Squeezing past security and stepping into Riva's new El-Iseo electric runabout, in her anniversary livery of white and aquamarine, it is hard not to feel a little like a VIP. And knowing that we are going to visit one of the largest yachts at the Cannes Yachting Festival in France does nothing to reduce the sensation. It's just a shame that the transfer isn't longer, I think, as we glide the paltry 100 or so feet from the Ferretri Group VIP dock to the slip where Custom Line's new 140ft flagship is moored in the middle of Cannes' Vieux Port.
Although she dominates the harbor, the yacht's stature doesn't stem from being the biggest new boat in the show (she misses out by 30ft there), nor from sporting any wildly unorthodox design. But, away from the jostling competition of the quays, lying alone by her own pontoon, she has undoubted presence. “There are many new features on this masterpiece of naval design inspired by residential architecture,” Stefano de Vivo, chief commercial officer of Custom Line's parent, the Ferretti Group, explains. “In-depth research has enhanced the shapes and volumes involved.”
No doubt true,
