#wooden sailing yacht

Creole: The world’s largest wooden sailing yacht

Launched 90 years ago, Creole has quite some history. But under the loving stewardship of the Gucci family, this classic schooner still sails like a dream…

Allegra Gucci’s classic sailing yacht Creole has graced the cover of Boat International before — but you may not have realised. The classic image (March 2015, for devoted collectors of this magazine) features a 1955 photograph of Sophia Loren at her most alluring, bound in a shimmering bodice, with this vast schooner in the background. The boat puts up an impressive fight for the viewer’s attention. The extraordinary yacht and the family’s other classic, 18.3 metre Avel, are under the loving stewardship of Allegra, younger daughter of the late Maurizio Gucci — and she is guarding her father’s legacy with skill. She may be the scion of a fashion dynasty, having grown up between residences in New York and St Moritz (where she still resides now with her husband and small child) but she is also a serious sailor with a law degree, who can usually be spotted working on deck during races — or getting her hands dusty at a shipyard when on land.

Read the excellent article here