The Robb Report Collection

Feature: Yachting Italian Style

Susan Price-Root

01/01/2004

It’s a little after one in the afternoon, and Tina Ayate stretches languidly on the aft deck of her Riva 72 Splendida. She presses the button that rotates the circular lounge to give her guests a view of her villa’s gardens, which cascade lusciously down to the edge of the Tyrrhenian Sea. Then she revolves the lounge back around to assure the optimal angle to the sun for even tanning. The Splendida may be Riva’s latest model, but it evokes Art Deco glamour with its trademark vanilla-colored hull and arched curves accented with chrome strips. “My husband loves Rivas so much he buys the latest model every year,” Tina Ayate says pleasantly. “They are his toys.”

Ciao, bella! Nothing says Yachting Italian Style better than the Pucci-print spinnaker on the fast-cruising sloop Wally60 Wallyño, which was the first yacht in her size range to cross the finish line at the offshore Giraglia Rolex Cup race last June. (Click image to enlarge)

The Ayates are among the business magnates and fashion czars who make Sardinia’s Costa Smeralda their summer retreat, and for whom owning the most stylish boat is the ultimate fun fashion accessory. On this idyllic afternoon, we make good use of the rotating lounge as we check out the world’s most gorgeous boats throwing up wakes alongside ours. By Costa Smeralda standards, the 72-foot Splendida is considered a boat for day cruising only. When we set out to explore the Maddalena and Caprera Islands, we chartered an Azimut 55, a very fast and comfortable day cruiser, from SNO Yachts.

A Wally sloop sails “nel blu dipinto di blu.” (Click image to enlarge)

I have been around boats all my life, spending childhood summers on my family’s Chris-Crafts on the East Coast and later cruising to Cannes, St.-Tropez, Monte Carlo, Porto Ercole, Portofino, Capri and the Greek Islands with friends. But I must admit that I find the Costa Smeralda the most perfect yachting scene of all. I am here during the last week of July and the first couple of weeks in August. It is the first time I’ve been back since the early ’70s when Karim, the Aga Khan, began this development on an arid, rocky, windswept island—a dream that was considered madness at the time. One of his Harvard classmates, who acquired a villa here, invited me to visit and help create some buzz about this new summertime enclave.

Costa Smeralda today has a relaxed, elegant simplicity. The Hotel Cala di Volpe was created by architect Jacques Couëlle as the Aga Khan’s vision of a simple fishing village crafted by native artisans. It retains that rustic charm, albeit punctuated with deluxe grace notes typified by Chopard’s Happy Beach watch, with free-floating fish encrusted with precious gems, which is showcased in a lobby vitrine. A souvenir, Costa Smeralda style.

The Aga Khan developed Sardinia’s Costa Smeralda in the early 1970s around the Hotel Cala di Volpe. The hotel, now part of the Starwood Luxury Collection, is the social center for yacht owners and their guests. (Click image to enlage)

We drop anchor in a rocky cove in the Maddalena archipelago and don snorkels and masks for a swim while the crew prepares lunch. Floating on the surface of the sea is like flying in a Chagall blue sky. Back on board the teak swim deck, we spritz the salt off with a high-pressure shower and stretch out to dry off before we are served a simple Sardinian lunch—melon wrapped in prosciutto, spaghetti bottarga, artisanal salami, fresh fruit—all set out on starched white linen.

After lunch we join the armada of tenders invading the Hotel Cala di Volpe’s private beach from the flotilla of yachts moored offshore. The beach at Cala in July is where the world’s best “floats” are on parade. On any sunny Sardinian day you might see My Song, the high-performance Maxi owned by cashmere king PierLuigi Loro Piana; Gucci’s gorgeous three-masted 196-foot Criolla; publishing magnate Carlo Perrone’s 66-foot Maxi racer Virtuelle (with interiors by Philippe Starck); Leonardo Ferragamo’s elegant 118-foot Swan; Franciacorta vintner Vittorio Moretti’s Viriella; Luca Bassani’s Tiketitan Wally racer; or the newly restored 408-foot classic Savarona that was built for Turkish president Mustafa Kemal Atatürk and is now used for charter. Whether as new as racing sailor Wallyno or vintage as sailing ship Shenandoah, they all are best of class.

The American fleet consists mostly of tech titans with their high-tech toys—Larry Ellison’s Sayonara and Paul Allen’s 301-foot Tatoosh. Meduse, the smallest of Allen’s three yachts at 198 feet 10 inches, is outfitted with a recording studio designed by Peter Gabriel, a summer regular; U2 has done sessions in it. Silicon Valley venture capitalist Tom Perkins’ Marietta is another regular, sans novelist Danielle Steel, to whom Perkins was briefly married. Apparently Steel disliked yachting, and Marietta was Perkins’ great love.

Naturally, this is a beach where a tender can be a $450,000 45-foot WallyTender, fitted with its own stereo system. It’s an occasion for “umbrella hopping,” one of the few places where everyone gets to meet and greet their floating neighbors. Yes, that was Mariah Carey sunbathing on the 209-foot Lady Marina. I run into an Iranian banker based in Switzerland, whom I met in Aspen. That’s how it is here.On the slim strand of beach, vendors walk below the tide line, arms laden with the weight of their wares. One slyly intones, “Gelati, ice cream … Viagra?” Guests from the yachts peruse the Indian silk scarves in ruby, emerald and sapphire silk sprinkled with sequins that hang from tents. Knockoffs of this season’s designer handbags are haggled over and snatched up at bargain prices. “They’re so amusing, don’t you think?” says a Swiss pharmaceuticals heiress, modeling an armload of Kelly look-alike bags. “Which color should I take? Oh, I’ll just take them all—they do make fun little gifts.”

Apreamare’s Don Giovanni is the new model of the original Riva dayboat made for two. (Click image to enlarge)

The crowd in July is mostly Italian and English, with a smattering of French and Americans. My European friends usually head out to the Greek Islands in August and plan to return for the Prada Veteran Boat Rally and the Rolex Maxi Cup in Sardinia in September. In August, there is a whole different set of boats in the bay.

St.-Tropez is where you go if are looking for a wild party scene. Costa Smeralda is where you take your family. Some of the most enjoyable parties are given at Sardinia’s best hotels. One night there is a beach barbecue at the Romazzino, the more family-oriented of the Starwood Luxury Collection hotels. The guests of all Starwood hotels are invited to special evenings at each—one of the few ways newcomers get to know each other. Everyone from James Brown to Dionne Warwick performs by the pool at the Hotel Cala di Volpe or at the Yacht Club Costa Smeralda.

For serious shopping, everyone strolls the Piazzetta in Porto Cervo, where the designer shops are open till midnight. Anchored by the Yacht Club Costa Smeralda and the Piazzetta with its shops and restaurants, Porto Cervo is where many of the largest boats are docked. Saudi Nasser al-Rashid’s 344-foot, five-deck Lady Moura is crammed into an entire row of similar-sized boats. Lady Moura, the most expensive commission ever when she was built about 10 years ago, is so broad-beamed that she has to back into the channel to turn around. She still wins in one-upmanship by sporting the ultimate tenders—a pair of matching helicopters. (Click image to enlarge)

Around 9:30 pm, we stop for a drink at the Yacht Club Costa Smeralda, which was founded in 1967 by the Aga Khan, businessman André Ardoin, San Pellegrino mineral water mogul Giuseppe Kerry Mentasti and pasta king Luigi Vietti. The new clubhouse that debuted in 2002 was designed by New York architect Peter Marino, whose client list includes Chanel, LVMH, and other stylish brands. The new club is elegantly simple—all yachty blue and white, with a double staircase that frames the colorful burgees of the world’s great yacht clubs.

An aerial view of Cala di Volpi. The Aga Khan wanted it to resemble a fishing village crafted by native artisans. (Click image to enlarge)

The centerpiece of the blue-and-white tile foyer is the model of Ma Destriero, the jet-powered boat that made the Atlantic cross speed record in 1992 in 58 hours, 54 minutes, 50 seconds. The Aga Khan’s own jet-powered Shergar is berthed at Dock A in front of the club. Mentasti’s legendary sailing ship Southern Cross is also berthed there. In season, you can see them all from the vast pool terrace at parties celebrating yacht races and debuts for the newest boats.

The Hotel Cala di Volpe’s private beach. In the afternoon, it becomes the site of “umbrella hopping,” when yacht owners come ashore to check out their floating neighbors. (Click image to enlarge)

After our stroll, we have a 10 p.m. reservation to dine on the rustic patio of the Hotel Cervo restaurant, which has a panoramic view of the moonlit marina and superb seafood cuisine à la Sarde. Another night, we go for sushi at Pepero Club, a hotspot that is open only one month a year—in August. Our yacht broker, the lion-maned, Ferretti-skirted Anna Maria Minoldo, introduces us to Gianni, the proprietor, a man with the hooded opaque gaze common to seasoned nightclub managers. He shows us to our table, which is adjacent to a large birthday celebration. The birthday boy is Muammar al-Qaddafi’s son. A small combo plays and gorgeous vacant-eyed Russian girls in pastel marabou minis sway alone on the floor—the disco downstairs doesn’t heat up until 2 a.m.

Next stop is the Billionaire Club, the “it” spot from midnight till dawn that’s owned by Flavio Briatore, former head of the Benetton Formula One racing team. You can easily drop $7,000 on after-dinner magnums of Moët for yourself and a tableful of friends. They will have it perfectly chilled for you if your concierge orders it ahead, a recommended tactic to assure your table. (On this small island, cash is king, and international guests come prepared with plenty since credit card acceptance tends to be unpredictable.)Though the harbors in Sardinia are no more than 20 minutes apart, each has its own personality. Porto Cervo is Establishment Elegant. Portisco, one of the newest marinas, attracts the sporty set, like downhill ski champ Alberto Tomba, who has a villa here. If you like racing sailboats or speedboats, this is the spot for you. There was nothing quiet about the Abbate Offshore Power Boat Races, an event hosted by boat builder Bruno Abbate; the weeklong party is for clients who want, or require for reasons of commerce, the fastest Cigarette boats. Russian Standard vodka magnate Roustam Tariko, who bought a boat from Abbate and then the villa in Sardinia to go with it, provided a flying squad of greyhound-sleek 6-foot-tall, silver mini-skirted blondes to keep the glasses full. Abbate boats have wild cosmic graphics of stars and planets and “trunks” that pop up to reveal matched Ski-Doos worthy of Dr. Evil’s minions. Long tables were set up in the Piazzetta of Portisco along with a rock band. There was dancing in the streets by all—inside and outside the ropes. When in town, Donatella Versace and Madonna just call Bruno to borrow his toys. You can’t get them in the U. S.

The dashing black-and-tan 44-foot Rivarama that blends retro design with state-of-the-art comforts. (Click image to enlarge)

Portisco is also the summer base of the new Sail Academy, a consortium that transports America’s Cup boats Kanza, Moro di Venizia and Mighty Mary here to create the world’s ultimate sailing school. A day of match-racing with them was one of the most exciting racing experiences I’ve ever had. As we practiced starts and wrestled through tacking duels, the boats made a din groaning and screaming against their technical tolerances and barely avoiding scraping paint around the marks. At the helms were Italian racing greats Gabriele Bassetti and Andrea Henriquet, and—this being Italy—the female half of the student crew manned the grinders in bikini bras and jewelry that sparkled in the Sardinian sun.

Whether you’ve spent your day on the beach, on the aft deck or rounding the marks, the best way to meet the midnight hour is ensconced deep in a white sofa on the breezy terrace at the Pontile Bar of the Hotel Cala di Volpe, a coupe of champagne in hand. With the full moon spilling a puddle of gold around a skyline of yachts luminous in the milky white light, their rigging strung with twinkling lights, you are in yacht heaven…Italian style.

RESOURCES

Anna Maria Minoldo
SNO Yachts
+39.0789.91135
www.yachtworld.com/snoyachts

Francesca Casarola
Nautica Casarola (Riva/Apreamare dealer in Costa Smeralda)
+39.0789.53060

Alberto Perrone Da Zara
Ferretti Group USA
954.525.4550

Yacht Club Costa Smeralda
+39.0789.902200
www.yccs.it

Hotel Cala di Volpe
+39.0789.976.111
www.luxurycollection.com

Billionaire Club
+39.348.412.5411

Coppa America
Costa Smeralda at Sail Academy
+39.010.25.14.745 (Genoa)