Monthly News - May 2008

-pic of the month- Baia in Capri Sailing Week

Alfamarine No Problem Vacation

“Vacation No Problem Alfamarine" is the service activated by Alfamarine Shipyard of Fiumicino to the owners of the yachts of the 30 year old Roman shipyard of Marcello and Andrea Fazioli. This new initiative will be operational from 1st July, and provides a technical assistance from the builder to its yachts when trouble shooting arises. Thanks to an agreement with Aquaairline Spa, Alfamarine technicians will be able to reach the trouble yachts in all the Mediterranean onboard the hydroplanes of the company, specialized in this sea area. Like this the troubled boat will be able to resolve its problem and continuing its sea trip in perfect harmony, with the only detail requested from the owner to the Operational centre would be the age of the yacht and the parts needed. The total cost of the operation will be the part and aerial transfer.


Baia at Rolex Capri Sailing Week

The partnership between Baia Yachts and Capri Yacht Club for Rolex Capri Sailing Week go on successfully. In order to follow one of the most prestigious regatta in the international sailing races’ outline , Cantieri di Baia gave as supporting boats an Aqva 54’, fast and easy to handle during sailing races, and a One 43’ , the fast day cruiser with more than 20 m2 cockpit, that allows to work easily in it.

Baia Competing in Viareggio Monte Carlo Viareggio Raid

After the great success achieved in the last edition by Roy Capasso and Alessandro Conti with “Aris”, an Azzurra 63, Baia Yachts will take part again in the nautical rally raid Viareggio – Montecarlo - Viareggio, with three teams in the starting lane. In this 5th edition, from May the 30th to June the 1st, Alessandro Conti and Mario Borselli compete with an Azzurra 63, Stefano Marianelli and Paolo Mataloni with an Aqva 54 and Christian Power, Steve Packham and Susanna Monacci with a B80 USA. The first lap of the 5th raid Viareggio – Montecarlo - Viareggio will start on May the 31st at 10.30 a.m. and is going to finish with the competitors arrival in Monaco. The winners of the first lap, during the gala night in the Yacht Club de Monaco, will be awarded with the 3rd Memorial Stefano Casiraghi, a trophy in memory of the former Offshore World Champion. The second and final lap, starting on June the 1st at 10 o’clock a.m. will be on the same track in opposite direction, and the awarding will take place at Yacht Club Versilia in Viareggio Harbor. The winner team will be awarded with “FIM Trophy” in memory of Angelo Moratti, who was FIM Chairman in the past.


Bruno Abbate Primatist 18th year Special Edition

18 years ago Bruno Abbate had the brilliant idea to organize a gathering race with his boats to be held in full summer season in the most beautiful Italian marinas where owners and personalities from the show biz and sports world (Alberto Tomba and Jerry Cala the most famous) joined hands for a navigation competition with a fun experience. Time showed that the idea was a winning one and it is not the case that the Primatist Trophy is now in its 18th series. This year’s edition will be named “Ogliastra Cup” and will be held in Sardegna, where Bruno Abbate has invested a lot for the future development of the brand. From 27th July to 1st August, from Portisco to Arbatax touching the suggestive Oriental Sardegna coast, navigating trough natural beauties from Mortorio to Tavolara, between pure speed racing and classic ruling. The main theme of the competition will be the glamour, joining with the peaceful relaxing of a years work being a common denominator for those that go at sea in the summer period. Other news for this year’s edition there will also be a new star: the new Bruno Abbate Primatist G 53 Pininfarina that will be officially presented in the days preceding the event and has already received various positive reviews from the professionals. Another plus of the Primatist Trophy is the huge media impact this event has on a national and international level, with 5 hours a day being followed by TV crew, including a helicopter filming that will be distributed to the most famous news sections, as are the photographs distributed in real time and media communication with placing and charts all distributed. Famous Italian Sport newspaper Gazzetta dello Sport will also dedicate a 5 page special on the Trophy, along with the inhouse magazine Primatist People.

Bruno Abbate Primatist Partners World Rally Championship in Sardegna

A lucky collaboration had to be repeated. For the second year in a row Bruno Abbate Primatist was a partner sponsor for the World Rally Championship, Sardegna stage held from 15 to the 18th May. Bruno Abbate confirmed the speed vocation and tradition, is not a case as are the sponsors in Moto GP with Loris Capirossi and F1 Inshore with Guido Cappellini. Apart the Primatist stand, in the pit area there was also the possibility to admire the G41 Offshore Line , located in the assistance parking of the Rally and a G 41.2 Aero Top Evolution being moored in the waters at Cala di Volpe.


Cabo Yachts Lays off 49 Employees

Cabo Yachts laid off 49 employees last week, according to a story in the Victorville Daily Press. The Brunswick division said that about 300 workers are still with the company in Victorville Industrial park. Cabo Yachts said that international sales are going well, but that US business is hit hard. Cabo has increased investment in new boat models and engineering in the last year, waiting for the improving in US economy.


Couach Teams with Nautor to Build Superyacht Service Yard

Finnish sailboat brand Nautor's Swan has teamed with French superyacht builder and member of the Couach group, International Marine Service (IMS) to open a superyacht service yard on the south coast of France. Nautor and Couach/IMS have formed the company Yachting Service Excellence Center (YSEC), which will open the service yard at an ex-military base in Saint-Mandrier at the end of 2009 or beginning of 2010. The total to be invested in the project amounts to €22m, which includes funding from regional authority Toulon Provence Méditerranée. Three lots will be in operation at the site: a YSEC lot, which will include a painting area and two boatlifts capable of living boats of up to 50m (164ft); a Couach lot, comprising two sheds and a surface area of 27,000sq m; and a Nautor's Swan lot. Director General of IMS Eric Robert-Peillard says that the association with Nautor came from both companies response to the offer of the site at Saint-Mandrier. He also says that the yard will operate in addition to IMS's current activities. IMS is already based in Saint-Mandrier, while Nautor's Swan has yards in Finland and offices in Italy.


Fashion Yachts inaugurates new Shipyard

Italian yacht brand Fashion Yachts inaugurated its Pisa yard on Italy's Mediterranean coast on May 10. The 30,000 sq m site will be used to produce Fashion yachts ranging from 55ft-197ft (17m-60m). The brand currently has 11 models on offer. Models on display at the inauguration included the Fashion 55 and the Fashion 68, which features a gold leaf floor. Visitors were also able to see the new Fashion 88 in production.Tuscan company Fashion Yachts Group was established in 2002 and offers yacht building, charter and brokerage services.


Feadship Named Frisian Company of the Year

De Vries Makkum Shipyard, one of two De Vries yards in Royal Dutch Shipyards group Feadship, has been named Frisian Company of the Year following a public vote in the Dutch province of Friesland. A jury of experts from local government and industry praised the yard's professionalism and innovation.De Vries Makkum is primarily responsible for building the new Feadship XL range and for refits of Feadships. Feadship brand is the cooperation between Koninklijke De Vries Scheepsbouw, Royal Van Lent and De Voogt, and produces custom-built motor yachts.


Hatteras Yachts makes Key Appointment

Hatteras Yachts, a unit of the Brunswick Boat Group in the US, has appointed Luca Brancaleon as director of sales and business development for Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA). Reporting to George Armendariz, VP and general manager of Brunswick Marine in EMEA and vice president of sales for Hatteras Yachts, Brancaleon will be responsible for overseeing and supporting the Collection's current EMEA dealers, while working to grow the dealer network. He will also establish new relationships in evolving markets. Brancaleon will take up his new position on July 1, 2008. He currently serves as sales manager of Sessa Marine's international dealer network.


Riva and Bentley Spiders Enchant Geneve

Riva and Bentley got together from May 21st to 23rd 2008 to present at once their main models in Genève. The Swiss distributors of the two brands, Cantieri Poroli and André Chevalley SA, organized in fact a three-day event open to public inside the Bentley showroom, where visitors had the chance to admire, beside two cabriolet models of GTC and Azure, also an example of Aquariva Super, the spider of the sea. The 33 footer, evolution of the Aquariva model, whose engines have been improved to 380 hp each in this version, was presented in the elegant Chocolate Brown color, immediately achieving a huge success among visitors. On the evening of Thursday May 22nd, moreover, a private cocktail was organized for Riva and Bentley’s guests inside the showroom, during which the Aquariva Super was put at disposal also for visits onboard.

Riva and Mille Miglia Two Italian Myths Become Partners

The histories rich in tradition of Riva and Mille Miglia, the most famous historic cars’ race in the world, meets up in 2008 to create a new project merging the values that have made the two myths unforgettable. The partnership foresees the production of an Aquariva Mille Miglia model, studied by Mauro Micheli and Officina Italiana Design, the team that creates all the Riva Yachts, and inspired by the 80th anniversary of Alfa Romeo’s first victory, won by Giuseppe Campari and Giulio Ramponi in a 6C 1500 SS Spider Zagato in 1928. The one-off example of the Aquariva Mille Miglia model will be sold at the auction to be held by the organizing committee of the race during 2009 edition, while a maximum of ten more units could be produced and sold to the two myths lovers. The project was presented at the Mille Miglia 2008, held from 14th to 18th May, when Riva displayed the drawing of the model that will be realized next year in an elegant stand inside the paddock where the participants’ cars were parked. Beside the blow-up of the Aquariva Mille Miglia, participants, among which there was the Chairman Norberto Ferretti, and the public come to see from closer the classic cars had the chance to admire an example of Aquarama, an Aquariva Cento and a Seppietta. This last one, a racer dated 1935, part of Mr. Ferretti’s private collection and normally preserved in the shipyard’s Gallery, was exposed to public for the very first time, immediately achieving great curiosity among visitors. 166 years after its birth, with this project Riva has therefore come back to the racing world that had seen her as a protagonist of the first nautical competitions in the early ‘30s. Serafino Riva, nephew of the founder Pietro, was in fact the first to equip with piston engines some boats whose aerodynamic lines had been studied expressly to participate to nautical competitions and to reach, with one of them, the speed of 24 Km/h in 1912. Twenty years later, in the ‘50s, his son Carlo transformed the Riva name, which had become famous thanks to speed, in a true legend by starting producing more elegant and comfortable yachts dedicated to pleasure boating. These yachts maintained the pureness and aerodynamics lines that had made the fortune of his father’s boats; characteristics maintained unchanged even in the Riva yachts produced nowadays.

Riva and Credit Suisse Partners Once Again

Once again Riva confirmed its partnership with Credit Suisse, putting this time its brand and its famous yachts at disposal of the Private Banking Society’s guests. On the occasion of the “Giro del Veneto Classic” first edition, an historic cars’ race organized every year by Credit Suisse, in fact, Riva offered the two couples winner of the competition a tour of the lagoon onboard an Aquariva Cento and an Aquarama.


Riviera Wins Best of the Best Award

Australia’s most awarded luxury boat builder, Riviera, has added another major trophy to its collection, winning the Australian Boat of The Year at the marine industry national awards ceremony last night. This is the second consecutive Boat of The Year award for Riviera. The Riviera 4400 Sport Yacht, with revolutionary Volvo Penta IPS propulsion, took the award against strong competition across the entire Australian boating industry. Phil Candler, Riviera’s General Manager New Product Development, said the entire staff at the company’s headquarters on Queensland’s Gold Coast was delighted with the win. The win come on the heels of the Riviera 47 Enclosed Flybridge winning the Modern Boating Cruiser of the Year award announced just four weeks ago. Last year, Riviera won Boat of The Year with its 4700 Sport Yacht. Every model in the Riviera Sport Yacht range has won awards. The first, the 3600 Sport Yacht took Modern Boating Cruiser of the Year in 2006 and went on to win the Christofle Asia Motor Yacht Under 40 ft in 2007. The 4700 Sport first won the Modern Boating Cruiser of the Year in 2007 and went on to win AMIF Boat of the Year. The company yesterday announced the next model in the range, the four-cabin 5800 Sport Yacht with triple Volvo Penta IPS propulsion. The boat will be launched early next year. The Riviera 4400 Sport Yacht, launched at the Sydney International Boat Show in August last year, is a two-cabin/two bathroom model that continues the al fresco lifestyle design concepts first introduced on the award winning Riviera 3600 Sport Yacht in 2005.

Riviera Trimming Down

After weathering the storm for several choppy years, Australia's biggest boatbuilder has finally caught a cold. Responding to a cooling market, Riviera announced 136 redundancies of its full-time workforce effective immediately this week.The reason for the cuts is that demand for its award-winning flybridge cruisers, sport yachts and sports cruisers is down on previous years. The Gold Coast boatbuilder says it usually has about 85 orders placed each quarter. But in the first three months of this year there were 71 and it expects sales to fall further. Consequently, Riviera is projecting a 14 per cent downturn in revenue for 2008-2009. Following the restructure, the company's workforce will total 950 at the Coomera site. Redundancies would come from across the company's entire operation and several external contracts were brought back in-house. Riviera has been hit by the languid American economy. The yard exports roughly half of the 300-odd boats it builds each year. At the same time, it's expecting the European market to soften further. But going against the trend, riding on the back of strong oil prices, are emerging Middle East markets. Meanwhile, business confidence has plummeted in Australia this year, sending shockwaves through the boating industry. Demand for its smaller boats has also been hit by the strong Aussie dollar. Increasingly, imported craft are stealing market share, especially in the competitive arena of sportscruisers. Sales of Rivieras under AU$500,000 are slow and, tellingly, the price of its best-selling boat, the 47 Open Flybridge, is more than AU$1 million these days.Of course, rising interest rates and high petrol prices have contributed to declining boat sales. And an unusually wet summer was cited as a reason for fewer people going boating on the East Coast of Australia. Yet Riviera is on track for its scheduled new boat releases this year. These include a new 70 footer costing from AUS$4.75 million. There were four confirmed forward orders for the flagship at the time of writing.

Sessa Marine Opens Research Centre

After having announced the launch of a 65 feet model for 2009, Sessa Marine is today one of the first European shipyards to open an internal research centre dedicated to new product development, a way for this fast growing company to equip itself with the best tools for its debut on the yacht market. The structure represents a 4 M€ investment spread over two years and covers an area of 1500 m2. It contains a 30 work station research department (including 12 CAD 3D work stations) and a building devoted to producing new moulds. The Sessa R&D centre is equipped with an automatic cutting machine ordered by CAD CAM technology for the manufacture of large dimension moulds. 1:1 scale prototypes of the new projects will be manufactured, from which the moulds will be produced at the R&D centre. Stratification, polishing and finishing work on the moulds; critical phases for ensuring the perfect quality of the finished product, will continue to be handled by the shipyard. The first model to be released from Sessa’s R&D centre will be the C65, closely followed by two Flybridge models and the new Open, which will complete the Sessa Marine YACHT LINE range. To create a modern, calm and luminous work atmosphere, conducive to creativity, the brand’s designer Christian Grande has been entrusted with the layout of the centre. Of particular note is his arrangement of the superb furniture line signed by the French architect Jean Nouvel.


Sunseeker Yacht Scoops Top AV Award

The audio-visual installation onboard a Sunseeker 37 Metre Tri-Deck Yacht has received national recognition at the recent CEDIA (Custom Electronic Design and Installation Association) Awards. Bournemouth-based Dawsons AV Marine, won the Best Marine category at the awards ceremony, the first time such a category has been entered to recognise excellence within the custom installation industry. The AV installation onboard the Sunseeker 37 Metre Tri-Deck was recognized as best installation on a superyacht. Judges evaluated entries on the quality of design and installation, technical and design innovation as well as project objectives and overall results. Established to recognize and reward high quality system design, installation and integration, the CEDIA Awards help to set the standard for CEDIA Electronic Systems Professional Members. Using the most technologically advanced products available within the audio-visual industry, the Sunseeker 37 Metre Tri-Deck was the first Sunseeker superyacht ever to have a Bang & Olufsen/Crestron AV interface. Most Sunseeker motoryachts can be customised with a factory-approved Bang & Olufsen system, planned and fitted by Dawsons AV Marine specialists, which can link across every saloon, deck space and cabin – using just one remote control.