UNDERWAY
Serena Featured in Pilot, the Feadship magazine
Feadship, the Dutch builder known worldwide for its magnificent superyachts, first constructed the steel hull of Serena in 1964 to the design of legendary Italian boatbuilder Carlo Riva. In a nod to that era, when a relatively few private yachts of Serena’s scale were built, a recent edition of Pilot, the boatbuilder’s magazine, featured our yacht.
New York Yacht Club Commodore’s Rally 2019
A Guest Blog by Chris Otorowski -
This year’s NYYC Commodore’s Rally was scheduled for the Exumas, a district of the Bahamas consisting of more than 365 islands also know cays. The water is breathtakingly beautiful here, but also very shallow and filled with reefs.
When the destination for the Rally was first announced, I looked at the charts and sadly concluded that Aphrodite, our newly acquired Swan, had too deep a draft to be on the Rally. So Shaun and I were delighted when Matt and Pam invited us to join them and NYYC Commodore Bill Ketcham aboard Serena, their 74-foot Riva Caravelle Feadship, just out of a winter refit in Fort Lauderdale.
New England Sailing Ahead
Serena spent the winter in Ft. Lauderdale for systems and cosmetic upgrades, and after a spring cruise in the Exumas, she will join the classic ocean racing yawl Dorade in Newport, R.I. The high point of the season for both Serena and Dorade will be the New York Yacht Club's 175th Anniversary Regatta, held in Newport in July. Designed by Olin Stephens, a longtime member of the club and legendary figure in the yachting community, Dorade is a sentimental favorite for many club members. Serena has been tapped for race-committee service by Clare Harrington, chair of the New York YC race committee.
Serena’s Commissioning
Serena was commissioned dockside on July 5 at the New York Yacht Club Harbor Court clubhouse in Newport. The celebrants included several representatives from Feadship who traveled from The Netherlands to participate in the commissioning ceremony. H.J. de Vries shared his memories of the boat being launched at the legendary De Vries boatyard back in 1964. Other representatives of Feadship announced that Serena will serve as the first official flagship for the Feadship Heritage Fleet in the United States. Reverend Mary Johnstone gave a benediction followed by a formal declaration of commissioning by New York Yacht Club Commodore Phil Lotz.
