The “X” in the 43WallyTender X’s name doesn’t stand for ordinary – it signifies extreme, and this 13.2-meter marvel certainly lives up to that expectation. BOAT had the privilege of taking it for a spin…
I find myself in a shipyard with a history spanning over 700 years, a vast and picturesque expanse measured not in square meters but in hectares. I’m referring to the Arsenale di Venezia, now an intriguing coexistence of Italy’s Marina Militare and the Venice Biennale art exhibition. This unlikely pairing juxtaposes a 1968 submarine with a tree sculpture by Giuseppe Penone.
The visit to this location alone would be worth the trip, but today, the Arsenale is hosting the Venice Boat Show. On this special day, I have the incredible opportunity to test the brand-new 43WallyTender X alongside Stefano de Vivo, Wally’s managing director, and Luca Bassani, Wally’s founder and president. It’s a harmonious blend of Italy’s maritime heritage and its cutting-edge present: we board the super-sleek, ultra-modern boat from the historic docks of La Serenissima, slowly making our way between the ancient brick and stone towers that once guarded the entrance to the Arsenale, tracing the same route taken by the ships that secured the legendary naval victory at Lepanto in 1571.
Wally, after causing ripples in the world’s top yacht clubs with innovative sailing vessels that combined speed on the regatta course with cruising comfort, ventured into powerboat construction in the early 2000s. As we depart the dock, Bassani reflects on this evolution, saying, “We created a market that hadn’t existed up until then. I started to ask myself why we should limit ourselves to seeing tenders as small boats that you load onto larger boats when they could be more independent and used more widely. It all depends on the product you make. Like in any manufacturing business, if you make an innovative, quality product that works, it’s only logical that it finds its market.” Bassani, prior to founding Wally, played a pivotal role in his family’s highly successful electrical equipment company.
While acknowledging that the initial 118 WallyPower faced some challenges, Bassani also recognizes it as a trailblazer. Its design was unabashedly modern and aggressive, its attitude was unapologetically divisive – either you loved it or you didn’t – and its main selling points were technology and performance. “It’s somewhat akin to today’s race to space travel,” he reflects. “Some of us might be asking, ‘What do I need that for?’ but in a few years, we may see that they opened a market segment that hadn’t found its calling yet.” By the time it joined the Ferretti Group in 2019, Wally had already clinched a couple of Italy’s prestigious Compasso d’Oro design awards as the first shipyard to seamlessly integrate both sail and power options into its fleet.