maritime matters

Top 25

01

Best for bespoke

Permare

06

Turkey is becoming a new hub for the yacht

industry (see page 96), which is partly down
to the new marinas being built along the
Mediterranean coast. D-Marin Marinas Group
has tapped into this market and beyond.
The company, established in 2003, began
by designing and building the Turgutreis Marina
20km from Bodrum. Since then D-Marin has
built a further 10 marinas, three of which are in
its home country; the rest are spread between
Greece, Croatia and Montenegro. adc
d-marin.com

Permare Group was founded

by former mechanic Fernando
Amerio in 1973 as a nauticalservices company. Now
second-generation co-owner
Barbara Amerio manages
the Sanremo-based firm by
looking to markets such as
Monaco and France, as well
as Singapore and Malaysia.
Permares custom-made
boats are so unique that
only three are made each
year: innovation is coming
from research into new
propulsion technology for
superyachts in collaboration
with Volvo Penta, as well as
hybrid-fuelled versions of the
brands past models. chr
gruppopermare.it

Nautical
and nice
Global
Preface
From superyachts and floating saunas to
Tasmanian shipping businesses and the
bagni of Italy, we sail the seven seas in
search of the worlds most impactful and
impressive ocean-going undertakings.
editor
Matt Alagiah

03

Smartest runabouts
Global

01 Comitti, Italy: This

Lombardy stalwart makes
classic speedboats on
the shores of Lake Como.
Models include the new
Venezia 25 Classic,
which has a cruising
speed of 30 knots.
comittigroup.com

03 Jakobstads Btvarv,
Finland: This is Finlands
oldest active wooden
boatyard. Master
builder Jan Backman
turns Finnish pine into
understated vessels such
as the JB Snipa. jwa
jakobstadsbatvarv.multi.fi

Best for interiors

Daniel Georgus
When it comes to teak deck
boards and moulded timber
panels, few specialists are
as experienced as Daniel
Georgus. The Bremen-based
company was established in
1925 and is now run by thirdgeneration Martina Georgus.
Creating wood panels for
interiors and adding deck
boards to the exterior surfaces
are crafts that take years to
perfect. Martina works with
a team of six employees, of
which only three are trained
to perform the handiwork.
The companys expertise can
be spied on the waves of the
Baltic Sea, the North Sea and
the German lakes. mag
georgus.de

Whether skipping across

the surface of Lake Geneva
or bobbing on the Cte
dAzurs turquoise waters,
runabouts (small motorboats)
are the ultimate holiday craft.

02 Boesch, Switzerland:
The Lake Zrich-based
maker creates crafts
that combine old-school
aesthetics with new-age
power as seen in the
620 Acapulco de Luxe.
boesch-boats.ch

04

Sailboat survivor
Vilm Yachts
When Wolfgang Lenz co-founded his docks
in 1948 on Rgen Island, the German
Democratic Republic was not yet born.
During the second half of the 20th century
Vilm yachts were sought after but werent
actually available in the GDR. Now they are
sturdy vessels made for the Baltic and North
Seas. Their high price and limited interior
space mean they arent suitable for chartering.
The people who buy our yachts are never
first-time buyers, says Matthias Lenz. kk
vilm-yacht.de

086 issue 94 BOATS AND COAST SURVEY

05

07

Carla Demaria
President of Monte
Carlo Yachts and
Ucina

Best for stripping

and dipping
Top Italian bagni

Monte Carlo Yachts was

established by Bnteau
Group in 2008 to fill a gap
in the groups offering of
mid-range to high-end
yachts. Demaria has been
president since the companys
beginning and is also
president of the Italian marineindustry association Ucina.
Q: How do you assess the
state of the industry?
A: Monte Carlo Yachts has
only been on the market
since 2010. We knew from
the start that we had to be
global and present in all
markets to succeed. In the
past few years Southeast
Asia has been a strong
market. Brazil is doing
less well weve seen a
pronounced sales contraction
there in the past two years.

PHOTOGRAPHERS: GAIA CAMBIAGGI, ENVER HIRSCH, LUIGI FIANO

IMAGES: NICO KRAUSS, ILLUSTRATOR: MATTHEW COOK

02

Marina-builder to watch
D-Marin

Q: What are some of the key

trends that youre aware of?
A: Compared to before
the financial crisis of 2008,
customers are much savvier.
Yacht manufacturers have
one tenth of the clients they
used to but those clients
know what they want. For us
that means being dynamic,
proactive and efficient enough
to respond to their desires.
Q: What are you excited
about this year?
A: We will be launching an
80ft (23-metre) yacht this
summer called the MCY 80,
which will fit between two
models already in the range:
the MCY 76 and the MCY 86.
Look out for a few exciting
new design features. mal
montecarloyachts.it

For Italians, summer means

sand, sea and a beachfront
lounge chair near a restaurant.
Since the countrys postwar
boom, when vacationing
became accessible to the
masses, bagni the Italian
beach-club institutions
that cram the peninsulas
coastlines have defined
relaxation for the country
with sailor-striped parasols,
matching beach chairs and
essential services (espresso,
lunch, aperitivo) against a
Mediterranean backdrop.
Set on a charcoal-coloured
sliver of sand in Liguria,
Bagni Mignon looks as
seaworthy as a sailing ship,
with a wood-panelled interior
and a towering mast on its
outdoor terrace, where rows
of blue-and-white changing
cabins face the waters of Baia
delle Favole. The tiny beach
club was built for charm not
size, and retains its 1950s
ambience. A team from
nearby Portofinos luxurious
Hotel Splendido ensures that
Bagni Mignon is a diners
destination too, with Ligurian

specialities such as trofie

pasta and chickpea farinata
rendered beautifully. lr
Italys best bagni
01 Eco del Mare is on a
secluded alcove of the
Bay of Poets, not far
from Bagni Mignon.
02 Kursaal Village was
designed in the 1950s
in Ostia, Rome, by two
architects, including
Pierluigi Nervi, who
brought his concrete
forms to the beach.
03 Located in Tuscanys
Forte dei Marmi, one of
the countrys first beachholiday destinations, the
Augustus Hotel evokes
classic bagni style.

08

Quirkiest concept
Wasauna
The purpose is to create a place of refuge,
to give people a new perspective on their
city, says Jon Gentry, who co-founded
Seattle-based architecture firm goCstudio
with Aime OCarroll.
The Wasauna suits Seattle, with its long
winters and vast expanses of water. The
hotbox can accommodate six people and
was created to float on the surface of Seattles
Washington Lake year round. Its heated by
an internal wood-burning stove. ni
gocstudio.com

BOATS AND COAST SURVEY issue 94 087

briefing
Food

Coalesce
is more
Global

San Francisco round-up

USA
Expect a clever riff on informal
counter-top service at newly
opened Little Gem, a 78-cover
caf in the Hayes Valley district
of central San Francisco.
Plates (including slow-roasted
pork shoulder with beetroot
marmalade) could easily grace
the tables of a swankier joint
but this is all about a laidback
approach. Linger for coffee at
the sun-drenched wooden tables
or pair your food with a woody,
Napa-made chardonnay.
Across town The Perennial
trades on its charming staff and
lively open kitchen. The large
dining room is the heart of this
homey South of Market haunt,
where chefs create northern
Californian dishes including a
tangy pumpkin-seed bisque with
crisped Jerusalem artichoke. The
trout fillet with bone-marrow broth
is also a winner.
For drinks head to Caf
du Nord, built in 1907 as a
Scandinavian hang-out and
recently renovated. Its geometric
carpets and leather stools nod
to the past but the cocktail menu
is pleasantly forward-looking;
oysters and champagne are
served till late. mdb

Preface
This months culinary spree
includes a Tokyo carpenter
50
turned coffee roaster, Tt
a French
grocer with a literary history and a
Japanese deli backed by a fashion
label. With all these creative
crossovers, its good to know that
Italians still make the best gelato.

Vinitaly
Verona
April in Verona means Vinitaly,
the largest wine fair in the world
and backdrop to the deals that
make Italy the worlds biggest
wine exporter. Its no mistake that
wine made in Veneto amarone,
valpolicella and prosecco
accounts for the biggest share
of Italys exports, at 500 million
bottles a year.
The mood at the 50th edition
of the fair was bullish, boosted
by a record 4,100 exhibitors and
130,000 wine professionals, with
a third of visitors making the
trip from abroad. Near-perfect
growing conditions made 2015 a
stand-out year, while 2014 exports
were up 5.4 per cent because of
US demand. Expansion into some
unexpected territories also helped,
with inroads made into China and
even France. lr
vinitaly.com
Gelateria Profumo
Genoa
Genoas historic centre abounds
with Renaissance palazzos but in
its labyrinthine alleyways youll find
treats for the palate too. Gelateria
Profumo is staffed by the same
family who run Villa dal 1827 one
of the citys best known pastry
shops and its renown has grown
steadily since it opened in 2006.
Within the appropriately pistachiohued interior youll find flavours
such as candied chinotto, made
using flakes of bitter myrtle-tree
oranges from nearby Savona. ic
villa1827.it

Three San Francisco picks:

01 Caf du Nord Try the Pioneer
Race Course: bourbon, Swedish
Punsch, mint and lemon.
cafedunord.com
02 Little Gem Dont miss the
house-cured salmon with crispy
potato cakes.
littlegem.restaurantu

3
Cityshop Express
Tokyo
Japanese fashion retailer
Baycrews teamed up with Yuichi
Yoshii, owner of popular Tokyo
caf Pariya, to open Cityshop.
The delicatessen in Tokyos trendy
Aoyama district was conceived
by Tokyo-based design firm Jamo
Associates, who installed hardy
tiled floors and stone tabletops.
The three salads available all
year round are boosted by 15
seasonal offerings that make the
most of the delis range of fresh
vegetables, fish and meat. Firm
favourites include fruit-and-mint
granola, spelt-and-mushroom
risotto and roasted salmon in
honey and mustard.
One post-prandial pleasure
involves perusing the upstairs retail
space, where youll find plenty of
goodies from a variety of Japanese
brands, including Hyke. jt
cityshop.tokyo

000 issue 94

Epicerie lIdal
Marseille
Instead of writing about produce
I wanted to talk to people about
the products directly, says food
writer Julia Sammut, who always
dreamt of opening a grocery shop.
Converted by interior design firm
Honor, Epicerie lIdal opened in
April and is decked out with finds
from flea markets, blue lava-stone
tiles and willow lamps beside the
granite pantry. The tins and jars
that line the shop are filled with
sauces and compotes for sale,
alongside Tuscan pastas from
the Fabri Family.
Italian flavours dominate
but Sammut has also selected
products including Nagagold rice
from Thailand, fresh butter from
Savoie and pastrami from Maison
David. Chef Aurlien Baron rustles
up sandwiches and salads for
peckish passers-by. dhz
epicerielideal.com

PHOTOGRAPHERS: HAYATO NOGE, KOHEI TAKE, GAIA CAMBIAGGI, ANDREA WYNER

IMAGES: J OPPENHEIM, CHARLIE VILLYARD, AI SUGINO, ALANNA HALE

03 The Perennial The Kernzawheat bread is worth a nibble.

theperennialsf.com
Fish School
Hong Kong
Chefs new to Hong Kong often
call on David Lai for pointers
about the citys best seafood
or how to net the best from the
citys many wet markets. Now
Lai is working with restaurateur
Yenn Wong to share his extensive
piscatorial knowledge with diners
and culinary students at Fish
School, a new berth that opened
in late 2015 in the boisterous Sai
Ying Pun neighbourhood.
Live eels swim in tanks behind
the open-counter kitchen, while
waiters wearing pressed white
coats diligently explain the
daily menu chalked up on the
blackboard. Threadfin, spotted
knifejaw and star snapper all
feature in a repertoire where the
taste does the talking. Plates are
fuss free and the catch of the day
is always served whole. jch
fishschool.hk

Onibus Coffee
Tokyo
Former carpenter Atsushi Sakao
(pictured) got hooked on the bean
while backpacking in Australia
and opened his first coffee shop
in 2012, overlooking a park behind
Nakameguro Station. He takes a
hands-on approach, from visiting
farmers to roasting beans and
preparing coffee. Take your coffee
outside or enjoy a view of cherry
blossoms from upstairs while also
sampling Sakaos homemade
wagashi confections. jt
onibuscoffee.com
East London Food
Hoxton Mini Press
A chronicle of east Londons
achingly modish food scene could
have been twee but Hoxton Mini
Presss new title treads a tasteful
line. Residents will know most of
the places here but the books
charm lies in the playful eye of
photographer Helen Cathcart. Yes,
its brimming with beardy foragers,
apiarists and bakers but theres
also space for institutions that have
plied their trade here for decades.
A funny, honest portrait of this
cheerful corner of London. jaf
hoxtonminipress.com

issue 94 000