Perini Navi’s Salute is the first yacht in the Italian shipbuilder’s highly successful 184-foot line to be designed as a sloop. While Perini’s ketch designs of this length have been somewhat staid, sluggish performers, its single-masted Salute is a beast when sailing upwind—a boat that could capture any number of prizes on the superyacht regatta circuit. Salute boasts the tallest aluminum mast ever made; it towers over the vessel at 237 feet, with more than 31,200 square feet of total sail area. To compensate for the mast’s extra height and weight, Perini Navi—with consultation from Ron Holland Design—moved the internal ballast forward and added length to the swing keel, which, at full extension, gives Salute an exceptionally deep draft of 32 feet. The draft and low center of gravity make the yacht incredibly fast and stable at sea. And with a keel that can swing up to 13 feet, the vessel can visit shallow-water ports around the world. To accommodate Salute’s enormous sail area, Perini designed new sailing machinery, including the giga-winch, which hoists the massive sails with ease. That and other features, such as the in-boom electric furling system, make sailing the yacht a push-button operation for the crew. Salutes large forward cockpit affords guests privacy when the yacht is in a stern-to docking position, which is common in Mediterranean ports. Interior designer Remi Tessier used bleached woods, ebony, woven leather, and white-gold leaf to create a relaxed, informal feel throughout the yacht. His light touch earned Salute an International Superyacht Society award for best-designed interior.
