The Bluegame brand has a short but complicated history. At the Cannes boat show last September it emerged from self-imposed purdah with a new model which, as it turns out, is long and complicated. More on that in a minute: first a recap.
The brainchild of Luca Santella, a 56-year-old Italian yachtsman of considerable repute, Bluegame goes back to 2004, when he built a one-off 55ft walkaround in Cape Town for a South African client. It was a success, and attracted not just attention but investment. “So we launched our first Bluegame 47 in April 2005,” Luca reminded me at the recent Cannes boat show. “And we moved back to Italy in the summer of 2007.” Following an introduction to Max Perotti at Sanlorenzo, where Luca’s brother Antonio works as a director, production began in Ameglia. But it never really took off. The financial crisis hit. Sanlorenzo’s interest waned, and Luca eventually mothballed the company in 2012.
“Then in 2017 Perotti showed a renewed interest in Bluegame, and we started to talk about it again,” said Luca. An agreement was reached and a deal struck, which was finalised in early 2019. Bluegame is now a Sanlorenzo brand, with Luca as head of product strategy. Meanwhile, work began on the new Bluegame BGX 70.
Luca hadn’t gone away: he continued to work at the Ameglia shipyard after the cessation of Bluegame and came up with Sanlorenzo’s SX explorer yacht concept, with its large aft platform, expansive main deck layouts, and raised wheelhouse. “But the SX concept cannot translate below 70ft,” Luca explained. The big new Bluegame needed some original thinking.
This story is from the January 2020 edition of Motor Boat & Yachting.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Sign In
This story is from the January 2020 edition of Motor Boat & Yachting.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
HOW TO NAVIGATE OVERFALLS
Overfalls are areas of broken or rougher water caused by tidal currents flowing past or over geographic features.
SLEIPNER'S NEW FINS
If you're looking for extra comfort at sea Sleipner's electric-powered radically curved Vector Fins could be a game-changer
SIRENA 48
The Sirena 68 won last year's award for flybridges over 60ft. Can its new entry-level 48 repeat that success?
24-YEAR ITCH
It took 14 years to find one, and another 10 to rebuild, but when boatbuilder Will Squibb first fell in love with a Levi Corsair, he knew he had to have one
WALLYWHY 150
A new launch from Wally is always going to cause a splash, but will the latest addition to the Wally why range create the same ripples as its larger predecessor?
THE TRUE COST OF RUNNING A SUPERYACHT
Everyone loves the idea of owning a superyacht but what does it actually cost to run one? The owners of a Sunseeker 105 charter yacht reveal all...
SUNSEEKER 100 YACHT BOAT TEST
A breezy delivery trip from Southampton to Poole provided the perfect conditions for sea trialling Sunseeker's latest big boat sensation
AZIMUT 48
Is it a party platform? A sportsboat? A weekender? Whatever it is, this American-style Azimut has plenty to recommend it...
BIG TRIP SMALL BOAT [PART 2]
Having made it from Runswick Bay, Yorkshire, to Harwich, Essex, in just one day, Ian Furby continues his attempt to circumnavigate Britain in his 18ft Nordkapp speedboat
AQUADOR 300 НТ
Alex Smith tests one of the most exciting new compact cruisers money can buy