Story :  Gareth Marshall   
Images : courtesy of Pershing Yachts

Tilli Antonelli, founder and President of Pershing

Tilli is the founder and chairman of Pershing yachts. Innovation, luxury, performance and design are the words best used to describe Pershing and seeing what they produce leaves a lasting impression, as these are no ordinary toys. High performance boats that use Poltrona Frau - the same upholsterer as Maserati and Ferrari - and tableware by Christofle, should leave you in no doubt that this is a brand that takes its toys seriously. This is the company that introduced hydraulic gangways on its yachts as well as gas turbines, and it all started with a man who has a passion for boating as well as a keen eye on what the market requires.

What motivates you to continue building boats?

“Now I’m mostly involved on the product range and the conception of new models; so I’m driven by the requests of the market, what we should offer next. Mainly for me though it’s the fun of thinking about the configuration, the size, the accommodation... and gadgets. Our job right now is not building boats: it’s building motivation for customers to change boats.”

Here the old adage about exceeding customers expectations loses some of its edge as the glint in Tilli’s eyes and the half smile makes me think Tilli isn’t giving customers what they want, he’s giving them what they never dreamt they desired.

Pershing has long been known as an innovator in the yachting world. Why do you consider innovation so important?

“It’s always been important to us. We built the first boat in the world to use the hydraulic gangway in 1985. I remember we were at the Genoa boat show and the boat was next to a small bar with people having a coffee. They stopped drinking when they saw the passerella starting to move and you could see them thinking, ‘What is this? What’s going on?’. I had the remote control in my pocket.”

This is only one of the ways that Tilli captivated his audience, and he has continued to do so ever since. He gave them what they wanted and that’s still true today. It’s hardly surprising, as he talks with the assuredness of a driven man and the tirelessness of his attention to detail can take you by surprise. I had the feeling he’s thought intricately about every inch of his creations.

“The table in the cockpit is always in the middle but you may need it only 10% of the time, so we invented a system by which the table disappears in the floor and you pop it up only when you require it,” before adding, coyly, “It’s a little bit of showing off but if you don’t show off something innovative, the show-off doesn’t mean anything.”

How did your love of boats begin?

“Well, I was born in a town very close to the sea and since the beginning the sea was the place where I could express myself. I started sailing, then I was racing with sailing boats for 10 years, and also worked as a sail-maker.

My parents didn’t sail but when I was a kid they took me to the yacht club and the thing I really remember from then was I loved walking along the dock of an old fishing port.  I was about 3 years old and to me these boats were huge. I tried to push one and it moved! You know, that amazed me: I could be on land, and so small, and I could move this massive boat.”

Since then Tilli hasn’t only moved boats he has moved the whole yachting world, and, amazingly, the childlike curiosity that prompted his experiment then continues to drive him today. It’s refreshing to talk to a man who is still connected to where it all started.

And how did Pershing begin?

“I knew I could not become one of the top yachtsmen so I thought it was better to do something else. I met Fulvio De Simoni, who is still our designer, and asked him what he thought about designing a power boat and the Pershing 45’, our first boat, was the result. It was a 45 footer with 3 cabins and 3 bathrooms, it could reach 35 knots, and was something totally unexpected from a performance boat at that time. Usually performance boats were very narrow and very noisy with no space inside.”

You say you were a sailor and sail-maker. How do feel now,
sail or power?

“I love what I am doing but if you want to feel the sea, a sailing boat is different. Very different. The emotion of moving in the sea without any energy except the wind.
If you are good at driving a sports car you can probably drive a power boat, but if you don’t know how to drive a sailing boat don’t even go out of the harbour.”

What is the key to Pershing’s success?

“When I started building boats I saw there was a train leaving that I had to catch. Most of the time it is also a matter of luck. You must follow up your luck. If you run you can catch it but if you wait...”

It reminded me of how Gary Player responded after holing a tough bunker shot, “The more I practice, the luckier I get.” Luck may have played a part in Tilli’s success but it’s his contagious optimism that pushed him to take full advantage of any opportunities.

“This kind of philosophy is also the way we promote our product into the market because we strongly believe we don’t have to wait for our customers at the office, or wait to present new products at official boat shows. What we are doing, which is a first in the yachting business, is arranging a Sea Show all around The Med for our own models. This gets us much closer to the various markets and the people, and we won’t organize product premières at a boat show anymore. We can invite the customers to our Sea Shows and it gives us more time to spend with them and go out on dedicated sea trials, so that they can feel the emotion.”

Thinking outside of boating, if there was another brand you could compare yourself to who would
it be?

“A brand in the car industry which I like very much is Porsche and we probably share the same philosophy. Luxury, high performance, design and lots of technology, and the same initial letter “P”! Passion, Porsche, Pershing!”

How receptive has the Asian market been to Pershing?

‘It’s slightly different to mature markets. There isn’t much yachting culture as yachting is relatively new in Asia. Hong Kong is a big hub and a window into the Chinese market but there is not yet the infrastructure for pleasure boating. It’s like giving a book to someone who cannot read so first you have to teach him to read the book…starting yachting in this area is a process. We need to train people how to clean the boat, maintain the engine, and overhaul the engine.”

What are your impressions of the infrastructure on Phuket?

After spending an afternoon touring the area by sea-plane, Tilli was in a perfect position to comment. It had made quite an impact as he bounced forward, hardly unable to contain his excitement.

“My impression from my first visit is that it can be the centre of Asian yachting. People from Singapore and Hong Kong can spend holidays easily here and there are so many places to go: nice beaches, lots of islands, good resorts. I don’t see any other place in the world like it. I’m surprised yachting isn’t ‘here’ yet as you have all the ingredients... except the boats!

However we are bringing the Pershing 64’ and Pershing 72’
to Phuket.”

“If you think it, you can do it” is a Pershing saying. What are you thinking is next for Pershing?

“Nowadays everything goes faster and faster. More than money now, to be rich you have to have the time to spend your money.  Also, it’s easier for people to buy bigger yachts these days so the boats are getting larger and more people are coming to yachting.

In the future we may see a different design of the top deck with accommodation included, more surfaces closer to the water and more openings from the cabins to the outside. I mean, instead of having a window you would have a terrace which you could open a little and get straight from your cabin to the water.”

With this, it sounds like these extra-ordinary toys are going to be more fun to play with in the future as Tilli continues to drive Pershing forward. His ideas and the youthful sparkle in his eye show a mischievous side to Tilli and it makes me think he will always be ready to surprise.

As a parting question I asked him what else he did for adrenaline rushes, as if these stunning yachts weren’t enough. He talked in detail about Porsches and Ferraris and the joy found in their company. I thought, is there no stopping this man’s verve for life and thrills when he said, “Now bikes. If you want to talk about bikes...”

Lee Marine are the sole dealers of Pershing in Thailand
E-mail: info@leemarine.com