Once again, the Ferretti Group kicked off the French Riviera’s September yacht show season with a star-studded event at the Yacht Club de Monaco. This year marked the 10th edition of the Italian luxury yacht builder’s Private Preview and the event was suitably celebratory. The invite-only gathering brought an international roll-call of yacht owners to Port Hercules for a first look at the brand’s most anticipated launches and a weekend (4 to 7 September) that blended sea trials, haute cuisine and live music in true Riviera style.
More than 30 yachts from the Group’s portfolio set a gleaming scene in the marina, with eight premières from Ferretti Yachts, Itama, Riva and Pershing taking the spotlight as the event raised the curtain on the boat show season. During the day, guests stepped aboard for private viewings and sea trials on the Med, while the evenings were equally glamorous.
The height of the Private Preview was a gala dinner and private concert, headlined by Simply Red. Mick Hucknall and the band delivered a set that swung from evergreen anthems like Stars and Holding Back the Years to newer material, performed on a stage suspended above the water with the Ferretti fleet as a theatrical backdrop. Between performances, Chef Antonio Mellino of Quattro Passi a Nerano, holder of three Michelin stars, curated a menu that traced a refined journey through the Amalfi Coast with Mediterranean clarity on every plate.
Throughout the weekend, the innovative Ferretti Yachts 800 drew a steady queue for tours, as did the breakthrough Itama 54 with its open-air promise of speed and spray. Riva’s storybook glamour arrived in a trio: the Aquariva Special, the Riva Cento limited edition that celebrates a century of Rivamare heritage, and the new-generation Riva 58’ Capri. Topping the scale was the Riva 112’ Dolcevita Super, a flybridge with expanded volumes designed for long, lazy days at anchor. Two further debuts rounded out the line-up in style with the Ferretti Yachts 940 and the dynamic Pershing GTX70, a new entry created to mark Pershing’s fortieth year. If you didn’t catch a glimpse of the yachts in Monaco this past weekend, they’ll be showing at Cannes Yachting Festival this week.
Ten editions in, Ferretti’s Private Preview has become more than a prologue to the season. It is a Monaco ritual where craftsmanship meets theatre, where a stage over the water can belong to a British soul band one moment and to an Italian motoryacht the next.
Alberto Galassi, Ferretti Group CEO (below, right), captured the spirit of the weekend: “A big thank you to Mick Hucknall and Simply Red—I am still singing all the many hits from their fantastic concert! This wonderful evening goes to show that talent and passion are the key ingredients of every successful project, from music to yachts. A Private Preview – in its tenth edition – as exciting as this one, with eight premières and the most fantastic boats of the world, is the perfect start to this year’s boat show season.”
