tren setter -...
TRANSCRIPT
Tren" setter
)
Lin ('s were Clst ofl, and Fran
C(,sco , th e capLain , was conn in g
o ur ship out o f th e harbor be
fore I had even unpacked the
LeSL gea r. After the rigors of ear
ly- morning a ir Lrave l, I was as
ready as an)'one to get o n th e
waLeI' , fo r it was a clear-blue a u-
1IIIIln d a),w ith th e az ure Me di
lerra nea n at its most a llurin g ,
and I had spen t a good co uple
o f h o urs th e previou s week in
,"Cst iga tin g the boaL's el'e ry
nook a nd cra nn ), with a ta pe
Ill easure a nd notebook. All thaL
rl'lllaincdwas to take her to sea.
IL was a n enL ic in g prospecL.
I his arca is o n c of Europe's
(I;t.,~ i c a nd cl ass iest cruisin g g ro unds. Th e Fre n c h Rivi e ra
II .\', put firml)' on th e post-war yac hting m a p b)' th e likes o f
\ 1 i'lot le Onassis and SLavros N iarc hos, whose s),ba riti c
I il .tli i("~ occas ionall y sLrayed towards th e bi za rre-whale
'( I III 11111 bar sLoo ls, an ),une?-whilc Bri g iLl e BardoL ,
' 1lllllill g hcrselfaboard h e r Riva of lSI. Trope/. , a lso did
IIOII(il- I' for th e a rea 's im age. It 's o nl )' about 6.') na uti ca l
111 tI( ·, II (1111 t he li es d ' II )'c res to th e Ita li a n border, but Lhe
loll of h ono l reads like a gaze ttee r of pos h yac h ti ng: SL.
Ibpll.lt"I , .\ lI lil )("" Ca p Fen'at, Vilkrran c he , Beau li e u , a nd
of ("Oll r,(' , \I o ll aco.
I"hl' illll ' l i()1 of the C.')2 is a n a ltoge th e r more l<\sLeful
cOIli"("ct io n Ih all e ith er ofLhose inram o us Creeks would
ha\'e apprecia ted . St'.,~;t o flers a c hoi ce o[ sL),ics, which g ivcs
yo u th e o ption ora chi c and modern inte rior o r a warm and
• •• 148 Power & Motoryacht April 2007
Iraditional one-or, o f coursc , a combin a ti o n o f'Lh e LWO.
The paneling can bc orwhitc lacqu e r or natural oak a nd
the uph o lstery whiLc o r bc igc leathcr. The ga lle)' s urraces
ca n bc brushe d sta in less stecl , as o n Illy tes t mode l, or nut
brow n marble, while s ilk fabri cs in th e s ta Lerooms ca n be
in e ith cr ye llows a nd creams or fiery reds and browns.
Th e nagship o f th e compan y's ran ge, Sessa's C.>J2 isa IVc ll
Lh o ug ht-o ut three-cabin boat with two h ead s, a n en suiLe
["or th e m aS \(' I ' cabin in the rorepeak an d a seco nd o n e
aillidships, se mi-e n suiLe wiLh thc portgucstcabin. The ac
cO Ill1lloda tion bclow d cc ks is a rran ged arouncl a ce nLra l
saloon a nd ga lley area , with a la rge din e ttc o n th e sta rbOMd
side a nclthe ga ll ey to po rt. Th c fo lding ta bl e is a n c lega ntl ),
s implc oak doubl e-l ea r d es ig n WiLh a nes te d pa ir or upho l
sLe red stools stowcd unde rnea th and he ld in place by a son
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A » The midships cabin has limited locker space, but it has access to the port head.
B » The berths in the twin cabin are set slightly lower, offering better sitting headroom.
C » The master cabin in the bow is roomy and light, with plenty of stowage space.
D » With the two stools that stow under the table, the saloon seats six for lunch.
April 2007 Power & Motoryacht 149 •••
o f e las Li caLedl eaLh e r ga rte r-using Lh ese, yo u could com
fOrl a bly seaL six o r maybe more. The ga ll ey is short, sLra ig hL,
a nd simple, wiLh bOLh hi gh and low cab ine ls, a sing le sink ,
anri a ce nLra l frid ge be low th e work\o p.
Up ro n~a rd , th e own e r 's cabin is a relaLi ve ly pa la Lial ar~
r ~ lir . I hadlhree fin ge rs ' clea rance ove r my h ead , o r a ro und
(j '2" head roo lll , plus Lhue was a quee n-size ce nLral be rth
a nd a h ead Lo sta rboard with a c ircul a r sh owe r sta ll. Th e
o wn e r is cl ea rl y ex pec Le d to go crui sin g, WiLh pl e nLY o r
s l()IVage prov id e d: a 4 0-in c h-wid e , d o ubl e- rro nt e d
• •• 150 Power & Motoryacht April 2007
'\..e t-,Jo \..eo,dS o,r e Sif'o\i\o,r iVl SiZ-e, but t\..e f'o\id
S\..ipS c.Of'o\po,rtf'o\eVlt o.t.ters f'o\ore \"eo,droof'o\.
wardro be o n lh e p o rt s id e, a sm a ller on e o ppo sit e, and
Lh ree big drawe rs unde r th e fOO L of Lh e bed .
Sadl y, th e sam e cann OL be said of SLOW age ro r th e g ueS LS .
e iLh e r Lh e doubl e cabin LO po rt nor th e Lwin o n th e SLa r
boa I'd side has en o ug h locke r space fo r m o re t ha n a wee k
e nd away, wiLhjusL a sm a lli sh ha n g in g loc ke r a pi ccc a nd
som e sh e lves. Th e cabin s the mse lves a re fin e, h owC\'c r
reaso na bl y spac io us, and WiLh marg ina ll y beller h eadroo m
in th e sLanclin g areas Lhan th e maS Le r. Ir yo ll han: g ll csLs o f
differe nl sizes, il mi g hL be wo rth re m e mbe rin g lh a llh e
be rth s a re sli g ht.l y lowe r in the sla rboa rd
cabin and so have mo re siLling headroom .
Of co llrse th e fOCl IS a boa rd the C!)2 is
th e coc kpit, a nd it exce ls. Essc nlialto it s
success is th e uppe r gall ey, co mplet c \\' ith
lwo- bu r n e r coo kto p , U-s h a p c co unle r
a rea , a nd 4 .6-c ubi c-foOL ' frid ge . It mi ghl
see m <I n eX Lravaga n ce, but wilh sca tin g
fo r six a lth e din e LLe a nd a lhree-pe rso n
sun bed a ft , il m akes pe rren se nse. With
Lh e sli d in g h a rd to p o pen or c1 oscd , il is a
co mfo rtabl e a nd so c i,lblc pl ace 10 pre
pa re a m ea l, in La uch wiLh bOlh the he lm
a rea and Ih e big ova l din e ll e . On e o f Lhe
boa t 's hidde n ex tras revea ls iLself a l Lh e
push o f a swiLCh: a TV lhat a ppea rs from
be hind the sLa rboard so fa .
Th e h e lm p os iti o n is a m od e l o f com-
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mo n sense a nd prac ti cali ty. The sea ts arc acUusta bl e a nd
comfo rta bl e wh e th e r yo u s it o r s ta nd , a nd visibil ity a ll
around is unusually good [o r a ha rdto p spo rt c rui se r. T he
instrume nta ti o n layout is simple a nd clea n , and th e bea llti
fld whee l (also adjusta ble) is as easy o n th e hands as it is o n
• •• 152 Power & Motoryacht April 2007
il..e CSz. 's <:.o<:.tpit el"lpl..o.SiZ,
<:'Ol"l.r orto.ble, sO<:.io.ble Seo. t iVl9
the eyes . Hest o Ldl , th e mo ldings unde r the windsc ree n a rc
d a rk brown , to minimize re nec ti o ns. It 's c lea r th a t as much
th o ug ht has gon e into th e drive r ' s e nviro nm e nt as ev
e rybody else' s.
With twin 67!'i-hp Volvo Pe nta D 12s o n stra ight shaf't s, th e
C!'i2 is II() slo ll c h . We clea red
th e boa t s h ow tr a ffi c ill th e
Ba il' d e Ca nn es a nd o pe n ed
IIp th e th ro ttl es as the li es d es
Lc rill s sped pas t to sta rboa rd .
It was a beauti ful day, a nd with
no seas to spea k of, we had to
ma ke o ur own e nt e rt a inm e n l.
Acce le ra ti o n was fa ir, a tjllst
mo re th a n 29 seco lld s to 2!'i
kn o ts (29 mph ) a nclto p speed
a respectable 30.8 kn o ts (3!'i .4
m ph ) , a lth o ug h o ur tes t boa t
was o nl y man agin g 2200 revs,
a b o ut 100 less th a n th e en
g in e's ra te d m ax imum . T he
m o difi e d -V hllll re ta in c d its
p o ise in full -loc k turn s, re
fu sed to sla m whe n we ca ug ht
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A.bo\Je: ""\"e ':'0':' 'l.pit 90-1Ie,! ""0-'l.es t\..e best uSe of
Ii""itecl Spo-.:.e 'flit\.. \..iYlgecl 'flor'l.tops. ~i9\"t : Do-r'l.
",,0\cliYl9S iYl froYlt of t\..e \..e\"" pre\JeYlt ref\e.:.tioYlS.
up with o ur ow n wa ke , co pe d we ll with the wa ll-like was h
tra iling be hind a I OO-roo te r, a n d loped e ffo nl ess ly ac ross
t he res idu a l swe ll Lh at we fo und o ut in ope n wa Le r . T h e
powe r-ass isted hydra uli c sLee rin g was li g ht a nd res po nsive ,
wilh th ree lurns loc k to loc k, ma kin g th e C52 !'ee l ta ut a nd
ca pa bl e , a n e nj oyable dri ve. So und leve ls we re o n th e hi g h
sid e, howeve r (sec "O ur Numbe rs," thi s st.o ry) : pe rh aps a
liuJ e more insul a Li o n wo ul d n ' t go a miss .
With n um be rs sare ly logged a nd handli ng t. r ia ls e l~ oyab l y
co nclucied , I d id some thing I have neve r d o ne be fo re o n a
boa L tesl. It mi ght have bee n th e wea th e r, o r th e loca li o ll , 0 1'
th e f ~\C t th a Lwe we re go ill g fro m A to B with nOlllluch lo d o
excepl e nj oy th e rid e, but r d ec idccil'cI g ive th e sllllbed 0 11
th e sle rn a th oro ugh wo rkOlll. Alld g uess wh ,l t? It ' s g rea t.
Th e Ba ie d es Anges we ll t by as we spe d cas t, lh ell N ice ,
a nd t.h e ll the tower bl ocks a nd crui se lin e rs a nd conspi c u
o us yac ht s o fT Mo naco . All too SOO Il we wc re p ullin g in to
Me nt o ll , o ne o f my favorile Med ile rra nean towns. Buil t o n
a hill wilh co mm a ndin g views a lo ng th e coas L, it h as had
va ri o us ow ne rs ove r th e ce n turi es , in c ludin g Mo naco a nd
Ita ly, but is n ow firml y es ta blished in th e Alpes-Ma ri tim es
dpj)(trll" lI l' l1. / and kn ow n as "th e pea rl of Fran ce, " fa mo us for
its narrow Slree ts a nd all eyways, its citrus g roves, and iLS mild
c lilll aLe. Nes llin g un de r th e head la nd, th e o ld pon is ro r
loca l boats . Fran cesco took us to th e ma rin aatGaravo ll ,jusl
a lo ng th e beach.
Fes loo ned with baggage, I ste pped off th e swim pl atfo rm
a nd o nto th e co ncre te quay, in fro n t ofa ge ni a l a nd seem
in g ly lllulLilin g ua l h a rbo rm as ter. I o rga ni zed my thin gs O il
Lhe quay, p u t th e came ra away, a n d tu rned to wave Lh e m
o ff, butm y Lax i was a lread y go n e-drawn Lowa rd s th e
Ita li a n bo rd e r as if o n c las ti c. Not that th ey we re in a hmry
o r a nythin g . •
Sessa liir (954) 925-1955. rvrvrv.sessamarine.com.
il6 Fo r a video boaL tes L o r the Sessa C52, visi t o ur Web
site a t wW7IJ.1Jowerrl11ci'llloiO'lyarhl. com.
April 2007 Power & Motoryacht 153 •••