ASDEC’s 30th anniversary
Lago Maggiore, Italy 29 June-1 July Words and photography James Nicholls
THEY CAME FROM far and wide to celebrate the 30th birthday of ASDEC, the Association of Vintage and Classic Boats. Entrants from Monaco, France, England, Belgium, Germany, Switzerland, the islands of Corsica and Sicily, and even Australia, joined local Italians (and two dogs) at Lago Maggiore for this historic boating club’s international meeting. It was hosted in Stresa by the Verbano Yacht Club, founded in 1895 and one of Italy’s oldest.
Lago Maggiore is a big lake, obviously, so the motorboats – the youngest of which was made over 30 years ago – had to be capable of maintaining at least 30km/h. The oldest,
Gwennili (‘swallow’ in ancient Breton), was built in 1930 by Chris Craft in the US.
Many of the vessels carried exotic model names: Acapulco from Swiss boat-builder Boesch; California and Costa Azzura from Cantiere San Marco; Ariston, Florida, Super Florida and Olympic from the Riva yard at nearby Lake Iseo; and the stylishly impractical 1955 Cobra Bal-Ami by Chris Craft, with its carinspired design. Purchased new by the current owner’s father in New York, it had sunk on Lake Windermere in the north of England in the 1990s. This was its first outing since restoration.
Despite the forecast, the morning broke fair, with flat water perfect for fast motor boating. Hitching a ride on the Boesch Lemania Gallo we explored the three Borromean Islands, Isola Bella, Pescatore and Madre, and then motored on to the 12th Century Santa Caterina del Sasso Monastery, its ancient edifices situated in the very cliff faces. After mooring the boats at Arona for lunch, it was a quick run back to the Yacht Club and a gala dinner in the stuccoed splendour of the Villa & Palazzo Aminta resort.
On the last day, the boats were subjected by their pilots to a series of sea trials, while the crowds on the shore were treated to a flypast of historic aircraft, a flotilla of classic sailing boats and an exhibition of classic cars on the promenade. The final event, a regularity trial, was won by a German crew in their 1971 Boesch 580 Acapulco, aptly named Ciao.
After the buffet lunch and prizegiving at the yacht club, it was ‘arrivederci e ciao’ until the next gathering of the great names of classic motor boating: Colombo, Pedrazzini, Timossi, San Marco, Chris Craft, Boesch, De Cesari and the epitome of la dolce vita: Riva.