THE ITALIAN JOB

How a US owner found yachting paradise in 67-metre Calex

Calex exterior

A US owner travelled to Italy to find a yacht big enough for his life afloat. Cecile Gauert discovers how he customised a successful Benetti platform – and gave it an American accent

JEFF BROWN/BREED MEDIA

American owners buy American yachts, right? The owner of 67-metre Benetti Calex certainly did for many years, until the size requirements of his boat pushed him across the Atlantic. Before his first Benetti, David Wilson owned a succession of Westport yachts, moving from a 34-metre Westport 112 to a 40-metre and then built a 50-metre, which he and his family enjoyed for many years. They kept their boats in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, and spent most summers enjoying the warm water and the fishing in the Sea of Cortez. As usually happens, he eventually wanted to go bigger and explore a little further.

“We just wanted a 50-metre kind of on steroids,” Wilson says. He was very happy with his experience with Westport and would have returned to build a bigger boat with them but, at the time, the American shipyard was not able to oblige. Where to go next? 

Brokers, boat shows, magazines and friends all contributed ideas, but it was a fellow yachtsman and auto dealer who provided the initial impetus for him to look in Italy at the world’s most prolific yacht builder.

“We were on Metis at the Monaco Yacht Show and that’s when we decided we wanted to build a Benetti”

Calex exterior

JEFF BROWN/BREED MEDIA The uncluttered open foredeck and straight bow are part of the success of this platform. Tenders and the mooring bay are hidden below

JEFF BROWN/BREED MEDIA The uncluttered open foredeck and straight bow are part of the success of this platform. Tenders and the mooring bay are hidden below

“I probably wouldn’t have a Benetti if it wasn’t for John Staluppi,” Wilson says. “He and his wife, Jeanette, hosted my wife, Holly, and me on his boat Diamonds Are Forever a couple times, and we were impressed with the quality of that boat and the size of it.”

But it would take a while longer before they decided what to build. At some point, Northrop & Johnson broker Joe Foggia sent the owner documentation on a Benetti project that would become Metis (now Artisan). Wilson, who liked the style, later went to see the finished product. “We were on Metis at the Monaco Yacht Show (in 2019), and that’s when we decided we wanted to build a Benetti,” Wilson says. “We just loved the style; the vertical bow looks very contemporary and modern. And the Italians do a great job of fit and finish.”

Calex exterior

JEFF BROWN/BREED MEDIA

JEFF BROWN/BREED MEDIA

“It’s a delightful place to hang out and that’s the gathering place in the afternoon for sure, before dinner and during the day, we’ve been down there a lot”

And so finally, his intercontinental quest had led him to a pre-engineered platform that has proven successful for the Italian builder. The Benetti Calex, which made its boat show debut in Palm Beach in March, a little less than a year after delivery, is a distant cousin of the 63-metre Benetti Soundwave (ex-11.11) delivered in 2015.

She is also the biggest and most evolved of the bunch to date. The 1,250GT Project Fenestra (as Calex was known) was the first in Livorno to be fitted with selective catalytic reduction (SCR) technology to reduce emissions from the diesel generators. That requirement mandated lengthening the yacht to make a larger engine room because the equipment is bulky. “This was designed from scratch because in terms of space and layout, you should always ensure the right airflow,” says Marco De Cosmo, who managed the project for Benetti. Just aft of the engine room is Calex’s beach club with two opening platforms (aft and port side), a bar and generous seating area. None of this looks like a compromise. 

Calex exterior

JEFF BROWN/BREED MEDIA

JEFF BROWN/BREED MEDIA

Calex exterior

JEFF BROWN/BREED MEDIA

JEFF BROWN/BREED MEDIA

Calex exterior

JEFF BROWN/BREED MEDIA

JEFF BROWN/BREED MEDIA

Calex exterior

JEFF BROWN/BREED MEDIA

JEFF BROWN/BREED MEDIA

Calex exterior

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JEFF BROWN/BREED MEDIA

Calex exterior

JEFF BROWN/BREED MEDIA

JEFF BROWN/BREED MEDIA

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Calex exterior

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Calex exterior

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Calex exterior

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JEFF BROWN/BREED MEDIA

Calex exterior

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JEFF BROWN/BREED MEDIA

Calex exterior

JEFF BROWN/BREED MEDIA

JEFF BROWN/BREED MEDIA

Calex exterior

JEFF BROWN/BREED MEDIA

JEFF BROWN/BREED MEDIA

The view from the wheelhouse is perfect for navigation, while keeping the owner’s private terrace below just out of sight. Further forward, parasols provide temporary shade

Wilson picks the office as his favourite interior space, and the owner’s deck aft dining area as second favourite, but he says the beach club gets a lot of use. “It’s a delightful place to hang out and that’s the gathering place in the afternoon for sure, before dinner and during the day, we’ve been down there a lot.” 

The owner moved from a 34-metre to a 40-metre and then built a 50-metre, but he eventually wanted to go bigger and explore a little further. “We wanted a 50-metre kind of on steroids” he says

But the crux of the new six-deck (including tank deck) project may be the sundeck. The family was used to carrying a large tender on the upper deck, loves the idea of exercising outdoors and entertains a lot, so Wilson thought lengthening the decks would not only provide them with the recreational and entertainment space they needed but would help the overall profile. He conversed, mostly over Zoom, with exterior designer Giorgio Cassetta, and pushed for a metre or two more. 

Calex exterior

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JEFF BROWN/BREED MEDIA

Calex exterior

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JEFF BROWN/BREED MEDIA

Calex exterior

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Calex exterior

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Calex exterior

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Calex exterior

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Calex exterior

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JEFF BROWN/BREED MEDIA

Calex exterior

JEFF BROWN/BREED MEDIA

JEFF BROWN/BREED MEDIA

Top left: forward on the sundeck is a spa pool with a fabulous view. Bottom right: when the top deck’s tender is splashed, loose furniture fills the space. Exercise equipment can be found under the shade of the hardtop

“We went back and forth around 15 times, given the extra length and bigger exterior decks, with many requests related to the layout of the exterior areas,” Cassetta says. These changes led to tweaks in the design of the superstructure as well, which would escape a casual onlooker but give Calex her distinct personality.

“You may look at Calex and think the superstructure is identical to that of Triumph (another Benetti-Cassetta collaboration based on the same pre-engineering platform), except for some extension of deck. In fact, it’s not like that,” Cassetta says. The superstructure “was remodelled, so there is not a single surface that is completely identical to her sisters, which is quite unusual. From the upper deck up, she has very little in common.”

Calex interior

JEFF BROWN/BREED MEDIA The owner’s office is one of the owner’s favourite spaces on board

JEFF BROWN/BREED MEDIA The owner’s office is one of the owner’s favourite spaces on board

The owners chose vertical windows on the forward section of the main deck where two comfortable VIP cabins are located. “It may be seen as a bit classic now, but I like it,” Cassetta says. “On this platform, which is quite low on the water, it helps bring out the power of the bow sections. It creates this big, powerful bow, which compensates for the height and flare of the superstructure, so I am quite fond of that.” They also work perfectly well to bring light into the equally sized VIP cabins.  

Calex interior

JEFF BROWN/BREED MEDIA  The beach club with its central bar got a lot of use during Calex’s stay in the Bahamas. It opens to the sea aft and on the port side

JEFF BROWN/BREED MEDIA  The beach club with its central bar got a lot of use during Calex’s stay in the Bahamas. It opens to the sea aft and on the port side

The mast and hardtop designs differ from Artisan, which has a central structure. “That is quite a big change for the overall perception because up there on the sundeck, you have these views aft and forward and there are a few technical advantages as well,” Cassetta says. For instance, it allows for “the generator exhaust [to be] routed to the sides of that mast. The generator discharges are all routed up there, so you have no fumes at sea level.” All the better to enjoy a swim or fishing off the aft platform. Calex is fitted with a few custom rod holders (and there is a dedicated place to store rods in the beach club) – once a fisherman, always a fisherman.

Another advantage, of course, is that it creates more open floor space that the family uses as an outdoor gym, which gets great natural ventilation and is very private. Forward is a spa pool. Originally a helm station was planned but De Cosmo convinced the build team that on a yacht of Calex’s size, it would not provide much operational advantage. 

Calex interior

JEFF BROWN/BREED MEDIA

JEFF BROWN/BREED MEDIA

Calex interior

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JEFF BROWN/BREED MEDIA

Calex interior

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JEFF BROWN/BREED MEDIA

Calex interior

JEFF BROWN/BREED MEDIA

JEFF BROWN/BREED MEDIA

Calex interior

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JEFF BROWN/BREED MEDIA

Calex interior

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JEFF BROWN/BREED MEDIA

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Calex interior

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Calex interior

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Calex interior

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JEFF BROWN/BREED MEDIA

Calex interior

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JEFF BROWN/BREED MEDIA