Yachting World - July 2018

18

ON THE WIND

illy Persico, the founder of Southern

Wind Shipyard, died in April. Persico,

from a notable Neapolitan family, was a

chemical engineer by training, and in the 1970s

built up a crude oil procurement division for SIR, a

large petrochemical group, before leaving in 1970

to become partner and VP of Cameli Petroli.

His love of ship- and boatbuilding was in

the family – his father had been the manager

of a Naples shipyard. So when the Cameli

Group bought Rodriguez Shipyard in Messina,

a company that specialised in fast ferries and

hydrofoils, Persico was made president.

The same year, he commissioned a 72ft yacht

from designer Ron Holland, which was built by

a small yard in Cape Town. When the building

company went bust, Persico decided to buy it and

renamed the yard Southern Wind Shipyard, and in

1993 left the Cameli Group to focus on it.

“It was a crazy decision to set up a shipyard in

Africa then, when Mandela was just out of prison.

But I took the chance and [today] we are the only

shipyard in Africa building luxurious cruising

yachts,” he told us in 2016.

Over the intervening 25 years, the yard

expanded enormously and now builds around 50

yachts of between 72ft and 110ft each year.

Persico’s dedication to the company and

owners of his yacht made him a popular, even

revered, figurehead for the company and brand

he created. “In future my team will become the

shareholders in the company to continue my

way to build boats... or maybe their way to build

boats,” he said.

Multihull special

The market is booming, with

clutches of exciting designs that

will challenge the thinking about

sailing on two hulls. In our 32-page

supplement Toby Hodges and Sam

Fortescue take a look at the new

boats unveiled at the International

Multihull Show this spring

Oyster around Antarctica

Polish skipper Mariusz Koper and

eight crew completed a 15,800-mile

circumnavigation of Antarctica this

spring, sailing an Oyster 72. Koper

tells their extraordinary story of

102 days at sea through the deep

Southern Ocean

Volvo Race showdown

As this edition of the Volvo Ocean

Race is drawing to a close, we look

back at the defining themes, the

winner’s strategies, and ask what’s

next for this epic race?

Tested: Saffier SE 37 Lounge

This new weekender looks like a

cross between an elegant yacht and

a sports coupé. Toby Hodges went

to her builders in The Netherlands

to see if he could get the hang of

this lounging around lark...

NEXT MONTH

has accumulated expertise in ultra-

lightweight carbon fibre reinforced

polymer, a material used to construct

BMW’s i3 and i8 vehicles and, since

2017, its lithium-ion batteries have been

adapted by Torqeedo for marine electric

drive systems.

Herrmann will be using the next

generation BMW lithium batteries, which

can hold greater charge for longer,

and could replace a diesel engine. A

hydrogenerator and electric motor would

provide the power needed for systems

including the canting keel.

“Emission-free round the world

under race conditions, whilst

simultaneously producing your own

energy, is an inspirational concept,”

says Boris Herrmann.

Herrmann will be racing Malizia

(pictured left), owned by Pierre Casiraghi,

the youngest son of Princess Caroline of

Monaco, and will race under the flag of

the Yacht Club de Monaco.

For its part, the IMOCA class has

altered its rules to encourage the use

of natural energy. Previously, yachts

were measured for stability including

solar panels and wind generators,

but not with fuel stores, effectively

penalising alternative power sources. The

revised rule should encourage the next

generation of designs to move away from

diesel power.

Torqeedo team up for clean power BMW

Willy Persico 1939-

Southern Wind

Shipyard founder

Willy Persico

Torqeedo’s Deep

Blue electric

drive system

W

A zero emissions circumnavigation is
one of the aims of German sailor Boris
Herrmann, who plans to enter the 2020
Vendée Globe, and the technology to
make it happen is a step closer following a
new partnership with BMW and Torqeedo.
This is BMW’s first step back
into sailing since their America’s
Cup involvement with Oracle. It

ON THE WIND

Andreas Lindlahr