Miniature jewels: the small world of yacht models

Some say the happiest days of a yacht owner are usually the day of purchase and the day of sale. While this might be true for some, the emotional bond between owner and yacht is deeper. The passion for yachting and ownership are not always linked, allowing for different ways to participate. Shipwrights and boatbuilders,

What makes Sciarrelli designed boats stand out?

Carlo Sciarrelli designed yachts known for being balanced, easy on the helm and fast. As William Fife used to say, “A yacht of beautiful and sleek lines will invariably also be fast as well”. Carlo Sciarrelli embraced this principle. Many years ago during my search for a suitable boat to buy, a proud owner of

The making of Orion

I finally found the time to digitise and organise the original photos the previous owner took during the construction of Orion at the “Cantiere Alto Adriatico” shipyard. It is always something special and magical to see a timber boat taking shape from lumber, a process that in case of Orion spanned from 1999 to 2001.

Transfer before COVID-19 lockdown

Last winter Orion remained moored the full winter at her current slip in Izola, Slovenia. In the northern Adriatic during winter and early spring bora can blow hard, exceeding 80 knots or more for days. This is not a situation where boats can be left without supervision as fenders can be blown on deck or

How many steering wheels does your boat have?

When I purchased Orion somebody asked “How many steering wheels does this new boat of yours have?”. The quick amongst you will conclude that you can ask this question only if you do not know how a classic yacht looks like, what shape the hull has and so on. You can imagine this person’s disappointment

A cutter is just a boat with two jibs. Really?

While you might think so, it is actually not accurate. It is common to see people adding one stay between the mast and forestay to hoist one additional sail. This is done on cruising boats to have a smaller foresail to overcome the disadvantages of a partially furled genoa used as reefed sail. Does this

Sailing with 20kn apparent wind

A sunny day at beginning of 2019 season. While relaxing at anchor in Gulf of Trieste in complete absence of wind a nice breeze ENE started to blow. Within a few minutes a bora built up to more than 20 knots gusts. Main reefed with staysail pushing Orion past 7kn with reduced crew (only myself