Alan Harper

Jan 24, 2025 | powerandmotoryacht.com | Alan Harper

Otam’s head-turning new 90 is a modern take on the original vision set forth by legendary racer Fabio Buzzi. Late summer, 2001. The phone rang. It was Fabio Buzzi. Would I care to join him and Dag Pike for lunch? This was back when I edited a magazine from a 23rd-floor office overlooking the Thames in central London. Where was he? St Katherine’s, he said. They had just arrived.

Jan 10, 2025 | powerandmotoryacht.com | Alan Harper

Paolo Vitelli, the founder of Azimut Yachts, has died following a fall at his home on New Years Eve. He was 77. Acknowledged as a giant in the global yachting industry, Paolo Vitelli was one of a generation of European entrepreneurs who capitalized on advances in naval architecture, fiberglass construction and marine-engine technology to establish the primacy of the motoryacht in leisure boating.

Nov 14, 2024 | powerandmotoryacht.com | Alan Harper

Pearl Motor Yachts is a boutique British marque that seems to weather the slings and arrows of economic fortune with a lot less effort than many of its bigger rivals. New models are introduced every year or two, and they never fail to make a splash at the Fall shows. The company delivered 13 boats in 2024, including three examples of its latest model, the 82.

Jun 6, 2024 | powerandmotoryacht.com | Alan Harper

A long drive in the pouring rain, a ferry ride across a boisterous sea, a boat trip in a rising gale, and finally here you are, striding up a gangway, into the compound of a busy shipyard and a huge grey shed, its massive doors groaning in the wind. This is not your typical yacht-building premises. For one thing, it’s in England, on the Isle of Wight. Sure, yachts are built in England, but not too many in places like this.

May 29, 2024 | powerandmotoryacht.com | Alan Harper

Look again. The exterior design of Sanlorenzo’s SL90A might seem to be standard-issue Italian conservative-chic, and it is. But concealed within its sleek yet sober styling, this yacht boasts a feature that makes it one of the most radical and forward-thinking vessels in its class. It doesn’t matter how close you get, you probably won’t notice it until you’re actually on board: there’s no port side deck.