THE BIG MOVE !

Our move to Italy, over a week ago, was quickly dwarfed by a larger move... Watching a new 121 foot-yacht being relocated from its construction shed to the travel-lift (places the boat in the water) by two little cars that look like Mars rovers operated by a man with a remote device around his neck - down the narrow Italian streets - at night - is nothing less than an astonishing.

Though a common scene in Viareggio, one of Italy's main boat building towns, even the locals come out to witness this spectacle. The move took approximately 2.5 hours, to go a distance equivalent of 3/4 mile. We followed the boat on foot with champagne and cameras in hand. 

The next morning the boat was splashed for the first time. Well, actually it was the second time...the first is was when it was towed around Italy's boot. All Benetti yacht superstructures, of this size, are fiberglass-molded at a facility on the East Coast then towed around by tugs to the Northwest Coast to the Viareggio shipyard where they are completed.

       

Before the yacht launched, there was the champagne christening. The owners got a quick lesson on how to swing the bottle so it would hit the bow juuuuust right. They got it perfect. 

     

The final ceremony of the launching was Saturday night when Benetti hosted a catered party with fire dancers, five-piece jazz band, another champagne-smashing on the bow, and a catholic priest blessing the vessel. I was on stage holding the rosary he blessed and presented to the owners... thought we might have to call the paramedics!

Below, Matt with our Mary (our engineer onboard) and one our Benetti's project managers.

The boat is in the water. One step closer to sailing. The next phase which will be the next couple of months is final construction of the interior, engine and systems testing, outfitting the boat, etc. The first series of sea-trials begin in September.