If she were a car,Elseawould be the love
child of a Porsche 911 Carrera and a
Bentley Mulsanne – streamlined in
appearance and regal in her dimensions
and depth of luxury. From water misters
on the upper deck and a refrigerator for
cooling sunscreen, to heated marble
floors and soft silk and wool carpets,
Elseais 164ft of unabashed hedonism.
And the team behind her would not have
it any other way.
Cerri Cantieri Navali was founded in
1997 by entrepreneur Carlo Cerri of
Milan, and the boutique yard has built its
reputation on semi-custom yachts that
combine sleek looks, large exterior spaces
and speed. In 2011, CCN became part of
the Gavio Group, which now
encompasses Baglietto and Bertram.
The all-aluminumElseais the first of
the Fuoriserie line, which translates as
“off series”, or bespoke. It is a new venturefor the yard, which is located within sight
of the marble hills above Carrara, but
one that is likely to continue. “Our
capability at the moment is to deliver
three, four boats a year in the range
between 30 and 50 meters in length,”
CCN’s CEO, Diego Deprati, says. “Now
our focus is to follow strictly the wishes of
clients who are more and more trying to
match their own personality with their
lifestyle at sea; a very small production
and very high quality products.”
Elseabuilds upon the yard’s history but
takes it further. Naval architecture and
styling is by Studio Bacigalupo with input
from Giorgio Vafiadis, the firm that
created the interior design. The yacht’s
fluid lines are a bit of visual trickery:Elsea
is a big yacht, just shy of 500 gross tonnes,
but making it look like a lean, mean
machine was not the only task. “The
owner wanted speed, open space and
luxurious materials,” says Alessandro
Balzi, the yard’s project manager. “The
weight is a very big element. He wanted a
lot of onyx and marble inside, decorative
elements, so we had to counterbalance
with a lot of weight saving measures.”
Herein lay the main challenge for the
yard, to achieve the contractual speed of
28 knots. CNN hit the target:Elsea
exceeded 30 knots lightship in sea trials.
Cruising comfortably at 23 knots with
engines at 80 per cent,Elseahandles like
a giant jet ski, thanks to triple jets, triple
2000 series MTUs and optional joystick.
“It is fast and it’s great fun,” the captain
says. “This is my first jet craft. Now I can
see the merit; it is very responsive and
very maneuverable,” he says. “It is also an
extremely comfortable ride. We have not
been in very big seas yet, but when we left
the Monaco boat show, we must have had
two to three foot chop, and it all just
disappears in front of us.”
Lacking no gizmo, the yacht has an
auto-positioning feature, which works in
conjunction with the bow thruster andtwo gyrostabilizers. “It is not an actual
dynamic positioning system, but it is very
similar to it,” the captain says. Several
modes (sea, harbor, auto and manual)
allow the captain to maneuver the boat
with the joystick or hold a specific
heading, and proves handy for holding
position at a bridge or harbor entrance.
Where most open-style yachts have a
flybridge,Elseahas in effect an extra deck,
with commanding headroom. In addition
to the bridge and a movie theater, it
combines open air and private enclosed
spaces. “The wonderful thing about that
aft deck is that it’s extremely private, even
when you are in port, because the
bulwarks are quite high and the sunpad at
the back is raised. Even the boats next
door can’t see into the enclosed space. So
you can relax there without the prying
eyes of the world,” the captain says.
From cushy sunpads aft, guests can
cool off in an 800 gallon spa pool with
waterfall. Forward is an open-air salon
under a skylight in photochromatic
glass. “Now it is fading the light for
better comfort but it can be transparent,”
Balzi says as we tour the yacht on a
sunny day. “There is a curtain of water
misters to cool the area and it can also
be refreshed with a fan coil.”
Here there are also two bars and two of
the 26 television screens on board. A DJ
station and karaoke machine are part of
the entertainment system designed by
Videoworks. Special jacks in all external
areas allow the party to move. “The exact
amount of wattage, I am not sure, but it is
an incredible amount,” the captain says.
“The music and the audiovisual set-up, it
is absolutely top of the line.”
When alone at anchor in a pristine bay,
or among friends, the 480 square feet
lounge on the bow is another invitingElsea handles like a giant jet ski, thanks to triple jets, triple 2000 series
MTUs and optional joystick. “It is fast and it’s great fun”
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