robert conconi yacht

• THE PRINCESS PASSPORT
• Email Newsletter
• Yacht Walkthroughs
• Destinations
• Electronics
• Boating Safety
• Ultimate Boating Giveaway

Nordhavn 86

• By Mary South
• Updated: December 2, 2010

This is a love story of sorts, and one with a happy ending, but as Shakespeare said, the course of true love never did run smooth.

Bob Conconi was 32 when he got his first boat, a 28-foot lapstrake mahogany runabout with twin gas Chryslers. His second boat was a 42-foot aluminum trawler. But 10 years ago, Conconi’s third boat was his first Nordhavn , a 62.

He loved his 62 but eventually wanted to move up to a larger boat. So, Conconi’s fourth boat was also a Nordhavn, this time a 76.

The terms of his deal with PAE, Nordhavn’s parent company, included delivery of his new 76 from Dana Point, California, to Vancouver, British Columbia, where Conconi lived with his wife and kids. Nordhavn subbed out the delivery of the 76 to a very experienced former employee, and somewhere, somehow, in the middle of Bodega Bay, California — the exact details are fuzzy, or perhaps Conconi is just too nice to dwell on them — his brand spankin’ new Nordhavn 76 collided with the bow of a freighter. The damage was extensive.

It gets worse. PAE’s insurance didn’t cover the collision damage. Conconi rushed to Bodega Bay, and had his new boat brought in for repairs. And that might have been the sad end of the romance. “Sorry. Not our boat, not our problem.” But Nordhavn wanted to make it right. They worked out a deal in which the 76 was made better than new for another buyer and Conconi moved up to a Nordhavn 86.

It’s a good story, right?

It’s not over yet.

Last year, after the world economic crisis had caused all kinds of deals to collapse, the original agreement on Nordhavn’s first 120, which represented a huge step up and a serious investment for the company, fell to pieces. The buyer backed out and Nordhavn was left all dressed up with no place to go.

Enter Bob Conconi.

“We were at the Ft. Lauderdale show with him,” said Trever Smith, the 120’s project manager, “and trying to it work out.” Conconi had expressed some interest in eventually moving up to a 120, and Nordhavn knew he was a creative guy who was always open to a good deal, so they were trying to talk him into hull number one. “But we were afraid to let him out of our sight [at the show], every other big builder was working hard to sign him, too.”

However, after considering plenty of other yachts, Conconi went with Nordhavn. Again.

“If they say they’ll do something, they do it,” Conconi said.

“They take the time to find out what you’re talking about — they don’t try to find loopholes.”

That had to be a big factor in why Conconi doesn’t have the all-too-common phobia of hull number one. He’s worked his way up through ever larger and more complex models with Nordhavn, learning as he went.

“Often things work perfectly,” Conconi admitted, “it’s just not well documented, but they walk you through it. They’ll send someone or explain the process and everything’s fine.”

Trever Smith commissioned Conconi’s first Nordhavn and has been the project manager on every one of his builds.

“I’d say we have a lot of confidence in each other,” Smith says of his — and Nordhavn’s — relationship with Conconi. “It’s not like a lot of other big companies and their clients.” Smith points out, though, that serial boat monogamy is a common trait amongst Nordhavn owners. Right now, there are more than 20 owners who have had at least one previous Nordhavn, and most of them have had several.

I met Don Kohlmann, Nordhavn’s Northwest sales manager, and Bob Conconi just outside of Vancouver on a crisp early spring day. As my eyes adjusted to the dim light of the boathouse, I was struck by how massive the 86 looked in comparison to other Nordhavns. A long foredeck, 24-foot beam and a displacement of 325,000 pounds make the 86 positively shippy.

Aurora glided silently out of the massive boathouse and up into the still waters of Indian Arm. It was a beautiful day and after we’d been underway for an hour, we saw only an occasional house, surrounded by miles of forest and deep, glacial waters. It was the kind of cruising ground that cries out for a ship, a stout, seaworthy vessel that equals its rugged surroundings. This 86 trawler yacht seemed to fit the bill perfectly.

Nordhavn’s 86 has a full-beam master and three en suite guest staterooms, as well as a captain’s cabin. There are crew quarters aft with head and a laundry/utility room. Aurora’s interior is luxurious, with hardwood moldings and raisedpanel wall joinery, but both Smith and Conconi enthused about the level of finish they’re planning on the 120. This will be Nordhavn’s first foray into the over-100-foot world, and the 120 will reflect that with loose furniture, electric activated doors, and LED lighting throughout.

“We went with Dee Robinson and Destry Darr Designs,” says Conconi, who indicated that his new 120 will take some interior design cues from Lady Michelle , a 161-foot Trinity, also designed by Dee Robinson.

That’s not the only influence Trinity brings to bear on this Nordhavn build. Working with Smith on the project has been Andrew Munn Design, whose owner used to work at Trinity.

“The build process has been going very smoothly,” notes Smith. The hull is finished, the engines are going in, then the tanks, then the soles. “The feeling will be similar in some ways, but this build is two and a half times the cost, twice the weight and twice the volume of the 86,” Smith remarks. “The systems will reflect that. Overhead piping. The engine room isn’t molded, it’s framed, and it has a diamond-plate sole.” Nordhavn is also going “over and above” on sound attenuation, for a whisper-quiet ride.

The 120 is being produced in Nordhavn’s Xiamen, China, yard, where they also build their 40, 42, 43, 52, 55, 60, 63, 75, and a total of seven 86 models so far. When the first 120 is finished, in April 2012, she will be ABS certified and make the 6,500 mile voyage from Xiamen to Vancouver on her own bottom. It’s not bad as shakeout cruises go.

Nordhavn is ready to go on production of the 120. They’ve invested over $2 million in tooling alone and expect future builds to take between 28 to 30 months from start to finish and cost $19 million.

“The N120’s 28-foot beam is close to those of many yachts in the 150- to 160-foot range,” Smith notes, with a similar stateroom layout, albeit smaller in scale. There’s a greater emphasis on outdoor living spaces here then there has been on the smaller Nordhavn builds, as well.

Part of the deal Nordhavn reached with Conconi on the 120 is that this will be a turn-key vessel. When Conconi and his wife Diane take delivery, their yacht will be furnished, decorated and equipped right down to linens on the berths and silverware in the drawers.

It will also include some special modifications. The “Christmas tree” supporting the radar and other equipment will be hydraulically operated to fold down, reducing Conconi’s bridge clearance from 56 feet to 41 feet, so he can continue to use his boathouse, which is something of a hard-to-find treasure in the Vancouver area.

“I’ll be spending most of my time thinking about the electronics outfitting,” Conconi notes, who is choosing all of his bridge gear. “But one call will fix it all,” with Nordhavn providing service for anything he needs. Conconi thinks it’s likely Nordhavn will move to a standardized electronics package on future 120 builds, much the way Westport and some other turn-key builders do.

Conconi jokes that he and Diane have used their 86 for mostly local cruising, “if you call local 2,000 miles of coast from Seattle to Alaska.” Their most memorable trip, he says, was a six-week trip around Vancouver Island. The outside of the island is largely deserted, with about seven out of 10 houses empty now that logging and mining have died out there. “It was absolutely beautiful, though. A whole different part of Canada, and we could have easily spent another month there.”

The Conconi’s new 120 will hold 17,500 gallons of fuel, 2,500 gallons of water and will cruise at 10 knots. Twin MTU Series 2000 M72 engines, with 965 horsepower each at 2,250 rpm, will enable a cruising range of 3,000 nm at reduced speeds.

Looks like the Conconis might have to extend their cruising grounds, but they’re certain to go on enjoying the stunning waters of the Canadian southwest, where they have served as the Swiftsure Race Committee boat for the last three years.

As we came back down the evergreen coast of Indian Arm and past the shoreside residential neighborhood of Deep Cove, I asked Conconi what he liked best about his Nordhavn.

“Piloting it,” he said without hesitation. “I can put it in neutral and coast into the slip just using the bow thruster. Aurora tracks straight and is just a wonderful boat to steer.”

That’s something Smith had mentioned, too. “Bob and Diane love how strong the Nordhavn is. She’s just got a wonderfully heavy, solid feeling when you’re at the helm, unlike some other builds that size.”

“I like Nordhavn because they’re proud, they’re committed to what they do,” Conconi nodded. And he is clearly committed to Nordhavn, too. I’m tempted to say this romance has a happy ending, but I suspect there’s more to come. As long as Nordhavn is making boats, my guess is Conconi will buy them.

LOA: 87’2″ LWL: 77’11” Beam: 24’0″ Draft: 7’4″ Displ.: 299,436 lb. (half load) Fuel: 7,000 gal. Water: 900 gal. Holding: Gray 190 gal., Black 185 gal. Construction: Fiberglass Design: Jeff Leishman Interior: Dee Robinson Naval Architecture: Jeff Leishman Generators: Onan 40 kW, 27.5 kW Stabilizers: Trac 370 Bow Thruster: Hydraulic 50 -hp Watermaker: Village Marine 2,000 gpd Engines: 2 x 600-hp MTU Series 60 model Speed: 12 kts Range: 4,000 nm @ 9 kts Price: $6,750,000

Nordhavn, 949-496-4933; www.nordhavn.com

Click here to read more about Nordhavn yachts.

• More: Long Range Cruisers , Nordhavn , Trawlers , Yachts
• More Yachts

Project 821: The World’s First Hydrogen-Powered Superyacht

Austin Parker Launches Two New Yacht Series

Customize Your Ride: The Argos Nautic GT14 RIB Tender

Alia Yachts to Debut SAN Superyacht in Monaco

Octoport’s Carbon-Fiber Yacht Furniture Elevates Life Onboard

World Traveler: Westport 112 Raised Pilothouse For Sale

Newport Boat Show Announces New-Product Winners

• Digital Edition
• Customer Service
• Privacy Policy
• Terms of Use
• Email Newsletters
• Cruising World
• Sailing World
• Salt Water Sportsman
• Sport Fishing
• Wakeboarding

Video shows moments before superyacht went down in storm off Sicily

Newly released video captures a luxury superyacht being battered by a violent storm before it suddenly sank off Sicily with 22 people aboard Monday.

The grainy images obtained by NBC News and other outlets were recorded on closed-circuit television not far from where the Bayesian was anchored, about a half-mile from the port of Porticello, on Sicily’s northern coast .

The yacht's 250-foot mast, illuminated with lights and lashed by the storm, appears to bend to one side before it finally disappears and is replaced by darkness.

The speed with which a yacht built to handle the roughest seas capsized stunned maritime experts.  

“I can’t remember the last time I read about a vessel going down quickly like that, you know, completely capsizing and going down that quickly, a vessel of that nature, a yacht of that size,” said Stephen Richter of SAR Marine Consulting.

British tech tycoon Mike Lynch and five of the 22 other people who were aboard the 184-foot vessel remain unaccounted for and are believed to be trapped in the Bayesian’s hull, nearly 170 feet underwater.

Officials confirmed Monday that at least one person, the ship’s cook, had died.  

Superyachts like the Bayesian, which had been available for charters at a rate of $215,000 a week, are designed to stay afloat even as they are taking on water to give the people aboard a chance to escape, Richter said. 

“Boats of this size, they’re taking passengers on an excursion or a holiday,” Richter said. “They are not going to put them in situations where it may be dangerous or it may be uncomfortable, so this storm that popped up was obviously an anomaly. These vessels that carry passengers, they’re typically very well-maintained, very well-appointed.”

Built by Italian shipbuilder Perini Navi in 2008, the U.K.-registered Bayesian could carry 12 guests and a crew of up to 10, according to online specialist yacht sites. Its nearly 250-foot mast is the tallest aluminum sailing mast in the world, according to CharterWorld Luxury Yacht Charters. 

On Tuesday, Italian rescue workers resumed the search for Lynch and the five other passengers still missing: Lynch’s 18-year-old daughter, Hannah; Morgan Stanley International Chairman Jonathan Bloomer and his wife; and Clifford Chance lawyer Chris Morvillo and his wife.

“The fear is that the bodies got trapped inside the vessel,” Salvatore Cocina, the head of civil protection in Sicily, told Reuters .

The Bayesian is owned by a firm linked to Lynch’s wife, Angela Bacares, who was one of the 15 people rescued Monday after it capsized.

“It’s extremely rare for a boat of this size to sink,” Richter said.

What’s not rare is the kind of storm that sank it , said Simon Boxall, senior lecturer in oceanography at Britain’s University of Southampton.

“People assume the Mediterranean is this rather calm and passive place that never gets storms and always blue skies,” Boxall said. “In fact, you get some quite horrendous storms that are not uncommon at this time of year.”

The president of Italy’s meteorological society has said Monday’s violent storm may have involved a waterspout, essentially a tornado over water, or a downburst, which occurs more frequently but doesn’t involve the rotation of the air.

Luca Mercalli, president of the Italian Meteorology Society, also said recent temperatures may have been a factor. 

“The sea surface temperature around Sicily was around 30 degrees Celsius [86 Fahrenheit], which is almost 3 degrees more than normal,” Mercalli told Reuters. “This creates an enormous source of energy that contributes to these storms.”

The Mediterranean sailing vacation was designed to be a celebration for Lynch, who two months ago was acquitted by a San Francisco jury of fraud charges stemming from the 2011 sale of his software company Autonomy to Hewlett-Packard for $11 billion.

Prosecutors alleged that Lynch, dubbed “Britain’s Bill Gates,” and Autonomy’s vice president for finance, Stephen Chamberlain, had padded the firm’s finances ahead of the sale. Lynch’s lawyers argued that HP was so eager to acquire Autonomy that it failed to adequately check the books .

Lynch had taken Morvill, who was one of his defense attorneys, on the luxury trip. 

Chamberlain was not on the Bayesian.

In what appears to be a tragic coincidence, a car struck and killed Chamberlain on Saturday as he was jogging in a village about 68 miles north of London, local police said.

“Steve fought successfully to clear his good name at trial earlier this year, and his good name now lives on through his wonderful family,” Chamberlain’s lawyer, Gary Lincenberg, said in a statement .

Henry Austin reported from London and Corky Siemaszko from New York City.

Henry Austin is a senior editor for NBC News Digital based in London.

Corky Siemaszko is a senior reporter for NBC News Digital.

The global authority in superyachting

• NEWSLETTERS
• Yachts Home
• The Superyacht Directory
• Yacht Reports
• Brokerage News
• The largest yachts in the world
• The Register
• Yacht Advice
• Yacht Design
• 12m to 24m yachts
• Monaco Yacht Show
• Builder Directory
• Designer Directory
• Interior Design Directory
• Naval Architect Directory
• Yachts for sale home
• Motor yachts
• Sailing yachts
• Explorer yachts
• Classic yachts
• Sale Broker Directory
• Charter Home
• Yachts for Charter
• Charter Destinations
• Charter Broker Directory
• Destinations Home
• Mediterranean
• South Pacific
• Rest of the World
• Boat Life Home
• Owners' Experiences
• Conservation and Philanthropy
• Interiors Suppliers
• Owners' Club
• Captains' Club
• BOAT Showcase
• Boat Presents
• Events Home
• World Superyacht Awards
• Superyacht Design Festival
• Design and Innovation Awards
• Young Designer of the Year Award
• Artistry and Craft Awards
• Explorer Yachts Summit
• Ocean Talks
• The Ocean Awards
• BOAT Connect
• Between the bays
• Golf Invitational
• BOATPro Home
• Superyacht Insight
• Global Order Book
• Premium Content
• Product Features
• Testimonials
• Pricing Plan
• Tenders & Equipment

On board with Bob and Amy Book, owners of 47m superyacht Book Ends

Having gone two years without a yacht, superyacht owners Bob and Amy Book are making up for lost time. They have crossed the Atlantic to explore the Med – and meet new friends along the way, as they explain to Risa Merl...

“Yachting defies common sense. It's really irrational when you think about it; a deep-rooted love,” says Bob Book, owner of 47 metre Heesen Book Ends , his 17th yacht of that name.

It was in the middle of their honeymoon more than 40 years ago in Acapulco, Mexico, that Book and his wife Amy discovered their passion for boating. The newly-weds went out on a little five metre boat along the coast, and Book was instantly smitten. “I went back every day until I got sun poisoning. I’m on my honeymoon in this very romantic place, and I couldn’t do anything! Good introduction to boating, right?” Book says with a laugh. Back home in New York, Book wasted no time and bought his first boat.

“It was a 25ft single screw. It had a mustard hull and yellow seats. Amy named it Book Ends , which has stuck all these years,” says Book. “I was the captain and she was my first mate. And we had no idea what we were doing.

”Since that time, the Books have become seasoned sailors, owning ever-larger Book Ends , including a Westport 112 and a 40 metre before their new Heesen. The maiden voyage of the first little yellow Book Ends was a short mosey down the Hudson River and around the Statue of Liberty. For second-generation Americans, whose grandparents arrived at Ellis Island as immigrants escaping troubles in Europe, seeing Lady Liberty from this perspective brought tears to Bob and Amy’s eyes. “Our grandparents arrived in steerage, and here we were in our own boat, living the American Dream,” says Book.

Truth be told, Bob Book is the American Dream incarnate. Born the son of a rabbi and raised on New York’s Lower East Side, Book’s idea of boating as a child was riding the Staten Island Ferry, which cost five cents. But a little ingenuity propelled him from immigrant’s son to serial entrepreneur before he even graduated from college.

“My first business was an accident,” Book says. He was attending NYU in 1970 and discovered there were 21 colleges and universities within the five boroughs of New York City and all were suffering from student housing shortages. The city was also at the height of its financial crisis and hotels were “in the doghouse”, as Book puts it, reporting less than 50 per cent occupancy. He saw an opportunity, and at only 19 he started his first business, a student housing company that worked with hotels to rent unused rooms to students. This expanded to offer rooms to young professionals as well, with its reach soon growing across the country and the world.

Book’s next business was a natural evolution. “I had thousands of students in lots of different hotels, and half of them couldn’t pay the rent each month,” he says. “So I started a temp service to find them jobs.” One of the students who was constantly broke was particularly good at making sandwiches, so Book came up with an angle. “Around 11 o’clock every night, I’d send him to all the rooms in hotels – just about the time when the kids would start getting the munchies because they were smoking grass – and he’d sell out his sandwiches every night!”

By the time Book graduated, the temp service was going strong, so he and a business partner started an employment agency. This was just the beginning of a long list of successful businesses that he has helmed over the years. A decade ago, he acquired what’s currently his biggest company, Jet Support Services, Inc (JSSI), the world’s top independent provider of aircraft maintenance programmes. Book is the chairman and one of his two sons, Neil, serves as CEO. JSSI has headquarters in Europe, Asia and Chicago, where Neil keeps his own boat on Lake Michigan.

“That’s his third boat in three years, so he’s following in my footsteps,” Book says, beaming with pride. “The first two boats were Sea Rays. Next year I think he’ll move into a 22.8 metre Viking ; and my grandson Sidney, who’s six, loves it!”

Being able to pass down the love of yachting to their children and grandchildren is part of the joy of yacht ownership for the Books. “Yachting is also a great way to keep your family together,” says Amy. “You know, ‘if you build it, they will come’? Well, if you have a boat, your family comes and spends time with you! It’s the best.”

Spending time on board with family and friends – and meeting new friends along the way – is a big part of the attraction for the Books. Every summer for seven years, they would rendezvous with their good friends, the owners of the 61 metre Hakvoort Just J’s . Before the summer of 2017, Book received a call from the owner of Just J’s saying he was planning to move the boat from Newport to the Med for the summer. “He asked me, ‘are you sure you’re going to have a boat by this summer?’” Book recalls.

The Books had found themselves in a rather unusual place – without a superyacht. Their previous Book Ends , a 40 metre Westport, had sold surprisingly swiftly, and they were in the middle of a two-year shopping trip to find the perfect yacht, one that would have the range and space they desired to go further afield than their usual cruising grounds of the Eastern Seaboard and Bahamas.

“I was in every shipyard in Europe for two years and spent almost $2 million shopping for a boat,” Book says, explaining he had marine surveyor Ian Kerr check out any boat he was serious about. “If you do it right, that’s a couple hundred thousand bucks. I would frankly never buy or build a boat without Ian overseeing it.”

When the owner of Just J’s called again to ask if he’d have a boat in time, Book responded positively, thinking he was about to close a deal. “But that deal blew up over lunch, and that’s when Thom Conboy [of Heesen Yachts] called me,” says Book. “I had just stepped out of the lunch and Thom said, ‘what’s it going to take to get you in this 47 metre?’” Book had been to Heesen on his yacht shopping tour, but because they were originally after a 55 metre, the 47 metre in build at the Dutch yard hadn’t caught their attention. “It was like divine intervention – we agreed on a price and 48 hours later I was in the shed.” In less than a month, they took delivery, just in time to join Just J’s in the Med.

The new Book Ends ticked a lot of the boxes – steel hull, long range, good storage – but it didn’t exactly match their preferred interior style. The Books like to have a simple base to personalise, and since taking delivery they’ve worked to tone down some aspects of the original design, adding simpler joinery, more white carpets and removing superfluous furnishings, all the while adding their signature bright orange hue and bold artwork, much collected on their travels.

In Portofino they bought pieces from a local artist, who they invited over for breakfast the next day. “He said no one had ever invited him on board before,” Book says. “And now I’m trying to arrange an exhibition for him in the States.”

Meeting new people, whether it’s the couple on the yacht next door in La Spezia or locals in the Med or Bahamas, is what keeps the Books interested. They prefer this over “seeing and being seen”. “Our favourite places might be places that not everyone likes,” says Amy. “Capri is beautiful, but it was not what we wanted. Because we were there in the summer, it was like Times Square on New Year’s Eve. We like places where we can walk around, where we can really talk to people. We’ve made so many friends because of the boat.”

During their six weeks in the Med, the Books particularly fell for Italy, and among their favourite spots were Elba and Forte dei Marmi. The latter is the home of their good friend Andrea Bocelli , who helped the couple find a new captain, and one of their favourite restaurants, Santa Monica, is nearby in Viareggio.

Though the Books value the friendships they’ve made, the yachting life is also filled with a healthy dose of competition. They own a Viking 62 sportfisher and are about to take delivery of a Viking 72. The Vikings, named Book Ends Team Hookers, are put to work in fishing tournaments along the US East Coast and in the Bahamas. Book says fishing itself is boring – it’s the tournament atmosphere and meeting people from all walks of life that he enjoys. “I love the competition,” he says. “I have a great team whoall want to win. There’s an old expression, ‘show me a good loser and I’ll show you a loser’. So the fishing is always competitive, and it’s a lot of fun.” Book heads to Bahamas-based tournaments with a fleet – Book Ends serving as the mothership while the Viking and his Scout 42 head out to the fishing grounds.

Bob and Amy plan to spend even more time on board this summer. Book relishes the fact that he can work from his on board office. “Nobody knows where I am! We could have a board meeting and they just assume I’m in the office – no one knows I’m really in Italy.”

It’s not all been unalloyed good times, but the Books are experienced enough to know that peaks always follow troughs. “So many times I’ve said I’m getting out, it’s just not worth it; it’s so much stress, it’s so expensive and so many things can go wrong – and they usually do in boating,” Book says. “But then you have a summer like we had, six weeks cruising all over the Med and discovering places. You know if you leave it, you wouldn’t be sitting here, you’d be sitting on a couch somewhere watching a football game.”

Amy adds: “And we would never have gone to some of these places without the boat. Even if people do go by land, there’s no comparison to seeing these places from the water and having your home with you.”

Images: Shutterstock; Jeff Brown/Breed Media; Adam Pass; Tiziano Canu; Andrea Pisapia; Charlie Clark

More about this yacht

More stories, most recent, from our partners, sponsored listings.

Stay in the know.

Sign up for our free newsletters to receive the latest news from The Observer directly in your inbox.

• The Observer Newsletter
• Word In Black Newsletter

Support Our Work

As an independent publication, we rely on donations to fund our journalism.

Your contribution is appreciated.

The Sacramento Observer

The African American Online Source for California's Capital City

Beware When Buying a Boat (or Anything Else)

Share this:

• Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
• Click to share on X (Opens in new window)

OPINION – For many, buying a luxury boat represents the pinnacle of achievement and enjoyment.

Just imagine it. In a nice yacht, you can set out to sea on a beautiful day, kick back, and just drift as you watch the sun playing off of the ocean with nothing around you for miles – and do so in style.

It’s a wonderful daydream. However, for Canadian philanthropist Robert Conconi, it was a dream that turned into a nightmare.

Conconi advanced the company Pacific Asian Enterprises (PAE) the jaw-dropping sum of $16 million in cash and trade-in to construct his dream boat named the Aurora.

After years of work, Conconi hoped it would shine like the northern lights. Instead, the results were simply dark and dirty and appalling. And PAE refused to fix the boat’s many problems.

Multiple inspectors agreed with him, so he took PAE to court in California. Even PAE’s own expert Steve D’Antonio found that the Aurora had 179 deficiencies including important safety items that could blow up, electrocute, burn, or otherwise injure passengers.

The 18-month trial ultimately turned on the question of the seaworthiness of Aurora. Since the boat wouldn’t immediately sink, the court didn’t find for Conconi.

Conconi took his lumps, paid court and other costs, and then spent three years having repairs done to Aurora to make into the vessel that he had actually ordered. Then he found that he couldn’t really enjoy it because of all the bad memories and sold it off instead.

There’s an old Latin warning: caveat emptor. “Let the buyer beware.”

The warning shouldn’t simply be for those who want to buy boats but buyers of every possible good or service. Before you give someone your money, it’s useful to ask some questions and do due diligence. Do a little thinking and a little digging.

Ask yourself, “Why should I trust this seller?” And in different words, ask the seller to make the case for that trust. Then go looking. Did what was said to you check out? What did other customers who’ve done business with this firm have to say? Are there any court cases that should raise red flags?

A lot of this information can be got at with a simple Google search. Deeper digging isn’t much harder and more expensive, with the massive databases and background checks currently available. Or you can do something really radical and talk to people you know and get information that has never been captured digitally.

This warning is even truer when you advance a lot of money to a business or contractor to deliver something to you. The more that you have to lay out up front, the more of your money they can take for granted.

If businesses expect you to lay out most of the capital up front, without any product to show for it, that should make you extra suspicious. What’s the risk of flight or embezzlement or simply shoddy work and then shrugs when you ask for this to be made right?

It’s not fun to think about such things. But if more people thought about it, fewer would get taken. The law can be a remedy sometimes, but only in some. And even then, few people truly end up being made whole.

They lose time, sleep, money, and the sense that the world is as it should be. Don’t let that happen to you.

Alexander Martinez is a former journalist and commentator

We've recently sent you an authentication link. Please, check your inbox!

Sign in with a password below, or sign in using your email .

Get a code sent to your email to sign in, or sign in using a password .

Enter the code you received via email to sign in, or sign in using a password .

Subscribe to our newsletters:

• 60th Anniversary Event Updates To keep you informed about all the latest news and updates regarding this event, we are offering the opportunity to sign up to receive email updates. By registering, you will be among the first to know about our event schedule, guest speakers, entertainment, and much more.

Sign in with your email

Lost your password?

Try a different email

Send another code

Sign in with a password

By signing up, you agree to our Terms and Conditions.

• Search forums
• Motor Boat Forum

Another new Nordhavn

• Thread starter EricJ
• Start date 23 Jan 2021
• 23 Jan 2021

Active member

Bouba said: I have to admit, a Nordhavn without a dry stack doesn’t quite sound right, like when they first made water cooled Porches Click to expand...

EricJ said: but in the end it works.... i think they create some competition for their own 475 here.. anyone any idea what the cost of a 475 is? Click to expand...

RandallStephens

VladN said: I think tells you everything you need to know about which market the 51 is aimed at. The European market has always been resistant to single engined boats and being built in Turkey (which is in the EU customs union), the boat can enter the EU market without the fear of tariffs being imposed at short notice. It even has European stabilisers by way of the Humphree system No price for a new boat is reasonable but within the context of current new boat prices, $1.5m is competitive particularly as the spec is very complete. I think the 51 will be a winner in Europe and elsewhere Click to expand...

The 41 and the 51 are almost a different line. They are cheaper and less-customisable, whereas in a 475 or 52 you can change the layout pretty much as you please, change engines, generators etc, in the 41 and the 51 you don't get that choice. However, I am sure they will begin to offer a hardtop because the demand will be so high. Great boats, I will probably never buy another brand!  

Attachments

brennanjed said: The 41 and the 51 are almost a different line. They are cheaper and less-customisable, whereas in a 475 or 52 you can change the layout pretty much as you please, change engines, generators etc, in the 41 and the 51 you don't get that choice. However, I am sure they will begin to offer a hardtop because the demand will be so high. Great boats, I will probably never buy another brand! Click to expand...

ShaneAtSea said: Price (base) $1,098,900 (as of Oct. 26, 2018) Nordhavn N475 - Sea Magazine Click to expand...

brennanjed said: You will easily clear 2 million dollars with that by the time you do a bit of customisation and pay the VAT Click to expand...

ShaneAtSea said: You'd pay $2m but would get the boat you want the way you want it The 51 has two full size double cabins and a day head seems like a waste of space as from what ive seen its mostly retired couples etc not families that use the smaller boats Click to expand...

RandallStephens said: They’re going where they think the market leads them. Years ago, I was chatting to the owner of PAE (Nordhavn parent company) at a boat show. He was trying to sell me on their newest, largest boat at the time, I think it was the 120, which was in the planning stages. I told him, “Sorry, at that size, I want a steel hull!” which then led him to spend 15 minutes trying to convince me why their GRP hulls were superior to steel, even in a 120 footer. I chuckled to myself a few years ago when they announced a new 145 foot steel hulled model. The market told them that owners preferred steel hulls in their larger expedition vessels, and they had no choice but to follow. If the EU market requires twin engines and lower air draft, so be it. Click to expand...

longjohnsilver

Well-known member.

ShaneAtSea said: The new 51 has 2 x John Deere M1 160 bhp engines where the 41 & 52 are single engine so may get up to 12-14 knots with the 51 The 51 doesnt have a swim platform and no option for a hard top which is a shame Click to expand...

ShaneAtSea said: Robert Conconi is the owner who commissioned the 120 and he was not happy with the boat or the service he received from Nordhavn. There are always two sides to every story but it considering he mustve paid well over $10m for the 120 you'd think they wouldve done everything possible to get it right In fact he hated it so much that he set up a website to let everyone know how they were Check it out here... Nordhavn Facts | Truth Behind Their Broken Promises | PAE Yachts Click to expand...

longjohnsilver said: More like 9 - 10kts I’d have thought. Click to expand...

brennanjed said: True, I dont think we will every see a Nordhavn go any faster than 10 knots, my max is 11 for about 30 secs Click to expand...

• 24 Jan 2021

They are about range not speed so that is the only reason why i would doubt it would get anywhere near 14 kts, but hey you never know  

RandallStephens said: Well, PAE won the court case, and Conconi had to pay costs, so... and it was $16 million not 10, according to the documentation. A cursory reading of the facts seems to leave plenty of blame to apportion to both sides. Coming out of the Great Recession, does it surprise me that PAE had cash flow problems? No. Signing on to build a larger boat than a yard has ever built before is always a risk. Complexity of systems and such goes up a lot as you build bigger. The owner had bought 3 new Nordhavns prior to this one and was happy with them. I think he was too trusting with the company. It does not appear that he had a full time representative at the yard during build. With every build I’ve done, I’ve had a build captain, and a project manager (often an engineer and/or surveyor) on site for the entire build. Doing that would have prevented this outcome. Sure, a buyer of a 50’ Nordhavn might not be able to justify the cost, but for a project in which you’re investing $16 million? If he did have independent representation at the yard throughout the build then a lot more of the blame shifts to PAE. They also talk about tasks to finish the boat en route from Hong Kong to Vancouver. Why was the boat not finished before the delivery voyage? In many cases, it’s due to the owner’s demands re: meeting a particular schedule. Perhaps the builder was behind schedule, but again, as the launch customer for a 120’ boat with a yard that had never built one bigger than 96’ before, you should have expect possible delays. I don’t think either party emerges from this story looking good, but a lot of the problems for the owner seem to have been self-inflicted. Click to expand...

ShaneAtSea said: I stumbled across that story while i was researching Nordhavn's as ive been doing some research for over year for my first boat. It hasnt put me off buying one as the feedback is 99% positive My reservations about Nordvans have always been the interior wood which i find quite old fashioned to my modern contemporary tastes but i really like the N68 build which is dark wood and creams upholsteries etc Ive put my plans on hold until we come out of this pandemic so i'll decide this summer if i want to order one in 2020 for a 2021 delivery ? Click to expand...

brennanjed said: You would be lucky to see a new Nordhavn for 2023 they have so many orders !! The 52 and 60 have over 3 year lead time Click to expand...

Members online

• Irish Rover

Share this page

MORE SECTIONS

• Dear Deidre

MORE FROM THE SUN

• Newsletters

Boatbuilder behind Mike Lynch’s doomed yacht Bayesian ‘seeking £186m for damaged reputation from widow & surviving crew’

• James Halpin
• Published : 9:51, 23 Sep 2024
• Updated : 12:06, 23 Sep 2024

THE boatbuilder behind Mike Lynch's ill-fated superyacht is seeking £186m from his widow and surviving crew after the tragic sinking.

Manufacturer Italian Sea Group (TISG) is alleging it has faced reputational damage after the superyacht sank off Sicily last month.

But a close friend of the Lynch family has fired back saying the company should be "ashamed" and its CEO is a "disgrace".

Billionaire businessman Lynch and his daughter Hannah died on board the doomed 56m yacht along with five others on August 19.

Lawyers for the manufacturer have now launched a civil claim to try and claw back losses they allege were caused by the sinking, La Nazione reported.

A close friend of the Lynch family fired back at the claim, lambasting TISG's CEO.

Read more on world news

Israel could face more weapon sanctions as war fears escalate, hints Foreign Sec

Inside Israel's probe into Sinwar's 'death' amid claims he was killed in Gaza

They said: “The Italian Sea Group should be ashamed.

"Giovanni Costantino is a disgrace, desperately trying to shift blame.

"He rushed to the media before all the bodies had even been recovered, showing his lack of decency.

"Now, it seems, he wants to sue his own clients.”

Most read in The Sun

New suspect details as baby girl taken in Dublin hijacking reunited with parents

Thousands in line for €250 jump on key payment in WEEKS & €1k next year

Baby girl, 5 months, found safe after being taken in Dublin car hijacking

Mum critically ill from bug in Dubai as family in ‘worst nightmare’ plea

The claim directly calls into question the actions of Captain James Cutfield and other crew saying it was human error, not design issues, which led to the sinking.

It also reportedly names the yacht management company and its owner, which in turn is owned by Lynch's wife Angela Bacares.

They say Cutfield underestimated weather conditions and did not anchor the boat in a safe place or prepare it to battle rough waves.

An expert report, they claim, will demonstrate the keel was not lowered and that the rear and side doors were left open.

The watertight doors that separate the dinghy garage from the engine room were also not closed.

TISG said it has lost business do to the sinking as it was in negotiations to sell three yachts which had already been completed.

It also claimed a "well-known European fashion house" suddenly became disinterested in building a line of boats and an investment fund had backed out of negotiations.

Media reports show TISG is partially owned by and has been collaborating on yachts with Giorgio Armani.

The Bayesian sinking also saw the prospective buyers walk away causing a loss of earnings, they allege.

Within hours of the sinking, before all of the bodies were recovered, TISG’s chief executive, Giovanni Costantino, publicly blamed the crew saying the boat was “unsinkable”.

He told a local newspaper: “Everything that was done reveals a very long summation of errors.

“The people should not have been in the cabins, the boat should not have been at anchor.”

Bizarrely, TISG told media its lawyer had not been "authorised" to pursue the claim in court and they had been instructed to remove it.

The company said: “The Italian Sea Group … strongly denies the claims published in La Nazione regarding a legal action following the Bayesian tragedy.

"Although TISG has given a generic mandate to the lawyers named in the article, no legal representative of the company has examined, signed or authorised any writ of summons.”

The captain of the doomed Bayesian,  James Cutfield, 51, is being investigated for manslaughter .

Prosecutors are also probing ship engineer  Tim Parker-Eaton, from Clophill, Beds, and sailor Matthew Griffith, 22  under the same charges.

The yacht was sunk by a freak "Black Swan" waterspout which would have appeared without warning, maritime experts believe.

The yacht's 264ft tall mast was hammered by a water tornado as storms battered the Porticello Harbour causing it to sink within minutes.

Divers have recovered surveillance equipment and the ship's on board hard drives from the yacht

They hope data from them will be able to shed light on why the Bayesian sank, but there are worries they will to too waterlogged to retrieve it.

The 184 ft Bayesian was carrying 22 people when it sank within minutes of being hit by a downburst - a strong, localised wind - while anchored in Porticello near Palermo.

The luxury vessel was caught up in a tornado which caused it to sink in the early hours of the morning.

Fifteen of those on board were rescued on a life raft, while the yacht’s cook Recaldo Thomas was discovered dead in the water shortly afterwards.

Specialist divers recovered the bodies of billionaire Lynch, 59, and four of his guests, from the first cabin on the left.

Officials said the victims had scrambled to reach air pockets in the yacht, which sank 164ft stern-first before rolling onto its right side on the seabed. 

Investigators are understood to be rifling through CCTV footage and photographs taken by locals on the night of the storm to understand why the boat sank so quickly. 

Chief Prosecutor Ambrogio Cartosio said the victims would have been asleep when a tornado-like waterspout struck the boat, leaving them unable to escape.

Lynch had just won a court case over the sale of Autonomy to tech giant HP after being accused of fraudulently raising the price.

The 59-year-old had been living under house arrest in San Francisco, US, with just his beloved dog Faucet for company, for well over a year.

He was finally acquitted just months ago and spoke about longing to spend time with his wife, Angela Bacares and their two daughters.

In 1996, he started software company Autonomy, which would be used to analyse huge swathes of data from unstructured sources like phone calls, emails and videos.

Describing his small team he said: “Eccentric people working really hard on a project. No bureaucracy. No admin. Lots of late nights, lots of eating cold pizza”.

Inside The Bayesian's final 16 minutes

By Ellie Doughty, Foreign News Reporter

Data recovered from the Bayesian's Automatic Identification System (AIS) breaks down exactly how it sank in a painful minute-by-minute timeline.

At 3.50am on Monday August 19 the Bayesian began to shake "dangerously" during a fierce storm, Italian outlet  Corriere  revealed.

Just minutes later at 3.59am the boat's anchor gave way, with a source saying the data showed there was "no anchor left to hold".

After the ferocious weather ripped away the boat's mooring it was dragged some 358 metres through the water.

By 4am it had began to take on water and was plunged into a blackout, indicating that the waves had reached its generator or even engine room.

At 4.05am the  Bayesian fully disappeared  underneath the waves.

An emergency GPS signal was finally emitted at 4.06am to the coastguard station in Bari, a city nearby, alerting them that the vessel had sunk.

Early reports suggested the disaster struck around 5am local time off the coast of Porticello Harbour in Palermo, Sicily.

The new data pulled from the boat's AIS appears to suggest it happened an hour earlier at around 4am.

Some 15 of the 22 onboard were rescued, 11 of them scrambling onto an inflatable life raft that sprung up on the deck.

A smaller nearby boat - named Sir Robert Baden Powell - then helped take those people to shore.

• Bayesian yacht sinks

Crash of an Antonov AN-10A in Ulyanovsk: 13 killed