All the boats of the collector of yachting history: Patrizio Bertelli

The world is full of beautiful stories of tycoons who are great collectors of paintings, sculptures, jewelry, vintage cars, and precious objects. Some people head museums in her name like the legendary Peggy Guggenheim. Some go overboard, such as the Sultan of Brunei who has the largest car collection with 7,000 cars.

Even foundations are created that patronize unknown artists, such as in Paris the Louis Vuitton Foundation of one of the world’s richest men, Bernard Arnault, or in Milan the Prada Foundation of Miuccia and Patrizio Bertelli.

But, strangely, in the yachting world, collectors of iconic boats are latent. Even Gianni Agnelli, who had a boundless passion for the sea and boats, did not become a collector of sailing artwork. More like buying them and then reselling them. Or he would give them away.

Fortunately, there is an Italian gentleman, the only one in the world today who can boast the title of iconic sailboat collector.

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Gather, with philological and aesthetic passion, boats that are cornerstones of the glorious history of yachting, which can be traced back to 1660 when Charles of England commissioned 24 yachts royalty for the sheer pleasure of sailing.

The Italian we are telling you about has already been mentioned. It is called Patrizio Bertelli, is the largest collector of sailboats, in addition to being the CEO of luxury multinational Prada (about 3 billion in revenues) and the big boss of Team Luna Rossa, which has participated six times since 2000 in the world’s oldest and most prestigious regatta, the America’s Cup.

But we, this time, are not interested in talking about Luna Rossa’s exploits. We want to tell you the story of the extraordinary “Prada family” collection of its eight iconic boats. From the small 7-meter Tuscany Vispa, with which he won an Italian championship in 1975, to the old America’s Cup Nyala and Kookaburra, via his early 20th-century jewels Linnet and Scud. Not forgetting Vanessa, designed by Italian genius Carcano in 1975, and the more “normal” boats he goes on vacation with, the two Ulysses, a classic Sangermani and Frers’ beautiful 105 pedi from 2000.

Eight exceptional boats from yachting’s greatest art collector. Here are their wonderful stories.

Patrizio Bertelli’s exceptional boats

Scud

(1903, Nat Herreshoff)

One of two works of art in Bertelli’s stable designed by the Leonardo Da Vinci of sailing design, American Nathanael Greene Herreshoff (1848-1938).

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A boat/artwork collection cannot be without a drawing by Herreshoff, called the wizard of Bristol, who was the true inventor of modern boats. Just remember that he invented the fin with the ballast placed as low as possible. He actually revolutionized stability under sail, he also devised the first compensation system that allows boats of different sizes to compete for the final victory regardless of size. Scud is one of the most significant and successful pieces of jewelry designed by Herreshoff.

It is the twelfth yacht launched by Herreshoff’s own shipyard in 1904 of a series of thirteen identical boats in the “Bar Harbor 31-footer” class, 14.80 m long overall, 9.60 at waterline and 3.20 m wide overall. This class was in 1903 the smallest cruising boat also capable of participating in club regattas. Scud is one of Bertelli’s most recent purchases, which entrusted the philological restoration to Federico Nardi of Cantiere Navale dell’Argentario. Scud won at the end of September 2021 in his category Les Voiles de Saint Tropez, at the helm the Brazilian outfielder Torben Grael.

Linnet

(1905, Nat Herreshoff)

The second boat in the Bertelli collection designed and built by Bristol Magician Nat Herreshoff. Linnet is the tenth of eighteen examples of the New York 30 class, the first One Design (all identical boats) class in history, designed by Herreshoff using his “Universal Rule” calculation system that assumes the theoretical performance of any sailboat.

Linnet – 13.26 m long overall, 9.10 m at the waterline and 2.67 m wide – was born as a membership boat for the prestigious New York Yacht Club based at sea in Newport, Rhode Island, famous for being the scene of America’s Cup challenges for dozens of years. There are only 10 examples of the New York 30 sailing today, Linnet, restored by the Argentario Shipyard is one of the best preserved examples. It has been Bertelli’s since 1998 and has a rich palmares of victories in vintage boat rallies, such as the 2017 Copa del Rey in Mallorca.

Nyala

(1938, Olin Stephens)

It is the boat that started the collection. Bertelli bought it in the early 1990s and shortly after, in 1997, launched Luna Rossa’s first America’s Cup challenge. His story is curious. Although it was a 12 M SI, the class in which the America’s Cup was raced from 1958 to 1987, it never participated in the Cup, but only had the function of sparring partner to the U.S. boats in 1958, 1962, 1964.

Nyala was beautiful and fast, designed by Olin Stephens, another indispensable designer in a collection of iconic hulls. Stephens has been the magician Of the 12 m SI (21 m long and 3.60 m wide). Nyala had the misfortune of being born in 1938 for the 1941 edition of the America’s Cup, which never took place due to the outbreak of World War II. After the 1960s she was abandoned after going to the rocks and suffered a fire. She was reborn thanks to Bertelli, who brought her to Livorno where she was then restored by the trusty Argentario shipyard in 1996.

Nyala was the boat that introduced Max Sirena to Patrizio Bertelli. Here is what Sirena says: “In 1993 I was called to do training on his Nyala at Argentario, I knew Bertelli’s name but had never met him, I didn’t know what he looked like. On the way back to port I could hear this loud voice on the dock, and I said to this gentleman, what are you yelling about? He said: who are you? I answered, I am Max Sirena. He replied, I’m Patrizio Bertelli, give me five minutes to figure out if I’m going to blow you off right now or if we’ll see each other again“.

Thanks to Nyala, their partnership has lasted ever since. Nyala was underestimated, revitalized by Bertelli won 12 M SI class world championships in 2014 and 2019 with Mauro Pelaschier at the helm.

Ulysses

(1972, Sparkman&Stephens)

The name Ulysses distinguishes the two boats with which Patrizio Bertelli relaxes, using them for his boating vacations. The first Ulysses was built by Cantiere Sangermani of Lavagna, a historic name, based on the design by Olin Stephens, the same Nyala designer who, in addition to racing, was also the most popular designer of elegant, comfortable, and fast boats for cruising and also participating in regattas.

Bertelli elected the first Ulysses (19.90 m long and 4.98 m wide) as his vacation boat for years, mostly touring the Aeolian Islands, where he has a home in Panarea.

Vanessa

(1975, Giulio Cesare Carcano)

A real “gem” in the Bertelli collection. Vanessa is a very special boat designed by another genius, this time an Italian one. Giulio Cesare Carcano is the designer of the legendary Moto Guzzi Falcone and V7 and lives in Mandello Lario on Lake Como. Of course they also like sailboats. After “rigging” existing boats, he realizes. there is something wrong with the racing boats of the period. they all look the same; they are heavy and slow.

And he is right! He invents revolutionary boats that are lighter, wide at the stern, and have a sail plan that mimics those of Olympic classes. The result is that his boats in sustained wind conditionsi bolian and to the carriers, go twice as far as its competitors of equal length.

That is why Bertelli, a true connoisseur, fell in love with Carcano and recovered in the 2000s Vanessa, who was in a pitiful condition. Vanessa (15 meters long) racing in 2019 performed well at the Giraglia classic and the Regates Royale in Cannes.

Tuscany Vispa

(1975, Aldo Renai/Vasco Donnini)

It is certainly the boat of Bertelli’s heart. The story goes like this: In 1975 Vasco Donnini, a well-known boat “rigger” from Castiglione della Pescaia, salvaged for little money a 7.50 cruising boat named after the boat builder, CBS 7.50 designed by Aldo Renai. He takes the saw and cuts off his stern and lengthens it by a good three feet. To save weight he does not close it, he leaves it open on the cockpit.

It also changes his mast and sail rig. He is said to have taken a Soling’s tree and stretched his bow. Moral, Tuscany Vispa wins, in 1975 the Italian Championship of Class VI IOR. To say it is beautiful is a lie, but it is very fast. On board is 30-year-old Patrizio Bertelli. Since then Tuscany Vispa has been his. He still races there occasionally.

Kookaburra II

(1987, Ian Murray with Scott Kaufman)

An unknown Australian entrepreneur reaches the 1987 America’s Cup final as a title defender. He builds three boats with little difference between them. It challenges the Americans Kookaburra III, but by all accounts the fastest was II. The one Bertelli purchased in 1995. Beautiful.

Ulysses

(2000, German Frers)

In 2019 Bertelli crossed the Atlantic. with his friends, to arrive in St. Lucia in the Caribbean with this wonderful 32-meter fast cruising yacht built by the Green Marine shipyard in 2000. The design of Ulysses is, as it happens, by German Frers, the archistar, who designed Luna Rossa that reached the America’s Cup final, also in 2000.

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