The Brazilian Torben Grael, one of the greatest sailors in history, decided to invest in Lake Como, in a project that combines its sporting experience with a shipbuilding tradition. The initiative, called GL Nautica, was born from a “three-way marriage” between Grael, Stefano Lillia and Davide Casetti, with the aim of promoting the growth of young sailors. The base of the project is the Cantiere Lillia di Pianello del Lario, a historic builder of Olympic Star boats, with which Grael won gold medals and silver medals in various Olympic Games.
GL Nautica: a unique experience for young people
GL Nautica is a reference point for young sailors, offering access to a modern and competitive boat like the VX One, produced by MacKay Boats. This high-performance boat is designed to attract sailors of every level, with a design that combines speed and stability. The project also includes a remittance, maintenance and haulage offer for sailing and motor boats, with complete kite, wing and windsurf services.
GL Nautica is a concrete alternative for young sailors.
The VX One, distributed exclusively in Italy by GL Nautica, is a one design high performance boat, ideal for crews from 2 to 5 people. For the first 10 units sold, GL Nautica offers a promotion that includes a dedicated price, enrollment in the VX One class for the 2027 season and a weekend of clinic held personally by Torben Grael.
An alliance between past and future
The project is based on the collaboration between Torben Grael, Stefano Lillia and Davide Casetti, with Lillia representing the third generation of a family of boat builders. The company uses the know-how of the Cantiere Lillia, which built the boats with which Grael won Olympic medals. The goal is to return a part of this story to young people, offering them access to modern boats and a training environment. With GL Nautica, Torben Grael and its partners intend to create a training and growth environment for young sailors, combining the tradition of Lake Como to the modernity of the nautical sector. The goal is to become a benchmark for the future of sailing, investing in the next generation of athletes. The initiative is a significant step towards promoting velism in Italy, with particular attention to the new levers in the sector.
GL Nautica is a concrete alternative for young sailors.
The project takes place in Pianello del Lario, a stone's throw from the Museo della Barca Lariana, and is based on the collaboration between Grael, Lillia and Casetti. The company is a reference point for young sailors, offering them access to a modern and competitive boat like the VX One, with a design that combines speed and stability. The project also includes a remittance, maintenance and haulage offer for sailing and motor boats, with complete kite, wing and windsurf services.
The statements of John Clinton, head of the Mackay Boats yard, expressed enthusiasm for the initiative: "We are incredibly excited to see GL Nautica promote a vision that creates a concrete path to allow young sailors to continue to expand their knowledge. The VX One is in a unique position to support this route and Lake Como offers the perfect stage". The company recognizes the importance of investing in the next generation, combining the passion for sailing to a vision of growth.