Publications
Black Swan in the press, media and books
Thalassa
The Black Swan, the incredible story of a legendary ship
Written by Marie Mamgioglou – Thalassa editorial team. Published on 05/04/2020
“Two French enthusiasts have rescued and restored the Black Swan, a legend of the seas from 1899, which they now want to sail to new adventures.
Behind the story are Yann Berthemet and his friend Edouard. This is not their first venture. The carpenter and the financier have already restored together Oryx, a classic racing yacht that belonged to Francis Bouygues. When Edouard, a fifty-year-old with a passion for sailing, bought Oryx, he turned to Yann, whom he knew by reputation. They brought the project to a successful conclusion, but above all they developed a strong friendship. On the strength of this success, the partners were looking for a new maritime adventure. It was on the internet that they discovered the Black Swan, put up for sale by a bank that had seized the yacht from its former owner…”
(Translated from french by DeepL)
SEA+I
Celebrating 120 years of Black Swan
“Charles E. Nicholson was brought up in Gosport where Camper & I icholsons and the yachting businesses that surrounded it dominated much of the town. The Nicholsons were a large family and young Charles was never intended to be a yacht designer. Instead his father had him earmarked to be a salesman for the yard which was to depend on external designers for its yacht building.
Inevitably the young Charles messed about in boats and tried his hand at designing. In 1887 his first yacht Lucifer was built, and she impressed his father enough for him to speculatively build more of his son’s designs. In 1889, Nicholson had his first commission for a racing yacht and with its success Nicholson developed a small following…”
Video
Images of the Black Swan 1899 during the 2019 “Voile de Saint Tropez”
Yachting Classique
Black swan under the black sign
Written by Christophe Courau le 02/03/2015
“Could this be the end of Black Swan? This 40-metre ketch, designed by Camper & Nicholson in 1898, is currently moored at the Valdettaro shipyard in La Spezia (Italy).
According to the website giornale della vela, her former owner, Amedeo Matacena, a former Forza Italia MP convicted of collusion with the Mafia, has gone into ‘exile’ in Dubai to escape a five-year prison sentence.
Abandoned, Black Swan is currently on sale for 900,000 euros. Not very expensive for such a yacht, but the current state of the hull, planking and keel (at least) will require a long and costly restoration.
Constructed in teak planking on a keel in china, the Black Swan, famous for the dark colour of its hull, had won several Coupe du Roi between 1902 and 1904. However, it was restored in 2001, before the “legal troubles” of its former owner.“
(Translated from french by DeepL)
“Voiliers” et “Voiliers de tradition”
Books by Flavio Serafini
