To help people in finding their bearings in the Vieux Port and Port Pierre Canto - the venues of the 31st Cannes International Boat and Yacht Show - the organizers did their best: printed catalogues, maps and lists not simply describing each and every participant but highlighting the launch boats.
In comparison with the last year, the show got bigger in every sense: more yachts, more participants, more new boats, more square metres, more visitors. The five days the show lasted could be enough for those who came with the definite purpose: to take a look or order a yacht. To journalists, it wasn't enough at all: for example, test drives of the new luxury catamarans – 70-foot motor and 62-foot sailing Sunreef Yachts – were scheduled for the morning of September 16, when there would be enough space in the marina. The 97-foot Darsea by Moonen – which has become a new milestone for the Dutch company - was also available for testing.
Despite the fact that the port area is limited and has only the certain number of mooring places, the organizers manage to make the show bigger year after year. Three years ago some of the participants – mainly charter and brokerage companies – were quartered in Port Pierre Canto. This time 13 beautiful yachts were moored at Quai du Large, including the new model by Riva – 92’ Duchessa and her big sister, the shipyard's flagship 115’ Athena. The 40-metre German Namaste was also berthed nearby.
Such a wonderful yacht deserves a special note. We've already met a yacht-building family duo - Albert and Claudia Drettmann. In the Namaste case there are also two people involved - Heiner and Julia Tamsen. He owns the shipyard, she designs interiors. Julia implemented several of her interesting ideas here: the large porthole windows create the feeling of the large open space. "I just love much light", she says. There are two large glass apertures in the main deck floor; at the bow there's a Jacuzzi. Interiors feature a number of interesting decoration elements like the huge panel imported from South-East Asia or the sand-like carpet on the salon’s floor. The bar serves as a border between the recreation area at the stern and the salon. Tamsen Yachts is a new player on the market but the youth, energy and creative talent of the owners are the best guaranties of success.
Mondomarine presented the 39.4-metre yacht Villa Reis. According to Mr Elio Stroppiano, president of Gruppo Mondo of Gallo D’Alba, "this yacht is a veritable floating villa. There's everything for a long and comfortable journey on board. By the way, right now we're building two 64-metre yachts for a Russian customer. Our relations with Russia are developing and we're planning to establish a joint venture in Moscow soon." One of the unique features of Villa Reis is 2 gym areas: one in the master cabin, another one at the stern. After a workout or a visit to the sauna located right nearby one can dive straight into the sea water which is just one step away.
The curious new model by Bennetti Sail Division is the 34-metre yacht Oldtimer. A classic rounded stern, 3 decks, a dining zone on the flying bridge, a Jacuzzi on the top deck make her a veritable luxury yacht for connoisseurs of the classic lines.
One could spend the whole five days walking among the yachts until they all were blended together - and still remember the striking-looking boat with the unusual brusque charcoal-grey hull and the black superstructure. That's the 38-metre yacht Wally by Luca Bazzani whose vision of yachting has changed the regular perception of the yacht design. There were other new models as well, like the sailing day cruiser Wallynano and Wally 64 Power which frequently went out to the sea for trial runs attracting the admiring glances of the visitors.
At the Cannes Boat Show was also presented the third yacht in the Couch 3700 Fly project. Currently this superyacht is the biggest model of the French shipyard, but the company is about to launch the next project - the flagship 5000 Fly. 90% of the shipyard's boats are luxury-class yachts though it started as a military establishment building patrol boats for the coast guard. Today military ships amount to just 10% of the company's output.
The biggest catamaran launched literally a few days before the start of the boat show - the 30-metre multihull sailing boat by Yachts Industries - led the catamaran parade at Quai Saint-Pierre. This 13-metre wide catamaran has a flying bridge and a Jacuzzi at the top deck. It's designed for charter so there are 6 cabins on board including the crew area. The owner made the boat available to visitors during the show but opted for Yachts Industries to decorate the interior at their discretion. Blubay 95 is the fifth largest catamaran in the world, with the basic price of €8.5 million. Yachts Industries owns three brands: Blubay, Yapluka and single-hull Garcia boats.
Magnum 80 has a truly amazing exterior: an open yacht without a hard top. She's very fast - up to 60 knots in calm waters; this is the excellent speed for a 25-metre yacht. The boat comes with two MTU engines of 2,400 hp each.
The Italian shipyard which builds the super-fast, easily recognizable Itama yachts presented the new flagship model Itama SeventyFive. The navy-blue and white hull is 75 feet long. The yacht comes in two different interior layouts - with 3 or 4 cabins. In the first case she has a bigger salon. The standard version includes a double cabin for the crew. The windshield has a door leading to the long bow which can be covered with mattresses to serve as a solarium. Another sunbathing area is at the stern. The maximum number of onboard guests is 16 but for a day party the boat can comfortably accommodate as many as 20. The steep turns the boat can make at 43 knots thrill not only the leggy beauties.
The German yacht Mazarin 72 was first presented at the yachting festival in St. Petersburg, then in Moscow at the Boat and Yacht show and finally in Cannes (different vessels, of course). The yacht is perfectly confident even in the rough sea; the hull’s design allows cutting through the waves to avoid "trotting" across them. The company is so young that it has built only 5 boats so far but you can have your order ready in just four months - that's how quickly a boat is built with the unique new technology. As to the interiors, one of the boats was designed by Brabus; the semi-custom principle is the foundation of any yachting project's success. The designer duo Jörg Beiderbeck & Immo Lüdeling worked on the yacht's exterior.
Premiere 51’ is a typical lobster boat - if you look from ashore. But come aboard and you'll see a number of features making her quite different from the "classmates". The hull is made of Kevlar – a very hard and lightweight material which allowed reducing the 15-metre yacht's weight to just 14 tonnes. This ensures excellent manoeuvrability and quick acceleration from 8 to 35 knots, making for a quite sporty boat indeed. The classic lobster boat outline makes you feel perfectly safe in the sea – the boat glides along the waves even during the gale with the force of 8. Despite the not very large size the boat comes in over 200 tints of the hull’s colour, and you may choose between about 80 different leather upholsteries, marble and wood. Monaco Golden Agency Maritime which presented the Premiere 51’ and Premiere 43’ is about to announce yet another much anticipated launch – Diabolica 55, an unusually designed yacht incorporating the latest advances and technologies.
The American company Bertram presented its latest model, a 41-foot yacht. The boat is immediately recognizable anywhere: a white hull, a tuna-coloured tower, a wide cockpit. She's designed as a fishing schooner but has such onboard comforts that are typical for luxury yachts. Furthermore, the speed the boat can make is more in line with sport yachts: the cruising speed is 29 knots, the top speed is 35. The full model line includes 7 models ranging between 36 and 70 feet.
Another American company - Nor-Tech which builds racing catamarans for Class 1 races - has entered the European market bringing to Cannes its new model Supercat 3600. The company has opened an office in Germany to meet the adrenaline demands of the sedate Europeans. After all, this 36-foot catamaran designed for the active rest on the water can make up to 200 km/h! And though it can take 5 people on board for a regular cruise, when you go after yet another speed record there must be no more than 2 - safety is very important here. Like any racing boat, the catamaran has no luxurious conditions, but still has 2 sleeping berths and a toilet. The thrill you get is above even the one of driving a racing car; these boats are certain to attract admiring looks in any marina. The two-hull vessel is very steady, and the powerful engines roar just as mightily as Sheikh Hassan's and Steve Curtis's bolide.
After Cannes, the yachts over 24-metre long went for a weeklong trip to the port Hercules to take part in the Monaco Yachts Show…
Konstantin Startsev
Photoreport
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