Jack Setton Main

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Photo by: Mary South

At the moment, Setton’s small fleet includes one of the world’s great maxi catamarans (Swift, ex-Gitana 13), which set the record for the fastest voyage by sail from New York to San Francisco. Gitana 13 made the 14,500-mile route around Cape Horn in 43 days and 38 minutes in 2008 with Lionel Lemonchois at the helm, breaking the 1989 world record by more than 14 days and averaging 15.88 knots. She also broke the record for the fastest North Pacific crossing, doing San Francisco to Yokohama, Japan, in 11 days, 12 minutes and 56 seconds. Not content to simply own this rocket ship, Setton undertook a refit to make her a comfortable cruising boat without adding any weight — and he succeeded. When I met him, he had just returned from a month of cruising in Tahiti, enjoying his improvements.

But if you want to see what really makes Setton tick, go for a sail aboard Ciao Gianni, as I did. The 60-foot Multiplast sloop daysailer, designed by Mani Frers (German Frers’ son), is his pride and joy and also reflects Setton’s input. She’s sleek and simple, with lightweight and beautiful Knoll bench seating to port and starboard, a synthetic teak sole, two large wheels, carbon spars and high-aspect-ratio rig. But her most striking feature is a reverse bow, which lightens her extremities and reduces spray drag, Frers says. Setton’s a fan of speed — after all, he used to own one of the world’s greatest collections of race cars.



Both Pink Shrimp ($4.95 million) and Ciao Gianni ($2.41 million, approximately) have been listed for sale with Fraser Yachts, but Setton doesn’t seem so sure about parting with either one. We circled around off La Spezia, Italy, in light winds aboard Ciao Gianni, which Setton named for his friend, the Italian industrialist and owner of Fiat, Gianni Agnelli. They used to do a lot of daysailing, Setton says, “and I know Gianni would have loved this boat.”

The clock was ticking and Setton and his wife were due to disembark soon to meet friends. But first, he said, let’s go for a ride. The Zodiac Hurricane was launched and we did a big circle, stopping in every marina to troll by the beautiful yachts. I sensed a touch of wistfulness from Setton, who seemed loathe to leave the water, however briefly.

Never mind. He’ll be back — I overheard him on the phone discussing the details of his next design.

View a complete photo gallery here.

Ciao Gianni
LOA: 60’0”
BEAM: 12’0”
DRAFT: 12’6”
DISPL.: 18,000 lb.
SAIL AREA: 1,937 sq. ft.
DESIGNER: German Frers Design
BUILDER: Multiplast, France
LAUNCH YEAR: 2009

Pink Shrimp
LOA: 104’0”
BEAM: 26’4”
DRAFT: 9’5”
FUEL: 17,966 gal.
WATER: 2,642 gal.
CONSTRUCTION: Steel
INTERIOR DESIGN:
Williams Fabrication, Jack Setton
ENGINES: 2 x 600 hp Cummins KTA 19 diesels
SPEED: 12 knots max, 9 knots cruise
RANGE: 4,000 miles
Fraser Yachts, 954-463-0600; www.fraseryachts.com