Text by Bruno Cianci
TAKATANI, a 19′ yawl built to Iain Oughtred’s Eu Na Mara design, sails in a light breeze before the ruins of Urquhart Castle while transiting the Caledonia Canal in Scotland.
Moving from Milan to Istanbul in 2008 marked the start of my progressive detachment from Italy. In the past few years, however, I have from time to time caught up with my Italian friend Andrea Oreni, with whom I have shared both the joys and the pains of sailing. Our usual meeting point, the Navigli area, is what remains of the ancient Milanese waterways so dear to Leonardo da Vinci. Between glasses of Jaegermeister, the discussion always ends up with talking about an adventure we shared that constitutes the cement of our friendship: the delivery of my gaff cutter, VILIA, from Greece to Istanbul, out of season, back in 2011.