Superyacht
BUILT WITH SOUL
Mimi la Sardine, the new lux-pedition yacht from Cantiere delle Marche reflects the shipyard’s passion for building compelling explorer yachts blessed with character and personality.
Steve Chalmers
Every shipyard has a Vision. It’s normally a bold statement of intent that describes the company’s aspirations, meaning and purpose. For many, it is a somewhat generic presentation where ‘people, passion and team’ are guaranteed sound bites. Cantiere delle Marche’s vision proclaims ‘Everything starts with people’, and we believe the Italian shipyard completely, as we ended up joining them (and Nauta Yachts’ Mario Pedol) on a night out in Fort Lauderdale after one of the boat shows. Away from the regimented press conferences and stand formalities, your really get to know the people behind the yachts, and long story short, the CdM team are genuinely passionate about the yachts they produce, as its latest Nauta Air 110, Mimi la Sardine so eloquently proves.
THE NAUTA YACHTS CONNECTION
The fifth explorer in the Nauta Air range, Mimì la Sardine is 33.5 metres long, has a beam of 7.5 metres, and is blessed by the bold, clean and masculine lines created by Nauta Yachts’ Mario Pedol. With a track record that includes designing the world’s longest superyacht, Azzam, Pedol worked with Mimi’s Owner from the off, with elegance and space being the project keywords. The Owners also wanted the yacht to feel like a beach house, with close contact to the water a priority, again, not a problem for Pedol and his background in sailing yacht design.
But don’t let Mimi’s stylish appearance mislead you; she’s built tough and can tackle the most difficult sea conditions without breaking her stride. Safe, strong and reliable, Mimi is designed for long expeditions, with well thought out technical facilities to make it easier for the crew to maintain the yacht on extended journeys.
CdM turned to another of the marine industry’s passionistas for its hull design, bringing Sergio Cutolo and his Hydro Tec team on board to create Mimi’s ultra-seaworthy hull. Like all other CdM yachts, the 110’s hull is made of steel while the superstructure is made of lighter aluminum. Performance wise, her maximum speed is 13.5 knots and thanks to her 48,000 litre fuel tanks and twin Cat18 Acert engines, she has a range of 5,500 nautical miles cruising at an economical speed of 9 knots.
THE ITALIAN CONNECTION
Nauta Yachts also designed Mimi’s interior spaces, with the dynamic duo of Pedol and Massimo Gino mixing stylistic grace with CdM’s technical expertise. Again, the Owners were involved from the start, and together with the creative teams, they tailored the yacht to their own tastes and lifestyle needs. “Since the first meeting, the Owner created a Pinterest board, where we started sharing ideas and receiving incredibly precise inputs,” commented Filippo Bevilacqua of CdM’s interior design department. “It has been a pleasure working like this and surely another step ahead for everybody, both at Nauta and CdM.”
The result of the three-way collaboration is an interior that is perfectly in tune with the exterior. A warm, relaxing ambience both in social and private areas greets both the Owners and their guests, with onboard spaces designed to relax and cosset. The dominant material is oakwood, both natural and weathered, and the lush timber is used on all decks, creating a natural environment that is easy on the eye.
Wood is also used in the upper deck salon, with the timber dining table made by Riva1920 – the Italian craftsmen who have been carving classically styled solid wood furniture since 1920.
Keeping the furniture firmly Italian, the sofas in the main salon have been made by Flexform, who first opened its showroom the Brianza furniture manufacturing district in Northern Italy back in 1959. And just to complete the Italian connection, Baxter, B&B, Flos and Gervasoni supplied the loose furniture, sofas, coffee tables and lamps, while most of the upholstery was sourced from Loro Piana’s finest fabric. It’s this loyal attention to detail that gives CdM the right to truly describe itself as ‘Made in Italy’.
It’s all very natural inside the 110. The teams worked to create a grounded coherence, choosing flax, bamboo and hemp fabrics over silk or velvet. This is one extremely well thought out explorer.
THE INSIDE CONNECTION
The layout of the Nauta Air 110 is very similar to her predecessors, except the beach club is now enhanced by a hydraulic platform, and a wide staircase leads up to the main deck. Here, the cockpit features comfortable soft sofas and small tables – it’s all very intimate and cosy.
The state of peace and tranquility continues in the main salon, where sofas and armchairs made out of natural materials create the atmosphere of the Owner’s requested beach bungalow, and a coffee table in the form of a wooden frame serves as a platform for drinks and snacks.
Forward is the Owner’s cabin, which carries the earthy tones into the bedroom and bathroom. This organic elegance is everywhere – even the TV screen is decorated with wood paneling ¬– and it can be lowered into the cabinet when not in use.
The bathroom is finished with Bianco Galizia granite and in addition to the shower, a bath tub is located centrally. The overall ambience here is very much of a Finnish sauna, albeit with French blinds and plenty of Italian style.
Four guest cabins are located at the base of the amidships stairs. Two are VIP with double beds and a full-width bathrooms, with the other pair featuring twins with Pullmans. That’s sleeping space for 10 guests, and as with the main deck, down here, it’s timber all the way.
CONNECTION WITH THE OUTSIDE
Much attention has been paid to Mimì la Sardine’s open areas, which smoothly connect the yacht’s closed spaces. The upper deck aft houses the tender, but as soon as it is launched, the whole section serves as a large seating area, partially shaded by the overhang.
For the real outdoor experience, guests can head up top to the sun deck where a spa zone greets them aft. Here, you can relax on the sunpads, or head under the sundeck’s roof and grab a drink at the bar.
The sundeck isn’t the 110’s only sun trap though, as a large part of the foredeck has been assigned to sunbathing duties. It’s easy to chill out here under the sky with little in the way of disturbances –ideal for the Med’s stern-to marina berths.
| Mimi LA Sardine Specifications | |
|---|---|
| LOA: | 33.50m |
| Beam: | 7.50m |
| Draught: | 2.35m |
| Displacement (full load): | 290t |
| Engines: | 2x Caterpillar C18 Acert |
| Maximum speed: | 13.50 kn |
| Cruise speed: | 12 kn |
| Range: | 5,500Nm @ 9kn |
| Fuel capacity: | 48,000 ltr |
| Fresh water: | 6,000ltr |
| Guests: | 10 in 5 suites + 2 pullmans |
| Shipyard: | Cantiere delle Marche, Ancona, Italy |
CONCLUSION
Cantiere delle Marche doesn’t necessarily shout about the yachts it builds. If you’re a yachting enthusiast, you’ll know exactly how highly esteemed the shipyard’s collaborators are, from Sergio Cutolo to Mario Pedol and Massimo Gino, but CdM lets its yachts do the talking.
Mimì la Sardine is a remarkably well built, thought-out out and executed vessel. From her explorer looks to her ambient timber-lined interior spaces, she radiates quality. Add a tough hull that can take on any ocean and you have a real world-class yacht, built by genuinely passionate people.
