The most beautiful Italian boats are at Les Voiles in Saint Tropez. Discover them here

What is the most international regatta in the world, the most “glamorous” one? It is undoubtedly Les Voiles de Saint Tropez which takes place every year in the gulf of the same name. This year from Sept. 25 to Oct. 9 record participation, with 250 boats of all ages and sizes from twenty nations. Of course, it is the time when saint Tropez is enchanting, without the summer crowds but still alive and with lovely weather.

Do you know which is the largest fleet at Les Voiles de Saint Tropez, after the French one? The Italian one with 22 boats. And it’s not just superboats, but also “normal” boats, because Les Voiles de Saint Tropez is a democratic, not an aristocratic regatta. And that’s the beauty of it.

The Italians in attendance range from the 10-meter Elan 333 to the 80-foot Mylius Twin Soul B and go by Scud, Luna Rossa patron Patrizio Bertelli’s vintage 14-meter. Here are, one by one, the Italian patrol at Les Voiles de Saint Tropez: the boats and their history and who their owners are.

Italian vintage and classic boats at Voiles de Saint Tropez

They are mythical boats, the Italian ladies of the sea. Here they are.

Scud (m. 14.93), is the boat that Luna Rossa and Prada patron Patrizio Bertelli, 75, brought to Les Voiles de Saint Tropez. She has the usual outstanding crew, under the command of the trusty Torben Grael . Scud, an auric cutter, 1903 class designed by the legendary Nat Herreshoff. is the tenth of 18 hulls built and belonging to the Nyyc 30 class. The perfect restoration was carried out by the Argentario Shipyard.

Chinook (m. 17.82) is one of fourteen New York 40s built between 1916 and 1926 for members of the New York Yacht Club, who raced equal boats in the waters of Newport. The owner is Paolo Zannoni, 73, who in addition to being in love with his sailing jewel, is chairman of the board of Prada, president of Autogrill, chairman of Dolce and Gabbana Holding, and secretary of the board of Beretta Holding.

Marga (m. 15.56) is a 10 m International Tonnage built in 1910 to a design by C.O. Liljegren to participate in the 1912 Stockholm Olympics under the auspices of Sweden’s Queen Victoria of Baden, who originally owned the yacht. Marga is now owned by Tomas De Vargas Machuca and siblings Alessandra and Igino Angelini who also own Shooners Puritan and Orianda, and three other 10M S.I. Tonino, Astarte and Linth II.

Moro di Venezia (m. 20.41) built by Cantiere Navale Carlini of Rimini from seven-ply glued laminated timber on acacia glued laminated frames, is dated 1975. Launched in February 1976, the progenitor of the Italian Maxi Yacht IOR class, it was wanted by Serafino Ferruzzi as a gift for his son Arturo and son-in-law Raul Gardini, with the agreement that they would divide their weekends between sailing and working in the company.

The initial idea was to entrust the project to the New York firm of Sparkman&Stephens, but once they arrived in the Big Apple, the two young men were picked up at the airport by an Argentine boy, then an assistant at the famous firm: his name was German Frers. And this is where the fairy tale begins. Today it is owned by Massimiliano Ferruzzi, son of Arturo and Cristina Busi.

Magdalus Secondo (m. 25.75) is a classic Sangermani from the early 1970s, under the command of Sandro Taurchini, president of the Civitavecchia Yacht Club.

Mariella (m. 24.05) is a two-masted (yawl) built in 1938 in the Scottish shipyard William Fife & Sonsto a design by Alfred Mylne. In 1992 it was purchased at an auction by Carlo Falcone, a maritime photographer who had moved to Antigua. He is reborn to new life by participating in Caribbean regattas. He returned to Italy in 2007 and became a studio for the film Nauta. In 2017 it was brought to new condition by the De Carlo shipyard in Viareggio.

Ojalá II (m 11.54) has a beautiful story. It has had only one owner since 1973 when it was launched in Holland, built of aluminum by Royal Huisman, for shipowner Charles Holland, a former British pilot who had founded a hearing aid company in Italy, the famous Amplifon, which is now a 1.5 billion multinational corporation.

The design of Ojala II is by Sparkman&Stephens of New York, then kings of racing boats, on board when it is launched the entire Holland family, Charles, wife Anna Maria Formiggini and daughter Susan. Since that 1973, the Holland family has always maintained this boat as a jewel and every year it participates in the most important regattas in the Mediterranean. This year he won the Capraia regatta.

Resolute Salmon (m. 10.91) was reborn to new life thanks to Beppe and Gina Zaoli and Valter Pizzoli. The brilliant designer Britton Chance designed it in 1975, and in 1976 it won the famous One Ton Cup, thanks to its then futuristic moving drift. Purchased by Prince Giberto Borromeo it arrived in Italy. Then a long period of oblivion until Resolute Salmon was brought to life, following the original design, by Zaoli’s team.

Modern Italian boats at Les Voiles de Saint Tropez

Anouk is a Solaris 47 (m. 13.40) that recently won the Italian Offshore Championship in Class A, owner Antonio Bavasso.

Another Solaris, Futura (Solaris 55, m. 15.78) participates in Les Voiles in Saint Tropez. The owner is Carlo Bellantone.

Also racing in the same category is Black Samurai, an Eleva shipyard boat, The Fifty (m. 14.62), owner Giuseppe Porro.

Prominent among the smaller Italian boats participating in Les Voiles de Saint Tropez is the participation of the B 34, Luca Brenta Yachts’ brand-new Day Sailer, under the command of Enrico Malingri. The history of these boats is curious. Luca Brenta in the 1990s practically invented a new generation of boats intended for day trips, up to 15 meters in size. They are small superyachts capable of great sailing performance but very easy to sail with even a few people.

It’s a great success, they ask for them from all over the world. Then, due to the illness of its inventor, production stops. Since last year, with new partners in the Brenta family, production has restarted with this new B 34 (m. 9.95), which was cared for by the expert Enrico Malingri of Bagnolo.

Completing the Italian fleet of modern boats at Les Voiles de Saint Tropez are. Muzika 2, a X 442 (m. 13.53) of Simone Taiuti, Cristallina, a Dufour 44 Performance (m 13.35) by. Christian Nelias, Vito 2, a A 40 (m 11.98) of Gian Marco Magrini; Jaro VII, an X35 (m 10.61) by Alberto Musso; Atlantis, a Elan 33 (m 9.99) by Alesandro Botto; Golfo Mistico, an Eryd 33 (m 11.50) by Aldo Ferruzzi.

Italian maxis at Les Voiles de Saint Tropez.

The superstar among Italian maxis is the evergreen Capricorn of the Del Bono family , which won the legendary Admiral’s Cup in 1995 with a boat of that name. The Capricorn featured at Les Voiles in Saint Tropez is the Reichel Pugh 78′, formerly Morning Glory, whosecomplete deck and interior upgrade in 2005 was overseen by Nauta Design , transforming it from a pure racer and luxury fast cruiser to sail around the world and enjoy it. This 78-footer really turned the world around including the passage to Cape Horn, but not before taking the satisfaction of winning an ARC seasoning the victory with a record.

Then, this year the Del Bono family (father Rinaldo and son Alessandro) who own Mediolanum Farmaceutici, which has a turnover of around 200 million euros, decided to give their Capricorn a third life. They recalled the best sailors they had sailed with, including Flavio Favini, and decided to participate in the main regattas reserved for maxis. Result: they won everything, including the prestigious Maxi Rolex in Sardinia.

They complete the fleet of maxis at Les Voiles de Saint Tropez. Green Lines of Paul Mirpuri, South and above. Twin Soul B, the 80-foot maxi from Mylius that has Luciano Gandini, owner with his daughter Valentina of the Italian yard, at the helm. Twin Soul B is fresh off a second-place finish in her category at the Maxi Rolex.

And then, on the dock at Les Voiles de Saint Tropez, the world’s most cutting-edge boat was “paparazzied.” The Baltic 142 Canova by Dario Segre (who sits on the board of the financial company Canova, hence the boat’s name): a 43.33 x 9-meter giant with DSS (Dynamic Stability System, the two “horizontal” foils to stabilize the boat while sailing and increase its performance) and super-echo, already voted the most beautiful boat of the year in 2020 by Boat International.

The design is by Farr Yacht Design, with interiors and exteriors by Italian hands, namely Lucio Micheletti’s Milan studio.Canova is also the first boat of its size to be fitted with DSS foils, designed to improve comfort and performance. The sail plan is sporty, with huge square top mainsail and small jibs for easy handling.

An electric superboat

The world is moving toward electric, and a cutting-edge boat like Canova 142 could not be outdone. In fact, it does more, because it is fully electric, has no heat engine and is energy self-sufficient. When one considers that all maneuvers are electrically controlled, one understands, at least in part, the extent of the technological work aboard this hull. How is energy generated? Mainly with propeller drag and at 14 knots this boat produces 20 Kw while losing only half a knot to friction.

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