Brochure_SR_SS2019

The Balbo castle, located in Punta Ala.
Aphrodite, asymptote of beauty, had a naturally fertile
instinct. The Greeks exalted the goddess by identifying
her in the foam of the sea, and a cult was born between
Cyprus and Corinth that quickly won over Sicily,
seducing the heart of the Roman Empire and assuming
the name of Venus. Idol of love that united both gods
and mortals, venerated as verdant divine, goddess of the
sea and guardian of warriors. In the art of beauty, Sandro
Botticelli dedicated the Birth of Venus to her, a painting
that now resides at the Uffizi Gallery.
Inspired by her legend, the route introducing the Spring/
Summer 2019 Collection is a voyage onboard the
Atlantic, a schooner launched in 1903. Commissioned
by Wilson Marshall, New York Yacht Club member and
shipowner, and designed by William Gardner, within
a few months the Atlantic became one of the most
admired vessels in the world, with a cruising speed
of 20 knots, a mahogany interior and electric fittings,
known for the impeccable service of its original 39 crew
members.
Brenton Reef and Cape May Cup were the first victories
for the three masted schooner. Yet nothing compared to
the triumph of the transatlantic voyage that linked Sandy
Hook (New Jersey) to Lizard Light (Cornwall). In fact, in
1905 the three-time winner of America’s cup Captain
Charlie Barr assumed the command of Atlantic, taking
the schooner beyond the limits of his victories: 3006
nautical miles covered in 12 days, 4 hours, 1 minute
and 19 seconds. 341 miles were surpassed in one day.
This remained an uninterrupted world record until 1998.
It was a legendary story, which saw the schooner navigate
between the two world wars: it was rebaptised in 1917
as USS Atlantic II, and was used for anti-submarine
sightings off the coast of Virginia. In the 1940s it was
used as a vessel for the Coast Guard, after Gerald
Lambert (who succeeded Cornelius Vanderbilt III as
shipowner) donated it to the United States. Abandoned
in 1947, and broken piece by piece into oblivion, it was
fully dismantled in 1982. Only Ed Kastelein’s passion
made the rebirth possible (with three years of historical
and technical research, and another seven years of
work), until the launch that returned the legend.
And it is on board of the Atlantic that the
STEFANO RICCI man ventures, and conquers the
beautiful and impenetrable Montecristo. It is the island
of Saint Mamilian of Palermo, the holy bishop who
killed the guardian dragon protecting the rocky terrain
before becoming a hermit of Mons Christi. The land