extremely light, with a structural design linking the side elements supporting the deck glass. This is one of the design aspects that presented the greatest challenge to the Milanese studio, as they had to provide maximum rigidity (the area aft of the mast is one that experiences some of the heaviest stresses on board a sail yacht) without compromising the transparency of the glass with an excessive number of structural elements. “We came up with two solutions,” says Pedol. “One involved a network of longitudinal and transverse members, but the effect was that of a coffered ceiling. The other used a series of transverse beams. That’s the solution we chose in the end, as its simplicity enhances the glass deck panels.” Made, like the entire hull itself, in carbon fibre, and with a square section of just 10 centimetres, the beams ensure the view from the below deck saloon is as uncluttered as possible, while the 4-5 centimetre thick shatterproof glass panels (“We didn’t use plexiglas, as it deforms too easily in extreme temperatures, and this means the seams aren’t totally waterproof”) aren’t taken into consideration for structural calculations. “They’re just a kind of curtain, and can also be light-sensitive, so they can regulate transparency and adjust interior light,” says Pedol. “We’re also developing a system of blinds to provide shade in the saloon.” While the Streamline shape and deckhouse design are innovations for Nauta Design, the interior layout – especially the external arrangement of the new 105-foot build – reflect the Milan studio’s established house style. This can be seen in the distinction between the functional areas with the cockpit and dinette and the more formal zone with seating outside the entrance to the deckhouse, followed by two more informal areas with sunpads. They in turn lead on to the business end of the yacht with the two helm stations. One element already included in another Nauta Design project and again present on the 105’ is the walkway from transom to companionway. “No steps, no separation, just a walkway that develops on a single level. It’s an idea we took from the Southern Wind 94 that was easier to achieve on a 105-foost yacht with greater freeboard.” The transom deck, though, introduces a brand new element. “The 105’ Streamline was a chance to develop a design and layout for this space,” concludes Mario Pedol. “In fact we’ve created a way of descending to sea level with the transom that folds down to reveal a comfortable, safe staircase down to the swim platform. It’s a solution we’ll use on other projects, and we also want to reinterpret the Streamline concept in other sizes. I think we could go down to 65 feet – any less and we’d lose the balance between height and length created by the continuous wave that’s the distinctive element and is the result of pure, stylistic research. This inspired a completely free design, based on a study of new stylistic elements and the aim of creating harmonious forms.”
Perini Riela: the seventh seal
24/11/2009 - It started with Burrasca. Then came Santa Maria, Rosehearty (now Zenji), Selene, Salute and Silvana. Now Riela brings to seven the number of 56-metre sailing yachts built by Perini Navi. “And we’re not finished yet as over the next two years we’ll be building another three,” stresses Bernardo Chici, head of the yard’s design division. Riela was built in the 5,450-square-metre sheds at the Perini Istanbul Gemicilik facility in Turkey, where the aluminium hulls and superstructures are both made. She was then moved to Viareggio where she was fitted out and rigged. That job ended last April when she received her technical launch. Finally in June, Riela was handed over to her owner for her first cruising season. One that included participation in the Perini Navi Cup, the final test for the ketch whose waterlines came from the pen of Ron Holland and whose exterior styling is the work of the Perini Navi technicians themselves. This partnership, in fact, could be said to have created the first one design megayacht. Like Silvana, Riela spreads 1,500 square metres of sail on her two aluminium masts (main 58.8 metres, mizzen 48.26 metres) and carbon-fibre boom, all made in-house. Her deck plan is also the same as that of her sister ships, with two tenders stowed forward of the main mast and the sunken cockpit that is something of a Perini signature. Up on the fly there’s an al fresco steering position, sofas and sun pads as well as a hydrotherapy pool. The space is dominated by the white furnishings and also teak. Traditional seafaring stuff. However, Remi Tessier went in a very different direction both in terms of design and colours scheme for the interiors. This is the designer who also worked on Salute, Squall and Parsifal, the latter two being 53 metres for which he won Designer of the Year in 2006. With Riela, he gives another superb demonstration of his personal vision of elegance: “It lies in the art of detail without ostentation, in the exaltation of the simple.” Thus moving from the cockpit into the living area, one not only enters Riela’s interior but passes into a dimension that is deceptive in its simplicity. “Overcome space and free it up, find a way of interpreting an element and organising a space that will give it new breadth. Furnish it with pertinent furnishings and let light and life flow into it,” he says. This is exactly how both the décor and layout of the living area seem to work. Just inside the door there are large leather armchairs and sofas with light metal structures. Together with a low occasional table, they make up the first conversation nook. There are no divisions or buffers so the area is one big open space interrupted only by the polished steel stairs leading up to the fly and down to the lower deck. The saloon is a wonderfully sunny room: the walls, upholstery and ceiling are all cream and combine beautifully with the many different woods used by Tessier. It takes a lot of skill to be able to use such a variety of unusual woods together, but this is one of the salient features of Tessier’s work. The result is that not merely in the living area but actually throughout the yacht brushed abete and macassar ebony or limed maple and teak pop up together. However, down on the lower deck, which is home to the guest staterooms and the owner’s suite, positioned forward of the engine room, the colour scheme is softer and more gentle. Taking up almost all of Riela’s 11-metre beam, the owner’s suite itself offers only a bedroom, a walk-in closet and two bathrooms, which feel brighter because of the white surfaces. The motifs from the owner’s suite continue in the pullman-furnished cabin next door but also in the two double and two twin guest staterooms. Throughout there is that light, sophisticated touch in the use of materials which together with a formal severity of the furnishings and spaces themselves make Riela what she is. A further demonstration of Remi Tessier’s talent at giving the much abused word “luxury” a new and fascinating meaning.
Telecom Italia chiude al secondo posto
24/11/2009 - Giovanni Soldini e Pietro d'Alì hanno chiuso in seconda posizione la Solidaire du Chocolat. Il duo, a bordo di Telecom Italia, ha tagliato il traguardo a Progreso (Yucatan) alle 4.25 e 20'' ora italiana di ieri, dopo aver percorso le 5000 miglia della transatlantica dalla Francia al Messico in 27 giorni, 11 ore, 0 minuti e 20 secondi, alla velocità media di 7,59 nodi. Nelle ultime fasi della regata Soldini e d'Alì hanno ingaggiato un match race entusiasmante con Bruno Jourdren e Bernard Stamm su Cheminées Puojoulat, giunti terzi a soli 18 minuti e 44 secondi. Il finale è stato da brivido: Telecom Italia ha navigato con poco vento (condizione sfavorevolissima per un Class 40 che si esprime al meglio con vento superiore ai 10 nodi), incalzata dai francesi a meno di 4 miglia di distanza. A complicare le cose ha pensato anche un campo di pescherecci non segnalato, nelle cui reti è andata a impigliarsi l'imbarcazione italiana. Per tutta la notte tra venerdì e sabato Giovanni e Pietro, aiutati dai pescatori, hanno tagliato le reti per liberare Telecom Italia e condurla in porto a Progreso.
Kamini Ezralow, tessuti d'interni
16/11/2009 - Cosmopolita, ma con solide radici sulla terra. È nata in Sudafrica, ha vissuto a Hong Kong, a Los Angeles, ha radici nel subcontinente indiano, parla correntemente cinque lingue e da alcuni anni vive a Londra. Nel percorso di Kamini Ezralow ci sono molti aspetti di unicità: una storia di vita non comune, una miscela eterogenea di esperienze e di punti di vista, ma anche talento naturale, passione e grande determinazione nel raggiungere gli obiettivi. Dopo un percorso di studi orientato alla conoscenza delle lingue e culture straniere, il destino dirotta il corso della sua esistenza: durante un viaggio in India, Kamini rimane incantata dai mercati pullulanti di stoffe, trame e colori, scopre improvvisamente di avere un’innata propensione per i tessuti, sa sceglierli e sa accostarli, una qualità forse anche stimolata dalla madre che aveva a Hong Kong un negozio di oggetti per la casa. Dopo questo episodio decide di iscriversi a un corso di architettura di interni presso la prestigiosa Inchbald School of Design di Londra. Il corso la affascina e le fa scoprire la sua più intima vocazione: l’interior design. Nel corso degli anni matura diverse esperienze professionali, focalizzando il suo interesse su interni residenziali di alto livello, palazzi, residenze estive. Lavora in diversi studi e poi apre il proprio, con sede prima a Hong Kong e poi a Los Angeles e Londra, fino a diventare la responsabile di Intarya Design, una struttura che nelle sue mani è passata dalla condizione di una piccola e stimata realtà locale al rango di società di fama internazionale, con 20 designer e due rami d’azienda, un primo destinato agli interni “sulla terra ferma” e un secondo, nato di recente, dedicato agli interni di barche, chiamato Life on board. La sua è una storia dove tutto sembra magicamente accadere al momento giusto, ma nessuno le ha regalato nulla: Kamini Ezralow è una lavoratrice indefessa, una leader capace di delegare e responsabilizzare e quindi di fare crescere il suo
Mare e gusto: l'importanza delle stagioni
16/11/2009 - Sembra strano, ma anche la qualità dei pesci, dei crostacei e dei molluschi dipende dalla stagionalità. Insomma anche sott’acqua le temperature delle acque, i cicli di riproduzione, l’inquinamento incidono sul gusto, sull’olfatto e sul tatto. La fine dell’inverno, con l’arrivo dei primi caldi, porta delle conseguenze sul pescato, in particolare nelle tipologie poi servite crude. Che il pesce sia correlato allo scorrere dei mesi lo mostrano le ostriche quando si afferma, con autorità, che i periodi migliori siano legati ai mesi con la erre (va incluso anche gennaio, janvier per i francesi, possessori della verità su questo mollusco). L’ arrivo di maggio porta nuovi sapori ittici sulle tavole attente. Ma bisogna aspettare ancora qualche settimana per poter gustare al meglio dei crostacei, un tempo poveri, quasi dimenticati: la canocchia (dell’Adriatico) o panocchia e pure la cicala o magnosa nel Tirreno, oggi divenute improvvisamente care (nel prezzo d’acquisto al mercato). Potrei aggiungere I like canocchia. Confesso di avere per questo crostaceo un debole, lo adoro in tutte le salse (si legga anche in tutte le cotture). Dolce quando viene bollito, amarognolo nel retrogusto quando viene servito crudo, un’operazione non facile, anzi fino a pochi anni fa era impossibile assaggiarlo in questa versione. Il primus inter pares a offrirlo sotto forma di tartare, cruda, è stato un cuoco di montagna, Paolo Teverini del ristorante Tosco Romagnolo di Bagno di Romagna (tel. +39/0543.911260) rompendo così una tradizione che voleva le canocchie soprattutto a vapore, oppure con la pasta fatta in casa. Nel tempo però altri locali hanno compreso il valore organolettico della squilla mantis a cominciare dall’Antica Trattoria di Sacerno, loc. Sacerno di Calderara (Bologna), tel. +39/051.6469050 del patron Luigi, grande conoscitore di crostacei, dove la canocchia è diventata la star: servita cruda, sempre sgusciata a crudo, proposta come tortino, sotto forma di cotoletta (quindi
L'Hydroptere batte il record sul miglio nautico
14/11/2009 - L' Hydroptere ha battuto il record di velocità sul miglio nautico, andando oltre il muro del 50 nodi. L'imbarcazione, guidata da Alain Thebault con dieci uomini di equipaggio, ha navigato ad una velocità media di 50,17 nodi (poco meno di 93 km/h) sulla distanza di 1852 metri. Grazie a questa impresa, Thebault e i suoi uomini ora sono detentori di due record di velocità superiori ai 50 nodi: a quello sul miglio nautico si aggiunge quello sui 500 metri, di 51,36 nodi.
Hilary Lister, più forte della natura
14/11/2009 - La sua è stata una grande avventura. Perché se circumnavigare la Gran Bretagna in solitario non è facile, è davvero un’impresa farlo quando si è tetraplegici e costretti all’immobilità. La navigatrice inglese Hilary Lister, 36 anni, è riuscita nella sfida navigando su un’imbarcazione attrezzata che governava soffiando in tubicini collegati ai servocomandi. Hilary, affetta da una malattia degenerativa, non è nuova a imprese del genere: nel 2005 è stata infatti la prima velista quadriplegica ad attraversare in solitario la Manica. Nel corso della navigazione in più tappe attorno alla Gran Bretagna, che aveva preso il via l’anno scorso e si è conclusa lo scorso settembre, Hilary ha dovuto affrontare condizioni meteo molto dure, oltre a due ricoveri in ospedale per problemi respiratori. Il suo sito www.hilarylister.com è la dimostrazione non solo di una grande forza di volontà e determinazione, ma anche di una immensa passione per il mare.
Trofeo Louis Vuitton: si chiude il Round Robin 1
14/11/2009 - Giornata di chiusura del Round Robin 1 al Louis Vuitton Trophy a Nizza. in programma quattro match carichi di motivi di interesse, e non solo per la classifica di questo primo girone visto che TeamOrigin, il team inglese con Ben Ainslie e Iain Percy è impegnato in ben due match: il primo contro Emirates Team New Zealand, al momento unica squadra a pieni punti; il secondo con Azzurra, sempre più protagonista. Gli altri due scontri vedono gli svedesi di Artemis contro BMW Oracle, al momento a soli 2 punti, e ancora il team di Larry Ellison opposto ai russi di Synergy, anche loro a 2 punti.
Indio, l'eleganza conquista
14/11/2009 - Si chiama Indio il nuovo gioiello dell’esperto yachtsman Andrea Recordati ed è un Wally di 101 piedi che ripropone la consueta eleganza firmata da Germán Frers. L’armatore ha partecipato attivamente al disegno dello yacht, come racconta il designer Giacomo Lais che ha seguito il progetto: «Assieme all’armatore abbiamo quotidianamente studiato ogni particolare in funzione del suo reale utilizzo. Nulla è stato lasciato al caso e non vi sono orpelli inutili e pesanti. Non c’è un solo angolo che non sia stato ottimizzato. Allo stesso tempo anche per il design degli interni e degli esterni è stata usata la stessa attenzione. Abbiamo quindi realizzato uno yacht funzionale, comodo, elegante e sempre, e comunque, veloce». Costruttivamente Indio non si discosta dai canoni hi-tech cui ci ha abituato l’innovativo cantiere di Luca Bassani: scafo in carbonio pre-preg, albero in fibra di carbonio super high modulus, rinforzi in titanio per il ponte, chiglia fissa di cinque metri con trim tab, timoneria a due rapporti per avere il giusto feeling in ogni condizione di navigazione e sistema di pulegge integrate nel collare dell’albero per ridurre gli sforzi in coperta. Il risultato di tale perfezionismo tecnologico è un cruiser di lusso di 30 metri con un dislocamento di appena 59 tonnellate, quindi assai performante. «Volevamo uno yacht adatto a tutta la famiglia, dove i bambini potessero godere dell’aria aperta in sicurezza», spiega l’armatore, già proprietario del precedente Indio Wally 80. «Da qui è nato il doppio pozzetto». La coperta è generosa, ancor meglio esaltata dall’inimitabile leggerezza formale di casa Wally; plancia e timonerie sono separate dal resto della coperta in un cockpit, che viene arredato per trasformarsi in area prendisole e relax. La tuga, a prua delle timonerie, si innalza appena su una teoria di oblò rettangolari panoramici, che contorna il passauomo di poppa proseguendo sino al pozzetto centrale; qui, l’apertura della vetrata skylight corre in p
Paolo Vitelli, ottimismo futuro
14/11/2009 - Paolo Vitelli è al timone del Gruppo Azimut-Benetti, leader mondiale nella produzione di megayacht. Lo abbiamo intervistato in questo delicato momento stagionale per l’industria nautica, su cui la crisi economica mondiale ha pesantemente infierito. Qual è la situazione attuale, all’inizio dell’anno nautico? La situazione economica resta debole, anche se tutti gli indicatori hanno dichiarato che ormai il fondo è stato toccato, e che è iniziata la risalita. Quanto è consistente questa risalita? È indubbiamente lenta, ma la ripresa avrà bisogno almeno di un paio d’anni per consolidarsi. Trasliamo l’analisi alla nautica. D’accordo. Per il nostro settore sono più ottimista. I potenziali acquirenti non hanno perso molti soldi. Avevano invece perso la serenità, sviluppato il pudore, erano vittime di un po’ di paura e gli era negato l’accesso al credito. Sono situazioni più facili da sanare che rimettere a posto l’intera economia. Ma allora qual è l’attuale atteggiamento dei potenziali acquirenti? Direi che i nostri potenziali clienti hanno perso il pudore e la vergogna a comprare perché non si respira più il clima di disfatta di qualche mese fa. Non pensano più che il mondo crollerà e ricominciano ad avere l’accesso al credito. Penso che possano dare un segnale positivo alla nostra industria, più che in altri comparti produttivi. Qual è stato il periodo più difficile? Dal novembre 2008 al febbraio 2009. Quali stimoli potete dare al mercato? La creazione di prodotti nuovi. Genera voglia di comprare, euforia, tanto nei compratori che in noi che li produciamo. In pratica sarà la capacità d’innovazione a favorire la ripresa. Un considerevole aiuto può venire dall’export. Come vede questa dinamica? La nostra industria nautica in questo campo deve dar prova di maggior saggezza. Ad esempio abbiamo constatato che i cantieri olandesi produttori di megayacht non hanno minimamente tentennato. Non sono stati affatto toccati dal panico. Gli inglesi, con una
Nulla cambia tra Telecom Italia e Cheminées Poujoulat
14/11/2009 - Le solite 9-10 miglia di distacco che ormai da giorni separano Telecom Italia e Cheminées Poujoulat. Non è cambiata la situazione nella coppia di inseguitori di Initiatives Novedia ormai a meno di 400 miglia dal traguardo di Progreso. Con una velocità di appena 6 nodi e con le previsioni che danno il vento in rotazione verso nord e sempre più forte (anche sui 20 nodi) nel Golfo del Messico, per De Lamotte e Hardy la parte finale della regata si presenta tutt'altro che facile. Sono invece ancora alle prese con gli ultimi sbuffi di vento dai settori meridionali Giovanni Soldini e Pietro D'Alì, impegnati nel loro duello con Jourdren e Stamm. Prossimo passaggio per Giovanni e Pietro l'Isla de la Juventud, per poi affrontare il canale dello Yucatan tra appunto la penisola dello Yucatan e Cuba e quindi entrare nei venti da nord che in cui sta già navigando Initiatives Novedia.
BMW Oracle testa l'albero alare
14/11/2009 - BOR 90, il maxi trimarano con cui BMW Oracle sfiderà Alinghi nelle acque di Valencia nella prossima America's Cup, ha installato l'albero alare da 190 piedi sviluppato a San Diego e ne ha completato un primo breve test. Un'ala di tali dimensioni non è mai stata realizzata prima per un'imbarcazione, e giganteggia su quelle dei normali aeroplani. L'albero alare è lungo 57 metri, circa l'80% in più di quanto è lunga l'ala di un Boeing 747 che misura 31 metri. “E' un momento semplicemente emozionante”, ha detto l'australiano James Spithill, timoniere del BOR 90. “Siamo entusiasti di provarla”, ha aggiunto. “Non ringrazieremo mai abbastanza per il loro grandissimo impegno i ragazzi del team tecnologico che l'ha realizzata”.
Match race tra Telecom Italia e Chéminées-Puojoulat
14/11/2009 - Un vero e proprio match race quello che sta andando in scena tra Telecom Italia e Cheminées-Puojoulat a sud di Cuba. Il distacco tra i due inseguitori di Initiatives-Novedia, ormai a circa 500 mgilia dal traguardo di Progreso, è minimo e continua a cambiare. Al rilevamento di questa mattina, Giovanni Soldini e Pietro D'Alì sono in seconda posizione a 121,6 miglia dal primo. Solo 10 miglia dietro inseguono Jourdren e Stamm. Diversa tuttavia la scelta tattica delle due barche con Giovanni e Pietro che hanno deciso di stare piuttosto al largo di Capo Cruz, la punta a ovest della città di Santa Cruz, mentre Bruno e Bernard hanno decisamente fatto rotta a terra.
L'America's Cup torna a Valencia
14/11/2009 - Siamo felici di comunicare che Société Nautique de Geneve/Alinghi si è finalmente detta d'accordo con noi sulla correttezza della scelta di Valencia come sede della 33sima edizione dell'America's Cup. E' presumibile quindi che SNG ora ritiri il ricorso contro la decisione della Corte che ha sancito l'illegalità di Ras Al Khaimah come sede della gara”. Con questo scarno comunicato si chiude la querelle sulla sede della prossima America's Cup, che si terrà quindi in Febbraio nelle acque di Valencia. BMW Oracle ha quindi risposto ad una lettera inviata da SNG/Alinghi alla Corte di Giustizia Suprema di New York, nella quale il defender esprimeva il proprio assenso alla sede spagnola, ripetutamente chiesta dagli sfidanti in ossequio al Deed of Gift. Le volontà dei due team si incontrano, per via indiretta, alla fine di un infruttuoso weekend di colloqui. Si torna dunque in Spagna, nello stesso teatro dell'edizione 2007 dell'America's Cup. In precedenza Alinghi aveva suggerito di disputarla in Australia.
Due megayacht in arrivo da Ancona
23/09/2009 - Un 72 metri e un 80 metri. Un uno-due davvero notevole quello dei cantieri Crn di Ancona. Il primo megayacht, Clarena il suo nome (nel render), scenderà in mare il prossimo settembre. È un dislocante in acciaio e alluminio nato dalla collaborazione tra lo staff tecnico del cantiere e lo studio Nuvolari & Lenard, artefice peraltro del primo Clarena, varato nel 2003 e che faceva parte della serie Magnifica di 46 metri di Crn. Dodici gli ospiti che possono essere imbarcati e, tra le tante particolarità, quella di un vero e proprio beach club di oltre 100 metri quadrati a poppa del ponte inferiore. Per l’80 metri, che rappresenta l’imbarcazione più grande mai costruita dal cantiere anconetano, il layout esterno è invece firmato dallo Studio Zuccon International Project, mentre gli interni sono opera dell’interior designer Laura Sessa Romboli. Anche qui 12 gli ospiti a bordo più uno staff di ben 30 persone. Il varo è previsto per il 2011.
Un Sunrise da 47 metri
23/09/2009 - Dopo aver sviluppato l’intera gamma di opzioni per gli interni del Sunrise 45 metri (il primo esemplare della serie scenderà in mare questa estate), Franck Darnet Design è ora impegnato nella progettazione del nuovo Sunrise 47 metri. Questo progetto è il risultato di un’interessante collaborazione tra lo studio francese, Sunrise Yachts, Espen Øino International e Brilliant Boats. Gli interni, che sono in via di definizione, hanno un’impostazione moderna e sono giocati sull’abbinamento tra l’ebano macassar e i tessuti chiari. Alla base della filosofia di progettazione vi è l’intento di miscelare gli spazi interni ed esterni dello yacht per incrementare la sensazione di spazio e offrire luminosità, privacy e comfort degni di unità di maggiori dimensioni. Per il Sunrise 47 metri sono previsti due allestimenti diversi, entrambi con una spettacolare suite armatoriale sul ponte superiore.
Motoryacht dalle linee sinuose
23/09/2009 - Un 80 piedi che si distingue per le linee decisamente curve e aggressive. È questa la proposta di Carlo Cafiero che, anche negli ambienti interni di questo motoryacht di 24,61 metri di lunghezza, ha puntato su andamenti sinuosi. In particolare nella cabina armatoriale, dove lo spazio è appunto definito da pareti curve per agevolare il movimento rotatorio del letto sospeso, che è l’elemento caratterizzante di tutto il progetto della suite. I materiali utilizzati sono l’imbuia e il cuoio. Il locale è servito da un’ampia cabina armadio a cui si accede attraverso una porta scorrevole, anche questa curva, e da una scrivania con cassetti e piccoli reparti portaoggetti. Presente infine un divanetto di cuoio, materiale usato anche per l’imbottitura delle cornici delle due finestre. Il cielo della cabina, invece, è in pannelli di smalto lucido, in cui sono inseriti i led dell’illuminazione.
Un doubledeck da 53 metri
23/09/2009 - È sviluppato sulle linee dello scafo del Wally 50m il nuovo Wally 53m Doble Deckhouse, attualmente in costruzione. Costruito in materiali compositi in modo da avere un dislocamento leggero (intorno alle 210 tonnellate), il nuovo megasailer ha un’organizzazione con doppia deck house che riprende il concept del progetto Pilgrim. Come da richiesta dell’armatore, la suite è collocata a poppa, con un pozzetto separato: la deckhouse poppiera, quindi, è la continuazione della cabina padronale e ha una lounge con vista a 360 gradi e accesso al pozzetto privato del proprietario. La deckhouse principale, invece, ospita la zona pranzo. Per gli ospiti sono previste quattro doppie: due a prua e due a poppa del living. L’architettura navale di questo 53 metri, dotato di lifting keel, vanta la firma, accanto a quella del cantiere, dello studio Tripp Design Naval Architecture.
Tris d'assi per Amels
23/09/2009 - Un tris quello che il cantiere olandese Amels presenta al Monaco Yacht Show. Si comincia con il Limited Edition Amels 171, un 52,30 metri semi custom disegnato da Tim Heywood che sarà presentato con tre possibili allestimenti curati dall’architetto Laura Sessa Romboli. Il secondo esordio è quello dell’Amels 199 della fortunata serie Limited Edition. Il megayacht, che per l’exterior design porta anche in questo caso la firma di Tim Heywood, ha interni flessibili disegnati dallo studio Nuvolari & Lenard. Con la sua stazza di 1045 tonnellate il nuovo Amels si propone agli armatori che mirano al massimo in termini di comfort, sicurezza, performance e per finire anche di valore nel tempo. Ultima proposta, quella di un support vessel di 50 metri, largo 9,20 metri. Si tratta del Damen Sea Axe che ha come caratteristica principale la prua ad ascia sviluppata dal cantiere Damen e dall’università olandese di Delft e al cui sviluppo hanno contribuito gli ingegneri di Amels.
Amy, gli interni fanno la differenza
23/09/2009 - La caratteristica più immediata è la colorazione esterna, con lo scafo bianco e la sovrastruttura grigia, ma il secondo 54 metri, attualmente in costruzione presso il cantiere Amy, riserva molte novità. Il megayacht, che porta la firma di Luca Dini Design, è infatti all’insegna dell’imponenza degli spazi, in particolare nel living, dallo stile sobrio ed elegante, a cui si accede dal pozzetto. Ispirato a Sea Force One, il primo Admiral 54, il nuovo yacht si differenzia dal fratello per lo stile degli interni: gli arredi sono in teak con insoliti e sapienti inserti in wengé, che creano un piacevole contrasto; murate e paratie sono invece impreziosite da inserti in nabuk e pelle vintage che arricchiscono l’aspetto generale e spezzano il prevalere dell’essenza dominante. Lo stesso stile prosegue anche nei bagni, dove sono state usate pietre naturali dai colori caldi. La cabina armatoriale, come nel primo 54 metri, ha un grande lucernario sopra al letto e due balconcini laterali abbattibili che si affacciano sul mare.
One Fifty dalla linea ultra-moderna
23/09/2009 - Si chiama One Fifty la novità del cantiere polacco Sunreef. Lungo 45 metri, il nuovo maxi-catamarano può contare su una linea ultra-moderna, grandi spazi a bordo e molte innovazioni tecnologiche. Tra le caratteristiche estetiche di One Fifty quella di avere una deckhouse a tutta larghezza che crea un profilo frontale molto particolare, con ampie vetrate sulla parte anteriore della tuga. Altro elemento notevole di questo yacht, che può imbarcare 12 persone con un equipaggio di nove marinai, è quello di avere il boma che funge anche da gru per il varo e l’alaggio dei jet ski e dei tender. Si aggiungono poi la copertura della tuga sulla quale sono installati i pannelli solari per le esigenze energetiche, il pozzetto di manovra collocato a ridosso dell’albero, le entrate separate per ospiti ed equipaggio e, infine, il passavanti centrale che dalla poppa va verso prua e che divide in due il salone.
12/01/2010 - While uncertainty still dominates the global economy, 2010 is set to be a ground breaking year for the superyacht industry worldwide, as bigger, longer and more luxurious boats are being delivered in record numbers and a new dedicated web portal, superyachts.com, is bringing new life to this traditionally closed and secretive industry. In 2010, 19 new yachts are expected to launch themselves into the Superyachts.com Top 100 list. That’s almost 20 new builds delivered of 73 metres or over in length in one year, up from 5 in 2009. Bolder superyachts are being released also thanks to new composite materials and pioneering designs, which help to reduce price and negative impact on the environment. German and Dutch shipyards lead, however, is being challenged by new entrants from countries such as Chile but most of all Italy. As much as 5 among the entrants in the top 100 list are “Made in Italy”. "Our data shows that Italy is moving from the volume market into the super luxury end, and is beginning to assert itself in a market sector traditionally dominated by German and Dutch shipyards. Italian Finacantieri has received the biggest order placed in the past 12 months for a 140 m motor yacht, with 7 bridges, designed by Espen Oeino. This is also a signal of recovery for the industry, being the first yacht order over 80 m placed since the crash of the financial markets in 2008”, said Kevin Boddington, co-founder of Superyachts.com. According to Boddington, Fincantieri’s new commission demonstrates the strength of the Italian position: “in this sector sometimes there are new manufacturers that build one yacht and then fold.” Like most opulent products destined for wealthy owners, details of the upcoming deliveries remain well-protected by the shipyards and designers lending their talents. With each of the yachts still shrouded in secrecy, predicting a future top 100 list is a difficult task. If speculation proves to be correct however, Roman Abramovich's giant motor yacht Eclipse built by the Blohm + Voss will become the new number one spot holder in the Superyachts.com Top 100, surpassing the 162m Dubai. Long gone are the days when delivering a 60 metre vessel would earn a place amongst world’s largest yachts. As it stands the bare minimum to appear on the Superyachts.com Top 100 jumps to an impressive 73 metres. Back in 2007, just 62 metres would have earned a place in the Top 100 world’s largest yachts listing, whilst 60.3 metres in 2006 would have been sufficient. The influx of superyachts joining the Superyachts.com Top 100 in 2010 also sees a shift in the spread of countries producing the giant vessels. As to be expected, the German and Dutch powerhouses remain top of the shipyards with German companies building a believed seven of the new entries and those based in the Netherlands thought to be delivering three. A promising deviation from the yacht building meccas however can be seen with Chilean company Marco Yachts, anticipated to produce two new entries for the Top 100 list. The New Year is not only set to ignite the superyacht world for the astounding number of large yachts jumping into the Superyachts.com Top 100, but also for the innovations these vessels bring to the realm of superyacht design. With recent advancements in composite construction technology, builders have found they can construct bigger and bolder superyachts while minimising price and negative impact on the environment. The beauty of composites seems to finally have caught the attention of modern yacht owners who have taken advantage of its flexible moulding capabilities and opted for aesthetically appealing, multi-curved deck structures. While making for a decidedly distinctive and contemporary design, the low weight of composites also allows a yacht to reduce vessel mass overall rendering it more stable and easy to navigate. Whether the streamlined, futuristic shapes are a sign of things to come in general superyacht design or if the tried and tested traditional design of the luxury vessels will prevail is yet to be seen, but eager trend-watchers are sure to be keeping a keen eye on the Superyachts.com Concepts database. Top of the concepts-to-watch list is the 200m motor yacht design by Donald Starkey, which would become the largest private yacht ever to grace the water upon delivery. Originally thought to be a top secret under construction vessel coined Everest, this super-sized concept is anything but a rumour and brings promise that even well after the excitement of 2010 has passed, there will be plenty to look forward to in the world of superyacht design.
Porto Montenegro and Compositeworks together for superyacht full service
12/01/2010 - Porto Montenegro, the premier superyacht marina development in Tivat, Montenegro, will soon offer a full range of refit and maintenance services to its European yachting clientele. In cooperation with the Adriatic Shipyard in Bijela, Porto Montenegro will invest with Compositeworks, of La Ciotat, France, to establish a full range superyacht refit facility of the highest quality in the Bay of Kotor, Montenegro. The new facility will be located on 3 hectares of waterfront property three miles across the bay from Porto Montenegro's marina. The facility will offer a full range of services similar to those offered at Compositeworks’ yard in France. The facility is expected to begin operations in the autumn of 2010 and will also be a base for a range of specialized subcontractors. “This partnership represents a major step towards our vision of bringing the superyacht industry to Montenegro and validates our vision for Porto Montenegro," said Oliver Corlette, managing director of Adriatic Marinas, the developer and owner of Porto Montenegro. "Previously, many superyachts were discouraged from coming to the Adriatic because it was missing a reliable, top-end operator who understood the specific needs and challenges of today's yachts. With the addition of a Compositeworks repair and maintenance facility, many more yachts and charter vessels will be based at Porto Montenegro and will enjoy the spectacular cruising area of the Adriatic." The addition of a refit facility is an important component to the creation of a comprehensive home port for yachts in the Adriatic. Says Corlette: "Porto Montenegro is located in the heart of the fastest growing cruising destination in the Mediterranean, and is a fully fledged port of entry to Montenegro with its berths ranging from 15m to 150m. Additionally, it offers duty free fuel, provisioning services and a low tax environment,. Add to that two local airports and a flying time of less than two hours to most European capitals, and it becomes clear why many captains and owners regard Porto Montenegro as the new centre for yachts in the Adriatic and a year-round location for the yachting community.” “Compositeworks is excited to enter a region fast becoming a major rival to the south of France," says Ben Mennem, co-founder of Compositeworks. "With its impressive maritime history, skilled workforce and close proximity to some of the best cruising grounds in the Mediterranean, Montenegro is poised to become the next centre for the yachting world. We are thrilled to be at the forefront of this exciting evolution of our industry and to be partners with Porto Montenegro.” Stanko Zlokovic, President of the Board of Directors in the Adriatic Shipyard, added: “Adriatic Shipyard Bijela understands the compelling opportunities luxury yacht repair will bring to the region, including the employment of the existing and highly skilled labour in Montenegro for yacht repairs,” Compositeworks is a leading French operator that owns and manages a construction and refit facility for super and megayachts in La Ciotat, France. The company was founded in 1998 and quickly established a leading position in the superyacht refit industry. To date, it has performed work on more than 250 vessels. Porto Montenegro is a luxury superyacht marina development in Tivat, Montenegro. The project’s plan includes a state-of-the-art 600-berth marina with 140 berths for superyachts, luxury apartments, hotels, spas, casino, shopping areas and restaurants. The project is the vision of a group of international investors, led by Peter Munk of Toronto, Canada, founder and chairman of Barrick Gold, the world’s largest gold producer. Adriatic Shipyard Bijela is the leading ship yard in the Southern Adriatic and enjoys a strong reputation in the commercial shipbuilding and repair industry. The yard is located in the Bay of Kotor, just across from Porto Montenegro.
Angelo Bonati, love for the classic boats
12/01/2010 - All fairy tales should have a happy ending and this one surely does. It doesn’t involve witchcraft or secret potions but there is a pinch of magic. Officine Panerai CEO Angelo Bonati is in the role of protagonist together with none other than, Eilean. Their story began on a balmy spring day in Antigua in 2006. “I had an appointment on the other side of English Harbour bay,” says Bonati. “So I got a lift on a boat. At a certain point, I noticed Eilean. She was completely abandoned, but what struck me wasn’t the state she was in but her lines. She was a very special boat, different. I asked about her and after a bit of quick research I knew I was right: Eilean has that aristocratic elegance about her that only a master of the calibre of William Fife III could have given her. It took three minutes for it all to happen,” he continues. Those three minutes stretched into three years. But then in October 2009 the spell was broken and Eilean woke from her long sleep to reclaim her role as a beautiful princess. Her arrival on the scene marks the completion of a cycle begun four years ago when Angelo Bonati decided to sponsor the Panerai Classic Yachts Challenge. The watch company’s commitment is really unequalled and has extended with each new edition to turn the event into a reference point internationally. The traditional Mediterranean stages in the series have recently been joined by new ones in Newport (Museum of Yachting Classic Yacht Regatta and Robert Tiedemann Classic Weekend) and Nantucket (The Opera House Cup). In 2010, the Antigua Classic Week comes aboard too. Yes, Antigua where it all began and to where Eilean will make a triumphant return as guest of honour. “It will be a very special moment probably just as emotional as the day Eilean splashed again after her restoration was complete. I won’t ever forget that. I was aboard and I saw three years of my life condensed into that fraction of a second. Three intense years during which I learned a lot and which brought into focus the many problems involved in restoring a classic boat. I met extraordinary people through the project too,” continues Bonati. As with every challenge the human factor is just as important as the professional one. “They really were three tough years,” says Bonati. “Sometimes the idea of getting into the car to go to Viareggio after a week’s work and spending the weekend in the freezing cold yard talking about and managing the various aspects of the restoration was far from tempting. There were times when I wondered if it was worth getting involved in this kind of adventure. The Eilean project was on top of my normal workload and took away the few short hours of free time I could afford. But all that melted away like snow in the sunshine the minute she came out of the yard.” It took over 40,000 man hours for the Del Carlo yard’s craftsmen to bring the ketch back to herself and preserve as much as they could of her in the process. “It was a complex operation. The aim was to stay faithful to Fife’s design. That’s why the Burmese teak deckhouse was taken apart and restored down to the last detail without changing anything from 1936. Sixty per cent of the hull is the original planking. Wherever it was compromised we used the techniques of the day including hot riveting,” explains Bonati. Only three years have gone by since Eilean first came into his life, tied up to a mangrove tree, minus her mast and with her interiors gutted. Three years that involved a trip back in time to the day in 1936 when the Bermudan ketch slid down the slips in Fairlie in Scotland, watched by her designer William Fife III, and the brothers that commissioned her, James V. and Robert W. Fulton. Seventy-three years later history has repeated itself. “Eilean wasn’t just a restoration,” concludes Bonati. “By doing this, we’ve helped salvage an important part of maritime tradition, put value back into the traditional skills and knowledge that are becoming rarer and rarer these days. We’ve helped perpetuate the memory of a yard that has become legendary.” And, we would add, they’ve helped write a story with an ending as noble as it is happy.
Yoker boat online news
12/01/2010 - “Put your inflatable on the front page” might be the slogan for the Your Videos section of the Joker Boats website (www.jokerboats.it). Anyone who has posted a video of their Joker Boat on YouTube, in fact, can simply inform the webmaster through this section and a link will be put up on this particular page to it. As is to be expected, the site showcases all of the Joker models, of which there are no less than 25. However, it also lists all of the boat shows and trade fairs the yard will be attending on its Events page as well as offering an updated list of brokers. Visitors can also sign up for the Newsletter or enter the Joker Boats world by joining a close-knit group of fans of these very rigid inflatables which absolutely epitomise Italian technology and styling at their finest.
Volkswagen Marine and the new TDI 350-8
12/01/2010 - Exceptional weight/power ratio, outstanding performance and a compact footprint are the features of the new 8-cylinder common rail TDI 350-8 from Volkswagen Marine. The marine version of the V8 Audi, installed on the Q7 and the A8, it has a torque curve equivalent to powerful industrial vehicles, but it offers a much smoother delivery. Its power, compact size (802 x 835 x 850 cm) and low weight (only 380 kg) make it suitable for a range of applications, and it easily replaces old petrol units, usually less bulky than diesel engines, without sacrificing performance. Compared to petrol engines, the TDI 350-8 guarantees fuel savings of 50%, meaning a yacht’s fuel capacity provides a much longer range.
Super Indios 24, electrically speedy
12/01/2010 - She’s the first fast Italian electrically-powered craft. The Giacomo Colombo yard, in collaboration with Austrian dealer Ortner Boote, has created a special version of the 24 Super Indios, recently presented in a new vintage version in white with teak finishings. Her electric 70kW (95.2hp) Piktronik Sac 60 motor means she can reach a speed of 20 knots. She can reach full charge in less than six hours, using a double charging circuit to connect to two jetty sockets. Her average range exceeds four hours, and she can cover 25 miles at a cruising speed of 11 knots. She offers rapid availability of her ample power, plus the advantage of switching from forward to reverse with no mechanical intervention. She has a specially modified hull, while the deck and equipment are the same as on the petrol version. On sale at 148,000 euro, plus VAT.
An economic policy that doesn\'t address the nautical industry
12/01/2010 - Minister Giulio Tremonti seems to be basing his entire economic policy for 2010 on a passive approach. Italy is simply trusting that the massive economic measures taken by other nations, first and foremost the United States, will work for the Bel Paese before we have to resort to the promised structural reforms which, once again, won’t be implemented. The government does not believe the International Monetary Fund’s opinion that Italy will emerge from recession more slowly than the other G8 members. Pre-crisis GDP levels won’t return for at least the next three years (and in some segments won’t return at all, heavy industry being one). It will take even longer for job numbers to rise to previous heights too. This long drawn-out stagnation should (and we emphasis the “should”) result in a tighter rein on public spending and with that greater economic and social stability. On the other hand, though, there is a risk that we will have to extend social easements, which would up our spending and really put the credit system under strain as it struggles to cope with more insolvencies. As far as the nautical sector is concerned, there’s nothing new. Thus far not a comma has been expended on the sector with the greatest added value in the Italian economy. And yet just two months ago, at the opening of the Genoa Boat Show, UCINA presented the Nautical Plan, a three-year programme that would attract three billion euros in investment, create 15,000 new jobs and bring in 450 million euro to the country’s coffers (direct VAT) through eight initiatives (ranging from upgrading berths at existing commercial and port facilities and in decommissioned military zones to bringing pleasure boats back in under the Italian flag and relaunching the market through clarification of leasing laws). Part of the aforementioned would be achievable by simple administrative changes. The Ministers present (Altero Matteoli, Michela Brambilla, Claudio Scajola and Vice Minister for the Economy Giuseppe Vegas, pictured in the photo) were ecstatic and then went on to do…. nothing. Merry Christmas everyone!
Vripack 60M
24/11/2009 - The Vripack 60M Expedition Motor Yacht is a highly efficient, steel-and-aluminum vessel combining extreme seaworthiness and an outstanding range of 8,000 nautical miles at 12.5 knots with a high-volume, custom interior. “This project is ideal for Derecktor Shipyards with their experience in constructing both high-quality custom superyachts and large commercial vessels. They are uniquely set up to build this no-nonsense, go-anywhere boat,” said Vripack Sales Director Marnix J. Hoekstra. The Vripack 60M Expedition MY is designed for unrestricted, long-term transoceanic voyaging with the owner and guests on board. Vripack’s naval architects gave her a round-bilge displacement hull with a flared blow, transom stern and straight, even keel for optimal seakeeping, speed and fuel efficiency. Measuring 61 meters (200 feet) overall, she has a maximum beam of 12 meters (39.4 feet) and a draft at half load of 3.2 meters (10.5 feet). Top speed with twin-engine propulsion is projected at not less than 14.5 knots at half load. The yacht’s 8,000 nautical mile (nm) range is calculated at 12.5 knots using one engine at 80 percent of load and includes a 15 percent weather allowance. “That’s the longest range you’ll find for a boat of this size and capabilities,” Hoeksta said. The hull’s enhanced scantlings will enable her to operate in arctic conditions. “She’s not Ice Class, but she’ll definitely be capable of nudging ice out of her path,” he added. Designed with seven levels of living space, including a private owner’s deck, the Vripack 60M will accommodate up to 14 guests served by a crew of 14 to 16 persons. The actual number of staterooms and the interior design are up to the owner’s discretion, however. “With a yacht of this volume, we can make any vision a reality,” Hoekstra said.
Lorenzo Pollicardo enters the team of Federagenti Italia
24/11/2009 - Lorenzo Pollicardo will support Marco Paifelman, Federagenti’s Secretary General, in all activities related to statistic data elaboration, economic evaluations, institutional relations and on informational activities for yachting section’s partners, to national and international level. "The of Federagenti Yacht’s objective is to make the economic and occupational value produced by yachting visible to institutions and the public on national scale - Fabio Pesto, Federagenti Yacht’s President, declared - with the entry of Mr. Pollicardo we aim to increase the already solid amount of activities of elaboration of technical documents, normative guides, directories”.
The future of the yards is the Stock Exchange
24/11/2009 - Luca Peyrano joined the Borsa Italiana (Milan Stock Exchange) in 1999 and until 2004 was in charge of listing procedures for companies. He headed the Star and Standard segments, both focused on small to medium companies. Following the recent merger of the Borsa Italiana and the London Stock Exchange (LSE), he was appointed Head of Continental Europe – Primary Markets. Which makes him the perfect man to talk to about the opportunities offered by listing to Italian yards, most of which are SMEs. How would you describe the current financial crisis? No one expected it or realised what was happening. The current crisis has structural roots. It began with the international banking system and became much more severe than any we’ve seen in the past. Financing, that much maligned term, which is the engine driving production activities, shrank. That revealed weaknesses in companies that thus far had been undetected and a bit undervalued. The first of these weaknesses was that, in the case of many companies, the ratio between equity (financing using their own capital) and debt was way out of proportion. The other Achilles heel was an inability to properly interpret company and macro sector phenomena: an ability to manage risk in other words. To do business today you need: a stable economic-financing balance, more equitisation; and a managerial capacity to control and manage risk. Did the stock exchanges have a role to play in the genesis or development of the crisis? That’s a prejudice that has to be done away with. The stock exchanges had no part to play in the genesis of the crisis and in fact greatly limited its effect. Look at financial derivatives. They are handled separately (Over The Counter: ed.’s note). If they had had to go through the stock exchange system, this crisis might have been very different because the operators on it are so transparent. So you think the Borsa could offer a way out of the crisis? The Borsa would be an extraordinarily tool in that regard. Companies that raised capital by floating are doing better because private ones were overly dependent on the banks. Being floated alone guarantees you greater credibility with the banking system because of the vigiliant control systems in place and the transparency rules. Unfortunately, when a company floated on the stock exchange goes under, it makes much bigger headlines than the thousands of others that have, thanks to being floated, weathered their problems better. You are currently involved in the AIM (Alternative Investment Market). Explain please. This is one of the results of the merger of the Borsa Italiana and the London Stock Exchange. The AIM was created in London 15 years ago with the specific objective of targeting small and medium enterprises (SMEs). Absolutely pioneering stuff, at the time. It has proved extraordinarily successful: over the last 15 years, around 2,500 companies have floated, raising around 60 billion sterlings in capital. Right now there are 1,400 companies. The AIM’s greatest success has been to have gradually created a veritable SME ecosystem in which various figures have found a comfortable niche: small cap investors, specialist analysts, journalists, legal people, the banking world. And all that has been made possible by the flotation of so many companies. The AIM was created here in Italy in May of this year. It is a very specific market as it is not regulated by supervisory bodies but directly by the Borsa itself. It’s a lot quicker to float on and a lot less costly too. It targets start-ups and established companies. In the latter case, they need to provide three balance sheets certified by an auditor. What role does the Nomad (Nominated Adviser) play in the flotation process? The Nomad is absolutely central to the whole AIM quotation process. It doesn’t have to be a bank (another novelty) but will carry out the whole process for the company. The Nomad’s role is to ensure that the whole operation is above board and assemble the admission document. The Nomad doesn’t leave the company at the end of the process but carries on working with them. That is a major guarantee for the company and the people investing in it. So the Borsa leaves the controls to the Nomad. This is why being added to the list of Nomads involves a highly complex and difficult process. There are 12 Nomads in Italy right now. What other figures are central to listing on the AIM? An auditor and a lawyer capable of conducting due diligence are essentials. It is also advisable to use a PR company to ensure that investors are made aware in a full and correct fashion of all news that is considered useful. It’s been a major success in Great Britain. Can we hope for similar results here in Italy? Will our investors and businesses realise the potential of AIM? I feel they will. Right now AIM is offering SMEs an ideal operating environment to help them develop. We have a huge number of SMEs here in Italy and they’re the real engine of our economy. Culture will be the real challenge though. We at the Borsa are trying to put in place any initiative we can to develop that culture, to point Italians’ savings towards Italian SMEs. The nautical sector performed on a par with 2007 in 2008 in terms of overall revenues (6.2 billion euro). So will the crisis have concentrated in 2009 mostly? I think so. Last winter was very tough for the nautical sector too and the effects of the crisis will only become clear at the end of this year when turnover data becomes available for the whole of 2009. There have been different reactions to the crisis within the segment. The sectors that depended on leasing have fared particularly badly but the very smaller craft, under 10 metres, have suffered a lot less. It is definitely a sector which needed a client cleanout. Until the other day, they were buying very serious boats thanks to heavy leveraging through leasing. That will probably happen less but, although that is a negative effect in the short term, it will have positive knock-ons in the medium to long term. So while I do believe that 2009 will be much worse than 2008, it is also the year of rationalisation, mergers, and the disappearance of the weaker elements that had more problems anyway. This phase will allow the foundation to be laid for a development which I believe we’ll be seeing positive results from within three years. Not many have gone down the flotation route in the nautical sector? What do you think of that? Will AIM be a better alternative? It definitely will. The straightforward nature and comparative inexpensiveness of becoming listed makes it ideal for this kind of company – normally small in size and based on the artisanal skills of the people that work there. The fact that so few nautical companies are listed isn’t just an Italian phenomenon. But the listings in Italy, which are always quoted as examples of what can go wrong, are a demonstration of how the stock exchange market can function. Looking at the cases of Aicon and Ferretti you can see how much liquidity those companies accessed by floating. Things went wrong for very complex reasons that I think weren’t strictly connected to the flotation dynamic. Are there any specific Italian Borsa initiatives for the nautical sector? We’re trying to get as close as we can to the nautical world by participating in or staging events. On May 16th I attended a meeting organised in Venice by UCINA on the nautical industry and the challenges it’s facing. About two months ago we organised an event dedicated to the Borsa and the nautical industry. The Borsa Italiana hosted the presentation of business bank Pentar’s launch of its Osservatorio Nautica e Finanza 2009 (Nautical and Financial Overview 2009). It gave an overview of the state of the nautical market and business done in the sector, and looked at the main financial characteristics of same. In that regard, I have to stress Italy’s talent in the sector – even though that’s no news to anyone. Our nation is a protagonist in terms of quality and on a global level. That is why it is a good idea to focus on this sector. However, it needs support from across the spectrum. I’m thinking of the terrible lack of infrastructure here in Italy, particularly in certain areas: that’s the sector’s real problem and one that’s not easy to solve. Might smaller yards that although well organised might not have great numbers fear the vicissitudes of the markets and go for more traditional venture capital or private equity solutions? AIM is ideal for many but not for everyone. To get listed you need to be a highly motivated, ambitious entrepreneur that’s not afraid to share your economic initiative with others. Anyone deciding to go for it today stands a good chance of leading their sector within 2-3 years. Anyone that has that kind of ambition and can prove they’re transparent and capable of developing a clear business plan has enormous potential right now. In general, apart from the nautical sector, AIM is very suitable for many other sectors in which Italy is particularly competitive on an international level. I refer to the consumer goods, construction, clothing and furniture.
Louis Vuitton Trophy: Azzurra\'s triumph
24/11/2009 - Azzurra overturns the predictions and beats the favourite Emirates Team New Zealand. The Italian team from the Yacht Club Costa Smeralda made its international sailing debut at the 1983 Louis Vuitton Cup but has been in hiatus since the 1987 event off Western Australia. The team was re-launched last month and today Azzurra won the first race by 25 seconds and the second by 17 for a well-deserved championship. Emirates Team New Zealand entered the final as the favourite. It won the round robin, suffering just one loss in 10 starts, and then defeated the upstart Synergy Russia Sailing Team in a hard-fought semi final match. The northwesterly wind blew between 6 and 10 knots for the two races and was very shifty and patchy. Pressure differences often accounted for different sailing angles as 1 or 2 knots more wind can lift a yacht as much as 10 degrees higher than its opponent. Despite the win, Azzurra had its mishaps on the racecourse. The skipper and tactician both described three problems in the two races. In Race 1 a helicopter got too low to the water and disrupted the wind flow, reducing a four-boatlength lead to one. In the second race the crew didn’t judge a bias in the leeward gate. They made a starboard rounding, but the mark was farther downwind and again they gave away three boatlengths. The biggest mishap came at the top of the second beat in the second race. Approaching the windward mark on starboard tack with Team New Zealand two or three lengths behind, Mantovani, the mid-bowman, slipped overboard while preparing the spinnaker for the rounding. As the yacht sailed past the aft grinder, Romero, ran into the scoop and grabbed him out of the water “like a fish,” according to Bruni.
Louis Vuitton Trophy: day 2 semi finals
24/11/2009 - Emirates Team New Zealand d. Synergy Russia Sailing Team – Delta: 20 seconds This match featured three lead changes and the Kiwis won it by getting the lead in the last quarter of the run to the finish. Synergy led at the first windward mark and leeward gate. Team New Zealand overtook on the second upwind leg by being to the left in a left-hand shift. Synergy was 15 seconds behind at the second windward mark when it gybe-set to starboard. Team New Zealand covered but Synergy was in a heading puff and rolled over the top and back into the lead. The Kiwis gybed away to port and when the two boats converged again in a port-starboard situation, Synergy had to gybe to port to avoid fouling the Kiwis. The Synergy crew couldn’t quite pull off a clean gybe, and Team New Zealand luffed. Synergy had to press up hard on starboard to keep clear as windward yacht, and Team New Zealand bore away to a controlling leeward position. The crews had one last gybe to port, but Team New Zealand had control and scored the win. Synergy Russia Sailing Team d. Emirates Team New Zealand – Delta: 50 seconds Team New Zealand was penalised in the pre-start for jibing too close. The Kiwis led this match around the course, but couldn’t pull far enough ahead to complete the 270-degree penalty turn and clear the finish line in the lead. The two crews raised their genoas and lowered the spinnakers as they got into the final quarter of the run to the finish. The pair wound up outside the committee boat end and to leeward as Team New Zealand was looking for an opportunity to complete its penalty or offset it on the Russian crew. But Synergy stayed clear through all the manoeuvring. In fact, Team New Zealand was assessed a second penalty for causing a collision. TeamOrigin d. Azzurra – Delta: 2:29 TeamOrigin evened its semi final match against Azzurra at 1-1 with a dominating performance. British skipper Ben Ainslie cleaned out Azzurra at the start, pushing the Italians over the line early at the boat end and gaining two penalties on them. Azzurra had to circle around the committee boat end to re-start and then had to perform one 270-degree penalty turn after entering the racecourse. By that time TeamOrigin was upwards of 10 boatlengths ahead. TeamOrigin led by 59 seconds at the first mark and never was threatened the rest of the way. BMW Oracle Racing d. TFS – PagesJaunes – Delta: 1:06 BMW Oracle Racing won this match in the pre-start. Entering on the favoured starboard tack, helmsman Gavin Brady dialled-up his counterpart on TFS – PagesJaunes, Bertrand Pace, and held him head-to-win for nearly the entire 5-minute period. With about 30 seconds to go and both boats well over the start line, Brady was able to spin his bow behind TFS and head back to the line. Brady got below the start line before the gun and had a clean start while Pace was left one length to windward of the line. It was a full 30 seconds before Pace was able to get behind the line and start properly. BMW Oracle Racing led by 55 seconds at the first windward mark and was never really threatened. BMW Oracle Racing advances to the match for 5th and 6th place against either the winner of Knockout Pair B, Artemis or All4One. TFS – PagesJaunes moves onto the match for 7th and 8th versus the loser of the pair B match. All4One d. Artemis – Delta: 27 seconds All4One, the host team at the Louis Vuitton Trophy Nice Côte d’Azur, has advanced to the match for 5th and 6th place against BMW Oracle Racing after beating Artemis in their one race sail-off. All4One started on port tack at the boat end of the start line and took the right side of the racecourse. The two yachts slammed through the big seaway as they beat upwind on starboard tack, separated by a few lengths. All4One was to windward, however, and led by 7 seconds at the first mark. The combined French/German team extended that lead to 30 seconds at the leeward gate and then applied covering tactics on the rough conditions for the well-earned win.
Econavigare, the nautical artisans in exhibition
24/11/2009 - To introduce the high quality of Lombardy’s artisan enterprises operating in the nautical sector to the great public of Artigiano in Fiera and to create important chances of purchase: these are the goals of Econavigare, the new exhibition devoted to nautical handicraft, which will be held in Fieramilano since 5th to 13th of December, inside Artigiano in Fiera 2009. A new boat show for Milan, key city for the nautical sector, given to its position, at the center of the biggest area of lakes in the whole Country. Econavigare is a great chance of visibility for all the nautical firms and the craft companies that will show their boats, especially those between 5 and 8 meters, and will display their absolute excellence. Visitors will have the opportunity to get closer to the nautical world, often considered an elite section. The public of Artigiano in Fiera will discover Lombardy’s nautical tradition, the technologies and the innovations of these craftsmen, among the best in the whole world. Econavigare will be inside Artigiano in Fiera, the international exhibition of the greatest craftsmanship of the world that will have 3 million visitors and around 3.000 exhibitors coming from 107 Countries of the world, all over an area of 140.000 sq.m. All the information about the demonstration are on the website www.econavigare.it.
Swan 90 S, beauty equals speed
24/11/2009 - There’s one golden rule for sailing yachts. A rule first mooted by the great Olin Stephens and later seconded by German Frers. It states that if a boat is a beauty, it must also be fast. Fittingly, the names of both designers are inextricably linked with the Nautor name and the boats it builds. From the very first Swan ever, the 36’ Tarantella, launched in 1966, Sparkman & Stephens designed all the Swans until 1980 when the pen was passed to the Argentinian designer. Needless to say, the latest addition to the Nautor fleet, the Swan 90 S, is as beautiful and as fast as its sisters. You only have to look at it to know the first part of the equation is true. The hull is clothed in classically contemporary lines with the maximum beam aft. The deckhouse is high enough to be windowed on three sides and large enough to house an only partly raised saloon (the S in the new Swan’s name actually stands for semi-raised saloon). It also incorporates a technical space under its flooring where the plant and tanks have been situated to keep weight concentrated amidships. Nonetheless, the superstructure is a seamless part of the yacht’s overall structure and is very easy on the eye, despite being more obvious than the classic flush deck look of Swan’s more commercially successful models. The main deck is completely cleared of any bulky sail controls, which are tucked away beneath its sleek teak surface. The crew working area is concentrated at the stern. The wheels, the mainsheet and its winch are in the lower steering part of cockpit in front of which is a raised guest area with four foresail winches. This means that guests have their own dedicated cockpit with two tables and seating with the seat backs acting as a divider. The latter are useful under way and when people want to sit down, but they can also hideaway when not in use which lightens the overall look. To test out the second part of the beauty equals speed rule, Yacht Capital took the Swan 90 S for a spin in the waters off Pietarsaari on a day when there was around 18 knots of air. We clocked over 13 knots ourselves – which translates into average speeds comparable to those of an equivalent motor-powered displacement yacht. The credit must go to the new Swan’s very efficient sail plan, clean hull lines and appendages that include a long, narrow rudder and torpedo bulb. This system keeps a high righting moment without requiring excessive length along the keel which is fixed (by choice). Below decks, architect Michele Bönan has reinterpreted Nautor’s classically elegant interiors beautifully too. The bulkheads, cabinets and tables are all veneered in teak, with pigskin trim on many features, such as the dinette in the saloon and the desk in the owner’s cabin. Apart from the large full-beam saloon at the foot of the only companionway, there are four guest cabins (two are twins and the owner’s is aftmost). The bow area, from the galley onwards, is given over entirely to the crew.
Itama Fifty, amazing interiors
24/11/2009 - An Itama is an Itama, there’s no doubt about it. Its charm, lines and gutsy appeal are all immediately recognisable, unaffected by any restyling and no matter how new the model may be. The same can be said about the Fifty, the new 16-metre yacht that made its international debut at the last Genoa Boat Show. One look is enough to make the family name clear, even though the stylistic choices, especially in the interiors, may come as a pleasant surprise. “We were given clear instructions to highlight the Itama DNA without spoiling it,” says Marco Casali. Together with the yard’s engineering department and the Ferretti Group’s Advanced Yacht Technology, he has created the latest arrival from the Rome-based yard. “It’s a bit like what happened with the Porsche 911,” Casali continues. “In its first forty years it’s had a number of facelifts. Every time it was more beautiful, while remaining true to itself.” The Itama Fifty isn’t a restyled version, it’s a brand-new design, but her main deck, square windshield and waterlines leave no room for doubt about her pedigree. So we’ll take a look at the new elements – the owner’s cabin, for example, has been repositioned beneath the aft sunbed, resembling the models of 1980s vintage, because with the in-line transmissions this layout provides a new look. The exterior lines have also been given a revamp. “At first they were parallel to the water,” Casali explains. “Now they’re curved, especially where the deck’s concerned, to make them less rigorous, but still feisty.” The new element on display in the cockpit is a reinterpretation of older splendours. “It’s true,” says the architect Casali. “We’ve redone the small window at the bottom of the windscreen. We thought it was a distinctive feature, and it was worth taking a new look at it.” The result of all these new touches and returns to the past is a modern 16-metre design that takes its place between the Forty and the FiftyFive, offering an unusual yet ideal synthesis between day-cruiser and open cruiser. She can comfortably host 12 people for day cruises and six for longer journeys. The location of the owner’s cabin under the aft sunpad means that it’s been possible to lay out three double cabins with en-suite bathroom, a generous number for a 16-metre yacht. And that’s not all – as the aft cabin is accessed directly from the cockpit, the double cabin forward and the twin cabin amidships enjoy an unprecedented degree of privacy for a vessel of this size. The roomy aft deck and generous cockpit allow guests to enjoy a direct, unobstructed relationship with the sea. But It’s the Itama Fifty’s interiors that really amaze. Visitors going below deck will be struck by the amount of light and space, and especially the ample headroom. White, open-pore oak dominates throughout, creating a neutral environment where the upholstery colours form the most distinctive furnishing motif. The general impression is one of outstanding freshness and simplicity. Some sections of the walls have been left untouched to emphasise this yacht’s seagoing personality and to challenge current yacht design thinking, where yachts are treated as floating extensions of the owner’s urban apartment. “We looked for inspiration by commissioning some research into what living aboard means nowadays, and we also looked at the furnishings in some of Italy’s most beautiful seaside hotels. These provided unquestionable results – white is the most maritime colour of all, the one that best expresses the idea that Italians have about the sea.” If it is then combined with blue fabrics, the appeal of the Itama style is one hundred per cent certain. For the record, the Itama Fifty is powered by two 800hp MAN engines, providing a top speed of 34 knots.
Indio, conquering elegance
24/11/2009 - Indio is the new jewel created for expert yachtsman Andrea Recordati. She’s a 101-foot Wally, and embodies the elegance we’ve come to expect from Germán Frers. The owner was actively involved in the yacht’s design, as designer Giacomo Lais, the project supervisor, tells us. “Every day, together with the owner, we studied every detail and its use. Nothing was left to chance and we cut weight by getting rid of useless frills. Every angle has been optimised. At the same time the interior and exterior design has been simplified to create the same feeling. The final result is a functional, comfortable, elegant yacht with a good turn of speed.” Indio’s construction reflects the high-tech concept we’re used to seeing from Luca Bassani’s innovative yard, with a pre-preg carbon hull, super high modulus carbon fibre mast, titanium deck reinforcements, fixed 5m keel with trim tab, dual ratio steering to provide the right feel in all sailing conditions, and a pulley system built into the mast collar to reduce stresses on the deck. The result of this technological perfectionism is a 30-metre luxury cruiser with a displacement of just 59 tonnes, a combination that provides good performance. “We wanted a family yacht, where the kids can enjoy the open air in safety,” explains the owner, who already owns the previous Wally Indio 80, “which explains the double cockpit.” The deck is generous, enhanced by the distinctive lightness that’s a hallmark of all Wally designs, where the basic concept always focuses on spaciousness rather than excess. The bridge and helm stations are separate from the rest of the deck in a terrace laid out with a sunpad and relaxation area. The deckhouse forward of the helm stations is only slightly higher, with a play of panoramic rectangular portholes around the aft companionway, continuing to the central cockpit. Here the glass skylight strip runs centrally from the foot of the mast to the terrace. “The deckhouse has angular yet harmonious lines, and the aft section, clad in teak, is so well integrated with the deck that it seems to blend in totally,” Lais continues. “The hinges of the deck hatches are invisible, giving the deck a clean, uncluttered surface. Even the doorstops have been given a new twist, with retractable Teflon cylinders. The exterior seating forms an integral part of the deck and deckhouse. The only separate piece of furniture is the teak dining table. It can be lowered with a lever system to create a 3-metre by 2.8-metre sunbathing area in the central cockpit, sheltered from the wind and safe for kids.” Here, a second hatch leads below deck. A typical Wally feature is the fabulous “terrace on the sea”, with a living area that develops beneath the aft deckhouse, absorbing most of the available space and transforming itself into the focus of on-board life. “I preferred to avoid particular brands for the furnishing elements, relying instead on the Wally Design Studio instead. We have a perfect understanding,” Recordati says, “except for a slightly too modern approach with lacquered interiors and an over-use of white, we agreed on warmer, natural woods, where the teak can be appreciated without colouring, almost rough, with horizontal grain. This style is maintained throughout the yacht, including the crew area.” The style in the saloon/dining remains sober and intimate, with an angular horseshoe of modern divans in white cotton upholstery. “Less delicate than linen”, the owner says. “For the interiors,” explains Lais, “we chose materials and colours that make all the spaces hospitable and welcoming. The furniture and walls are in teak, covered only with a water-resistant varnish. The cabin and saloon wall panelling are clad in beige, water-resistant suede.” The galley top port is flanked by the engine room amidships. To starboard are two double bunk cabins with heads, and further forward lies the chart room with electronic instrumentation, while the rest of the sleeping area is in the bow area. “The flooring is in wengé. Of course, we’ve used light structures like honeycomb or foam throughout,” Lais emphasises. Two double cabins face each other. Both have en-suite bathrooms and a pullman berth when needed. The fittings embody a concept of essential coherence, making the most of the space available and expressing a low-profile personality with clean, straight, chic lines. 
Light wood dominates every interior, extending without interruption into the bathrooms. The owner’s stateroom forward offers a more expansive interior, with wardrobes and a functional, compact desk/office area - it’s amazing how much the designers have obtained from the interiors 
of a sail yacht, even one of this length. The bathrooms 
offer an attractive display of natural woods, with squared lines and a certain striking solemnity in the arrangement of the washbasins. That is because absolutely everything is considered down to the very last detail.
Streamline 105’
24/11/2009 - It all happened a couple of years ago. “Milan was almost deserted. The office was winding down for the holidays, and we were enjoying a moment of calm after months of running around. That’s when the idea came. A friend had told us about an owner considering a 44-metre build. The specifications were very sketchy and the briefing was equally vague, so it all ended inconclusively. The basic idea appealed to us, though. We’d started designing this yacht with a new concept for the superstructure shape. We liked it and we worked on the preliminary plans, which we included in the publication celebrating the studio’s 20th year.” That’s how Mario Pedol, who founded Nauta Design alongside Massimo Gino, describes the birth of the exterior styling created by the Milanese studio under the name Streamline. Originally intended for a 44-metre yacht, it will soon take shape in a 105-foot design. “The 44-metre yacht was the springboard,” says Pedol. “Then, after we presented the project to some of our clients, who gave it a favourable reception, we received a concrete commission – to interpret the new shape in 
a 120-foot design, then definitively in a 105-foot build.” Things have gone very fast and the preliminaries are almost complete. The 3D renderings show a sloop with a superstructure influenced by what Pedol calls a ‘wave’, drawing the eye from helm to mast. It’s a development of two lateral elements that surround the cockpit and extend forward to embrace the deckhouse. “It’s a very striking formal solution that developed as a free stylistic exercise, as it grew from a design without restrictions based on only 
a handful of elements. When you work on a 44-metre 
yacht with only a few specifications, or even none at all, except the need to develop new stylistic elements, 
it leaves you plenty of room to experiment. This alchemy gave rise to the Streamline concept.” While the wave is the dominant element in the side view of the 105-footer developed by Nauta Design, the other distinctive element is the deckhouse roof. “We thought of it as a transparent glass wedge,” Pedol continues, “which, with the two lateral wings of the wave, plunges towards the bows and penetrates the deck. We’ve created a play of lines and used a variety of materials and colours. In fact opaque, composite lateral elements surround the two windows, which I’d describe as ‘eagle’s eyes’, and these also descend to deck level. There’s also the transparent upper glass section of the deckhouse.” Overall it’s extremely light, with a structural design linking the side elements supporting the deck glass. This is one of the design aspects that presented the greatest challenge to the Milanese studio, as they had to provide maximum rigidity (the area aft of the mast is one that experiences some of the heaviest stresses on board a sail yacht) without compromising the transparency of the glass with an excessive number of structural elements. “We came up with two solutions,” says Pedol. “One involved a network of longitudinal and transverse members, but the effect was that of a coffered ceiling. The other used a series of transverse beams. That’s the solution we chose in the end, as its simplicity enhances the glass deck panels.” Made, like the entire hull itself, in carbon fibre, and with a square section of just 10 centimetres, the beams ensure the view from the below deck saloon is as uncluttered as possible, while the 4-5 centimetre thick shatterproof glass panels (“We didn’t use plexiglas, as it deforms too easily in extreme temperatures, and this means the seams aren’t totally waterproof”) aren’t taken into consideration for structural calculations. “They’re just a kind of curtain, and can also be light-sensitive, so they can regulate transparency and adjust interior light,” says Pedol. “We’re also developing a system of blinds to provide shade in the saloon.” While the Streamline shape and deckhouse design are innovations for Nauta Design, the interior layout – especially the external arrangement of the new 105-foot build – reflect the Milan studio’s established house style. This can be seen in the distinction between the functional areas with the cockpit and dinette and the more formal zone with seating outside the entrance to the deckhouse, followed by two more informal areas with sunpads. They in turn lead on to the business end of the yacht with the two helm stations. One element already included in another Nauta Design project and again present on the 105’ is the walkway from transom to companionway. “No steps, no separation, just a walkway that develops on a single level. It’s an idea we took from the Southern Wind 94 that was easier to achieve on a 105-foost yacht with greater freeboard.” The transom deck, though, introduces a brand new element. “The 105’ Streamline was a chance to develop a design and layout for this space,” concludes Mario Pedol. “In fact we’ve created a way of descending to sea level with the transom that folds down to reveal a comfortable, safe staircase down to the swim platform. It’s a solution we’ll use on other projects, and we also want to reinterpret the Streamline concept in other sizes. I think we could go down to 65 feet – any less and we’d lose the balance between height and length created by the continuous wave that’s the distinctive element and is the result of pure, stylistic research. This inspired a completely free design, based on a study of new stylistic elements and the aim of creating harmonious forms.”
Perini Riela: the seventh seal
24/11/2009 - It started with Burrasca. Then came Santa Maria, Rosehearty (now Zenji), Selene, Salute and Silvana. Now Riela brings to seven the number of 56-metre sailing yachts built by Perini Navi. “And we’re not finished yet as over the next two years we’ll be building another three,” stresses Bernardo Chici, head of the yard’s design division. Riela was built in the 5,450-square-metre sheds at the Perini Istanbul Gemicilik facility in Turkey, where the aluminium hulls and superstructures are both made. She was then moved to Viareggio where she was fitted out and rigged. That job ended last April when she received her technical launch. Finally in June, Riela was handed over to her owner for her first cruising season. One that included participation in the Perini Navi Cup, the final test for the ketch whose waterlines came from the pen of Ron Holland and whose exterior styling is the work of the Perini Navi technicians themselves. This partnership, in fact, could be said to have created the first one design megayacht. Like Silvana, Riela spreads 1,500 square metres of sail on her two aluminium masts (main 58.8 metres, mizzen 48.26 metres) and carbon-fibre boom, all made in-house. Her deck plan is also the same as that of her sister ships, with two tenders stowed forward of the main mast and the sunken cockpit that is something of a Perini signature. Up on the fly there’s an al fresco steering position, sofas and sun pads as well as a hydrotherapy pool. The space is dominated by the white furnishings and also teak. Traditional seafaring stuff. However, Remi Tessier went in a very different direction both in terms of design and colours scheme for the interiors. This is the designer who also worked on Salute, Squall and Parsifal, the latter two being 53 metres for which he won Designer of the Year in 2006. With Riela, he gives another superb demonstration of his personal vision of elegance: “It lies in the art of detail without ostentation, in the exaltation of the simple.” Thus moving from the cockpit into the living area, one not only enters Riela’s interior but passes into a dimension that is deceptive in its simplicity. “Overcome space and free it up, find a way of interpreting an element and organising a space that will give it new breadth. Furnish it with pertinent furnishings and let light and life flow into it,” he says. This is exactly how both the décor and layout of the living area seem to work. Just inside the door there are large leather armchairs and sofas with light metal structures. Together with a low occasional table, they make up the first conversation nook. There are no divisions or buffers so the area is one big open space interrupted only by the polished steel stairs leading up to the fly and down to the lower deck. The saloon is a wonderfully sunny room: the walls, upholstery and ceiling are all cream and combine beautifully with the many different woods used by Tessier. It takes a lot of skill to be able to use such a variety of unusual woods together, but this is one of the salient features of Tessier’s work. The result is that not merely in the living area but actually throughout the yacht brushed abete and macassar ebony or limed maple and teak pop up together. However, down on the lower deck, which is home to the guest staterooms and the owner’s suite, positioned forward of the engine room, the colour scheme is softer and more gentle. Taking up almost all of Riela’s 11-metre beam, the owner’s suite itself offers only a bedroom, a walk-in closet and two bathrooms, which feel brighter because of the white surfaces. The motifs from the owner’s suite continue in the pullman-furnished cabin next door but also in the two double and two twin guest staterooms. Throughout there is that light, sophisticated touch in the use of materials which together with a formal severity of the furnishings and spaces themselves make Riela what she is. A further demonstration of Remi Tessier’s talent at giving the much abused word “luxury” a new and fascinating meaning.
Telecom Italia chiude al secondo posto
24/11/2009 - Giovanni Soldini e Pietro d'Alì hanno chiuso in seconda posizione la Solidaire du Chocolat. Il duo, a bordo di Telecom Italia, ha tagliato il traguardo a Progreso (Yucatan) alle 4.25 e 20'' ora italiana di ieri, dopo aver percorso le 5000 miglia della transatlantica dalla Francia al Messico in 27 giorni, 11 ore, 0 minuti e 20 secondi, alla velocità media di 7,59 nodi. Nelle ultime fasi della regata Soldini e d'Alì hanno ingaggiato un match race entusiasmante con Bruno Jourdren e Bernard Stamm su Cheminées Puojoulat, giunti terzi a soli 18 minuti e 44 secondi. Il finale è stato da brivido: Telecom Italia ha navigato con poco vento (condizione sfavorevolissima per un Class 40 che si esprime al meglio con vento superiore ai 10 nodi), incalzata dai francesi a meno di 4 miglia di distanza. A complicare le cose ha pensato anche un campo di pescherecci non segnalato, nelle cui reti è andata a impigliarsi l'imbarcazione italiana. Per tutta la notte tra venerdì e sabato Giovanni e Pietro, aiutati dai pescatori, hanno tagliato le reti per liberare Telecom Italia e condurla in porto a Progreso.
Kamini Ezralow, tessuti d'interni
16/11/2009 - Cosmopolita, ma con solide radici sulla terra. È nata in Sudafrica, ha vissuto a Hong Kong, a Los Angeles, ha radici nel subcontinente indiano, parla correntemente cinque lingue e da alcuni anni vive a Londra. Nel percorso di Kamini Ezralow ci sono molti aspetti di unicità: una storia di vita non comune, una miscela eterogenea di esperienze e di punti di vista, ma anche talento naturale, passione e grande determinazione nel raggiungere gli obiettivi. Dopo un percorso di studi orientato alla conoscenza delle lingue e culture straniere, il destino dirotta il corso della sua esistenza: durante un viaggio in India, Kamini rimane incantata dai mercati pullulanti di stoffe, trame e colori, scopre improvvisamente di avere un’innata propensione per i tessuti, sa sceglierli e sa accostarli, una qualità forse anche stimolata dalla madre che aveva a Hong Kong un negozio di oggetti per la casa. Dopo questo episodio decide di iscriversi a un corso di architettura di interni presso la prestigiosa Inchbald School of Design di Londra. Il corso la affascina e le fa scoprire la sua più intima vocazione: l’interior design. Nel corso degli anni matura diverse esperienze professionali, focalizzando il suo interesse su interni residenziali di alto livello, palazzi, residenze estive. Lavora in diversi studi e poi apre il proprio, con sede prima a Hong Kong e poi a Los Angeles e Londra, fino a diventare la responsabile di Intarya Design, una struttura che nelle sue mani è passata dalla condizione di una piccola e stimata realtà locale al rango di società di fama internazionale, con 20 designer e due rami d’azienda, un primo destinato agli interni “sulla terra ferma” e un secondo, nato di recente, dedicato agli interni di barche, chiamato Life on board. La sua è una storia dove tutto sembra magicamente accadere al momento giusto, ma nessuno le ha regalato nulla: Kamini Ezralow è una lavoratrice indefessa, una leader capace di delegare e responsabilizzare e quindi di fare crescere il suo
Mare e gusto: l'importanza delle stagioni
16/11/2009 - Sembra strano, ma anche la qualità dei pesci, dei crostacei e dei molluschi dipende dalla stagionalità. Insomma anche sott’acqua le temperature delle acque, i cicli di riproduzione, l’inquinamento incidono sul gusto, sull’olfatto e sul tatto. La fine dell’inverno, con l’arrivo dei primi caldi, porta delle conseguenze sul pescato, in particolare nelle tipologie poi servite crude. Che il pesce sia correlato allo scorrere dei mesi lo mostrano le ostriche quando si afferma, con autorità, che i periodi migliori siano legati ai mesi con la erre (va incluso anche gennaio, janvier per i francesi, possessori della verità su questo mollusco). L’ arrivo di maggio porta nuovi sapori ittici sulle tavole attente. Ma bisogna aspettare ancora qualche settimana per poter gustare al meglio dei crostacei, un tempo poveri, quasi dimenticati: la canocchia (dell’Adriatico) o panocchia e pure la cicala o magnosa nel Tirreno, oggi divenute improvvisamente care (nel prezzo d’acquisto al mercato). Potrei aggiungere I like canocchia. Confesso di avere per questo crostaceo un debole, lo adoro in tutte le salse (si legga anche in tutte le cotture). Dolce quando viene bollito, amarognolo nel retrogusto quando viene servito crudo, un’operazione non facile, anzi fino a pochi anni fa era impossibile assaggiarlo in questa versione. Il primus inter pares a offrirlo sotto forma di tartare, cruda, è stato un cuoco di montagna, Paolo Teverini del ristorante Tosco Romagnolo di Bagno di Romagna (tel. +39/0543.911260) rompendo così una tradizione che voleva le canocchie soprattutto a vapore, oppure con la pasta fatta in casa. Nel tempo però altri locali hanno compreso il valore organolettico della squilla mantis a cominciare dall’Antica Trattoria di Sacerno, loc. Sacerno di Calderara (Bologna), tel. +39/051.6469050 del patron Luigi, grande conoscitore di crostacei, dove la canocchia è diventata la star: servita cruda, sempre sgusciata a crudo, proposta come tortino, sotto forma di cotoletta (quindi
L'Hydroptere batte il record sul miglio nautico
14/11/2009 - L' Hydroptere ha battuto il record di velocità sul miglio nautico, andando oltre il muro del 50 nodi. L'imbarcazione, guidata da Alain Thebault con dieci uomini di equipaggio, ha navigato ad una velocità media di 50,17 nodi (poco meno di 93 km/h) sulla distanza di 1852 metri. Grazie a questa impresa, Thebault e i suoi uomini ora sono detentori di due record di velocità superiori ai 50 nodi: a quello sul miglio nautico si aggiunge quello sui 500 metri, di 51,36 nodi.
Hilary Lister, più forte della natura
14/11/2009 - La sua è stata una grande avventura. Perché se circumnavigare la Gran Bretagna in solitario non è facile, è davvero un’impresa farlo quando si è tetraplegici e costretti all’immobilità. La navigatrice inglese Hilary Lister, 36 anni, è riuscita nella sfida navigando su un’imbarcazione attrezzata che governava soffiando in tubicini collegati ai servocomandi. Hilary, affetta da una malattia degenerativa, non è nuova a imprese del genere: nel 2005 è stata infatti la prima velista quadriplegica ad attraversare in solitario la Manica. Nel corso della navigazione in più tappe attorno alla Gran Bretagna, che aveva preso il via l’anno scorso e si è conclusa lo scorso settembre, Hilary ha dovuto affrontare condizioni meteo molto dure, oltre a due ricoveri in ospedale per problemi respiratori. Il suo sito www.hilarylister.com è la dimostrazione non solo di una grande forza di volontà e determinazione, ma anche di una immensa passione per il mare.
Trofeo Louis Vuitton: si chiude il Round Robin 1
14/11/2009 - Giornata di chiusura del Round Robin 1 al Louis Vuitton Trophy a Nizza. in programma quattro match carichi di motivi di interesse, e non solo per la classifica di questo primo girone visto che TeamOrigin, il team inglese con Ben Ainslie e Iain Percy è impegnato in ben due match: il primo contro Emirates Team New Zealand, al momento unica squadra a pieni punti; il secondo con Azzurra, sempre più protagonista. Gli altri due scontri vedono gli svedesi di Artemis contro BMW Oracle, al momento a soli 2 punti, e ancora il team di Larry Ellison opposto ai russi di Synergy, anche loro a 2 punti.
Indio, l'eleganza conquista
14/11/2009 - Si chiama Indio il nuovo gioiello dell’esperto yachtsman Andrea Recordati ed è un Wally di 101 piedi che ripropone la consueta eleganza firmata da Germán Frers. L’armatore ha partecipato attivamente al disegno dello yacht, come racconta il designer Giacomo Lais che ha seguito il progetto: «Assieme all’armatore abbiamo quotidianamente studiato ogni particolare in funzione del suo reale utilizzo. Nulla è stato lasciato al caso e non vi sono orpelli inutili e pesanti. Non c’è un solo angolo che non sia stato ottimizzato. Allo stesso tempo anche per il design degli interni e degli esterni è stata usata la stessa attenzione. Abbiamo quindi realizzato uno yacht funzionale, comodo, elegante e sempre, e comunque, veloce». Costruttivamente Indio non si discosta dai canoni hi-tech cui ci ha abituato l’innovativo cantiere di Luca Bassani: scafo in carbonio pre-preg, albero in fibra di carbonio super high modulus, rinforzi in titanio per il ponte, chiglia fissa di cinque metri con trim tab, timoneria a due rapporti per avere il giusto feeling in ogni condizione di navigazione e sistema di pulegge integrate nel collare dell’albero per ridurre gli sforzi in coperta. Il risultato di tale perfezionismo tecnologico è un cruiser di lusso di 30 metri con un dislocamento di appena 59 tonnellate, quindi assai performante. «Volevamo uno yacht adatto a tutta la famiglia, dove i bambini potessero godere dell’aria aperta in sicurezza», spiega l’armatore, già proprietario del precedente Indio Wally 80. «Da qui è nato il doppio pozzetto». La coperta è generosa, ancor meglio esaltata dall’inimitabile leggerezza formale di casa Wally; plancia e timonerie sono separate dal resto della coperta in un cockpit, che viene arredato per trasformarsi in area prendisole e relax. La tuga, a prua delle timonerie, si innalza appena su una teoria di oblò rettangolari panoramici, che contorna il passauomo di poppa proseguendo sino al pozzetto centrale; qui, l’apertura della vetrata skylight corre in p
Paolo Vitelli, ottimismo futuro
14/11/2009 - Paolo Vitelli è al timone del Gruppo Azimut-Benetti, leader mondiale nella produzione di megayacht. Lo abbiamo intervistato in questo delicato momento stagionale per l’industria nautica, su cui la crisi economica mondiale ha pesantemente infierito. Qual è la situazione attuale, all’inizio dell’anno nautico? La situazione economica resta debole, anche se tutti gli indicatori hanno dichiarato che ormai il fondo è stato toccato, e che è iniziata la risalita. Quanto è consistente questa risalita? È indubbiamente lenta, ma la ripresa avrà bisogno almeno di un paio d’anni per consolidarsi. Trasliamo l’analisi alla nautica. D’accordo. Per il nostro settore sono più ottimista. I potenziali acquirenti non hanno perso molti soldi. Avevano invece perso la serenità, sviluppato il pudore, erano vittime di un po’ di paura e gli era negato l’accesso al credito. Sono situazioni più facili da sanare che rimettere a posto l’intera economia. Ma allora qual è l’attuale atteggiamento dei potenziali acquirenti? Direi che i nostri potenziali clienti hanno perso il pudore e la vergogna a comprare perché non si respira più il clima di disfatta di qualche mese fa. Non pensano più che il mondo crollerà e ricominciano ad avere l’accesso al credito. Penso che possano dare un segnale positivo alla nostra industria, più che in altri comparti produttivi. Qual è stato il periodo più difficile? Dal novembre 2008 al febbraio 2009. Quali stimoli potete dare al mercato? La creazione di prodotti nuovi. Genera voglia di comprare, euforia, tanto nei compratori che in noi che li produciamo. In pratica sarà la capacità d’innovazione a favorire la ripresa. Un considerevole aiuto può venire dall’export. Come vede questa dinamica? La nostra industria nautica in questo campo deve dar prova di maggior saggezza. Ad esempio abbiamo constatato che i cantieri olandesi produttori di megayacht non hanno minimamente tentennato. Non sono stati affatto toccati dal panico. Gli inglesi, con una
Nulla cambia tra Telecom Italia e Cheminées Poujoulat
14/11/2009 - Le solite 9-10 miglia di distacco che ormai da giorni separano Telecom Italia e Cheminées Poujoulat. Non è cambiata la situazione nella coppia di inseguitori di Initiatives Novedia ormai a meno di 400 miglia dal traguardo di Progreso. Con una velocità di appena 6 nodi e con le previsioni che danno il vento in rotazione verso nord e sempre più forte (anche sui 20 nodi) nel Golfo del Messico, per De Lamotte e Hardy la parte finale della regata si presenta tutt'altro che facile. Sono invece ancora alle prese con gli ultimi sbuffi di vento dai settori meridionali Giovanni Soldini e Pietro D'Alì, impegnati nel loro duello con Jourdren e Stamm. Prossimo passaggio per Giovanni e Pietro l'Isla de la Juventud, per poi affrontare il canale dello Yucatan tra appunto la penisola dello Yucatan e Cuba e quindi entrare nei venti da nord che in cui sta già navigando Initiatives Novedia.
BMW Oracle testa l'albero alare
14/11/2009 - BOR 90, il maxi trimarano con cui BMW Oracle sfiderà Alinghi nelle acque di Valencia nella prossima America's Cup, ha installato l'albero alare da 190 piedi sviluppato a San Diego e ne ha completato un primo breve test. Un'ala di tali dimensioni non è mai stata realizzata prima per un'imbarcazione, e giganteggia su quelle dei normali aeroplani. L'albero alare è lungo 57 metri, circa l'80% in più di quanto è lunga l'ala di un Boeing 747 che misura 31 metri. “E' un momento semplicemente emozionante”, ha detto l'australiano James Spithill, timoniere del BOR 90. “Siamo entusiasti di provarla”, ha aggiunto. “Non ringrazieremo mai abbastanza per il loro grandissimo impegno i ragazzi del team tecnologico che l'ha realizzata”.
Match race tra Telecom Italia e Chéminées-Puojoulat
14/11/2009 - Un vero e proprio match race quello che sta andando in scena tra Telecom Italia e Cheminées-Puojoulat a sud di Cuba. Il distacco tra i due inseguitori di Initiatives-Novedia, ormai a circa 500 mgilia dal traguardo di Progreso, è minimo e continua a cambiare. Al rilevamento di questa mattina, Giovanni Soldini e Pietro D'Alì sono in seconda posizione a 121,6 miglia dal primo. Solo 10 miglia dietro inseguono Jourdren e Stamm. Diversa tuttavia la scelta tattica delle due barche con Giovanni e Pietro che hanno deciso di stare piuttosto al largo di Capo Cruz, la punta a ovest della città di Santa Cruz, mentre Bruno e Bernard hanno decisamente fatto rotta a terra.
L'America's Cup torna a Valencia
14/11/2009 - Siamo felici di comunicare che Société Nautique de Geneve/Alinghi si è finalmente detta d'accordo con noi sulla correttezza della scelta di Valencia come sede della 33sima edizione dell'America's Cup. E' presumibile quindi che SNG ora ritiri il ricorso contro la decisione della Corte che ha sancito l'illegalità di Ras Al Khaimah come sede della gara”. Con questo scarno comunicato si chiude la querelle sulla sede della prossima America's Cup, che si terrà quindi in Febbraio nelle acque di Valencia. BMW Oracle ha quindi risposto ad una lettera inviata da SNG/Alinghi alla Corte di Giustizia Suprema di New York, nella quale il defender esprimeva il proprio assenso alla sede spagnola, ripetutamente chiesta dagli sfidanti in ossequio al Deed of Gift. Le volontà dei due team si incontrano, per via indiretta, alla fine di un infruttuoso weekend di colloqui. Si torna dunque in Spagna, nello stesso teatro dell'edizione 2007 dell'America's Cup. In precedenza Alinghi aveva suggerito di disputarla in Australia.
Due megayacht in arrivo da Ancona
23/09/2009 - Un 72 metri e un 80 metri. Un uno-due davvero notevole quello dei cantieri Crn di Ancona. Il primo megayacht, Clarena il suo nome (nel render), scenderà in mare il prossimo settembre. È un dislocante in acciaio e alluminio nato dalla collaborazione tra lo staff tecnico del cantiere e lo studio Nuvolari & Lenard, artefice peraltro del primo Clarena, varato nel 2003 e che faceva parte della serie Magnifica di 46 metri di Crn. Dodici gli ospiti che possono essere imbarcati e, tra le tante particolarità, quella di un vero e proprio beach club di oltre 100 metri quadrati a poppa del ponte inferiore. Per l’80 metri, che rappresenta l’imbarcazione più grande mai costruita dal cantiere anconetano, il layout esterno è invece firmato dallo Studio Zuccon International Project, mentre gli interni sono opera dell’interior designer Laura Sessa Romboli. Anche qui 12 gli ospiti a bordo più uno staff di ben 30 persone. Il varo è previsto per il 2011.
Un Sunrise da 47 metri
23/09/2009 - Dopo aver sviluppato l’intera gamma di opzioni per gli interni del Sunrise 45 metri (il primo esemplare della serie scenderà in mare questa estate), Franck Darnet Design è ora impegnato nella progettazione del nuovo Sunrise 47 metri. Questo progetto è il risultato di un’interessante collaborazione tra lo studio francese, Sunrise Yachts, Espen Øino International e Brilliant Boats. Gli interni, che sono in via di definizione, hanno un’impostazione moderna e sono giocati sull’abbinamento tra l’ebano macassar e i tessuti chiari. Alla base della filosofia di progettazione vi è l’intento di miscelare gli spazi interni ed esterni dello yacht per incrementare la sensazione di spazio e offrire luminosità, privacy e comfort degni di unità di maggiori dimensioni. Per il Sunrise 47 metri sono previsti due allestimenti diversi, entrambi con una spettacolare suite armatoriale sul ponte superiore.
Motoryacht dalle linee sinuose
23/09/2009 - Un 80 piedi che si distingue per le linee decisamente curve e aggressive. È questa la proposta di Carlo Cafiero che, anche negli ambienti interni di questo motoryacht di 24,61 metri di lunghezza, ha puntato su andamenti sinuosi. In particolare nella cabina armatoriale, dove lo spazio è appunto definito da pareti curve per agevolare il movimento rotatorio del letto sospeso, che è l’elemento caratterizzante di tutto il progetto della suite. I materiali utilizzati sono l’imbuia e il cuoio. Il locale è servito da un’ampia cabina armadio a cui si accede attraverso una porta scorrevole, anche questa curva, e da una scrivania con cassetti e piccoli reparti portaoggetti. Presente infine un divanetto di cuoio, materiale usato anche per l’imbottitura delle cornici delle due finestre. Il cielo della cabina, invece, è in pannelli di smalto lucido, in cui sono inseriti i led dell’illuminazione.
Un doubledeck da 53 metri
23/09/2009 - È sviluppato sulle linee dello scafo del Wally 50m il nuovo Wally 53m Doble Deckhouse, attualmente in costruzione. Costruito in materiali compositi in modo da avere un dislocamento leggero (intorno alle 210 tonnellate), il nuovo megasailer ha un’organizzazione con doppia deck house che riprende il concept del progetto Pilgrim. Come da richiesta dell’armatore, la suite è collocata a poppa, con un pozzetto separato: la deckhouse poppiera, quindi, è la continuazione della cabina padronale e ha una lounge con vista a 360 gradi e accesso al pozzetto privato del proprietario. La deckhouse principale, invece, ospita la zona pranzo. Per gli ospiti sono previste quattro doppie: due a prua e due a poppa del living. L’architettura navale di questo 53 metri, dotato di lifting keel, vanta la firma, accanto a quella del cantiere, dello studio Tripp Design Naval Architecture.
Tris d'assi per Amels
23/09/2009 - Un tris quello che il cantiere olandese Amels presenta al Monaco Yacht Show. Si comincia con il Limited Edition Amels 171, un 52,30 metri semi custom disegnato da Tim Heywood che sarà presentato con tre possibili allestimenti curati dall’architetto Laura Sessa Romboli. Il secondo esordio è quello dell’Amels 199 della fortunata serie Limited Edition. Il megayacht, che per l’exterior design porta anche in questo caso la firma di Tim Heywood, ha interni flessibili disegnati dallo studio Nuvolari & Lenard. Con la sua stazza di 1045 tonnellate il nuovo Amels si propone agli armatori che mirano al massimo in termini di comfort, sicurezza, performance e per finire anche di valore nel tempo. Ultima proposta, quella di un support vessel di 50 metri, largo 9,20 metri. Si tratta del Damen Sea Axe che ha come caratteristica principale la prua ad ascia sviluppata dal cantiere Damen e dall’università olandese di Delft e al cui sviluppo hanno contribuito gli ingegneri di Amels.
Amy, gli interni fanno la differenza
23/09/2009 - La caratteristica più immediata è la colorazione esterna, con lo scafo bianco e la sovrastruttura grigia, ma il secondo 54 metri, attualmente in costruzione presso il cantiere Amy, riserva molte novità. Il megayacht, che porta la firma di Luca Dini Design, è infatti all’insegna dell’imponenza degli spazi, in particolare nel living, dallo stile sobrio ed elegante, a cui si accede dal pozzetto. Ispirato a Sea Force One, il primo Admiral 54, il nuovo yacht si differenzia dal fratello per lo stile degli interni: gli arredi sono in teak con insoliti e sapienti inserti in wengé, che creano un piacevole contrasto; murate e paratie sono invece impreziosite da inserti in nabuk e pelle vintage che arricchiscono l’aspetto generale e spezzano il prevalere dell’essenza dominante. Lo stesso stile prosegue anche nei bagni, dove sono state usate pietre naturali dai colori caldi. La cabina armatoriale, come nel primo 54 metri, ha un grande lucernario sopra al letto e due balconcini laterali abbattibili che si affacciano sul mare.
One Fifty dalla linea ultra-moderna
23/09/2009 - Si chiama One Fifty la novità del cantiere polacco Sunreef. Lungo 45 metri, il nuovo maxi-catamarano può contare su una linea ultra-moderna, grandi spazi a bordo e molte innovazioni tecnologiche. Tra le caratteristiche estetiche di One Fifty quella di avere una deckhouse a tutta larghezza che crea un profilo frontale molto particolare, con ampie vetrate sulla parte anteriore della tuga. Altro elemento notevole di questo yacht, che può imbarcare 12 persone con un equipaggio di nove marinai, è quello di avere il boma che funge anche da gru per il varo e l’alaggio dei jet ski e dei tender. Si aggiungono poi la copertura della tuga sulla quale sono installati i pannelli solari per le esigenze energetiche, il pozzetto di manovra collocato a ridosso dell’albero, le entrate separate per ospiti ed equipaggio e, infine, il passavanti centrale che dalla poppa va verso prua e che divide in due il salone.
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P.IVA 01915740995
P.IVA 01915740995