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Text by Roberto Franzoni – Photos by Carlo Baroncini/Magdalena Kaczòwka

SOUTHERN WINDSW82 RS AmmoniteSouthern Wind has recently celebrat-ed the delivery of “Ammonite”, the third of the 82’ series.

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M arcus Blackmore, “Ammonite”’s Australian owner has been sailing for a long time. He was also helmsman on Dragone and therefore a dedicated sailing yachtsman and keen

competitor. After having decided what kind of yacht to go in for, Marcus came up with a yacht that could perform well in races and be very comfortable when cruising. A yacht which in his own words possessed: “a sexy body and a highly competitive spirit”.Once the yacht was duly handed over Blackmore expressed his sincere enthusiasm which was contagious declaring: “after my initial contact with the boat and after the first time out on “Am-monite” under sail I have to admit Southern Wind has been outstanding. They even went beyond their capacity to satisfy our “out of norm” requests. Basically speaking this yacht is essentially a series built sailing yacht coming off a well structured ‘production line’, with a notable difference, this one has been highly personalised”.Like every Southern Wind “Ammonite” has been readied for its initial maiden voyage and this time too notwithstanding the fact that the owner belongs to the same hemisphere as the shipyard they planned to sail 7,000 miles from Cape town to Sardinia Italy where “Ammonite” competed in the 2016 edition of the Loro Piana Superyacht Regatta held in Porto Cervo at the beginning of June (which came in 4th in Class B). This prestigious event was de facto a first testing ground for “Ammonite” which will race in the next Maxi Rolex Cup, always held in Porto Cervo in Septem-ber. After which the elegant 82’ originally from the southern hemisphere will nip over to the MYS (Monaco Yacht Show) also in September during which it will be officially presented amidst Monte Carlo’s mundane and whirling chaotic atmosphere during the most important marketing venue of the season’s superyachts. Mr. Blackmore’s ambitious programmes don’t finish in September. After the summer months in the Mediterranean “Ammonite” will be sailing to the Caribbean with the annual ARC rally crossing the Atlantic from Gran Canaria - Canary islands starting on Novem-ber 20th to Saint Lucia 2,700 miles away. A performing yacht like “Ammonite” could cover the distance in ten days. The Caribbean season kicks off with a series of races in which “Ammonite” will be compet-ing, among them there’s Loro Piana’s Superyacht Caribbean event. In actual fact “Ammo-nite” combines its two prede-cessors’ features making it a unique experience. The SW82 RS “Ammonite”’s near twin ship Feelin’ Good launched in 2013 featuring a raised saloon sailed more than 11,000 miles in six months, the other yacht is SW82 FD Grande Orazio launched a year later in 2014 sports a flush deck and is decidedly more oriented to-ward racing, and has collected since its beginnings numerous firsts in the most significant racing events reserved for su-peryachts.

TECHNICAL DATALOA: 24.86 m - LWL: 21.52 m - Beam: 5.91 m - Draught: 3.00/4.70 m - Displacement: 41.00 tons - Ballast:13.00 tons – Engine: Steyr SE196 E35 190 hp @ 3,500 rpm – Sail plan: main 177 square metres, Jib 135 square metres (I: 31.10 - J: 8.74 - P: 30.20 - E: 10.40) – Construction material: Hull, deck and structural sandwich composites (car-bon fibre, epoxy resins, hybrid E-glass and Core-cell), vacuum-bagged interiors in honeycomb Nomex, furniture in carbon with whitened oak veneer and wengé inserts – Project: General con-cept, layout, exterior and interior design: Nauta Design – Naval Architecture: Farr Yacht Design – Engineering and structural projection: Gurit Ltd – Class: Rina and MCA Small Commercial Vessel.

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The cockpit if we can call it this way since it comprises a large lounge area dedicat-ed to visiting guests and is shared by the crew during manoeuvres is subdivided into three separate zones: toward the bow border-ing with the coachroof and companionway which leads to the saloon below deck, followed by an ‘al fresco’ din-ing area/ lounge and finally a sun bathing spot which can accommodate up to five people. The stern with classic twin helms and repeaters,sports four winches just aft of the spray hood above the descent leading down to the crew’s quarters, chart table, navigation corner and large galley.The layout with the owner’s quarters in the bow is classic enough, well designed and fine tuned in detail by both Nauta Design and Southern Wind. The owner’s cabin therefore with bathroom en suite is situated in the quieter zone in the bow while the two crew cabins with three beds are sit-uated in the stern. Guest cabins are situated as follows: a VIP amidships on port side with a double bed and an additional folding bunk bed when needed and a guest cabin situated aft of the saloon with access from the saloon itself guarantees adequate accommodation and privacy to all guests.The saloon is principally an open space divided in two: to port there’s a dining table which doubles as coffee table between meals in the other hours of the day preceded by a small desk, lit up by a specially requested Tolomeo Mini wall light by Artemide designed by Michele De Lucchi, an excel-lence taken from Italy’s great designer works. To starboard we find a living/lounge area contouring another table, this time a coffee table which can double as a gaming table which contains what was a moving surprise for Mr. Blackmore: a Scrabble set a game which requires concentration and technique in ‘piecing’ letters together to form words as in a crossword puzzle. This game was ap-parently invented by Alfred Mosher Butts an architect from New York in 1938. The Blackmores are dedicated players of the game and Marcus made no secret of it and asked where and how it could be placed and that he’d appreciate one in wood. The yard’s craftsmen set about to work without saying anything and produced a wooden set which disappears into the coffee table proving their proficiency and demonstrating once again the level of personalisation they are capable of when

building a yacht. “Ammo-nite”’s interiors stand out for the contemporary style provided by Nauta Design, the details of which were handled by Mrs. Blackmore and Nauta designers to-gether. The result is a har-monious blend matching defined lines to fabrics, tex-ture and natural colours. Whitened oak furniture

The overall project of SWS82 RS is proof enough of successful team work between Nauta Design, Farr Yacht Design and the shipyard. The yacht’s elegant exterior lines developed by Nauta Design are underscored by, the now famous coachroof sporting window like ports on three sides that have become a signature, a real ‘griffe’ of the Milan based Studio and at the same time also the South African shipyard’s trademark. The see through mode involving three sides offers a 270° view of the surroundings.Just as in Nauta Design’s configuration for Feelin’ Good, on “Ammonite” too light is an important theme and plays an important role, with two meanings, one refers to the lightness of structure while the other to brightness which thanks to the skylight which runs virtually full beam right across the coachroof top and to the window like panelling along some of the top sides there’s plenty of natural light.As for lightness of the structure “Ammonite” does without a customary teak deck as per the own-er’s request to better adapt to warmer climes, which saved thousands of dollars, but more to the point, in nautical terms saved a lot of weight more than half a ton of it up on the deck area which would not have enhanced greater performance as requested by the owner.

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are embellished with wengé wood inserts and carbon fibres, while chocolate coloured skin linings on table tops act as a contrast to a chromatic sophisticated range of colour schemes from the upholstery in a hue of greys, browns and yellows. The frames of window like ports and of the glass panelling along the topsides are all of the same colour of the hull conveying a sense of uniformity on board. The decor also comprises decorative and artistic details recalling marine life which rep-resent the Blackmores’ love for the seas contouring the land they come from and Mrs. Blackmore’s special refined taste.“Ammonite”’s powerful sail plan is held together by a high module carbon main mast and rigging in pure EC6 carbon all supplied by Southern Spars, while the yard equipped this RS82 with a lifting keel which they had never done before. This solution means that draught below waterline can change accordingly from 3 to 4.70 metres thereby guaranteeing enhanced performances when tacking up wind or running before, the possibility of mooring in shallower waters in harbours or out. This solution was carefully considered by both Nauta Design thanks to their experience and Mr. Blackmore and once again Nauta Design’s know how in terms of interior layout managed to conceal the ‘box’ for the near 13 ton lifting keel and appendices from view amidships and inte-grated it between the passageway leading forward from the saloon toward the owner’s cabin and the bulkhead separating the VIP cabin. A magic touch which cleverly camouflages the presence of a keel box on board. There’s much growing interest today for lifting keels in this way specially in performing yachts designed to race not wishing to sacrifice anything to comfort while cruising and nobody wants to do without this winning solution anymore – and Southern Wind with the project designers involved have delivered a winning solution with their habitual quality and flare.For further information: Pegaso S.r.l. Piazza della Vittoria 15/22, 16121 Genova, Italy; Tel. +39 010 5704035, sales@pegasoyd.com, www.sws-yachts.com

Southern Wind SW82 RS Ammonite