
SUPERYACHT #513 January 2005
Article selected from our quarterly magazine dedicated to the largest
and most luxurious boats with information, interviews, technical
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Interview by Lino Pastorelli
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ANTONIO MARZULLO Rizzardi-Posillipo
Why do we always interview skippers of specific boats, I get
asked, and not the Master of an entire boatyard? Well, why not! So
here we are in the dining room of the new Technema 95 being
exhibited at the Genoa Boat Show: the atmosphere is quiet, any
noise from the quayside muffled and distant. Antonio Marzullo from
Terracina, indissolubly linked to the Posillipo boatyards for 35
years, now Rizzardi Posillipo, tells us about this profession of
his that is also a philosophy and a way of life. The friend that
introduced him gave us a perfect description:
".Antonio, boats and the sea: a triangle of lovers and passion!"
Name and surname: Antonio Marzullo
Age: 58
Nationality: Italian
Training: "At the age of 9 I used to hide among the crates on
board my father's fishing boat, so that I could go to sea, then a
series of commands until my military service with the Navy on the
tug boat Porto Torres, followed by my arrival at the Posillipo
boatyards, then owned by Princess Odescalchi. I have never
abandoned the yard, not even in its darkest moments and have risen
to the position not only of Master but also of Production Manager"
Experiences as skipper: Antonio Marzullo hesitates "300, probably
more, boats delivered which then sailed to the four corners of the
earth, to their purchasers or for Shows, crossing the oceans and
the North Sea, in all seasons: they were the many Costa Smeralda,
Antigua 34 and Bermuda, Tobago. At that time boats were
transferred via sea and there is no way they were the size they
are today - a 47' was considered big!
Current boat: "The one we are on, this Technema 95 Posillipo, that
I first took to the show in Cannes and then brought here to Genoa;
next stop Barcelona."
Designer, boatyard, technical and design characteristics of the boat:
"Designed by the Rizzardi-Posillipo Technical Studio, it's a
large planing motor-yacht in fibreglass; 30.25 m. long, 6.80 m.
wide with a displacement of 88 tonnes. It has a Posillipo tried
and tested bottom and the two 2000 HP MTUs power the Technema 95
along at 25 knots when cruising and 29 knots at maximum speed."
Interior design and materials: "The architect Carlo Galeazzi has
given it one of the many layouts available: separate saloon and
dining room on the main deck and sleeping area with four cabins on
the lower deck. Cherry wood for the furnishings with soft-coloured
fabrics and leather - simple and classic."
Favourite marina: "My favourite marinas are in Sardinia, Porto Rotondo
above all, but I also love the Argentario with Cala Galera."
Favourite route: "Wandering through the straits of Florida,
around Grand Bahama, or even further south in the West Indies,
towards Caribbean Venezuela."
What technological innovations in yachting do you think look interesting and why?
Here we must add that Marzullo is a night-time sailor.
What is usually avoided by pleasure sailors is the
norm for him, you can't deliver boats and only sail by day and in
good weather; that is not cruising. This is why ".having grown up
with traditional sailing, I really appreciate all the modern
systems of electronic navigation with relative interfacing, above
all radar and its reciprocal recognition systems."
The worst incident that has ever happened to you?
"Certain storms sailing north, like La Coruña, where my Tobago 47' took six
hours to cover 4-5 miles, or in the Bay of Biscay, when the ships
used to call us to see if we were managing to steer, but also the
force 7-8 sea in the fog near Brest.facing it all with humility,
love and lots of calm, I have seen boats break up in front of my
very eyes due to forced speeds in those conditions!"
The event from your professional life that you remember with most pleasure?
"In 2000 a double aneurysm called an abrupt halt to my
working life: giving up seemed inevitable after the surgery." But
Antonio Marzullo is not the kind of man to go down melancholic
roads without a fight. "Instead, thanks to willpower, love and the
assiduous presence of the sea, my boats and my work I returned to
my old self - better even. A miracle in other words!"
His opinion on his role as Master and the world he works in:
"Bureaucracy is an inseparable part of a master's
responsibilities; our life and work is intercepted in many ways by
those of others, governed by the laws of man and the sea. You just
have to accept it, carrying out our task of commanding with
dedication and above all with love."
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