YACHT & CRUISE
LIFE AT SEA
CHRISTIAN CERULLI
Living on Audace A famous yacht and a much-loved, very special owner. We talk to Christian Cerulli, captain of the most extravagant motoryacht of recent times, one that’s now ready for new adventures
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hen you’re born with the sea in your veins, it’s only natural that your childhood dream is to become captain of a ship. It’s a wish that’s likely to be fulfilled if your life is spent surrounded by cleats, rigging and compasses, as it was for Christian Cerulli, the young Captain at the helm one of the most extravagant yachts of recent years, the M/Y Audace, which has just been relaunched by the Lusben yard after a thorough refit. The yacht’s development had been enthusiastically followed by its owner, Andrea Merloni, former president of Fineldo and Indesit, who died suddenly this winter. After only one summer on his yacht he decided to carry out modifications on Audace to improve the on-board quality of life. Merloni had made the decision to live on board and commissioned this explorer from the Cantiere delle Marche in 2019. The full custom project was the result of a close collaboration between Merloni, Andrea Pezzini, CEO of Floating Life, and the architect Mauro Sculli. The yacht was launched in spring, as the Merloni family wanted the project to go ahead. An important role was also played by Cerulli, a long-standing Captain on Merloni’s yachts – together with the crew and Floating Life, he supervised all stages of the refit. author: Désirée Sormani portrait photo: Federico Coscotto project photo: Federico Coscotto, courtesy of Lusben (refit), Scoobyart
160 | IFDM
Christian Cerulli
