Today is my last day here at the weeklong Genoa charter show, and I must say, there is a good bit of consensus among reputable brokers on the docks about which motoryacht and sailing yacht are the most exciting here in Italy.

In the motoryacht category, the brand-new, 177-foot CRN Maraya rolls off most brokers’ tongues when I ask them which yacht they think is the belle of the show. I have to agree, not just because she’s a stunning boat, but also because I found her crew quite impressive during the few hours I spent with them behind the scenes earlier this week. I’ll have a vidcast for you soon featuring the chef preparing a gourmet lunch for guests, so you can see exactly how exceptional the experience is onboard this new launch. Maraya is part of the fleet at Camper & Nicholsons International.

In the sailing yacht department, there actually are very few choices, as the show is mostly filled with motoryachts this year. Even so, it’s hard to beat the 120-foot classing sailing yacht Shamrock V, which originally launched in 1930 and remains the only wooden J Class yacht ever built. She’s so special to yacht racing’s history, she once was in a museum in Newport, Rhode Island. As I walked across her decks this morning, I must say, I felt as though I could be preparing for a bygone America’s Cup challenge. That will be an exceptional memory for many charter guests in the future. Shamrock V is part of the Edmiston & Company fleet.

I will of course have full First Impression reviews of both these yachts, and all the others I’ve seen this week, with exclusive photos here on CharterWave soon. I’ve also found some great captains to introduce you to, along with a good number of chefs who allowed me into their galleys to learn some tricks of the trade.

And, as a special treat, I took my video camera with me into the crow’s nest that climbs some 147 feet up the tallest mast in the world, onboard the sailing yacht Mirabella V, so I’ll be able to share that experience with you here on CharterWave as well.

Stay tuned as I get the content uploaded beginning when I return to the States early next week. Until then, ciao.

This entry was posted on Friday, May 9th, 2008 at 6:41 am and is filed under Charter Yachts. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.