A brand-new 80-foot Maori motoryacht, just introduced at the Cannes Boating Festival in September, caught fire, burned and sank a few days ago off the coast of Sardinia. (See the video of the fire below.)
The crew of the yacht, named Mama-G, sent out a Mayday distress call just after 7 p.m., while on their way to Porto Corrallo on the southeast coast of the island. The local Coast Guard, stationed in Olbia, raced to the yacht and picked up the four crew who were on a life raft. No one was injured.
The Coast Guard fought the fire for several hours, until the boat sank in 130 feet of water. The cause of the fire is not known.
The Mama-G was hull number one of the Maori 80 fleet, built in Italy. With a chocolate hull, it was reported to have made quite an impression at the Cannes show. It had an interior by Winch Design, a teak deck and a fiberglass hull and superstructure. Marco Ciampa was the naval architect.
Powered by twin MAN diesels, the Mama-G had a top speed of 50 knots. It could carry four guests in two staterooms, and had a beam of 22’ 8”, a draft of 5’ 0”, and a displacement of 88,000 pounds. It was sailing under a Malta flag. See the video here:
