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 •••