Africa I

Africa I opened a new line for Benetti. When she was launched in 2010 she inaugurated the yard's family of 47-metre aluminium yachts with semi-displacement hulls, and Stefano Natucci gave her a flowing profile. The light hull lets her reach about 24 knots, a useful margin when the meltemi picks up and the plan changes to a more sheltered island.

She changed hands in 2021, and the new owners have been steadily renewing her since: the interior was refreshed in 2022 and further work, including new paint, ran until 2025. François Zuretti's original interior now wears a palette of white with touches of blue that suits Greek light, and the main saloon feels larger than it is thanks to wide windows and a polished marble ceiling that bounces light around. Each bathroom has its own mosaic pattern.

The layout is family-minded. The owners' suite sits on the main deck with its own lounge corner at the forward end; the VIP has been placed one level up, where the view is better; and the lower deck holds a pair of doubles plus a pair of twins, one of them kitted out for children. Wheelchair access is another point in her favour, rare on yachts of this size, which makes her an option for a group travelling with an older parent.

Evenings revolve around film and food. A projector turns the upper saloon into a cinema, and the sun deck has its own giant screen for movies under the stars, next to the Jacuzzi, sunpads and a second outdoor table. The large swim platform is where afternoons tend to end, feet in the water. A crew of twelve looks after guests, and the yacht has a loyal following of repeat charterers.

She spends the whole year in the eastern Mediterranean, so she is a natural fit for a week through the Cyclades, the Dalmatian islands or the Bay of Kotor. Guests wanting an indoor spa, a large beach club or a route in the western Mediterranean should look at other yachts first; Africa I's strengths are pace, family comfort and her crew.