blogger - Another Loss

In hind sight this title is a bit misleading as the closure of Baia Yachts in Naples cannot be considered as just another loss.  In reality it is much more to that.  A lot more if one consider the history in bringing innovations Baia delivered in both technological and design aspects of cruisers and yachts.

The South of Italy, Naples yacht builder has been on the fore front of things in sport cruisers and yachts since the seventies, with designer Galeazzi also getting his trade with Baia from the early nineties and continued till the very end. Since then Galeazzi, who started with Cantieri del Golfo of Gaeta in the eighties, has taken interior design for most of Azimut's sub eighty yacht fleet, and also taken design of Posillipo models at the turn of the century.

Baia along with Italcraft was one of the most innovative builders during the eighties period, from being the first to use Arneson type trim surface drives on the B33 in 1980, to the innovative removable hard top as launched with the 48 Flash in early 1999, and then followed on the other bigger models.

Baia was also not afraid to compete in races, with the builder winning the Venezia Monte Carlo round Italy race in 1990 with a full production B50.  If you are not aware of boat racing consider this one as a Paris Dakar type endurance race for boats.  Baia again won the Endurance Class Super Sport category on a sponsored and rebuild Donzi Z38 in 2010, and before that twice the Viareggio Monte Carlo with the 63 Azzurra in 2007 and 54 Aqua in 2008.  Both of these being again production models.
Unlike other boat builders Baia was trying to survive and go out of the recent crisis, two semi displacement super yachts, and a new 63 project have been in the works for couple years. It will be interesting to see what Baia will be if a new ownership happens.  The Capasso family has been a very healthy turn around when they purchased it in 1972, not only for Baia but for boat building in general.
Hope to see you back soon Baia!