Yacht names usually reveal a lot about the owner's passions. For good reason, women's names still predominate - a clever move that allows male owners a simple way to endear the new family toy to their beloved. Who wouldn't feel honoured?
The Italian owner of Baltic's latest build decided in favour of another passion: art. The stern of the 35.78 metre long "Canova" is adorned with the image of a bust alongside her name. A clear statement. The Italian sculptor Antonio Canova lived in the 18th century and was one of the masters of neoclassicism, who usually carved his sculptures out of smooth marble with a fine chisel.
With the 113-tonne displacement Slup, the Finnish yacht builders at Baltic Yachts have created a yacht for world cruises that was built according to the owner's clear specifications. An owner for whom superyacht racing has not been an issue to date and who travelled the world's oceans intensively with his last yacht, a Baltic 58. "Autonomy was one of the main themes when it came to planning 'Canova'," explains Kenneth Nyfelt, Marketing Manager at the shipyard. "He wants to plan his voyages and life on board as independently as possible and not be dependent on marinas." The Baltic engineers therefore developed a layout including equipment for explorers. The team led by project manager Jouni Hirvenkivi converted every free niche, no matter how small, into storage space and provided a diesel tank with a volume of 8140 litres, which is atypical for a yacht of this size. [...]
Lightweight construction the elegant way
But a Baltic wouldn't be a Baltic if the Finns didn't at least insist on fighting for every gram in the interior. And they do this in a highly elegant and unobtrusive way. Mahogany veneer clads ultra-light aramid honeycomb, and the stone professionals also glue the marble slabs in the bathrooms, which have been polished to a thickness of just a few millimetres, to the tried-and-tested honeycomb material.
The interior layout and design came from the computers of the shipyard's own creative team, who were able to orientate themselves on a Baltic format launched in 2003. "The owner liked the classic mahogany interior of the 43 metre long Judel/Vrolijk design 'Canica'," explains the Marketing Manager. Light-coloured fabrics and dark leather create a warm ambience in traditional old English style. The designers conceived the layout for a crew of five and up to eight guests.
Forward in the bow is the spacious owner's suite, which is equipped with a steam sauna. This is a very unusual extra for a sailing yacht, but the owner did not want to do without it under any circumstances. Adjacent to it on the port side is the entertainment area with an L-shaped sofa corner and a guest cabin opposite. [...]
Martin Hager
Editor in Chief YACHT
Martin Hager is editor-in-chief of the titles YACHT and BOOTE EXCLUSIV and has been working for Delius Klasing Verlag for 20 years. He was born in Heidelberg in 1978 and started sailing at the age of six, in an Opti of course. This was soon followed by 420s, Sprinta Sport and 470s, which he also sailed on the regatta course with his brother. His parents regularly took him on charter trips through the Greek and Balearic Islands. Even at a young age, it was clear to him that he wanted to turn his passion for water sports into a career. After graduating from high school and completing an internship at the Rathje boatbuilding company in Kiel, it was clear that he did not want to become a classic boatbuilder. Instead, he successfully studied shipbuilding and marine engineering in the Schleswig-Holstein state capital and focused on yacht design wherever he could. His diploma thesis dealt with the “Testing of a new speed prediction method for sailing yachts”. In 2004, the superyacht magazine BOOTE EXCLUSIV was looking for an editor with technical and nautical background knowledge, a position that was perfect for Martin Hager. The application was successful and a two-year traineeship was arranged. After twelve years as an editor, the editorial team changed and he took over responsibility for BOOTE EXCLUSIV as editor-in-chief in 2017. After long-time YACHT editor-in-chief Jochen Rieker moved to the role of publisher, Martin Hager also took over the position of editor-in-chief of Europe's largest sailing magazine YACHT, which is celebrating its 120th anniversary this year, at the beginning of 2023. When he's not working on topics for the two water sports titles, Martin Hager likes to go out on the water himself - preferably with kite and wingfoil equipment or on a little after-work trip across the Alster.
