1990. Destriero, the 60,000-horsepower boat that dominated the Ocean

Welcome to the special section “BAM 35 Years.” We are presenting “cult” articles from the Motor Boats archive, starting in 1990. A journey through time among stories unobtainable today, even in the great sea of the internet! A dive into the world of epic moments in motor boating. We begin with one of the stories we were most passionate about.

1990. Destriero: A Steed with 60,000 horsepower

From Boats by Motor 1990. Year 1 no.4 June 1990, pp. 94-97

The Yacht Club Costa Smeralda has launched its challenge to win the Blue Ribbon. It will be the Destriero that will attempt the record ride in 1991, but as early as this year the French and Australians will attack the trophy.

Thedie is cast. In the hall of honor of CONI at the Foro Italico on Tuesday, May 15, the Aga Khan presented the program of the challenge to the Yacht Club Costa Smeralda to win the Hales Trophy, the trophy established in 1935 to tangibly reward the owners of the ship that made the fastest Atlantic crossing, that is, those who had earned the honorific Blue Riband (Blue Riband).

The boat entrusted with the fate of the challenge will bear the name Destriero, a name that in medieval symbolism represented power, courage and endurance, qualities that have become symbols of valor and chivalry. The record attempt, which received the High Patronage of the Presidency of the Italian Republic, will be carried out in the summer of 1991, in compliance with the recently redefined Hales Trophy regulations. The founders of the prestigious trophy could not in their day have imagined that vessels other than the large ocean liners could try their hand at the record attempt, as has been the case in recent years, and so the new committee of trustees (Trustees) had to undertake an update of the existing regulations. Modern realities were taken into account, while keeping intact the original founding principles “…to serve as a stimulus for the improvement of the boat’s performance and the refinement of its mechanics…”

The basic criteria on which the new Blue Ribbon Trophy regulations were defined can be reduced to three:

1. the safety of the crew and the boat are of paramount importance. First, it is required that the boat be built according to the regulations of a Recognized Classification Society;
2. the vessel must have a utility function in the maritime sense, i.e., make a significant contribution to naval technology and not be built only to make the crossing faster. On the other hand, it is not expressly required that the vessel must carry paying passengers during the crossing (ed. note: the only clause that was lately recognized as binding);
3. the vessel shall not refuel or receive assistance of any kind during the crossing, except for work on electronics and navigational instruments.

There seems to be a clear desire to keep the rapacious hands of the “Record Hunters,” unscrupulous men with absolutely no social motivation, invisible even to the environmental leagues, away from the Hales Trophy. Irony aside, the regulations of the Hales Trophy had recently appeared very unclear in the face of record attempts made in recent times by making intermediate refuelings, which, of course, allows the use of much lighter and faster boats, however, completely different from those envisioned by Harold Keates Hales. Two such attempts, that of Englishman Richard Branson’s Virgin Atlantic and later that of American billionaire Tom Gentry’s Gentry Eagle, were successful after a failed trial. Gentry even pulverized previous records by making the crossing in 2 days, 14 hours and 7 minutes, at a speed of 47.36 knots. At first it had seemed that Branson’s and Gentry’s records might be legitimate. In fact, the regulations did not expressly prohibit refueling during the crossing, so these could be considered permissible. But the Trustees, grasping the original spirit that informed the regulations, decided not to award the Hales Trophy to either Branson or Gentry because the boats and the manner of the record did not correspond to the principles of the regulations. Hence the decision to redefine the rules in unequivocal terms, as mentioned above.

To put to rest any possible controversy, the ideal now would be to win the Hales Trophy by also breaking Gentry’s record.

And this is the stated goal of the Yacht Club Costa Smeralda. It is to make a crossing of nearly 3,000 miles (from Bishop Rock Lighthouse in New York to the Schilly Islands in England, the distance is 2942 miles, or 5,448 kilometers), in less than 62 hours and 7 minutes.

Destriero. The protagonists

Contributing to the venture will be Fiat for design, Fincantieri for construction, Pininfarina for design, Veneziani Vernici for coatings, Allumix (an IRI group company) for construction material, General Electric for turbines, KaMeWa for hydrojets (which will not only serve for propulsion but will also have the function of inverters and rudder, thanks to an additional mechanism), Renk Tacke for the gearboxes for the hydrojets, SEPA for the control and monitoring elements, Ciga Hotel for the hospitality to technicians and crew, and finally Agip, which will supply the environmentally friendly, i.e., low-sulfur, diesel fuel and lubricants. The expected fuel consumption is over 500 tons, the hull construction material is aluminum alloy, the turbines have a power of 20,000 hp each, and the speed will exceed 50 knots. The Destriero will cost $50 million, just over 60 billion lira. Too much ? “No.” said the designers, “Normal for such a vessel.” The record attempt has been set for the summer of 1991 with departure from New York and arrival in South Hampton. July and August are the most favorable months because of the lower presence of icebergs. The launching and decisive sea trials are expected to take place in April. In the meantime, various design solutions will be verified and theoretical tests will be conducted. By the end of the year, more will be known. At least it is hoped. There is also to choose the crew members and team-manager. We are assured that they will all be Italian. “They are the best in the world”-said the Aga Khan-“it would be sheer folly not to make use of them.” And While waiting for the Destriero to accomplish the epic feat of capturing a Trophy that in Italy has belonged only to the legendary Rex, other nations have issued their own challenge to the Nastro Azzurro. The French will entrust the Jet Ruban Bleu with the task of reviving the glories of the Normandie, the ship that snatched the Blue Riband and consequently the Hales Trophy from the Rex.

When the record will be attempted

The attempt is expected to take place this summer. The boat was built by Multiplast, a shipyard specializing in offshore sailing and racing boats in general, created by designer Gilles Ollier. Looking at the data sheet, one is struck by the small size of the hull, which makes it look more like a large offshore boat than a small ship like the Destriero. All in all, she looks quite similar to Azimut, the last Italian boat to attempt, albeit unhappily, to win the Hales Trophy. The French flaunt a certain confidence, as is in their character. The design of the Jet Ruban Bleu was studied for two years before starting its construction last September. Computer aero-dynamic tests and 350 simulated navigation tests were carried out in all sea and weather conditions. In the last three tests the computer gave the O.K. The record will surely be broken.

If the computer says so. The cost of the Jet Ruban Bleu, sponsored by Jet Service was 20 million francs, about 44 billion liras. The launch was to take place this May, but everything was postponed for a month. The reason has not been specified. Perhaps the computer will have to be consulted. Atlantic challenges are also being launched from faraway Australia. It seems that the boat that is to make the record attempt is a catamaran. More is not known for now. Certainly big movements are announced near Bishop Rock. For the time being, the Hales Trophy is stored in the New York Maritime Museum. It has been there since 1952 when the turbo-ship United States conquered it by plying the ocean in 3 days, 10 hours and 40 minutes at a speed of 35.59 knots. The Americans do not seem to worry that the glorious Trophy may one day change locations.

• Check out all the articles from the BAM archive in this section.

A treat for enthusiasts. A photo taken on board the Destriero while sailing taken from the interview we did with Mauro Parodi, Fincantieri’s prime contractor at the time and, today, senior vice-president of Fincantieri (click here).