My Song arrived in Palma..
Cradle failure..
The primary assessment is that the yacht’s cradle (owned and provided by the yacht, warrantied by the yacht for sea transport and assembled by the yacht’s crew) collapsed during the voyage from Palma to Genoa and subsequently resulted in the loss of MY SONG overboard. I will add that this is the initial assessment and is subject to confirmation in due course..
EXCLUSIVE - My Song Case, the official response of the shipping company
Loading of 100' Super Maxi Comanche
My Song was
launched in 2016. For the design Loro Piana (former owner of the company
that bears his name called "king of Tasmanian" thanks to the leadership
in the highest quality wool fabrics famous all over the world. Loro
Piana is was sold in 2013 to the luxury multinational LVMH) turned to
the combination that had already built its previous boat, Reichel Pugh
and Nauta. The peculiarity of this maxi yacht, like all Pigi boats, is
that they are used both on cruises and in regattas (winning!).
The water lines
are from the Californian studio Reichel Pugh, all the rest is the work
of the Milanese Nauta Design. The construction was entrusted to the
Finnish Baltic Yachts. This maxi sailboat of 40 meters, the largest ever
built by Nauta, is a concentrate of innovation and style. It is 39.62
long and 8.52 wide at the maximum beam, weighs only (!) 120 tons and has
a retractable keel which weighs 30 tons, passing from a minimum draft
of 4.80 m to 7.00 m. The highly sophisticated construction is in
composite with abundant use of carbon. The propulsion was ensured by a
8,700 cc engine with 6 cylinders in line, the propulsion had a
retractable system inside the hull.
RECORD NUMBERS
The impressive
sail plan with 530 square meters of mainsail, 380 square meters of genoa
and 1,300 square meters of gennaker allows thrilling performances
worthy of a multihull. On paper, the new My Song reached a 16.5 knot
speed when sailing, while in gliding it reached 28 knots. Other record
numbers: the fuel tank has a capacity of 7,000 liters with an autonomy
of over 450 hours of navigation (over 18 days!) And has 2,400 liters of
water on board which combined with the watermaker made My Song, in
theory, a boat that could sail without ever stopping in a port.
TURN THE WORLD "EASY"
To see, we can
assure you, was beautiful. Among the particularities that we have been
able to notice from the look from the quay: the huge aft deck and a
trincarino (band leader) 30 cm high and as wide which serves as both a
support point when the boat was skidded both by sitting in navigation or
when boat was at a standstill. We were not on board the boat, but the
project, which we peeked, included a bow area entirely reserved for the
owner with a space for the office. Symptom that in the owner's idea
there is the desire to make long, very long navigation's. With a boat,
traveling the world like a sail would be like going to Milan by bicycle
from home to the office.
THE NUMBERS OF MY SONG
Overall length 39.62 m
Waterline length 36.78 m
Maximum beam 8.52 m
Draft 4.80 / 7.00 m
Light displacement 105.00 t
Ballast 36.25 t (fin and bulb)
Material hull Carbon pre-preg / Corecell sandwich
Fuel tank 7000 l
Fresh water tanks 2400 l
Caterpillar C8.7 engine 480kW / 650hp + Baltic RPS
Sail area mainsail 530 sqm
380 m2 sail area
Asymmetric 1,300 square meters
Naval Architecture Reichel / Pugh Yacht Design
Concept, Deck and Interior design Nauta Design
Project Management Nigel Ingram, MCM
The
Baltic 130 My Song is a state of the art, multi-role custom superyacht
combining performance and light displacement with a stunning
contemporary interior providing an immensely comfortable cruising
platform. Since the delivery in 2016 My Song has won several awards and
was judged best yacht at World Superyacht Awards.
Naval architects Reichel/Pugh used the latest design programs to produce a seriously high-performance sailing yacht while Nauta Design was responsible for the overall styling, deck and interior design. My Song took 22 months to build and was launched on time despite design changes, modifications and the installation of a new propulsion system.
Naval architects Reichel/Pugh used the latest design programs to produce a seriously high-performance sailing yacht while Nauta Design was responsible for the overall styling, deck and interior design. My Song took 22 months to build and was launched on time despite design changes, modifications and the installation of a new propulsion system.
This
all carbon yacht features interchangeable mainsails for cruising or
racing and Baltic’s latest retractable propulsion system which rotates
though 180 degrees to double as a stern thruster and a keel fin more
akin to maxi raceboat design. The Baltic 130 custom’s plumb bow and wide
transom exploit the speed benefits of a long waterline and powerful
stern sections to meet the owner’s demands for a really effective race
boat.
The interior accommodation is for six to eight guests including the owner, the focal point being a spectacular deck saloon with hull and superstructure ports, plus skylights providing panoramic outboard views.
The interior accommodation is for six to eight guests including the owner, the focal point being a spectacular deck saloon with hull and superstructure ports, plus skylights providing panoramic outboard views.
My Song: The Baltic sailing yacht that’s music to our ears
by Stewart Campbell
My Song’s
designers, Mario Pedol and Massimo Gino, call this a “Dr Jekyll and Mr
Hyde boat”. That’s almost true, except for one important distinction: Dr
Jekyll spent a lifetime trying to repress his inner beast. Here,
they’re trying to harness it.
But there’s no question that this new 40 metre from Baltic Yachts has a split personality — one half a respectable, comfortable cruising boat designed to whisk its owner, Pier Luigi Loro Piana, on long legs in the world’s finest cruising grounds, and the other a snarling, impatient start-line bully for whom coming second means you’re just first loser.
My Song is the most perfect example yet of the racer-cruiser species — a top predator. Or as Pedol puts it: “It’s our specialisation to blend these two things together, but we’ve never taken it to this extent. Never. The achievement was made possible by the extraordinary skills of the builder.”
But there’s no question that this new 40 metre from Baltic Yachts has a split personality — one half a respectable, comfortable cruising boat designed to whisk its owner, Pier Luigi Loro Piana, on long legs in the world’s finest cruising grounds, and the other a snarling, impatient start-line bully for whom coming second means you’re just first loser.
My Song is the most perfect example yet of the racer-cruiser species — a top predator. Or as Pedol puts it: “It’s our specialisation to blend these two things together, but we’ve never taken it to this extent. Never. The achievement was made possible by the extraordinary skills of the builder.”
My Song’s dark
power, crystallised in carbon fibre, is well hidden as you step down the
companionway into the beautifully fitted out interior. It’s tasteful
luxury from bulkhead to bulkhead, with little obvious consideration for
weight and therefore speed. Big, heavy glass panels in the deckhead
usher light below and the long strips of glazing set in the topsides are
equally effective.
The floors, bulkheads and ceilings are covered in what appears to be wood and there’s some big art on the walls. The sleight of hand has been expertly executed because My Song’s lightship displacement is just 105 tonnes, more than a third of which is keel ballast. That’s about half the displacement you’d expect of a similar sized cruising boat, yet nowhere on this all-carbon blade from Baltic Yachts do you feel like you’re missing out.
“The whole mantra of the build was ‘save weight’,” says Nauta Yachts’ project manager Martino Majno. The team Loro Piana assembled for his latest My Song yacht — Nauta Yachts for general concept and interior and exterior styling, Reichel/Pugh for the naval architecture and structural engineering, Baltic Yachts for construction and management from MCM — has done this in some ingenious ways.
The floors, bulkheads and ceilings are covered in what appears to be wood and there’s some big art on the walls. The sleight of hand has been expertly executed because My Song’s lightship displacement is just 105 tonnes, more than a third of which is keel ballast. That’s about half the displacement you’d expect of a similar sized cruising boat, yet nowhere on this all-carbon blade from Baltic Yachts do you feel like you’re missing out.
“The whole mantra of the build was ‘save weight’,” says Nauta Yachts’ project manager Martino Majno. The team Loro Piana assembled for his latest My Song yacht — Nauta Yachts for general concept and interior and exterior styling, Reichel/Pugh for the naval architecture and structural engineering, Baltic Yachts for construction and management from MCM — has done this in some ingenious ways.
The Nomex-cored bulkheads
and furniture are nothing new, but the fully tapered keel, and linen
composite floor, wall and ceiling panels are. Tricks such as carbon
cable trays, heads and countertops have also been employed to keep My Song’s weight to a minimum.
So successful was this effort that the only fixtures of any significance to come out when crew are preparing My Song for a regatta are the saloon tables, for a maximum turnaround from cruising mode to racing of just two to three days.
“My vision for the latest My Song was for a yacht that would be extremely lightweight, fast and easy to handle: a real superyacht regatta contender,” says Loro Piana, adding that this had to balance with a “welcoming, comfortable and luxurious interior”.
So successful was this effort that the only fixtures of any significance to come out when crew are preparing My Song for a regatta are the saloon tables, for a maximum turnaround from cruising mode to racing of just two to three days.
“My vision for the latest My Song was for a yacht that would be extremely lightweight, fast and easy to handle: a real superyacht regatta contender,” says Loro Piana, adding that this had to balance with a “welcoming, comfortable and luxurious interior”.
My Song’s lifting
keel, at 36.25 tonnes, comes from the world of grand prix racing yachts.
It tapers from top to bottom, which improves hydrodynamic performance
and reduces wetted surface, saving around two seconds a mile in
straight-line speed, Majno says. A sliver, but one of many.
Perhaps most revolutionary, however, are the linen composite panels on the floors, walls and ceiling that look and feel like wood. As you might expect from the vice-president of a 200-year-old textile company, fabrics were a non-negotiable part of the My Song project, but to make them structural is new. Pedol remembers that up to 20 samples were produced before Baltic Yachts perfected the process of impregnating the linen with resin, and once it was they put it everywhere.
Loro Piana kept a close watch on the build throughout — demanding three 1:1 scale mock-ups of My Song’s interior be produced for him to configure the arrangement and decoration of his saloon and owner's cabin. “It was a huge effort,” says Majno. “I think we have enough materials and samples to put together a well-furnished museum!"
Perhaps most revolutionary, however, are the linen composite panels on the floors, walls and ceiling that look and feel like wood. As you might expect from the vice-president of a 200-year-old textile company, fabrics were a non-negotiable part of the My Song project, but to make them structural is new. Pedol remembers that up to 20 samples were produced before Baltic Yachts perfected the process of impregnating the linen with resin, and once it was they put it everywhere.
Loro Piana kept a close watch on the build throughout — demanding three 1:1 scale mock-ups of My Song’s interior be produced for him to configure the arrangement and decoration of his saloon and owner's cabin. “It was a huge effort,” says Majno. “I think we have enough materials and samples to put together a well-furnished museum!"
It’s not unusual for Baltic
Yachts to produce scale prototypes of its interiors to show owners, but
usually it’s just one. “This one was taken to the extreme,” says Henry
Hawkins, Baltic Yachts’ CEO. “It’s amazing how much we changed between
iterations.”
The effort has resulted in a very open interior. The full-beam saloon feels huge for a hull this size, and the big master cabin forward is equally impressive. A second, smaller bedroom sits just behind the master and together they can be closed off to form a private apartment.
There was one other scale mock-up produced in Italy — this time of the deck — and Loro Piana had his veteran race crew involved from the start in its arrangement. “It was important for the race crew guys to come and fine-tune the position of the Harken winches and all the deck gear,” says Majno.
The effort has resulted in a very open interior. The full-beam saloon feels huge for a hull this size, and the big master cabin forward is equally impressive. A second, smaller bedroom sits just behind the master and together they can be closed off to form a private apartment.
There was one other scale mock-up produced in Italy — this time of the deck — and Loro Piana had his veteran race crew involved from the start in its arrangement. “It was important for the race crew guys to come and fine-tune the position of the Harken winches and all the deck gear,” says Majno.
“We did a proper
evaluation, especially of the bulwark and the ratio between its height
and width as well as the position of the stanchions so it was
comfortable for people sitting there and leaning outboard when racing.
All this was confirmed by the mock-up.”
From the water, My Song could almost be a flush deck yacht as the coachroof is almost entirely hidden by the 30cm high bulwarks. The long freeing port amidships, meanwhile, makes sure plenty of light makes it though the deckhouse windows. It’s all part of Loro Piana’s ambition to produce “an appealing, even sexy, exterior look”.
As you approach the ultra-wide stern, the deck steps down twice, which helps create a sunbathing spot out of the wind, but the best place to relax on board My Song is on one of the hydraulically operated chaise longues in the cockpit that push up out of a raised section of deck. This is the “social hub of the yacht”, according to Pedol.
From the water, My Song could almost be a flush deck yacht as the coachroof is almost entirely hidden by the 30cm high bulwarks. The long freeing port amidships, meanwhile, makes sure plenty of light makes it though the deckhouse windows. It’s all part of Loro Piana’s ambition to produce “an appealing, even sexy, exterior look”.
As you approach the ultra-wide stern, the deck steps down twice, which helps create a sunbathing spot out of the wind, but the best place to relax on board My Song is on one of the hydraulically operated chaise longues in the cockpit that push up out of a raised section of deck. This is the “social hub of the yacht”, according to Pedol.
A large bimini can be
erected over this whole area to protect it from the sun when dining or
reclining. The foredeck locker — used for sail storage when racing —
also turns into somewhere you can sit and watch the night sky when My Song is in cruising mode.
Towering 56 metres above is the Southern Spars rig and latest North Sails 3Di pinhead cruising mainsail. A square-top main comes out for regattas, but even with the cruising set-up on our test day off La Spezia, My Song is sailing faster than the wind. Close-hauled in seven knots of breeze, boat speed is up around nine knots. Reaching, she hits 13 knots in eight knots of wind.
Reichel/Pugh started developing the hull in 2012 and considered nine candidate hulls before settling on My Song’s slippery naval architecture, which VPP studies show will get the yacht to a cruising speed of 16 knots and a top planing speed of just over 30 knots.
Helping her through the water is her perfectly faired hull, with only the long single rudder and tapered keel providing any significant resistance. This is down to another genuine novelty: My Song has no exposed shaft or supporting P-bracket but instead features a fully retractable propulsion system (RPS).
When sailing, the prop and the arm to which it is mounted fold forward into a box in the hull to leave a perfectly fair hull. When down, the shaft can rotate through 180 degrees, not only providing propulsion but also acting as a stern thruster.
Coming off the dock in La Spezia, My Song slips out sideways and then forward — all via joystick control. “Imagine how easy it will be to get into a crowded dock in Porto Cervo during the Maxis with this,” says Majno. The system was perfected on a pontoon in Denmark before being shipped for installation at Baltic Yachts’ yard in Finland. The propeller is also variable pitch, which means engine rpm is constant and speed is controlled by adjusting the pitch of the prop
Towering 56 metres above is the Southern Spars rig and latest North Sails 3Di pinhead cruising mainsail. A square-top main comes out for regattas, but even with the cruising set-up on our test day off La Spezia, My Song is sailing faster than the wind. Close-hauled in seven knots of breeze, boat speed is up around nine knots. Reaching, she hits 13 knots in eight knots of wind.
Reichel/Pugh started developing the hull in 2012 and considered nine candidate hulls before settling on My Song’s slippery naval architecture, which VPP studies show will get the yacht to a cruising speed of 16 knots and a top planing speed of just over 30 knots.
Helping her through the water is her perfectly faired hull, with only the long single rudder and tapered keel providing any significant resistance. This is down to another genuine novelty: My Song has no exposed shaft or supporting P-bracket but instead features a fully retractable propulsion system (RPS).
When sailing, the prop and the arm to which it is mounted fold forward into a box in the hull to leave a perfectly fair hull. When down, the shaft can rotate through 180 degrees, not only providing propulsion but also acting as a stern thruster.
Coming off the dock in La Spezia, My Song slips out sideways and then forward — all via joystick control. “Imagine how easy it will be to get into a crowded dock in Porto Cervo during the Maxis with this,” says Majno. The system was perfected on a pontoon in Denmark before being shipped for installation at Baltic Yachts’ yard in Finland. The propeller is also variable pitch, which means engine rpm is constant and speed is controlled by adjusting the pitch of the prop
“So when you’re
manoeuvring, the bow thruster can draw some heavy horsepower without
affecting the boat’s speed, which solves a common problem,” explains
Majno. “You keep the rpm constant and control the yacht’s speed — in
forward or reverse — by just adjusting pitch.”
Keeping things as green as possible was important to this owner, whose linen walls and floors were also inspired by a desire to use as many natural materials as he could. The original hope was to power My Song with electrical propulsion, and maybe even a diesel-electric set-up, but studies proved that it would be too heavy.
Micro turbines were also investigated. These are hyper-efficient, high-rpm units that produce virtually no emissions, so they can exhaust straight into the engine room, but they require huge amounts of air and the intakes required would have stolen too much interior volume. After studying eight different power combinations, Massimo Gino at Nauta finally settled on an engine room layout with a traditional Caterpillar diesel, which, thanks to Baltic Yachts’ soundproofing, is barely audible.
Keeping things as green as possible was important to this owner, whose linen walls and floors were also inspired by a desire to use as many natural materials as he could. The original hope was to power My Song with electrical propulsion, and maybe even a diesel-electric set-up, but studies proved that it would be too heavy.
Micro turbines were also investigated. These are hyper-efficient, high-rpm units that produce virtually no emissions, so they can exhaust straight into the engine room, but they require huge amounts of air and the intakes required would have stolen too much interior volume. After studying eight different power combinations, Massimo Gino at Nauta finally settled on an engine room layout with a traditional Caterpillar diesel, which, thanks to Baltic Yachts’ soundproofing, is barely audible.
The yard calls the sound levels “library quiet” owing to the fact that all of My Song’s
cabins “float” on rubber shock absorbers to keep noise and vibration to
a minimum. “We even looked at the profile of air-conditioning grilles
identified as a potential source of noise,” Hawkins says.
“Teamwork combined with a skilled and experienced labour force was one of the most important aspects of the build and gave a key contribution to the final result, which received my full and complete satisfaction,” says the happy owner.
The various companies involved in this project really do seem to have chimed in the construction of My Song, which was recognised as the best boat in its class at the 2017 World Superyacht Awards in Florence.
“Teamwork combined with a skilled and experienced labour force was one of the most important aspects of the build and gave a key contribution to the final result, which received my full and complete satisfaction,” says the happy owner.
The various companies involved in this project really do seem to have chimed in the construction of My Song, which was recognised as the best boat in its class at the 2017 World Superyacht Awards in Florence.
Loro Piana hopes his new boat and its veteran race crew can gel as successfully. His team of America’s Cup, TP52 and Maxi72 sailors had almost 20 years to squeeze every fraction of a second out of the old My Song, a 25.6 metre Cookson sailing yacht, and are now working up the new 40 metre My Song before the summer regatta season.
The relentless training schedule meant there was only one possible day for a press sea trial, but even in the light airs off La Spezia, it is evident that this latest My Song is going to be a very fast boat when the beast is finally let out of its cage.
The relentless training schedule meant there was only one possible day for a press sea trial, but even in the light airs off La Spezia, it is evident that this latest My Song is going to be a very fast boat when the beast is finally let out of its cage.
First published in the July 2017 edition of Boat International
Loro Piana hopes his new boat and its veteran race crew can gel as successfully. His team of America’s Cup, TP52 and Maxi72 sailors had almost 20 years to squeeze every fraction of a second out of the old My Song, a 25.6 metre Cookson sailing yacht, and are now working up the new 40 metre My Song before the summer regatta season.
The relentless training schedule meant there was only one possible day for a press sea trial, but even in the light airs off La Spezia, it is evident that this latest My Song is going to be a very fast boat when the beast is finally let out of its cage.
The relentless training schedule meant there was only one possible day for a press sea trial, but even in the light airs off La Spezia, it is evident that this latest My Song is going to be a very fast boat when the beast is finally let out of its cage.
First published in the July 2017 edition of Boat International
About the Project
As the focus of many new superyachts widens to include high performance racing, as well as the traditional luxury cruising, rig packages are becoming increasingly complicated.Much of Southern Spars’ work on the Baltic 130 My Song was directed towards making it possible for the yacht to switch quickly between square-top racing and pin-head delivery or cruising main sails.
When in cruising mode, the masthead is fitted with a crane and the existing backstays become a permanent arrangement for the pin-head main, which makes for easy sailing and tacking and gybing without running backstays. The switch to a square-top main sail means quickly removing the mast-crane, moving the running backstays to the crane and swapping out the cruising main for the racing sail. The upper deflectors become redundant, and the lower deflectors become the attachment point for a checkstay if a staysail is used, or the sea-state demands some additional fore/aft support for the rig. It sounds like a big job, but the crew can make this transformation inside three hours.
When in racing trim she can hit 30 knots – speeds which are usually reserved for the fastest racing yachts – yet have already been proven possible for luxury cruisers by this 110 ton vessel.
To provide the performance that My Song’s owner wanted for regatta racing, her rig design, construction and specification more resemble that of a grand prix racer than a conventional cruiser. She is fitted with halyard locks for masthead and fractional sails that are rated to 16 tons. Sail loads are supported by locks for the mainsail at full hoist as well as reefs, and all headsails, as they reduce the compression loading down the mast that would be generated by the load being generated by a halyard only.
Like many modern racing yachts, My Song makes use of backstay deflectors to react the J4 and J5 headstays when they are in use, as well as provide an efficient control mechanism for mainsail shape though a wide range of windspeed. Deflectors transfer the load of the backstay more directly to the headstay, generating exceptionally low headstay sag numbers for a yacht of this type. By directing the loadpath of the backstay into the headstay area, bending of the topmast is reduced meaning material can be removed from the section of the mast between where the forestay and backstays are connected.” This lightens and lowers the VCG of the rig overall.
