Boat International — January 2018

http://www.boatinternational.com | January 2018

PHOTOGRAPHY: BILLY BLACK; GETTY IMAGES

from Colorado, so we were thinking... we’re
getting a little older, it would be nice to have
somewhere warm to go in the winter,” Jack says.
“We thought about houses and where we would
buy and then I had this crazy idea of buying a boat
instead, so we could have a house that moves. But
first I had to make sure that Mary’s motion
sickness was cured, so we chartered a couple of
boats to test it out and, sure enough, she was fine.
So that’s when I went on my quest to get the
mobile house that would stay in warm places in
the winter time.”
Marcato and Jack’s love of toys are a match
made in heaven. They could even haul a floatplane
on to that big working deck forward, but haven’t
yet tried it out. “This is the only boat I’ve been
on this size that can carry a 32ft centre console,”
says Captain Halvorsen. “What’s so neat about
this deck is we’re so flexible. We’ve got the
WaveRunners, we’ve got mopeds, all the tenders

• even the first mate’s motorbike. We could even
  take a 20ft shipping container, which could be
  a mobile dive set-up, or movie editing studio,
  or research station. Not too many of these boats
  are going to let you put a shipping container
  on them.”
  It makes Marcato a fascinating charter
  prospect for the more expedition-minded
  customer. It’s definitely got the look – the hull
  remains unfaired, with just rolled paint over steel
  preferred to anything more high maintenance –
  which is backed up with a mighty 8,000 mile
  range and bulletproof technicals that were
  installed at the commercial Canadian shipyard
  where she was built. “There are redundancies for
  the redundancies,” says Jack. Her original owner
  wanted a boat he would feel safe taking around
  the world, and that’s what he did for several years.
  The guts of the boat largely remain unchanged
  from his time, since everything was still under
  manufacturer’s warranty when Jack and Mary
  bought her. She’s still pretty new to charter
  brochures, but she definitely makes a change
  from your average 43 metre. There’s plenty of
  volume – 491 gross tonnes – and she draws only
  2.3 metres, making her Bahamas-ready.
  Since she emerged fresh from Rybovich,
  Marcato hasn’t stopped cruising. She was in
  Bermuda for the America’s Cup, before crossing
  over to Newport. She later cruised under the
  Brooklyn Bridge into New York (see some of the
  photos on page 96 and more at instagram.com/
  mymarcato) and continued on down the coast to
  Fort Lauderdale.
  There are some big
  plans in the offing.

“Marcato could carry

a 20ft shipping

container, which could

be a mobile dive set-up,

or movie editing studio,

or research station”

Right: Marcato can

carry up to 12 guests

and seven crew, and

there’s even room

for the first mate’s

motorbike, below

QUICKFIRE

The McClurgs

SPEED OR STYLE

Jack: speed

Mary: style

CHEF OR CHAUFFEUR

Jack: chauffeur

Mary: chef

FIRST THING YOU PACK

Jack: socks

Mary: dresses

FIRST YACHTING MEMORY

Jack: the San Juan Islands

Mary: that ’s where we chartered

our first boat

FAVOURITE BEACH

Jack: definitely in the Bahamas

Mary: agree!

HOW MANY WATCHES

Jack: more than six

Mary: I have no idea

FAVOURITE CAR

Jack: oh my goodness... a 35ft

Ford Roadster

Mary:my Porsche Panamera 4S.

I’m a modern girl

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