FABULOUS FLOTILLA
3/1/2007 2:55:20 PM by David Morris
Wave goes sailing with Pershing on a weekend rendezvous to learn about the brand and how it came to hold its own in an industry brimming with over-the-top marvels of water-bound design and speed.
Photos courtesy of Pershing
“Pershing is a yacht made for someone who is very confident about themselves,” says Tilli Antonelli, president of Italy’s Pershing, makers of what are arguably the world’s sexiest motor yachts. Antonelli is a man who, like his constituents, enjoys the ultimate in style and performance. When he’s not hurtling his Ferrari down the roads to the Ferretti Group shipyards at La Spezia, racing his offshore boat, or taking his clients on the ski vacation of a lifetime in the Italian Alps, he’s traveling the world to connect with the passionate elite who own the marine missiles created by the world’s second largest yacht builders.
The distinctive swoop of the Pershing yacht has become quite visible in the U.S. thanks to Antonelli and his partners at MarineMax, U.S. agents for Ferretti Group brands and leading purveyors of luxury pleasure boats. It’s easy to see why. When stepping aboard a Pershing, one only asks what deal must be made with the devil to own one.
So when Tom Houliares, MarineMax’s VP of sales, extends an invitation to join a fabulous flotilla of nine Pershings ranging from 50 to 62 feet, their owners and selected guests for a VIP weekend run to the Keys, the answer is a foregone conclusion.
Pulling away from docks at the Miami marina and watching the skyline recede through the spray of the Pershing’s distinctive rooster tail, the words “Bond…James Bond” echo over and over again. Crockett and Tubbs, eat your heart out. We’re soon barreling along in a V-formation, our Pershing 62’s 80,000 pounds leaping like a leopard over the waves at more than 40 mph. A helicopter from BoatPix swings overhead to capture the scene for posterity. The owners at the helm grin like the kids they’ve become once again and their female companions sun themselves like movie stars on The Riviera.
This sense of fantasy is encouraged, and Houliares’ team’s success is predicated on their constant attention to building relationships with their clientele. Once the two- to three-year process of choosing and purchasing this type of boat is complete, a friendship has often been formed that extends into the enjoyment of the lifestyle. “We try to create special experiences for our clients,” says Houliares. “Pershing owners are typically entrepreneurs. They’re relatively young, self-made and very engaged. They like to go fast, and look great doing it. They appreciate the best in class technology, and they like the statement a Pershing makes. It’s ahead of the rest. And they want to drive their boat, as opposed to being chauffeured around on it.” While the larger models make a captain essential, the challenge of piloting these waterborne jets powered by twin 1550-hp engines is a rush difficult to duplicate.
Houliares lays on the power. The nose of the 62 lifts and the beast surges forward, sending a thrill through the body that transforms you. For the price of a pedigree waterfront home, a Pershing is a thoroughbred high, pure and simple.
Seeing the Keys from this vantage point is to understand why those who insist on the finest choose this storied location as their oasis. The blend of jade, purple and sapphire in the waters under a sky that shifts from steel to silk is an intoxication to which one surrenders willingly.
We pull into the exclusive Ocean Reef Club where a buffet lunch is presented to perfection. The BoatPix people are already there, printing out digital poster-sized snaps of the seagoing stallions for their owners to enjoy.
As the group gathers for a photo, it becomes evident that this is a special class of individuals. Whatever field they have mastered and empires they have built, their personalities are down to Earth, approachable and fun. They bond, chatting about horses, art, travel and toys. They joke and laugh, and celebrate the life they have made and realize they are fortunate to lead.
After the pause, it’s on to the idyll of Little Palm Island. With just 20 bungalows, this resort offers a menu of elegant escape. The next day, the party breaks away for a scavenger hunt on Key West and lunch overlooking the harbor, before returning to the resort to dine on seven courses in the twilight, serenaded by a pianist who knows his Ellington and Gershwin. Life is good. Very, very good.