Clockwise from left: all that he touched… a small section of Setton’s legendary race car collection which was acquired long before such cars exploded in value (much of this collection has since been sold on). Setton’s private museum was one of the most famous in the world of classic cars with several books devoted to it; the cars were originally housed at Setton’s former residence ,Château de Wideville, which was built for one of Louis XIV’s many lovers… the grounds included a small track which Setton would occasionally tour, gently driving one of his fabulous machines – young readers may remind you that Château de Wideville is where the current owner, Valentino Garavani, hosted Kim and Kanye’s wedding lunch; 1987 and Setton is already making waves
possible. I never get tired of the bow ploughing into the water, and then the boat accelerating again like crazy. I can’t have someone with me. Even my guests are fed up after an hour. Ergonomics, the helming sensation are a complete priority for me – like how I felt driving a Formula 1 car on my little circuit. Piloting the cars was a treat. My custom boats are made without concern for a rule or a rating. Nor for the comfort of passengers. Simply for the helming pleasure. SH: Have you been living in Sardinia for a long time? JS: Yes, I like it very much. Also because we can sail here all year round. Even more this Covid year. Normally I spend winter in the Caribbean, in the Virgin Islands, which I prefer to St Barts where I also had a house. The Virgin Islands are a bit more like here with the Maddalena archipelago between Corsica and Sardinia. SH: I have to say this… you have to be very rich to have owned so many boats! JS: No, I’m not very rich. And I become more impoverished every year but always with great pleasure… what older people don’t usually like to do (laughs). I was lucky enough to make a good
living, I didn’t sell my businesses expen- sively but there was this collection of racing cars that I bought before everyone else for
58 SEAHORSE
nothing, then I found that I was very good at real estate. Today I only have one small collection of cars and I have stopped the real estate because it tires me too much… Now I have to be careful that there is a
little left to end my life pleasingly. As De Rothschild said: ‘The money we put in the boats is not enough. Above all, it’s the time we put into it.’ For the little 30-footer we made 120 drawings before we built her. SH: Name a personality who inspires you among those who also share your passion? JS: [Luca] Bassani, the creator of Wally. He is very creative, but he does not take the time to perfect his boats. But he is passionate in his job nevertheless. Other private owners like me? Yes, I
know some of them but they are just as interested in other activities for leisure. Where I am living it is a disaster when there is no wind. I must go at least 5kt before I enjoy my sailing. But I must add that boating is my only
reason to live. I do not have friends who have as great a passion for it as I do – they buy boats but seldom custom boats, and they are not anything special nor even perfectly fin- ished. On the custom Baltic daysailer that I just bought from the owner of the shipyard there are still inherent defects. The hull designed by Vrolijk is great but you can easily do better in terms of ergonomics. My
boats are generally simple, as a Jeep is. SH: And you never got it wrong! JS: Yes, it happens that I am wrong. I did make some mistakes in my drawings. I do not draw the lines of the hulls but I do give precise recommendations for the main parameters: keel, ballast ratio (important for solo sailing) and the penetration into the water and above. That’s my job! But as Agnelli said, ‘You will see over time, you improve…’ On production boats I also made bad choices. With the last Grand Soleil 58 I realised that she was too big for me to enjoy on my own. SH: Finally, which boat was your favourite? JS: Hard to choose… On the motoring side, I would say my last 32m shrimp boat I brought to Texas. We transformed her into a yacht. I liked her more than Sense, my bigger 59m one, because a crew of three or four people was always enough. And she was big enough that I still had my sail boat onboard. Her motion on the sea is extraordinary for a displacement of 200 tonnes and she has a super engine room. On the sailing side, Ciao Gianni was a
marvel, and the little 9m Paja is a master- piece. I also liked Pioneer, which I created in the period I was working with André Mauric; he was the only naval architect I have met who really knew how to design both motorboats and sailing boats.
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