Eilean yacht

A 22-metre Bermudian ketch designed and built in 1936 by a legendary Scottish boatyard, Eilean (“little island” in Gaelic), was in a state of disrepair when she was found in Antigua in 2006 and bought by Panerai. Transported to Italy on a cargo ship, Eilean was soon in the hands of master artisans at the Francesco Del Carlo boatyard in Viareggio. Over the next three years, they brought Eilean back to life while preserving her shape, defining characteristics and the majority of her original materials.

● Type: Vintage yacht
● Material: Wood
● Date: 1936

The restoration of Eilean involved the entire boat: hull, main deck, upperworks, deck-house, interiors, masting. The project was undertaken by a team of artisans at the Francesco Del Carlo boatyard in Viareggio and spanned a total of two and a half years.

Eilean was built in 1936 by the legendary Scottish boatyard, Fife of Fairlie, according to a design by William Fife III. In its long history, this beautiful boat has known a succession of different owners who have taken it across the Atlantic no fewer than 36 times. During the 1970s and 1980s, she was a charter yacht in the Caribbean, moored at English Bay, Antigua, and such was her popularity that she was chosen by the band Duran Duran to feature in the video to their hit song "Rio" in 1982. Eilean’s glory days came to an end after she was damaged by a stricken ferry near Malaga, Spain. Her then-owner took her back to Antigua to begin repair work, but progress was slow and in the following years she suffered further damage. She was found and bought in 2006 by Officine Panerai, and her restoration was completed in 2009.

EileanExhibition