At Milan Yachting Week – The Digital Boat Show today we have another special guest: Tilli Antonelli. One of the leading figures in boating, sail and power, who today tells us about his incredible story studded with successes such as the founding of Pershing, that of Wider, and now the design of a futuristic range of powerboats with Sanlorenzo.
The career of Tilli Antonelli, founder of Pershing and Wider, has its roots in the sailing world. Today Tilli Antonelli works with Sanlorenzo, after a very long career studded with hugely successful projects. It all starts in sailing, with Raul Gardini and the Naïf. Hence the regattas and the design of the first Moro of Venice.
In the process, Tilli also gained knowledge as a sailmaker and took part in regattas around the world, including the famous and terrible 1979 Fastnet. Upon returning from this experience, he happened to be in Fano on an outing on behalf of a construction site for a photo shoot. Tilli, seeking technical knowledge about boat building, accepts a job offer from that same boatyard. A year later, with two partners he met there, he founded the Adriatic Shipyard.
Watch the interview with Tilli Antonelli here
The birth of Pershing
It is time to make motor boats. Foreseeing a slight decline in the sailing world, the three partners decide to build a speedboat. They called Fulvio De Simoni to draw it, to whom Tilli Antonelli would later remain linked in many, many projects. Start the chapter of fiberglass construction with sport boats that had more livable space on board. Great success immediately with the Pershing 45 then joining the Ferretti group.
Here comes Wider
After leaving the group, Tilli Antonelli wants to build a boat that is more stable at anchor, widens when stationary to be more livable, and can be managed all electronically. Wider’s design destined to leave an indelible imprint on today’s boats is born. The Wider 42, Tilli Antonelli’s first project, designed by Fulvio De Simoni with a Mark Wilson hull, a model that gave a major breakthrough to the world of so-called “openable boats” by bringing this trend to many other powerboats.
Tilli Antonelli and Sanlorenzo
Tilli’s present is now linked to Sanlorenzo. An eye-catching project that wants to say something new, focused on sustainability.
