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CANNES HEAT
by Dr. Susan Block
IN 10 PAGES
1 I 2 I 3 I 4 I 5 I 6 I 7 I 8 I 9 I 10

Yachting Around

Mast of the Adria 1934 at Sea... PHOTOS: MAX & SUZY

Hot and early, we dragged our danced-out bodies out of bed and rolled down the hill to the harbor for our rendezvous with Captain Cornelius Kotterer, his lovely First Mate/wife Antonia, and the capable, amicable crew, Max Muzio and Gerard Tournay, of the ADRIA 1934.

Ready to board the Adria 1934 .. PHOTO: MAX

One of the most elegant and comfortable sailing yachts on the Côte D'Azur, the Adria was designed by the distinguished naval architect Artur Tiller as an ocean-going schooner for a German industrial company, built to the highest standards on the famous yard of Abeking & Rasmussen in Lengwerder, in northern Germany.

Scenes from our day on The Adria ... PHOTOS: MAX, SUZY & THIERRY

Like most German things of any value in the 1930s, the Adria was soon confiscated by the Nazis. But it didn't stay Third Reich long. As the war began, the yacht was stopped by the British Navy while making a trip on the North Sea and brought to England. There she was dismasted and taken to the Thames to help defend the Allies.

The Bla Bla at Sea...... PHOTOS: MAX

Dr. Suzy at the Wheel and On the Phone... PHOTOS: MAX

After the war, the Adria was purchased by an English Commander, who had her rerigged, with the original masts, as a ketch, by the naval architect Illingworth. After a few years of Mediterranean cruising, she was sold to an Italian who had her refit by the renowned yard of Becconcini in Genoa.

THE ADRIA 1934

Her next owner was a Belgian gentleman who renamed her "Briantais" and then sold her to a Frenchman, who renamed her Adria II and kept her in Saint-Raphael. Then she was purchased by a French company, who put a paid captain onboard, entering her into all the classic Riviera regattas where she took very honorable places. After five years, the company stopped her racing adventures, and the Adria was on the market yet again.

Adria Captain Cornelius Kotterer .. PHOTOS: MAX

First Mate Antonia with Thierry and Gerard... PHOTOS: SUZY

It was then that Captain Cornelius, a former architect and budding artist, and Antonia, a former hat, hand and foot model, as well as an architect/artist, fell in love with this great and graceful Lady of the Sea. They became her seventh owners, and their "eternal honeymoon" began.

Captain Cornelius & Antonia .. PHOTOS: MAX

A refit started and, by keeping everything that is original--all scrubbed brass, polished wood and trim sails--they maintain the beauty and agility of the Adria as she was meant to be.

dRThierry & Gerard drop anchor at the Bay of Agay... PHOTOS: SUZY

Max to Max ... PHOTOS: SUZY

An important part of the sailing yacht experience: The Nap ... PHOTOS: THIERRY

Sign on the side of the Adria: HOMO SAPIENS NON URINATUM VENTUM
Trans: MEN SHOULDN'T PEE INTO THE WIND

Our day on the Adria was sublimely divine, sailing through gentle breezes past stunning red rock hills and a provocative mix of beautiful and horrible architecture. We dropped anchor in the Bay of Agay where we swam in the opalescent water and ate a scrumptious déjeuner of fruit, fois gras, rillettes and our beloved wine with ice, then dormir: The Nap, an essential part of the sailing yacht experience..

Max helps Antonia keep the Adria from scratching her neighbor, another beautiful, lovingly shellacked sailing yacht formerly owned by the late Gianni Agnelli of Fiat. PHOTOS: SUZY

Crew & Bla Bla ... PHOTOS: MAX

Pulling back into Port Du Cannes, we spied a water plane overhead soaring into the hills.

Waterplane flying into the hills over Port Du Cannes.
PHOTO: SUZY

"Only one thing that can mean," Captain Cornelius said ruefully, "They're going to put out another fire."

That evening, we got a good hard look at what the captain was talking about.

Driving west through the coastal hills to an art opening in Saint-Tropez, we were surrounded by miles of burt-to-the-ground terrain on both sides of the road, the terrible, ashen artwork of the arsonist-terrorists of the Côte D'Azur's scorched summer of 2003.