“To Ennio Doris’s yacht I prefer my 5-meter boat!”

“A few years ago, after the news that
Ennio Doris had been given his new 60-meter extra luxury yacht
, numerous friends wrote to me making various jokes, such as, “But Alby, get yourself a trimaran too, right? As long as it’s made in Italy… you can tell!”; or, “Have you been invited?” (to the launching ceremony, of course); or, “… considering that it (E. Doris’ yacht) is so beautiful, get yourself invited for a ride, no?!” I replied, “I prefer the Sparaglione!” The Sparaglione is my sailboat.”

The Neapolitan lanzino, fishing boat or racing boat?

This is the testimony of Albino Esposito, a former Banca Mediolanum employee who declares his love to friends and admits that he preferred his small 5-meter boat to Ennio Doris ‘ maxi yacht. The name of this boat is that of a fish common in the Mediterranean and Black Sea, the sparaglione bre am (Diplodus annularis) belonging to the family Sparidae. Of all breams, the sparaglione is the smallest, and rarely exceeds 20-25 centimeters in length. And the Sparaglione is also a small boat, at 5 meters in overall length. It is a “Neapolitan lanzino,” a small lance that apparently originated as a fishing boat. As is well known, however, fishing boats also had to be fast boats. In fact, fishermen competed to get back into port first, and thus be able to sell their catch first. So over time the lanzini became real racing boats, complete with three-person crewed regattas that, for example, often pitted Neapolitan lanzini against Ligurian ones. The great success of the lanzino led over time to the establishment of precise tonnage rules, such as one that set the hull length at 4.60 meters, effectively turning the lanzino into a monotype. Despite its success, however, this monotype never made it into official circles and circuits, while still continuing to entertain and enthuse enthusiasts. Among some of the inhabitants of the area from Coroglio to Pozzuoli, in fact, the tradition of Neapolitan lanzini is still strong.

The builder of the Sparaglione was shipwright Daniele Fiorentino, known as martelluccio d’oro, who operated in the Borgo Santa Lucia in Naples, in a room now housing the

Royal Yacht Club Canottieri Savoia

. In the years between 1933 and 1942 Daniele Fiorentino built a total of about ten examples, and among them was the Sparaglione. In fact, from the initials on the transom, it can be guessed that the year of construction is 1935. The difference between the 1933-1942 lanzini and those built after 1942 by shipwright Gennaro Fiorentino, son of Daniele, is evident.

The story of the Sparaglione as told by its owner

“My uncle, my father’s brother, purchased the Sparaglione around 1980. I inherited it upon his death some 20 years ago. Recently, I had it restored and refurbished in the years 2015/2016. The cost of the restoration, split over the years, was more than 15,000 euros. Currently the estimated value of the Sparaglione is 30,000 euros, but this is purely a conventional value. In fact, the Sparaglione, which has remained probably the only extant specimen in the world of its original generation (consisting of a total of about 10 specimens) is a piece whose genuine commercial value is impossible to establish. Its historical, cultural and sentimental value is priceless: it is a real gem. The shipwrights at the shipyard who had it in the works did slow, long and meticulous work, eventually taking about two years. During the restoration work from time to time they would send me photos, informing me about the progress of the work. Once, I replied that I really appreciated their work and found that the Sparaglione was coming along very well. I was answered by Rosario Di Candia, one of the two sons of the senior shipwright, Salvatore, also a shipwright: “We are very pleased to hear that you like it, but looking at it up close is a different story: it is to be kept in the living room, not in the water.”

In its kind it is like a Ferrari. But not a commercial, street Ferrari: a circuit, track Ferrari. When at the finished job Salvatore Di Candia handed over the Sparaglione to me, on the occasion of the new “launching,” he told me in a polite and soft tone, smiling vaguely, “It’s really a nice boat…of course, you have to know how to carry it…it’s not for everyone…” Translated, out of softly diplomatic language, the message was, “look it’s a beautiful boat, but very dangerous; you have to know how to pilot it, or you risk hurting yourself.” Yeah. Correct. That’s right. I am fully aware of that. And in fact, I have never gone out to sea, alone, on the Sparaglione.

Sparaglione visto da poppa

Scafo dello Sparaglione

Sparaglione visto da prua

I have childhood memories, when in Procida the old men would tell me about inexperienced sailors who had gone out of the harbor and never returned. In many cases it had never been heard from again; in a few rare other cases the boat had been found, empty, off the Spanish coast near Gibraltar (the effect of winds and currents…). Once, old people told me, they apparently found a corpse aboard the drifting wreck, dried up from hunger and thirst. Of course, this would no longer be the case today: with satellites and GPS, it is much more difficult to get lost at sea and no longer be found. But it would still be very dangerous to venture into the open sea without having full mastery of vessel guidance.

So among my daydreams is to one day learn how to sail reliably and safely, for myself and for others, and to “hang out” with the Sparaglione together with a few friends, thus making Dante’s famous dream come true:

Guido, i’ would like you and Lapo and I
we were taken by enchantment
And put in a vasel, which to every wind
By sea would go to your will and mine;

so that luck or other time rio
Could not give us impediment,
Indeed, always living in a talent,
Of being together grew the desire.

The Sparaglione data sheet

Manufacturer: Daniele Fiorentino
Construction number: 6
Model: Lanzino di Coroglio
Year of construction: 1935
Hull material: mahogany wood and spruce
Deck covering: iroko wood
Ballast (sailboat): movable dinghy
Overall length: 5 meters
Line buoyancy: 30 cm.
Width: 5 feet 8 inches.
Gross tonnage: 120 kg.
Max speed: 10 knots
Vessel type: sailing
Control: tiller steering

SAILING EQUIPMENT

Number of trees: 1
Manufacturer: Daniele Fiorentino
Material: fir
Year of construction: 1935
Armament type: Marconi
Sail area: sq. m. 26
Boomnumber: 1
Number of tangons: 1