Eilean: quando i mestieri d’arte si mettono al servizio del restauro di yacht d’epoca

Ci sono voluti tre anni per restaurare lo storico yacht Eilean, costruito in Scozia nel 1936. Un
lavoro rigorosamente filologico, realizzato da maestri artigiani con materiali e tecniche tradizionali

Eilean ©Officine Panerai

• Sia la tuga che il timone in legno sono stati ricostruiti secondo i progetti originali degli anni Trenta
• I due alberi sono stati realizzati con sei metri cubici di legno da un unico abete dell’Alaska
• È stato recuperato il 60% del fasciame originale spesso 4 cm in legno di teak di Burma
• Circa 5.000 teste di viti sono state ricavate dal materiale di rivestimento originale.
• Il restauro è stato commissionato da Panerai, che ha anche creato un’edizione unica di strumenti di ausilio alla navigazione: barometro, igrometro, termometro e orologio da parete

La mostra Homo Faber Event, che si terrà a Venezia ad aprile, sarà l’occasione per salire a bordo dello storico yacht Eilean, meravigliosamente restaurato da Panerai, la maison di alta orologeria già fornitore ufficiale della Marina Militare Italiana.

Eilean è un ketch bermudiano di 22 metri nato nel 1936 in un leggendario cantiere sulla costa occidentale della Scozia. Nel 2006 è stato ritrovato ad Antigua, dove versava in uno stato di totale degrado. Acquistato da Panerai, Eilean è stato trasportato in Italia a bordo di un cargo e affidato ai maestri artigiani del cantiere Francesco Del Carlo, a Viareggio. Nel giro di tre anni le loro esperte mani hanno saputo ridare nuova vita a Eilean, mantenendo immutata la forma dello scafo e le sue caratteristiche principali, e recuperando la maggior parte dei materiali originali.

Con la sua linea elegante e proporzionata, lo yacht Eliean non è solo un meraviglioso esempio di autenticità, competenza e artigianalità. È anche l’espressione più pura dei valori umani e della passione per il mare che fanno parte dell’identità di Panerai. Il restauro di Eilean è la dimostrazione del rispetto che l’industria del lusso nutre nei confronti della tradizione artigianale, e del suo impegno per sostenere i mestieri d’arte e assicurarne la sopravvivenza. Il pubblico potrà ammirare in prima persona il magnifico lavoro compiuto dagli artigiani sullo yacht Eilean, che sarà ormeggiato proprio nell’Isola di San Giorgio Maggiore. Riunendo in sé l’eccellenza della tradizione navale italiana, Eilean rappresenta perfettamente la città di Venezia, che da sempre si nutre di creatività.

Eilean yacht – Tomas Bertelsen ©Michelangelo Foundation

Eilean è una delle 15 mostre tematiche di Homo Faber Event 2022, organizzato dalla Michelangelo Foundation.

Notes for editors

homofaber.com

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Homo Faber Event

Crafting a more human future

Fondazione Giorgio Cini, San Giorgio Maggiore, Venice

Organised by the Michelangelo Foundation for Creativity and Craftsmanship, the Homo Faber Event is an international exhibition that champions artisanal talent, showcasing an impressive variety of materials, techniques and skills through live demonstrations, immersive digital experiences and imaginative displays of handcrafted creations. From functional everyday objects to outstanding decorative pieces, this edition highlights craft’s role in creating a more sustainable and inclusive future. The event offers a rare chance to admire the prestigious work of a selection of Japan’s National Living Treasures and to experience craft and its connections to the arts and to the design world. Visitors can join guided tours of the 15 exhibition spaces led by passionate students participating in the Young Ambassadors Programme. Imagined by a team of world-renowned curators and designers, the scenographic event transforms the magnificent spaces of the Fondazione Giorgio Cini, located on San Giorgio Maggiore island in the heart of the Venetian lagoon. On top of the event, the Homo Faber in Città project gives visitors a chance to experience craftsmanship across Venice through tailor-made itineraries. homofaber.com

The Michelangelo Foundation for Creativity and Craftsmanship is a non-profit institution based in Geneva, Switzerland, which champions contemporary craftspeople worldwide with the aim of promoting a more human, inclusive and sustainable future. The Foundation seeks to highlight the connections between craft, the wider arts and the design world. Its mission is to both celebrate and preserve craftsmanship and its diversity of makers, materials and techniques, by increasing craft’s everyday recognition and its viability as a professional path for the next generations. From engaging educational programmes such as the Summer Schools, to its signature digital project the Homo Faber Guide and the international exhibition Homo Faber Event, the Foundation is fostering a cultural movement centred on master artisans and rising stars. michelangelofoundation.org

Panerai

Panerai’s watches are a natural blend of Italian design, expert Swiss technology and passion for the sea. Founded in Florence in 1860 as a workshop, shop and school of watchmaking, for many decades Panerai supplied the Italian navy in general, and its specialist diving corps in particular, with precision instruments. The designs developed by Panerai in that time, including the Luminor and Radiomir, were covered by the Military Secrets Act for many years and were launched on the international market only after the brand was acquired by the Richemont Group in 1997. Today, Panerai designs its watches in Italy and crafts its movements and watches at its Neuchâtel factory in Switzerland. Technical excellence and exclusive design are the core principals of Panerai watches due to the seamless melding of Italian design flair and history with Swiss horological expertise. Panerai watches are sold across the world through an exclusive network of distributors and Panerai boutiques. panerai.com

Eilean

Eilean was built in 1936 by the legendary Scottish boatyard, Fife of Fairlie, according to a design by William Fife III. In her long history, this beautiful boat has known a succession of different owners who have taken her across the Atlantic no less than 36 times. During the 1970s and 80s she was a charter yacht in the Caribbean, moored at English Bay, Antigua, and such was her popularity that she was chosen by the band Duran Duran to feature in the video to their hit song Rio in 1982. Eilean’s glory days came to an end after she was damaged by a stricken ferry near Malaga, Spain. Her then owner took her back to Antigua to begin repair work, but progress was slow and in the following years she suffered further damage. She was found and bought in 2006 by Angelo Bonati, CEO of Panerai, and her restoration was completed in 2009.

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