Between Portofino and the French Riviera, an intimate portrait of those who have chosen a boat as an extension of their idea of time and beauty. “I wasn’t looking for a boat, I was looking for poetry”: storytelling of a Mussini boat owner
by Marco Negri – photo by Oliver Astrologo
Marco Benadì doesn’t need to say much to explain why he chose a Mussini. His voice comes from the sea, literally: he’s moored on the French Riviera, and he talks to us while keeping one hand on the helm of his Corvetta 24. It’s one of the smallest boats in the harbour, but he says with a half-smile that it’s the most admired. When everything seems to be about speed, ostentation and gigantism, some people are looking for something different. They’re after something that’s not measured in feet, horsepower or accessories, but in silence, in the warm wood underfoot, in deliberate and chosen slowness.
Mussini’s identity cannot be reduced to a slogan. It is a delicate combination of craftsmanship, discretion, contemporary design and intimacy with the sea. For this very reason, it is not easy to describe. It cannot be “sold” like an item in a catalogue. It must be narrated. It must be intuited.
«I never thought I would find someone who loved Mussini more
than I did, but then I found Marco. Working with him has allowed me to see our history from a different perspective: the passion
of those who experience it every day from the sea,
and not just in the shipyard». Gaetano Mussini
His boat is more than just an object – it’s a symbol of his idea of beauty and freedom. The phrase “I was looking for poetry” really captures the essence of the story. Some boats are just bought, but others, the more rare ones, are chosen with your heart and soul. Once you’re on board, there’s no going back. Some people have a boat, while others live on it. For Marco, the difference is small but huge. His boat isn’t something to show off; it’s a presence, almost like family. “It’s like a watch on my wrist: it doesn’t measure my steps, but it gives a deep meaning to time”, he says. In this case, there is something more: a sense of protection, almost jealousy, for every mahogany curve, every teak detail. “In a world of boats that all look the same, I was looking for something with soul”, explains Marco Benadì.
So, the challenge now is to take this story beyond Tigullio and share it in Sardinia, the Balearic Islands, the Aeolian Islands and Greece. We’re not just talking about exporting a product, but about conveying a vision of sailing. A vision that speaks to those who know how to listen, to those who choose slowly, to those who don’t need to be convinced but only reached.
It is wood that breathes, warms in the sun, and changes colour slightly over time, like living skin. It is the muffled sound of waves on the hull, without frills or superfluous noise. It is the pleasure of silence, of slow sailing, which invites you to look at the sea, not to race across it. “It’s a boat like no other, and that’s what makes it special”, says Marco, with a pride that smacks of discretion. Wood, mahogany and teak, is his favourite material. He describes it as “alive” because it needs to be cared for, because it changes. After all, it tells stories of the sea and of the hands that have patiently smoothed it.
On the French Riviera, where yachts and mega-yachts crowd every quay, it happens that a harbour master’s secretary smiles and says to Marco: “The owner of the most beautiful boat in the harbour has arrived”. And that boat is his Mussini.
Marco Benadì’s experience is not just that of a shipowner. It’s a love letter to a different way of experiencing the sea, made up of time, care, living matter and personal freedom. It’s a testament
to how a boat, if it’s the right one, can become part of you.
Every boat has a story. But some, more than others, seem to tell it themselves. Marco’s Corvette has a story that deserves to be written in a novel. Before it became his, it belonged to an eighty-year-old, reserved Milanese noblewoman who used it to go swimming, accompanied by her sailor, dressed in white. “She washed peaches in the sink on board and sipped her rosé wine while looking at the sea”, recalls Marco. It took months of “courtship” to convince her to sell it. That boat was not for sale, as far as she was concerned. And it would not have been for sale to anyone. But Marco, with his patience, knew how to wait. Since then, the boat has changed owners, but it has not lost its voice. “My luxury? No notifications, my son on board, ten knots and silence”. There’s no need to rush to get here, because in this case, the journey is the destination! It’s all about the style and the awareness: you see the boat as an interior space, not just a tool. It’s a place to feel free, even if just for a few hours.
(Marco Benadì – I was looking for a poem – Barchemagazine.com – Excerpted from Barche, February 2026)
