Portofino and classic sailing yachts have a specific history: the harbour has welcomed timber vessels since before the railway reached the Ligurian Riviera, and the sight of a gaff-rigged ketch or wooden schooner at anchor in the famous horseshoe bay has a period logic that aligns with the old fishing boats still hauled up on the village beach. Charter guests who choose a classic yacht at Portofino are making a deliberate aesthetic choice, arriving in a vessel that belongs to the harbour’s own visual vocabulary rather than the modern charter fleet’s norm.
Italy’s classic fleet numbers approximately three vessels, all sailing yachts: carefully maintained timber boats of 15 to 25 metres with period fittings and a small, knowledgeable crew. These are not the fastest boats on the Ligurian coast, nor the most spacious, but they carry a particular atmosphere that is genuinely rare in the modern charter market.
Weekly rates run from approximately 10,000 to 30,000 euros, with the advance provisioning allowance of around 30% covering food, wine, modest fuel, and harbour costs. Portofino’s inner harbour berth remains expensive for any vessel; classic yacht guests who prefer to anchor in the bay or take a mooring buoy in the outer harbour reduce costs while retaining the setting.
The Ligurian coast is a rewarding ground for a classic sailing yacht: the passages are genuinely interesting under canvas, the ports are beautiful, and arriving at San Fruttuoso or Vernazza in a traditional timber vessel draws the kind of appreciative reception that modern fibreglass yachts do not receive.
