I have just finished day two of a whirlwind Italian shipyard tour. The week was kicked off by the launch of the Pershing 108 on Monday. (The previous night, the launch was celebrated by an approximately 42-course dinner.)
But Monday was serious boating business. The day began at the Pershing shipyard, where Hull No 2 of the 108 (and of course other boats that were not the star of the event) was under construction.
I was surprised to learn how far from the Adriatic Sea the yard was. As here is where the testing is done:
The bow of the 115 hangs outside the tank, in fact.
But to get the yachts to the sea, special permissions must be granted as two teams operate under the cover of darkness to first disconnect and then reconnect the power supply to allow the trailored (sort of an understatement) yachts to pass.
By car, the journey takes 20 minutes. By boat, it takes 6 hours.
Weather unfortunately prevented the sea trial of the 108. But that just meant that we were well rested for our Tuesday our of Ferretti Custom Line and CRN in Ancona.
The yard was buzzing with activity though some of the buzz was just hints as to future projects. Try as I might, I was unable to crack the tight-lipped team. (Seriously, something big is happening and will be announced soon.)
In the photo above are the new Custom Line 124, the 97, and a CRN 128.
In a confusing bit of logic, the above 124 is Hull No. 1 but is the second 124 to be launched. The new 124 features fold-out balconies and was done in walnut with gray and white leather accents. Beautiful without detracting from any location she’s in.
A few other launches will be making headlines soon, so stay tuned. There are also three more days of shipyard tours!
