Building a new mega yacht

So Jen has been writing all of our blog-spots while I have been the back-ground editor. For sure, she has been providing the details, insights and updates while I just pointed out if she had a comma out of place or a run-on sentence. She said it was my turn to update our friends with some new information.

Since our last post, the past few weeks have been mainly spent performing paperwork, planning and organizing emergency and safety protocol and testing the yachts technical systems with the Captains and the Benetti build team.

Benetti has been building boats for over 140 years (they just had a huge party to celebrate this big event) and have an excellent organization in how they manage and communicate with the Captain and crew throughout this process.

We have several Benetti supervisors in charge of various areas on our boat. There is the Benetti Captain (Commandante) who ensures all systems meet Benetti and RINA (Royal Italian Naval Association) expectations. He and our Captain are connected at the hip as you would expect. He's on the ship all day, everyday.

There is an electrical, a mechanical and a deck supervisor who each have the responsibility for specific ship systems. They not only ensure the system is built and installed properly but they must also teach the new crew on how to use and maintain the numerous systems.

Jen has been with the supervisors regarding all of the galley equipment, dumb waiter (yes, dumb waiter, there are four decks and all have a table for eating), refrigeration system, garbage disposal, fine China protection, etc. One of Jen's emergency jobs (among others) is to muster at the electronic control panel at the bridge in the event of a fire. Jen had to learn how to turn the fire pump on and off (off is just as important as on on a boat so you don't sink yourself while putting out a fire) and how to turn the different valves to provide water to the pumps.

As the bosun of the boat, I've been learning the ship's anchoring system, passerellle (for boarding from the stern), external lighting (deck, search, emergency lights, etc.) , antennas, electronic awnings, Jacuzzi (my fave), emergency fast-rescue boat launching procedures, fire system (I am on the fire team and will go into a blaze if we are on fire) and fire protection equipment. I am also responsible for the yachts tender that is stowed in the garage. Of course, I have been also prepping to begin cleaning, buffing and waxing the mother ship which will, undoubtedly, take most of my time.

Throughout all of this, the Benetti supervisors have been hand-in-hand with each of us. It has been a real treat to learn directly from them. Though they are Italian, each of them speak pretty good English. They are endless in their efforts of ensuring we understand and are comfortable with the equipment and systems. You hear things like, "I am happy to review again", or "I am happy if you are happy". They are fantastic people and we will miss their knowledge and their friendship when we eventually depart.

Oh yeah, they are all bald. Well...not all of them...one of them has enough hair for all the other supervisors but otherwise they have no hair. Even other Benetti supervisors who come aboard our boat to help from time to time have no hair. Needless to say, I feel a kindred spirit with them....;) And, three of them have the same name!

Our Benetti build captains looking on as Matt and Mary test the new tender.

Time is winding down, already, on our land-base here in Viareggio. The current schedule for the boat and the Benetti yacht-build team is to hand over the ship's keys to the captain and owner on about October 30th. This means we must move out of our little apartments and into our, even smaller, crew quarters.

Though Jen and I have both lived in very small quarters previously when living on a boat (our 33 foot sailboat was quite comfortable but would only be considered big to a midget or maybe a Pygmy) we are both very much looking forward to moving aboard the boat. We've cut-out, down-sized and reduced our clothing, shoes and personal items so we can fit everything into our new living space and we still have no idea how we will fit everything. Nonetheless, this is truly not an issue and has been an age-old seafaring problem of how and where to stow all of your gear. Its amazing how you find a place for everything. It might take you an hour to back to it once its stowed and it might be wrinkled, but at least it's on the boat.

We will cruise the southern Med over early November getting to know the boat. We will update everyone once we know our schedules as we get deeper into the fall.

We love and miss everyone and hope everything is going great.

ah, finally a blog update!

Everyone's been asking, when are you gonna update the blog? We think about it daily but things have been a bit hectic the last month, since officially starting work Sept 1. So many things to share, so much going on, so little time to sit down and knock out a simple blog post!

But finally... It's Saturday morning, I'm sitting in our apartment on this cool autumn morning with a lovely cappuccino listening to the swarm of teenagers outside leisurely strolling to school for the 8AM bell. Yes, kids go to school on Saturday here! Well, just until 1pm. The typical Italian school day is six days a week 8am-1pm-ish.

Well, the yacht is nearing completion. Marble being laid, carpets going in, the final touches and detailing are happening in every nook and cranny. We had our second sea trial this past week. Everything is working, and extremely smoothly at that. (Always a good thing on a new boat, any boat.) She really handles great. We love sea trial days because we get to leave the harbor and cruise up the Ligurian coast, with 15-20 Benetti guys aboard who do all the work, and get awesome views of the marble mountains and Cinque Terra. The water here is an incredible shade of turquoise, not unlike the Bahamas. This is not true at the beach or in the yacht basin, the water is brown. They say it's because of the marble-mining run off. So it's such a treat to get out on the water.

The new boat is scheduled for final delivery to the owners at the end of October. A mere four weeks away. In the next month, we have to get the boat ready for the owners who arrive October 28, and who will be aboard for three weeks. We will sail the Mediterranean for those three weeks, further testing all the yacht's systems and general life-aboard. Getting the boat ready means getting it outfitted and provisioned up, not to mention learning the boat inside and out and all its intricate systems that keep it running smoothly. We also have to move out of our apartment, which at the moment is a bit like a storage unit for all the stuff that we've already bought to put on the boat! Plates, glasses, wine, linens, towels, wine, pots and pans, tools, wine, standup paddle boards, bikes, wine.

Dolphins bring out the same excitement no matter where in the World you are!
The sea trial is also a treat for the workers who spend most of their days
buried in the deep bowels of building this mega yacht.

A panoramic view of the upper deck and the Viareggio coast.

Jen's new "office" window.  The state-of-the-art galley (aka kitchen) has a beautiful porthole above the sink, with a new view everyday.

Below, dropping anchor in the middle of the sea as we test the ship's dual anchoring system. As bosun, this is Matt's new office view!

We aren't in Deltaville anymore, Toto

Rooftop view from our apartment in Viareggio

When the church bell ring a block away (you can see the belltower in the background), it's a lovely reminder that we, indeed, are in Italy. Doves coo as they rest on the antennas and in the aluminium chimney pipes, seagulls squawk overhead, the constant buzz of scooters passing by, and colorful Italian fill our ears from the surrounding windows.  Yes, honey, we definitely aren't in Deltaville anymore. 

We are all settled in our apartment...on Machiavelli Street. We're two blocks from the beach with a music and archaeological museum, and a new park, across the street. Everything and anything you could possibly need is within a few block radius. Including the shipyard, so we can walk to work in a matter of ten minutes. 

The beaches here are all owned by the city, and you have to pay to use it. Colorful umbrellas line the coast line for hundreds of miles. Each color signifies a different beach club, which the clubs are privately owned. For 5-10 Euros (about $6.50-$13) per person you get a lounge chair and umbrella for the day. There are very few public beach areas and they are really small and cramped. The beach clubs are the way to go. Lifeguards tend the chairs and umbrellas and you, they even manicure the sand. Not a bad deal.  

The museum across the street from our house is free, and has weekly concerts in the summer. Two nights ago we heard harp and bagpipes echoing from the building, which by the way is one of Viareggio's oldest structures. We strolled in and found a seat and listened to a beautiful array of Celtic, American, Italian, Spanish and Scottish music. They even belted out a rendition of Yankee Doodle Dandy and mentioned Virginia. Right on!! (Matt leaned over to the man next to him and said 'we are from Virginia!') We may be miles from home, but times like that make you realize how small the World is. 

On Wednesday evening we were eating at the corner trattoria, some of the best thin crust pizza around, and opera music was wafting in the streets. After dinner we walked across to the museum to see what was going on and found a man and woman practicing for an upcoming local opera. We stood 15 feet from them. Moving... is all I can say. 

Below is our apartment building, the tall one in the middle. We have two units, the top floor and the lower floor. One is for us and the other for the captain and engineer. The middle unit rented to other yachties. In the coming weeks we'll post more photos of the neighborhood, the beach and the town. For now...ciao! xox

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.