Italia Yachts 14.98 – nominated for 2021 British Yachting Awards

Grabau International is delighted to announce that the newly-launched Italia Yachts 14.98 has been nominated for ‘Performance Yacht of the Year’ in the 2021 British Yachting Awards. Here is what Sailing Today / Yachts & Yachting’s Sam Jefferson has to say about this spectacular new yacht:-

“Nobody goes sailing to jog along at four knots nor do many of us wish for a wilfully ugly boat. The Italia makes sure neither of those things is a possibility. This yacht is a joy which in Belissima form will ensure you arrive first in any anchorage in comfort and have the best looking yacht there. In race form you have a boat that is a genuine contender in the ORC so the boat is a winner on many fronts. One cliché the boat does not conform to is quality, which was excellent.”

“First look and the lines are seductive, there is substantial beam carried aft but this is not a simplistic Dairylea slice design;the boat tapers aft to a vertical, rounded transom with no chines. The entrance is long and fine with a plumb bow and sprit for your kites. If you go for a Fuoreserie version, this sprit is substantially longer, boosting overall length from 15.47m to 16.45m. Hull and deck are foam sandwich laminated with vinylester resin. There is a structural carbon reinforced frame glued and laminated to the hull bottom. The keel is T- shaped with a steel frame blade and the torpedo is lead. Draft is 2.5m on the Belissima and 3m on the Fuoreserie. Displacement has been kept to a modest 9,980kg which compares very favourably with rivals such as the Solaris 47 which weighs in at 12,500kg.”

“On deck Step aboard and the cockpit layout is simple and unfussy. There is a broad bathing platform which lifts up to enclose the cockpit nicely although this is a removable option that may be eschewed by hardcore racers. The twin wheels with binnacles are set well aft and all the lines are led through channels in the cockpit coamings and emerge at twin banks of jammers just by the helmsman’s side, where the two pairs of Harken winches take up the slack. The mainsheet utilises the German system so can be adjusted from either helm and there is no traveller on the Belissima version. The cockpit is large and roomy and there are modestly dimensioned lockers on the bench seats which, combined with twin aft lazarette lockers plus a dedicated locker set in the middle of the cockpit for the liferaft, plus a deep sail locker at the bow adds up to decent amounts of storage.”

“Up on deck you have an extremely stylish and purposeful yacht. Yet it is down below that the true Italianness of this boat shines through. Bear in mind that this is a 47’ monohull and layout options are limited, as is the ability to be innovative. Yet Italia has really thrown the kitchen sink at this interior in its will to do something stylish.”

“Ok well a stylish interior is one thing but let’s get down to brass tacks. How does this thing actually sail? Well, I had the very best conditions to find out. 16kn of breeze, 30 degrees of heat and sparkling Italian waters. If you ever have those moments where you wonder why you bother going sailing, here was the tonic as we lanced through sparkling bright blue waters as effortlessly as a sabre slashing through silk. It was bonissimo, magnifico and every other cliché I can think of. Fast Med cruisers are two a penny and any on a day like this would have made me smile. I guess that smile was just notched up a little extra with this boat.”

Words from a full boat review published in the November 2021 issue of Sailing Today with Yachts & Yachting.

For further information, brochures and price lists for the new Italia Yachts 14.98, or any other boat in the Italia Yachts range, please contact us or follow us on Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | LinkedIn Grabau International are exclusive UK & Ireland sales agents for Italia Yachts.