32 - The world at the tip of one finger
Steering the boat in whatever direction with just one finger without using rudder or throttles. Here's the "360° docking" manufactured by ZF for Jeanneau which we went to test during the Barcelona boat show.

38 - Renovating according to Azimut
The Magellano range represents the kind of effort Azimut is carrying out towards renovation and total evolution of the motor yacht as a whole, and not only for its looks but also for its new practical solutions and technology.

44 - Freak waves
Freak ones or better still extreme ones, waves that not so long ago were thought as having been the figment of seamen's imagination only are today recorded and monitored.

48 - The eco-sounders' ultimate evolution
Thanks to the notable progress technology has brought to us it's now possible to have on board equipment capable of showing up the sea bed below as if it were photographed from above, but it all began from a plain piece of wood.

56 - A boat for every whim: Open boats
Confronted with today's ever growing and selective range, making a choice becomes difficult to do. The following pages will show you what the recreational boat market has to offer so as to help you better understand which boat would suit you best.

60 - We tested:
Azuree 40 FC
Ferretti 620
Rio Colorado 54
Atlantis 44
Cabo 44 HTX
Bavaria 34
Cobalt 243 Cuddy
Jeanneau Merry Fisher 6 Marlin
Capelli Cap 19 Open

112 - Cruising the Galapagos
What you can experience sailing is an almost unrestricted sense of freedom, as ever changing horizons appear as you head out toward a new destination especially when the chosen spot is the Galapagos Archipelago and your sails fill with a primordial mythical breeze.

130 - Sport: St. Thomas Rolex Regatta 2011
Breathtaking scenery such as only the Caribbean can offer, splendid weather and a constant trade wind. This is what welcomed the 77 teams taking part in the 38th St. Thomas Rolex Regatta.

134 - Chartering in the Maldives
A boat is certainly the best means to visit the archipelago, where to dive in some of the most beautiful places in the world.

Checking out Brazil
YACHTING TRADE OUT FOR NEW MARKETS

by Lucio Petrone

There are at last signs of a reawakening of the yachting market. But unfortunately not everywhere, as many western countries such as Greece, Portugal, Spain, Italy and, in part, Great Britain, have as yet to overcome the economic crisis ignited by international financial speculation, and amongst them some big consumers of those goods that are yachts. The first market to recover was the USA, but it had also been the first market to be hit by the recession, either eliminating or cutting down on production for yachts, as well as engines and accessories. And this has proved to be an advantage for the Americans in terms of competition with European yards, which were instead hit by the crisis in full over-production and with a considerable backlog of used yachts taken back in exchange for new ones, which the market, having plummeted almost vertically in just a few months, was quite unable to absorb. In effect, 2009 and 2010, were years dedicated to offloading "toxic" in house stocks at more or less discounted prices, in some case heavily discounted. Furthermore, in these same countries the need for more income for the state's coffers has focused the tax offices' attention on boat owners, dramatically cooling their desire to buy. The banks have also contributed to stalling the yachting market. Burned by too many unpaid leasing contracts and finding themselves with heaps of boats to resell, but also fearing the high margin of risk involved with so many yards and dealers hard up not to mention the drop in buyers. Banks have not only started asking for stronger guarantees but they have also turned their attention to more lucrative sectors. This has led to slower loans that have in many cases led to cancellations, when it is well known how yacht leasing, with the tax advantages it offers, has been, particularly in Europe, so vital for this sector over the last decade. Those in the business of selling boats have thus found it more and more difficult to get credit with the result that, so as to avoid having to close and in the attempt to hang on to their skilled labour, many builders have had to plough their personal wealth into the company. As for recent oil crises, modest benefits have come from servicing clients' existing boats, but yachting as an activity has, it too, dropped considerably, also due to the growing cost of fuel. Sailboats seem to be going a little better and the French world market-leading group seems to be moving towards a recovery. Will yachting come back strong this summer? This is what everybody hopes. Meanwhile, as to motor yachts, everyone is looking to the German market, another market that's showing the signs of recovery mentioned above. But the most important yards, those that have large dealer networks, are looking to solve their problems by exporting to the so-called emerging markets, South America in particular. Some believe in these new markets so strongly they have bought yards where there is already strong competition, such as in Brazil, but it won't be easy because these markets, that do hold great potential if they continue to develop at present rates, have fully understood the importance of yachting. If this is the future the big yards see, good for them, but this cannot be the future of the European market, that in the long term risks a dangerous brain drain in terms of know how, as all this could jeopardise the leadership that European yards share with the USA. It is true that the distance involved with the new markets are enormous and that building in loco is basically a necessity, but it is also without doubt that the consolidated supremacy of western countries' boat builders is at risk, especially if we include that handicap the European builders have that is the Euro, overvalued against the dollar, which is the currency of reference in South America. The European Union, often due to old and superseded ideas, consider yachting a leisure time activity for the elite and, as such, it is treated in terms of tax across Europe, without considering the industrial turnover that is behind it and the GDP and the direct and indirect employment it generates. A wise decision would instead be to apply lower VAT rates to yachting much has been done for tourism, as yachting is after all very much a tourist activity. And this kind of tactic should also be applied to minor boats, day boats in particular, which are the sort of boats young and retired people buy. But it's impossible to find even one MEP (Member of European Parliament) that will embrace this cause, because Europe too is gasping for cash with the result that everyone changes subject when you start talking about cutting VAT. How we envy the USA, the only country in the world that instead, having fully understood its importance in terms of the economy and employment, even invests in yachting, also showing concern for increasing the number of berths available where there is growth in the number of buyers.

AUDIPRESS REPORTS
Nautica's performance ranks #1

Nautica's monthly issue specialized in the boating world which has been dominating the nautical field for about fifty years in Italy has, according to Audipress's latest report a readership which has increased 26% (www.audipress.it for more information). The data for assessment considers moving averages recorded over the last ten months in 2010. The result is impressive and striking as it is the best result out of all the publishing trade in Italy including daily newspapers, Sunday supplements, monthly magazines. In percentage terms it is really indicative of an outstanding growth rate when compared to any other Italian paper or magazine be it specialized in any particular field or not, while the numbers for every other printed matter on paper have generally been declining in Italy. This performance certifies the quality of our work and the appeal our efforts have generated in our growing number of readers for which wère very proud, and finding some solace in a moment of blatant difficulty such as the one that has hit the trade in question, and more so the field of printed paper and yachting magazines to which we are referring to. This result rewards our small publishing firm which is very small in comparison to so many others and has learned to get through to its many boat fans and lovers of the sea, due to its journalistic professionalism and to the technical contents published therein and not for the lifestyles that share little with reality, and our readers' necessities. Our aim is to perform credibly, to inform seriously as opinion leaders which is what our readers have made of us and to fulfil their desire for information. Sometimes we go more in depth, and with ever more technical aspects, and curiosities which is, in the main what has always been asked for. There's little doubt the exponential growth we have witnessed in the growing number of our readers should comfort us all in as much as the great passion we share and nurture for boats and the sea is very much alive.

Fabio Petrone