The quest for speed leads owners to Bassani, whose "Wally" yachts weigh half as much as equivalent cruisers.
Bassani's designs are never tame, and the 325-foot Wally Island won't remind anyone of a standard luxury cruiser.
"There were a lot of nightmares, not only in the first boat but for the following eight years, " Bassani acknowledges.
Bassani now has under construction three boats longer than 120 feet, including a 148-footer designed by naval architect William Tripp.
Bassani says he came up with the idea of a floating island after examining other megayachts and finding them lacking.
Bassani's customers are fiercely loyal, striding proudly around the docks after a race in gray Wally polo shirts with matching shorts.
Blasting around a bright yellow inflatable marker off Sardinia's rugged northeast coast in an 88-foot yacht named Tiketitan, Luca Bassani ordered his crew to set the boat's spinnaker.
Inside the three-story deckhouse near the stern, Bassani figures, there will be a 2, 100-square-foot owner's cabin plus six big guest suites, each with sitting room, bedroom and bath.
"Personally I find it a bit silly to have such a big boat and drive it into the harbor, " says Bassani, whose past yachts have been designed for maximum curb appeal.
Bassani's 105-foot Wallygator, launched in 1994, was a two-masted showpiece for experimental technology that included electronic sail controls, touch-screen navigation and swiveling propeller units that could be retracted into the hull.
That's the concept behind Wally Island, the latest design from Wally Yachts founder Luca Bassani, who revolutionized luxury yachts with a new generation of carbon-fiber, highly mechanized sailboats that have developed a cult following among Europe's rich ( FORBES, Feb. 27).
That's the concept behind Wally Island, the latest design from Wally Yachts founder Luca Bassani, who revolutionized luxury yachts with a new generation of carbon-fiber, highly mechanized sailboats that have developed a cult following among Europe's rich ( FORBES ASIA, Feb. 27).
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