Monthly News - June 2009

pic of the month - Otam Support Boat in Giraglia Rolex Cup in St.Tropez

Apreamare Itama and Porsche

On Friday, May 22nd the new nautical pole in Torre Annunziata, a modern production area spread over 125.000 sm, opened to selected guests on the occasion of a unique event: sea trials and test drive so to taste the sportmanship and the elegance featuring Apreamare and Itama brands. Tradition and history, technological innovation and advanced research on materials, but also performance and great care in construction details feature the DNA of Itama, Porsche and Apreamare, able to arranged an original and involving event Itama, an icon in Italian open yachting, praised especially in the 70s by the international jet set who made Itama yachts an item of worship, had available for sea trials and visit onboard Itama Forty and Itama Fiftyfive, models which made the success of the yard after the entrance in Ferretti Group (2004). The guests lived the filters free contact with the sea that Itama boats can give at best. Apart the flagship – Itama Seventyfive – was available too, after having gained a worldwide success thanks to its ability to boast style and power, two of the main feature of this brand. Apreamare, other Ferretti brand, is a long tradition company, who renewed the gozzos, maintaining the distinctive feature of craftmade care, and, at the same time, providing them with the most advanced technological innovations. Also Apreamare gozzo and Maestro complete ranges have been presented in the nautical centre marina, ready for visits onboard and sea trials. Finally the Porsche dealer for Naples Palumbo introduced in this special setting the new Boxster and Cayman, available for exciting test drive, with the support of professional pilots coming from Porsche Driving School. Passion, power and sportmanship feature those brands, who maintain the leadership in each market mixing attention to beautiful design and advanced technological innovation.


Couach New Start

The Bordeaux Commercial Court has authorised the sale of Couach to Industrialist Fabrice Vial for €1.5 million. Vial, who is the owner of a 33 metre Couach yacht intends to continue the yacht builder’s present strategy and will focus mainly on yachts of 50 metres. He expects to retain all 310 workers, although it is uncertain when work will restart at the yard, which has remained closed since March.


Fairline Wins Motor Boat of the Year

Leading luxury performance motor yacht manufacturer, Fairline Boats has been awarded the prestigious accolade of the ‘Motor Boat of the Year’ Award 2009 in the Flybridge Above 50ft category for the Fairline Squadron 55. The Awards are judged by a panel of boat testers from UK marine titles Motor Boats Monthly and Motor Boat & Yachting. The Award was accepted by Derek Carter, CEO, Fairline Boats and Adam Greenwood, Technical Director. The company has received international acclaim and won many prestigious awards over the years. Most recent accolades bestowed upon Fairline include winning The Queen’s Award for Enterprise 2008 in the International Trade category


Ferretti Group Presents EaSea Show

Ferretti group, a world leader within the sphere of the design, construction and sale of luxury motoryachts, encompassing a unique portfolio of nine of the most exclusive brands in the nautical world, wishes to announce a new, prestigious undertaking: “Easea>show”, a permanent exhibition of the group’s top yachts on show at Cattolica marina starting from 12th June 2009. Devised to further enhance the excellent range of services devoted to its owners, “Easea>show” will be an exclusive, personalised showcase of the Ferretti Yachts, Pershing, Itama, Mochi Craft and Custom Line fleets, and, starting from Autumn 2009, involve all the other Ferretti group brands, too. The exhibition, part of the larger “Easea>yachting” service project, will be a true private “boat show”, enabling even the busiest customers to visit yachts any day of the year, and test them in the water in total privacy and relaxation. “Easea>show” thus responds to the requirements of the most demanding owners who, by booking through the reference dealer for their area, will be able to visit and carry out sea tests accompanied by a highly specialised member of staff, thereby avoiding the inconvenience of overcrowded boat shows. Moreover, “Easea>show” will enable owners to admire and visit top Ferretti group yachts, completely fitted out with exceptional furnishings produced by the most important luxury designers: Christofle, Frette, Oluce, Pentalight and Somma to enrich the elegance of the Ferretti Yachts and Ferretti Custom Line interiors with their fabrics and furnishing elements; GT Design for the textiles and fabrics on board the Mochi Craft range; Christofle a Radaelli, Fos, Gentili Mosconi and Pineider for Pershing. The “Easea>show” experience will be yet further enriched through top partnerships with prestigious facilities in the area, such as exclusive hotels and restaurants, well being centres and “special shopping tours”, which will make an owner’s visit even more special. The exhibition, initially comprising top Ferretti Yachts, Pershing, Itama, Mochi Craft and Custom Line models, will be extended to the entire range of Ferretti group brands by the end of the autumn boat shows. This will complete an undertaking which had never before been developed on the world nautical scene, and offer Group clients the privilege of being involved in a unique, “tailor-made” experience.


Fountain Takes Car

Nautilux, the Adriatic coast dealer for Fountain Worldwide in Italy, has organized the Challenge of the Summer. Marco Paci and Team Nautilux will run a Fountain 34 CC Sport Fish from Porto San Giorgio, a seaside resort and port city nearby San Benedetto del Tronto, one of the stops for the Powerboat P1 World Championship, 170 miles north to Chioggia, a small fishing village at the southern tip of the Venetian Lagoon, near the famous floating city of Venice. What is so special about that? Well at the same time as the Fountain 34 CC Sport Fish jumps on plane and blasts its way to Venice, a brand new Citroen C5 (a sporty sedan) driven by nearby dealer Boldrin Auto, will take off by road to the same destination to see if they can beat team Nautilux and the Fountain. Via Michelin, the Italian equivalent of Map quest, clocks the car journey at 4 hours-that's abiding by all the speed limits and stop signs. Sure! They're Italian! Calculating an average speed of the Fountain at just around 50 mph, Team Nautilux should make the journey in 3 hours and 20 minutes. Of course, they don't have speed limits or stop signs, but at this time of the year, the Adriatic is known for rough seas. The head-to-head or should we say Mano-e-Mano, took place on Saturday may 30th.


Otam Giraglia Rolex Cup

Otam was support boat of the Giraglia Rolex Cup in Saint Tropez from the 14th to the 16th June. Otam 45 Heritage HS the smallest yacht of the line was the protagonists of the Giraglia Rolex cup last weekend in Saint Tropez. Its crew lived the competition in fist class and all its emotions since the last straw. Otam, experienced the sea as a protagonist in Saint Tropez.


Menorquin Launches a Comprehensive Personalized Assistance Programme

Menorquin continues to advance by improving and expanding its range of services to adapt it self to the changing market needs. In order to achieve this the Balearic shipyard has developed a very wide spectrum of services which include every type of repair work facility, restoration and boat maintenance service; all orientated to provide personalized solutions according to each customer’s needs. Menorquin Services is available for any boat type and the services are offered along the whole Menorcan coast, the island being a strategic passing point in any Mediterranean crossing. For those whose home port is on the island it offers the opportunity to renovate, repair or fine tune their vessel; but it has also been put in place for those sailors cruising around the Balearic Islands wishing to freshen up their boat whilst they spend a few days visiting some of the islands many attractions. Menorquin Services may also be contracted through Menorquin’s distribution division, called Emotion Yachting, which has its headquarters in Denia (Alicante). The Shipyard has 30.000 m2 of facilities on Menorca for carrying out the various tasks which make up the Menorquin Services programme, including buildings for hull lamination work, paint spray chambers, carpentry sections, sections for the assembly processes and finishes as well as an area for winterizing vessels, all of these are operated by a team of highly qualified professionals. These facilities enable Menorquin to be efficient in providing high quality solutions for customers and the shipyard also has moorings in Mahón harbour which are available for customers contracting Menorquin Services.


Mustang to Start Producing in the Philippines

Mustang Marine has announced it will be manufacturing it’s soon to be released Australian designed Sports Cruiser range in Asia to meet the demand for good quality entry level boating in Australia. The new Sports Cruiser range which includes the 2850, 3350 and 3850 will be manufactured by Mustang's production partner in the Philippines, Australasian Marine Alliance Corp. Sports Cruisers destined for Asian markets will be fully built at the production facility in the Philippines reducing shipping costs and improving lead times, however boats sold via Mustangs Australian and New Zealand dealer network will be assembled to a partial stage in the Philippines and completed in the Mustang facility on the Gold Coast. Australasian Marine Alliance Corp has recently released the first test production Sports Cruiser. Mustang CEO, Chris Heaton, was on hand to review Mustang's strict quality requirements and was thoroughly impressed with the fit out, finish and overall attention to detail. Mustang have an absolute focus on delivering quality products at a great price, Mr Heaton went on to say. Strict quality assurances have been put in place, and will be monitored to ensure the highest quality is always maintained. Mustang has committed to building the Australian designed Sports Coupé, Sports Euro and Sports Flybridge ranges at their production facility on the Gold Coast, Australia, where they now maintain a growing workforce of well over 100 people. The 2850 will be the first Sports Cruiser to be released in December and will reflect the new European inspired styling, exceptional quality and performance that Mustang features across their entire range.

Nordic Tug New CEO

Nordic Tugs, a US manufacturer of tug-style trawler yachts, has appointed Andy Lund as the company's new CEO. Lund owned one of the largest Grand Banks dealerships in the US from 1995-2001 and served on the NW Yacht Brokers Association board of directors for five years. An avid boater, he sold his Grand Banks dealership in 2001 and has spent the past few years cruising from the Puget Sound through the Panama Canal, across the Atlantic and around Europe on a long-range trawler. Headquartered in Burlington, Washington, Nordic Tugs builds classic tug-style cruisers from 9.8m-16.5m (32ft-54ft). Late last year, Nordic CFO David Goehring was appointed president following the death of former president/CEO Jim Cress in October 2008. Goehring will continue to serve the company as vice president and CFO.


Nord West Visit by Swedish National Team

During the World Championship qualifying match played in Gothenburg, the Swedish National Football team was looking for a pre-game experience to relax before the important match against Malta. The decision to visit the Nord West boat yard on Orust became an easy choice as many of the players share the passion of the boating life. The players and leaders were given a tour of the factory to see the production up close and were also given a chance to sea trial the many different models and the different drive systems. Especially exciting was driving with the IPS systems joystick function on the new Sport cruiser. The National Football team secretary Leif Andersson, gave the a big following greeting to Nord West saying it was very interesting and exciting experience for the entire crew. Perhaps the future will see some of the players cruising around in a new Nord West boat.


Numarine Open Day in Bodrum

Turkish motoryacht producer Numarine is to hold its second Open Day in Bodrum next month. From July 2-4, members of the press and distributors will gather to see the launch of the company's latest model, the 78HT, which is making its world debut. Sea trials will also take place onboard the 78' Fly and the 102' RPH. Founded in 2002, Numarine of Gebze, Turkey has a production capacity of 50 yachts per year, ranging from 55ft-102ft (17m-31m) in length.


Pershing Sea Show 2009

Pershing, a brand of Ferretti S.p.A., world leader in designing, building and marketing luxury motoryachts, enters the very heart of the nautical season with the exclusive Pershing SeaShow 2009. An event created to promote the brand’s innovative corporate philosophy, the SeaShow has been realized from the 12th to 14th June, in the extraordinary setting of Cattolica Marina. SeaShow 2009 is an appointment devoted to all lovers of the shipyard’s unmistakable style. It provides a special opportunity for them to share unique moments on board a Pershing, and directly experience the sportsmanship and elegant style of these yachts. The most important models of the fleet have been at visitors’ disposal for exciting sea trials for the entire duration of SeaShow. Every day, from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m., Pershing have offered guests the chance to visit the yachts and experience their high performance at sea. Several jewels of the sea, ranging from 46 to 90 feet, have been on display, including the high performance of Pershing 90’, featuring the characteristics and distinctiveness of a true megayacht; Pershing 80’, the shipyard’s very latest model and winner of the “Best Luxury Performance Yacht 2009” award on the Chinese market; and Pershing 56’, Pershing 50’ and Pershing 46’, with their racy, sporty lines. Visitors have also been able to admire Pershing 64’ and Pershing 72’, symbols of design, functional innovation and high, on-board technology. For over twenty years, Pershing has been an all-Italian symbol of comfort, technological innovation and cutting-edge design worldwide. The shipyard has provided guests with an opportunity to fully-experience the power, speed and innovation has always distinguished its yachts. Everything has been realized for an exclusive event which has opened the nautical season and has attracted the most enthusiastic lovers of a top performance at sea.


Princess Signs New Lease for 15 Acre Plymouth Waterfront

Princess Yachts International has signed the lease for a 15 acre (6 hectare) waterfront site at South Yard, Plymouth. Part of the famous Devonport Naval base, this facility has been acquired to enable Princess to commence the construction of a new range of large yachts. The bespoke craft, which will be over 100 feet, are too large to be built in Princess’ existing manufacturing sites. With the additional 15 acres at an estimated phased investment cost of around £15m, Princess Yachts International now has over 38 acres of land in Plymouth, including its Newport Street head office and manufacturing site, Coypool, Lee Mill and Langage sites. The company remains one of the largest employers in the area. One of the first yachts to be built at the South Yard site will be the Princess 105. Heralding the start of a new range of technically advanced, long range cruising yachts, it is estimated that the first finished craft will be completed by the end of 2010. The development of these new larger models forms a major part of Princess’ future expansion plans, and has helped secure the future employment of many of its existing staff.

Sunseeker Celebrate Retirees

Robert had a celebratory glass of champagne at the Technology Centre Meeting Room on Thursday 4th June with a number of retirees who have been with the company for many years. Robert thanked them for all their hard work and wished them a happy and healthy retirement. One of the retirees included Colin Baldwin, who was leaving the company after 12 years. Working in the moulding shop, Colin has witnessed major changes in his time at the company. He's seen the development of the tech centre, Sunseeker's venture into the Superyacht market, the purchase of the 11-acre site at Portland and the brand's elevation to world style icon. Colin's part in the process has been integral - he was a member of the team that has won four Queen's awards over the years.

Sunseeker Fly Royal Standard

A recent visit to Portland and Weymouth by Her Majesty the Queen and His Royal Highness the Duke of Edinburgh presented Sunseeker International Limited with the opportunity to fly the Royal Standard on one of the company's luxury yachts as it carried the royal couple from the National Sailing Academy to Weymouth Quay. Her Majesty the Queen and Prince Philip were visiting various attractions in the area including the Sailing Academy where Lord Sebastian Coe, chairman of the 2012 Olympic Games organising committee, proudly showed off the first Olympic venue to be ready. Having signed the academy's visitors' book the royal couple were met by Sunseeker representative and ex Royal Yacht Britannia crew member, Peter Langridge, and boarded a Sunseeker 34 Metre Yacht. According to Peter Her Majesty the Queen and Prince Philip were very impressed with the vessel and favourably commented on its design and level of finish. The trip then passed through Portland Harbour, across Weymouth Bay and along Weymouth Quay, ending with the royal couple leaving the yacht at the Harbour Masters office where a large crowd greeted them. Sunseeker International has become a major contributor to the area having acquired an 11 acre site next to the sailing academy at Osprey Quay. Most of the company's larger models are moulded and built at this new facility and with the addition of a 300 tonne travel hoist even larger models are being planned for the future.