Despite a consistent record of winning on the racecourse, Italia Yachts somehow remains under the radar. Sam Jefferson tests the 12.98, the company’s latest cruiser/racer
Perhaps few things sum up the recent success of Italia Yachts as the sight of the Italia 15.98 Nessum Dorma ghosting into Port St Louis, Grenada one early December night in 2023. The significance of the arrival was that she was the first boat across the line in the 2023 ARC+. This transatlantic rally is ostensibly for cruisers but, as always, it has strong overtones of a race for those at the front of the fleet and, in a light weather run from the Cape Verde islands to Grenada, this monohull had fended off challenges from big, sporty catamarans such as Marsaudon’s ORC 50 and a number of Outremers, to cross the line first. In many ways the win was small beer given the triumphs of the Italia 11.98 and 9.98 on more conventional racing stages such as the IRC and ORC Worlds where both have dominated in recent years. It showcased how perfectly Italia has managed the crossover from cruiser to racer and the bluured lines between a rally and a race were the perfect opportunity for an Italia to take the win and then pass the winter cruising around the Caribbean in comfort.
Yet I am not here to write about either the 15.98, the 9.98 or the 11.98. I’m here to cover its latest yacht, the 12.98, launched in 2023 and boasting the usual impeccable credentials as a cruiser/racer. This is a very nuanced category of boats as there are racers that can be cruised – such as perhaps the Italia 11.98 and also fast cruisers that can be raced. And I would include the 12.98 in the latter category – although to further complicate matters, she is available in two different specifications; Belissima, which is far more cruising oriented, and Fuoriserie which is much more angled at racers. There are marked differences between the two specs of boat and this is good because it demonstrates how serious Italia is about tailoring the boat to two quite different types of sailing.
Whichever spec you go for though, the hull is designed by the same team: Cossutti Yacht design in collaboration with the Italia Yachts design team. Unlike the other boats previously mentioned, there is one interesting omission and that is the name of Matteo Polli, who has been a key player in penning the lines of IRC/ORC powerhouses such as the 11.98 and 9.98. Polli worked with Cossutti for a number of years and then became Italia’s in house designer. In 2018, however, he went independent and started working
