YachtOnLine

Megayacht-Like Majesty in the heart of the city

Thu, 18 Nov 2010 23:00:00 GMT

A focus on the environment. Meticulous design. Optimised interior spaces. Total customisation. The megayacht world and that of Milano CityLife, a truly radical new Italian real estate project, have much more in common than it might seem at first glance. As if that were not enough, however, Maurizio Dallocchio and Giovanni Vacchi, respectively Chairman and Chief Sales Officer of this extraordinary property project, both actually hail from the nautical sector. Dallocchio sat on the board of...

Teen record makers

Wed, 10 Nov 2010 23:00:00 GMT

Laura Dekker has begun her round the world attempt after the Dutch court in Middleburg overturned the child protection order that prevented the 14- year-old from beginning it earlier. Having fulfilled all of the court’s requests (rescue and sleep technique courses and a guarantee that she will be able to continue her schooling while at sea), Dekker finally cast off her 38’ ketch Guppy from Portimao in Portugal on August 21st last. Her ambition is to become the youngest sailor ever...

Alessandro Di Benedetto, self-discovery at Sea

Sun, 07 Nov 2010 23:00:00 GMT

Alessandro Di Benedetto has the accent and toughness of his native Sicily. But it was in Brittany, his adoptive home, that the ocean entered his soul. Di Benedetto has just spent 268 days sailing around the world completely alone with not a single break. All on a tiny Mini 6.50. Amazingly, he still glows with energy. And a palpable desire to communicate. Perhaps it’s the kind of clarity that only a round the world trip that inward-looking can bring or maybe it’s just the sheer power...

Ceramica Flaminia dictates style

Tue, 21 Sep 2010 22:00:00 GMT

In times when centralisation is the norm, there is a subtle pleasure in affirming that there are still groups with an international presence that are firmly linked to one place, the place they were created, and the knowledge present there. Ceramica Flaminia, founded in 1955 in Civita Castellana (Vt), in the Lazio region, north of Rome, is one such company and has become a brand of reference in sanitary and bathroom fittings, not only in Italy, which absorbs 70 percent of production, but also...

Karimunjawa: islands out of time

Thu, 09 Sep 2010 22:00:00 GMT

You fly into the Karimunjawa archipelago aboard a Kura Kura Aviation Cessna 402 B or 172 from Semarang airport in Central Java. Your baggage allowance is a paltry 10 kg but, realistically, you won’t be needing any more than that. It takes 25 minutes to get to the 27 deliciously unspoilt coral islands. They are now a national park encompassing a protected marine area extending 35 nautical miles and lie in the strait separating Borneo (Kalimantan) from Java. Very few islands in the area...

Movies: Venice and not only

Mon, 06 Sep 2010 22:00:00 GMT

It’s been exactly 20 years since Gabriele Salvatores used the Mare Nostrum as the backdrop to his classic film, Mediterraneo. But the cinema has always used boats, the sea, islands and navigation for inspiration, with varying degrees of success. The results, however, have always been interesting. Who could forget Matthew Modine in Wind (1992) which was inspired by the adventures of Dennis Conner? In a rather unlikely scenario, the actor wins the America’s Cup at the very last second...

Holidays in Croatia

Sun, 08 Aug 2010 22:00:00 GMT

Not just the beautiful island landscapes and stunning bays. Not just the human-scale, pastel coloured harbours and small fishing villages built in the ancient limestone, laid with the same intense skill shown by a master carpenter. Cres and Lošinj (Lussino in Italian) are examples of a historic maritime tradition that’s now going from strength to strength on the crest of a tourist boom, especially among sailing circles – it seems that the yachting community has discovered the...

Porto Mirabello: on the Waterfront

Mon, 02 Aug 2010 22:00:00 GMT

In life there are some stories that last the blink of an eye. In a few rare cases, they last a lifetime. But when emotions get involved it’s very difficult to explain everything logically. There is the passion behind each decision, each move. Even the ones that on paper look almost tough indeed. For Alessandro Menozzi it all happened in the space of a second. Or, to be more precise, it all began in early 2002. And it wasn’t an auspicious start as he was taking up where many...

Lamborghini Gallardo, perfect remake

Sun, 01 Aug 2010 22:00:00 GMT

Remakes tend to be huge flops. But there is always the exception that confirms the rule. The new Lamborghini Gallardo Superleggera LP570-4 happens to be just that. The name alone speaks volumes: LP as in Longitudinale Posteriore (engine mounted longitudinally behind driver), 570 as in hp (10 more than its predecessor) and 4 as in (all-wheel drive). The Superleggera moniker isn’t just there for decoration either – the Gallardo has had a massive 70 kg sliced off its weight (now down...

Pirate Alley - best avoided

Tue, 06 Jul 2010 22:00:00 GMT

Pirates: to know them is to avoid them. They’ve always created terror at sea and are ever more frequently capturing international headlines with assaults aboard cargo ships and oil tankers. Armed to the max and organised in para-military groups, they hold hostage 300,000-tonne ships, crew included. Plentiful in the waters surrounding countries devasted by war and poverty, where governments are weak or corrupt, like the Horn of Africa and Indonesia, they are currently being combated by...

On route towards the Tuscan islands

Mon, 21 Jun 2010 22:00:00 GMT

Sailing from La Spezia to the Tuscan Archipelago is one of the classic cruises. A classic because Capraia, Giglio and the island of Elba are all part of a timeless route that’s suited to any and all seasons and can be followed again and again with the same joy. It is always different, always unique, just like the sea conditions, the weather and the crew. If, however, the vessel in question happens to be Augustine, an elegant 1970s Jongert ocean-going ketch, then you are set for a...

The lighthouse route

Tue, 11 May 2010 22:00:00 GMT

Someone once wrote that the French can live without bread but not without words. One exception to that rule is Brittany in general and the region’s lighthouse keepers in particular. Not one of the hermit-like individuals who have borne witness to life, death and miracles in the dozens of lighthouses dotting that treacherous coastline seems remotely disposed to talk about his experiences. This vow of silence is, of course, very much consistent with a lifetime spent in splendid isolation....

Monte Carlo Beach: wearing well

Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 GMT

The Monte Carlo Beach Club celebrates its 80th birthday this year and is looking better than ever as it enters its ninth decade. After radical renovations between October and May, it is now back in action after a chic, timeless facelift that has injected new vigour into its 1920s and 30s glamour. Completely restyled by architect-designer India Mahdavi, the Monte Carlo Beach is a hymn to the Mediterranean. While its spirit and shape remain unchanged, the materials, lines and spaces have been...

New face for Monaco

Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 GMT

The new Yacht Club de Monaco, commissioned to Lord Norman Foster in 2002 by the Principality’s government, is designed as an extension of Port Hercule and will be the fulcrum of all Monegasque sailing and nautical social activities. It is situated on Boulevard Louis II and, flanking the current port, it will have berths for yachts of up to 100 metres. The building itself will be shaped a bit like a ship. One section covering several levels will be devoted to social and members’...

Falkland, into the wild

Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 GMT

We’ve just come to the end of our first year down South, during which we have covered over 4,000 miles at sea, spent a month in the Antarctic, a month in rainy Chile and been to the Beagle Channel three times – winter, autumn and summer. Now before tackling South Georgia, we have a new goal in mind. There they are on the map: tiny and fragmented, a dozen little soap bubbles in the Southern Ocean, a few miles east off the Argentinean coast. The Falkland Islands. We start by trying...

Legacy: a 21-year-old on the crest of the wave

Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 GMT

Its fans had been waiting for it with bated breath since its launch at the last New York Auto Show. The first photos of the Legacy showed more muscular wheelarches and an imposing bumper that made it seem like an Outback-Legacy fusion. This year marks the 21st anniversary of the launch of the most successful model in Subaru’s history. The Legacy is now more muscular at 4.77 metres long and 1.78 across. It was more comfortable too because an extra 8 cm had been added to its wheelbase,...

Indonesia: a dive into the beyond

Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 GMT

Taking a cruise aboard a traditional Indonesian Pinisi to the very ends of the earth between the Banda and Aru Seas is easy. You just fly to Bali, then on to Ujung Pandang and lastly to Ambon, south of the Molucca and the old spice roots of the East Indian Company. There in the port of Laha, the 49-metre schooner Cheng Ho awaits her 10 passengers, all divers familiar with the world’s most beautiful seas. They’ve all chosen this cruise because it’s hard to believe that there...

Sea and taste: the importance of the seasons

Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 GMT

It may seem strange but the quality of fish, shellfish and seafood in general tends to depend on the season. Beneath the surface of the waves or in crevices in the rocks, water temperature, reproductive cycles and pollution can all have serious effects on the taste, smell and even feel of fish. With the end of winter and the arrival of the first warm days, it’s easy to note a change in catch, particularly fish and seafood that’s served raw. Oysters provide incontrovertible proof...

Fiat Punto Evo: ready to get off

Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 GMT

What better venue for the launch of the new Punto Evo than the Italian Navy’s aircraft carrier, Cavour. The new Punto Evo is an evolution of the current Grande Punto. The cabin has been completely redesigned starting with Bravo-style dash, the seats and the instrumentation. The latter incorporates the renamed Blue&Me – TomTom portable sat nav system which includes phone, GPS and driving info with an extremely user-friendly touch screen. It also includes Iq Routes which...

Range Rover, renewed luxury

Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 GMT

Land Rover, the inventors of the SUV, is tackling the current crisis by revamping its best-selling Range Rover. The style is the same, showing that identity can sometimes count more than the name. The first changes are the slightly more aggressive headlights and lower foglights, and this model also features innovative three-stripe LED indicators on the sides. New details enhance the Range Rover’s air of regal class, complemented by square, taut lines. The more substantial changes appear...

MSC Aurea, cruising wellness

Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 GMT

The MSC Aurea Spas are the very latest wellness facilities to be dreamed up by MSC Crociere. Covering a sumptuous 3,500 square metres each, they are devoted entirely to relaxing and rejuvenating the minds and bodies of the Neapolitan cruise line’s passengers. The two authentic Balinese spas are to be found, in fact, aboard MSC Crociere’s two enormous flagships, MSC Fantasia and MSC Splendida. They really are the very finest of their kind on any cruise ship currently afloat, offering...

Chile, land of fishermen and no preparation

Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 GMT

When a fisherman from the Strait of Magellan begins collecting seaweed, it means he’s really hit rock bottom. Literally and figuratively. Firstly, it means that the royal crab season is over, he’s run out of money and has no other alternative but to look for seaweed. Secondly, the seaweed actually does grow on the sea bottom and that’s exactly where the fisherman (something of a misnomer in this case) will have to go to find it. The seaweed in question is known to scientists...

Silver Spirit, room for your dreams

Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 GMT

“A journey is a kind of door between reality and an unexplored reality that resembles a dream”. These words were written by Maupassant many years ago. Now the unexplored reality is a new ship, the Silver Spirit, and despite appearances she really is a dream, because she embodies and highlights Silversea’s 16 years of activities in the luxury, exclusive cruise market. It’s a route that’s led the company to seek constant improvements to their already high levels of...

Fish at its best in winter

Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 GMT

During the hottest weeks of the year, when there is a general exodus to the coast, we witness not the assault on the ovens described with such majestic grace by Alessandro Manzoni in his Promessi Sposi, but on the fishing boats and trawlers that chug back into port at the end of the day. Everyone is screaming for freshly caught fish. They all suddenly start thinking about eating fish because they were at the sea. But the truth is that fish is at its best in winter. One has to ask oneself...

Poltrone Frau, internal marine

Thu, 01 Jan 1970 00:00:00 GMT

As long ago as the 1930s, the first-class cabins of the transatlantic liner Rex were furnished by Poltrona Frau. Over time the brand has become increasingly successful, making a name for itself in the furnishing industry – including the nautical side of the business – and it has gradually become known for its outstanding style. The list of the company’s collaborators in recent decades features many illustrious names. In the 1950s and 60s, for example, Cassina provided the...