Jessica and I arrived in Varraze today after flying in from the UK.
We found our way to the Marina Di Varazze and hunted down Magellano.
We found her easily and my First impressions were WOW! This IS different!!
For some reason she feels a bigger boat than I expected, and certainly looks very capable. Her presence is undoubtedly increased by her striking looks and lines.

My first hours were spent crawling over the twin CAT diesels running diagnostics with the CAT engineer and getting to know my way around the engine room- something I feel may take longer than 2 hours!
The engines are fairly compact units, which at idle produce a very reasonable level of noise and were very smooth. The engine control panels were very user freindly and give you all of you basic operating data at a glance and a push of a button.
My first impression of the engine room is that of a very well thought out and laid out space.
The rest of the day we have spent preparing Magellano for her big day tomorrow.

I Can not wait!!
Ciao…… Alex

So much happening of late with moving house that I have barely had time to think about the upcoming voyage but now that we are almost at the “off” – tends to focus the mind somewhat!!
Certainly a sense of anticipation at being at sea again and on a very different type of vessel. Gets the old grey matter going. Perhaps there will be better weather than what we have had of late in the UK. We can only hope that the elements are nice to us so making it all that much nicer for the visitors but am sure that the Magellano will deal with whatever is thrown at her. Am looking forward to seeing some old haunts from previous voyages around the med and of course the ones that I have not been such as Malta. The itinerary is varied so should hold something for everyone that is onboard at any time.
The last minute scramble of packing and finalising travel details continues but in a couple of days will be sitting in a very beautiful boat, looking at the horizon and smiling as we head for the sea and freedom!

Looking at the horizon

This year we have successfully completed 3500 miles in all weathers in our Azimut 62, in complete safety and in great comfort.
Our 5-month “voyage of a life-time” has taken us from our home port of Jersey, in the Channel Islands, through the Bay of Biscay, around the Iberian Peninsula, across to Africa and deep into the Mediterranean.
Having experienced at first hand the quality and reliability that Azimut bring to long-distance cruising, and having already been on board the Magellano, we are excited by this radical new “little ship”. We are already impressed with the vision, design, and engineering that has gone into the project and we are eagerly looking forward to what we’re sure will be a thrilling exploration of an entirely new concept in motor boating.

Well, after many months of arduous planning, Dag and the team from  Azimut have got this fantastic odyssey under way!
The apprehension and fear that this may not come off was for me very worrying, a project of this magnatude is something that I have wanted to be involved with for a very long time, not to mention the chance of  being one of the first people to go to sea on this totaly new and innovative vessel.
I am under no illusion that this voyage is going to be testing, a brand new vessel will always present new challanges and as Magellano develops her own personality and traits, the unpredictability of the weather added to the equasion will make for a very exciting voyage!
I feel honoured and privilaged to be involved with Azimut, and look forward to sharing my thoughts over the next month. I cannot wait for the Magellano odyssey to begin!
“To be sure I lose the flowers of the land, but then I am gathering the fruits of the sea”

Solo a bordo di una imbarcazione in mezzo al mare io credo, si possa capire di essere lontani da tutto e tutti …
Ho sempre visto il Mare come un Deserto anche se elementi fisicamente opposti. E forse solo in un luogo dove la fa da padrone lo Spazio scatta una maggiore e intensa sensibilità, una attenzione a volte esasperata per i suoni, i colori , le sfumature, gli odori.
Spero che sia così, e soprattutto spero che sia una esperienza indimenticabile sia dal punto di vista Umano che Professionale.

Dove lo spazio la fa da padrone