Skipper training on superyachts
Beaming and smiling, Melanie Voss-Franke stands on the flybridge of the brand-new Azimut Magellano 60 "Olivia" and manoeuvres the 35-tonner sensitively to her berth in the Mandalina Marina in Šibenik with the help of a yacht controller. The fun of steering is written all over her face. Slowly - very slowly - she steers the 18.47 metre long semi-glider to the quay using the compact remote control - as if she had never done anything else. "Olivia" captain Grigor is standing next to her, relaxed but focused, watching the manoeuvre that everyone is doing. "Splendid Escape"-participants as part of the skipper training programme.
"Nobody has to - everyone can," explains Splendid Yachting boss Stefan Breck, who has organised the event in the home port of his yacht fleet for the second time and enthuses: "The mix of people is fantastic, everyone is united by their enthusiasm for yachting and super sports cars. Once again this year, we have participants with us who have had nothing to do with yachts before and are already - on the second day - absolutely thrilled by the freedom and lifestyle that comes with life on a yacht."
Superlative of the road: Rimac NeveraR
Around 70 of the 120 participants at the event have signed up for the skipper training, while the rest will be exploring the beautiful Dalmatian landscape in the fleet of McLarens, Aston Martins, Dallaras and KTMs brought along by the Dörr team. One of the highlights of the Dörr portfolio this year is a superlative of the road: the Rimac NeveraR is the ultimate hypercar with 2136 hp. The €2.1 million e-sports car accelerates from 0 to 100 km/h in just 1.81 seconds and to 300 km/h in 8.66 seconds. Even the participants of the event who are used to fast supercars were deeply impressed when they got out of the bucket seats of the 412 km/h sprint champion after the test drives.
But there was also plenty on offer for superyacht enthusiasts in front of the D-Resort in Šibenik, where all participants were accommodated. "This year, we have eight new Azimut models between 16 and 24 metres in the harbour, from the Azimut Atlantis 51 to the Azimut 78 Fly," reports Stefan Breck. Not all participants in the skipper training programme are as experienced as Melanie Voss-Franke, who owns an Azimut 50 with her husband Ralf and travels a lot on it. "We have a clear division of tasks on board," says Ralf Franke with a smile. "I'm responsible for the lines and cooking, my wife steers and navigates." This also explains the skipper's confident mooring manoeuvre. Captain Grigor is also delighted with the performance of the newcomers: "All the participants are super open and interested, it's great fun. And they all dared to take the helm and take control of the powerful engine packages on our yachts." Of course, the syllabus also included knot tying and handling mooring lines and anchoring equipment. "You don't usually learn how to moor superyachts in such a relaxed atmosphere," says Splendid charter manager Betina Zupanovic, who played a key role in organising the event. "That's why you shouldn't miss out on an offer like this."
Yacht tour to the island of Kaprije
In addition to an in-house exhibition on the first day, including a sundowner cocktail, during which all participants were able to view the yachts and cars at their leisure, the programme also included excursions. On the second day, immediately after the skipper training, all the yachts in the Splendid fleet travelled to the island of Kaprije, seven nautical miles away, to Konoba Nozdra. In addition to lunch and refreshments, the team from event partner Luxury Marine Toys was waiting with selected water toys for the participants, who gladly accepted the offer and tried out e-foils, surfboards and Seabobs in water temperatures of a fresh 20 degrees and romped through the turquoise-coloured water.
After a gala dinner at the Mandalina Marina Yacht Club, the second skipper training session was scheduled for the next morning, during which the participants practised anchoring manoeuvres and mooring alongside. Even the more experienced participants were delighted with the practical tricks that the professionals from the Splendid Yachting team taught them.
Superyachting meets supersportscars
Of course, participants with an affinity for yachts were also able to register with the Dörr team for test drives in the sports cars. "Our offer was really very well received," said a satisfied Daniel Ruth, who is responsible for international marketing and event organisation at the Dörr Group. "We had three different tours on offer, all of which had first-class scenery and were very well received by our guests." The final round of the event took the participants in the super sports cars on a fantastic overland journey to the Bibich winery - the perfect end to the second Splendid Escape event. Whether watching the sunset on the flybridge or cornering with carbon in the rear-view mirror, this weekend once again showed how well superyachts and super sports cars go together.
See you next year!
Martin Hager
Editor in Chief YACHT
