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2021 Checkmate Pulsare 2400 CD

• By John Tiger
• Updated: August 28, 2021

Lamenting the loss of smaller performance outboard boats? Try running Checkmate’s Pulsare 2400 CD (Closed Deck). With a Mercury Racing 300R outboard spinning a 27-inch-pitch four-blade Bravo One FS stainless-steel wheel through 1.75-to-1 gearing housed in a Sport Master gear case, we hit 73.1 mph with two people aboard and 40 gallons of fuel. Available also in a bowrider (BRX) version, the 2400 fills the bill for performance-hungry outboarders longing for speed and some amenities.

Checkmate updated the design to perform with modern power. The result is a 22-degree-deadrise hull with a narrow V-shaped pad and multiple lifting strakes. While there are faster hulls, the Checkmate does it all with aplomb. It will carry a family load, pull watersports, provide shelter, and deliver thrills. A few 2400s have been built with 400 and 450R power, providing speeds into the 80 to 90 mph range. With the 300R, we planed in 4 seconds and hit 30 mph in just over 6 seconds. That’s quick. Notably, at 50 mph, the engine sipped 12.2 gph, netting 4.1 mpg for 233 miles of range—a weekend’s worth.

The Pulsare handles precisely and quickly. Rougher waters—heavy wind chop and boat wakes—really let this boat shine. The ride was smooth and predictable.

Interior and Accessories

Built like an offshore racer, the Pulsare is hand-laid with composite core, a stringer grid, a transom and a liner. The small cabin proves plush and features a deep headliner and comfy cushions. In the cockpit, twin buckets form-fit to the captain and mate, and a wide aft bench accommodates a few more crew. SeaDek nonskid is custom-cut with Checkmate logos, and makes for a clean look and easy cleanup. The dash panel features a cluster of chrome-bezeled Livorsi electronic instruments with traditional hotrod-style analog dials. Twin Livorsi throttle and shift sticks control the big Merc. Ours featured an optional ski tow, Lenco electric trim tabs, and an Atlas hydraulic setback jack plate. Rigging under the dash, below the splashwell, and at the transom was executed with a clean, racelike touch—another of many reasons to like this boat.

How We Tested

• Engine: Single Mercury Racing 300R
• Drive/Prop: Outboard/151/4″ x 27″ Mercury Racing Bravo One FS, 4-blade stainless steel
• Gear Ratio: 1.75:1 Fuel Load: 40 gal. Crew Weight: 500 lb.

High Points

• Drop-dead-gorgeous styling will turn heads at every ramp, gas dock and raft-up.
• Eye-catching upholstery colors and designs coupled with high-quality stitching and vinyl make Checkmate interiors exceptional in quality and appearance.
• Race-worthy rigging and setup ensure a neat-as-a-pin appearance when it’s time to show off or perform maintenance.
• Low 70s is certainly a good turn of speed, but we’d hoped to see 80 mph.

Toughest Competitor

Velocity’s 230SC ($127,000 with a Mercury Racing 300R) is a foot shorter but a close competitor. As equipped, it weighs 2,000 pounds, has a 50-gallon fuel cell, and tops out at 81 mph.

Pricing and Specs

Price:	$126,610 (as tested)
LOA:	24’0″
Beam:	8’3″
Draft:	1’6″
Displacement:	2,000 lb.
Transom Deadrise:	22 degrees
Bridge Clearance:	4’11”
Max Headroom:	4’8″
Fuel Capacity:	63 gal.
Max Horsepower:	400
Available Power:	Single Mercury or Mercury Racing outboards to 400 hp

Speed, Efficiency, Operation

Checkmate Powerboats – Washington, North Carolina; 252-220-5119; checkmatepowerboat.com

• More: 20-30ft , 2021 , boat tests , Boats , checkmate , October 2021 , outboards , Performance Boats

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Checkmate READ LISTING DISCLAIMER

Checkmate with a fresh top to bottom paint job and 5 year class survey complete; is the most recent of the well-revered 145-foot (44.2m) Benetti Visions to hit the market. She arguably is the most striking with her jet-black hull.

Delivered in 2013, Checkmate features a traditionally beautiful, timeless interior of Burl Madrona woods, Italian marble and high-end fabrics by Zuretti and Joan Brown Interiors. Her on-deck master suite allows for stunning 180-degree panoramic views, a completely private foredeck seating and sunning area, an owners study and generous his-and-her marble baths. She is the only 145 Benetti with a much larger and totally redesigned skylounge, which flows into her 270-degree enclosed or alfresco dining space. The guest staterooms and crew lounge area are the first ever to have large, wide hull ports offering amazing views. Checkmate’s bridge deck offers multiple seating areas that are located both aft and forward of the wheelhouse. It also provides access to an enormous sundeck with a day head and drop-down flat-screen TV. Thanks to modern anchor stabilizers, Checkmate offers supreme comfort while at the dock or on anchor. Guests are able to may remain connected at all times via high-speed VSAT Internet. Checkmate is fully world-cruising capable thanks to a duel-voltage electrical system and proven heavy displacement hull form with good range. She also earned special recognition from Benetti as its 100th fiberglass yacht built.

Accommodation

Checkmate can sleep up to a maximum of twelve guests in her luxury five cabin layout which features a master stateroom and four guest staterooms. She also fully accommodates for her crew in separate crew quarters ensuring a relaxed and luxurious experience on board.

The particulars on this page are a general guide to give a broad description of the yacht. They are not intended to constitute part of an offer or contract. All prices, photographs, measurements, plans and specifications referred to are given as a guide only and should not be relied upon for the purchase of this yacht. The copyright of all details, photographs and deckplans remains the property of their respectful owners.

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NOT FOR CHARTER *

This Yacht is not for Charter*

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CHECKMATE yacht NOT for charter*

44.2m  /  145' | benetti | 2013 / 2022.

Owner & Guests

Cabin Configuration

• Previous Yacht

Special Features:

• High quality Italian superyacht
• Contemporary chic interior with modern touches
• Large cabin windows
• High-speed cigarette speedboat tender
• Magnificent semi-alfresco dining area

The 44.2m/145' motor yacht 'Checkmate' was built by Benetti in Italy at their Viareggio shipyard. Her interior is styled by French designer design house Zuretti and she was delivered to her owner in January 2013. This luxury vessel's exterior design is the work of Stefano Righini and she was last refitted in 2022.

Guest Accommodation

Checkmate has been designed to comfortably accommodate up to 10 guests in 5 suites comprising two VIP cabins. She is also capable of carrying up to 10 crew onboard to ensure a relaxed luxury yacht experience.

Onboard Comfort & Entertainment

Her features include beach club, deck jacuzzi, WiFi and air conditioning.

Range & Performance

Checkmate is built with a GRP hull and GRP superstructure, with teak decks. Powered by twin diesel Caterpillar (C32 Acert) 1,300hp engines running at 1800rpm, she comfortably cruises at 14 knots, reaches a maximum speed of 15 knots with a range of up to 3,500 nautical miles from her 60,000 litre fuel tanks at 12 knots. Checkmate features at-anchor stabilizers providing exceptional comfort levels. Her water tanks store around 9,500 Litres of fresh water. She was built to ABS (American Bureau of Shipping) ✠A1, Yachting Service, Ⓔ, ✠AMS classification society rules, and is MCA LY2 Compliant.

Length	44.2m / 145'
Beam	9.22m / 30'3
Draft	2.59m / 8'6
Gross Tonnage	456 GT
Cruising Speed	14 Knots
Built	| (Refitted)
Builder	Benetti
Model	Vision 145'
Exterior Designer	Stefano Righini
Interior Design	Zuretti

*Charter Checkmate Motor Yacht

Motor yacht Checkmate is currently not believed to be available for private Charter. To view similar yachts for charter , or contact your Yacht Charter Broker for information about renting a luxury charter yacht.

Checkmate Yacht Owner, Captain or marketing company

'Yacht Charter Fleet' is a free information service, if your yacht is available for charter please contact us with details and photos and we will update our records.

Checkmate Photos

NOTE to U.S. Customs & Border Protection

Specification

M/Y Checkmate

Length	44.2m / 145'
Builder
Exterior Designer	Stefano Righini
Interior Design	Zuretti
Built | Refit	2013 | 2022
Model
Beam	9.22m / 30'3
Gross Tonnage	456 GT
Draft	2.59m / 8'6
Cruising Speed	14 Knots
Top Speed	15 Knots

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Checkmate Powerboats goes all out for 2023

Checkmate Boats is embarking on a new journey with the help of Stax Performance Marine.

Checkmate Powerboats and its owner, Pete Caldwell, are distributing their boats through Stax Marine. Caldwell is vowing to revive the legacy brand and moving production of the boats to Washington, North Carolina. Pete grew up surrounded by experts in the performance boating world, even having worked for Reggie Fountain at the age of 14. His family is well known in the industry to say the least and they are an incredibly knowledgeable bunch.

Pete’s father Jim worked alongside Reggie Fountain for many years. Jim also helped design Donzi’s 38 ZRC hull and to tool the ZR hulls in the early 2000’s.

It is wonderful to see high-performance boating in Canada and even better to see the owners of these great companies participating in the sport as well. Pete and the owners of Stax, Alex Decristoforo and Stan Vandervliet, all live and breathe the sport that they do business in and that is certainly a recipe for success. The amalgamation of expertise and resources enabled Stax Marine to introduce ground-breaking models to their lineup.

Checkmate has always possessed a unique and unmistakable aesthetic that sets it apart. With the introduction of newer, heavier, and more powerful engines, Checkmate must make the necessary adjustments to maintain its signature style while ensuring optimal performance.

Donzi was founded by Don Aronow in 1964, and quickly established itself as a trailblazer in the powerboat industry. Aronow’s visionary designs merged speed, style, and superior craftsmanship, capturing the attention of boating enthusiasts around the globe. Donzi was later run by the famous Richard E. “Dick” Genth, who increased the number of dealers selling Donzi Boats from three to 27.

Donzi boats gained prominence for their sleek lines, exceptional performance, and relentless pursuit of speed. Today, Stax Marine is the exclusive dealer of Donzi boats in Canada based in Brockville, ON.

Over the years, Donzi introduced numerous ground-breaking models that pushed the limits of powerboat design. The Donzi Sweet 16, launched in 1964, became an instant sensation, setting the stage for future successes. The Donzi 22 Classic, a timeless masterpiece introduced in the 1980s, solidified the brand’s reputation for combining elegance with exhilaration. Donzi’s innovative approaches, such as employing deep-vee hulls for enhanced stability and speed, became hallmarks of the brand.

Be sure to check out the new models from Checkmate and Donzi at the Poker Runs America 1000 Islands Poker Run in Gananoque from July 7-8 and in Kingston from August 4-5, 2023. Poker Runs America has put on these amazing events for over 35 years and counting.

Donzi’s lineup currently consists of their 22 Classic, 38 ZRC, 39 VRZ, and the 41 GTZ. As for Checkmate, Caldwell plans to focus on one model for this year including the 2400 BRX. Checkmate reportedly built about a dozen boats last year.

For more information on each of these brands, please visit their websites.

Checkmate Power Boats: https://checkmatepowerboats.net/

Donzi Marine: DonziMarine.com

Stax Performance Marine: StaxPerformance.com

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CHECKMATE is a 28.43 m Motor Yacht, built in Italy by Custom Line and delivered in 2022. She is one of 42 Navetta 30 models.

Her top speed is 14.5 kn, her cruising speed is 13.0 kn, and she boasts a maximum cruising range of 2050.0 nm at 10.0 kn, with power coming from two MAN diesel engines. She can accommodate up to 10 guests in 5 staterooms, with 5 crew members waiting on their every need. She has a gross tonnage of 199.0 GT and a 7.31 m beam.

She was designed by Filippo Salvetti , who has designed 67 other superyachts in the BOAT Pro database.

The naval architecture was developed by Ferretti Engineering Department , who has architected 614 other superyachts in the BOAT Pro database, and the interior of the yacht was designed by Citterio Viel , who has 32 other superyacht interiors designed in the BOAT Pro database - she is built with a Teak deck, a GRP hull, and GRP superstructure.

CHECKMATE is one of 5877 motor yachts in the 24-30m size range, and, compared to similarly sized motor yachts, her volume is 86.6 GT above the average.

CHECKMATE is registered under the Jersey flag (along with a total of other 39 yachts)

Specifications

• Name: CHECKMATE
• Yacht Type: Motor Yacht
• Yacht Subtype: Semi-displacement
• Model: Navetta 30
• Builder: Custom Line
• Naval Architect: Ferretti Engineering Department
• Exterior Designer: Filippo Salvetti
• Interior Designer: Citterio Viel

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Mike Lynch sunken superyacht could cost insurers massively, experts say

Insurers of the Bayesian superyacht that sank this month , killing tech entrepreneur Mike Lynch and six others , could be on the hook for at least $150 million, according to the first estimates by industry experts.

The British-flagged 184-foot-long yacht , which the experts estimated cost around $40 million, capsized and went down on Aug. 19 within minutes of being hit by a pre-dawn storm while anchored off northern Sicily.

Prosecutors in the town of Termini Imerese, near Palermo,  are investigating the captain and two other crew members. An investigation does not imply guilt or mean formal charges will follow. Prosecutors have said the probe, which includes looking into crimes of manslaughter and shipwreck, would take time and require salvaging the wreck.

The captain, James Cutfield, flew out of Palermo on a private jet on Thursday, an investigative source told Reuters . Cutfield's destination was unclear.

Cutfield, a native of New Zealand, and his wife live in Palma, the capital of the Spanish island of Mallorca.

The superyacht's hull was insured against physical damage by yacht insurance provider OMAC and a consortium of insurers including Travelers Companies Inc (TRV.N), Navium Marine and Convex, Reuters  reported  last week.

Its protection and indemnity (P&I) insurance, which typically covers third-party liability claims including for environmental damage, injury and death, was provided by British Marine.

The hull was likely insured for around $40 million, while the P&I cover would be larger, insurance sources said.

"Our understanding is that the cost of the boat was between $40 and $50 million, so the limit of the hull and machinery policy was probably around those values," said Marcos Alvarez, managing director, global financial institution ratings at Morningstar DBRS.

The P&I policy would likely be "several multiples" of the hull policy, or $200-300 million, Alvarez added, noting it would also likely cover liability payments even if the captain or crew are found to be negligent.

More: How safe are luxury yachts? What to know after Mike Lynch yacht disaster left 7 dead

Oscar Seikaly, CEO of broker NSI Insurance Group, that provides yacht insurance, estimated the hull value at $40-70 million, but said P&I cover might not total more than $100 million.

P&I insurance would also cover recovery of the Bayesian, said Francesco Dubbioso, country manager for Italy for insurer Alta Signa Europe, who estimated the superyacht's value at $30 million to $40 million.

Reuters is the first to report the potential insurance costs. OMAC, Travelers and Navium Marine did not immediately respond to Reuters' for comment. Convex declined to comment.

The Bayesian disaster, which has puzzled experts who said the boat would have been built to withstand a severe storm, adds to recent woes for yacht insurers, who have faced a raft of hurricane losses in the past few years.

Premium rates have risen by four to five times in the past couple of years in parts of the U.S. and the Caribbean, and yacht insurers have cut the amount of cover they provide because of the risks, Seikaly said.

As a result, insurers have increased rates and re-evaluated their guidelines and risk appetite, according to industry experts.

As well as hurricanes, insured losses have mostly stemmed from severe storms, floods, and other weather events in North America, the Caribbean, and Europe, according to a report by broker Marsh.

Seikaly said four clients had last week been ready to buy boats but changed their minds because of the high cost of insurance.

Climate change was also likely to add to yacht insurers' worries, Seikaly added, as it throws up more unexpected events.

"Whoever thought a storm in the Mediterranean in the month of August is going to sink a ship?"

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Lynch Yacht Sinking Off Sicily Proves as Baffling as It Is Tragic

As bodies were recovered, the authorities and experts wondered how a $40 million, stable and secure vessel could have sunk so quickly.

• Share full article

By Emma Bubola and Michael J. de la Merced

Emma Bubola reported from Porticello, Italy, and Michael J. de la Merced from London.

Two months after being cleared in a bruising legal battle over fraud charges, the British tech mogul Mike Lynch celebrated his freedom with a cruise. He invited his family, friends and part of his legal team on board his luxury sailing yacht, a majestic 180-foot vessel named Bayesian after the mathematical theorem around which he had built his empire.

On Sunday night, after a tour of the Gulf of Naples, including Capri, and volcanic islands in the Eolian archipelago, the boat anchored half a mile off the Sicilian coast in Porticello, Italy. It chose a stretch of water favored by the Phoenicians thousands of years ago for its protection from the mistral wind and, in more recent times, by the yachts of tech billionaires. The boat was lit “like a Christmas tree,” local residents said, standing out against the full moon.

But about 4 a.m., calamity unfolded. A violent and fast storm hit the area with some of the strongest winds locals said they had ever felt. Fabio Cefalù, a fisherman, said he saw a flare pierce the darkness shortly after 4.

Minutes later, the yacht was underwater. Only dozens of cushions from the boat’s deck and a gigantic radar from its mast floated on the surface of the sea, fishermen said.

In all, 22 people were on board, 15 of whom were rescued. Six bodies — five passengers and the ship’s cook — had been recovered by Thursday afternoon, including that of Mr. Lynch, an Italian government official said, adding that the search was continuing for his daughter.

It was a tragic and mystifying turn of events for Mr. Lynch, 59, who had spent years seeking to clear his name and was finally inaugurating a new chapter in his life. Experts wondered how a $40 million yacht, so robust and stable could have been sunk by a storm near a port within minutes.

“It drives me insane,” said Giovanni Costantino, the chief executive of the Italian Sea Group, which in 2022 bought the company, Perini, that made the Bayesian. “Following all the proper procedures, that boat is unsinkable.”

The aura of misfortune only deepened when it emerged that Stephen Chamberlain, 52, a former vice president of finance for Mr. Lynch’s former company and a co-defendant in the fraud case, was killed two days earlier, when he was hit by a car while jogging near his house in England.

Since June, the two men had been in a jubilant mood. A jury in San Francisco had acquitted both on fraud charges that could have sent them to prison for two decades. There were hugs and tears, and they and their legal teams went for a celebratory dinner party at a restaurant in the city, said Gary S. Lincenberg, a lawyer for Mr. Chamberlain.

The sea excursion was meant as a thank-you by Mr. Lynch to those who had helped him in his legal travails. Among the guests was Christopher J. Morvillo, 59, a scion of a prominent New York family of lawyers who had represented Mr. Lynch for 12 years. He and his wife, Neda, 57, were among the missing.

So, too, was Jonathan Bloomer, 70, a veteran British insurance executive who chaired Morgan Stanley International and the insurer Hiscox.

The body of the ship’s cook, Recaldo Thomas, was recovered. All the other crew members survived. Among them was Leo Eppel, 19, of South Africa, who was on his first yacht voyage working as a deck steward, said a friend, who asked not to be identified.

Since the sinking, the recovery effort and investigation have turned the tiny port town of Porticello, a quiet enclave where older men sit bare-chested on balconies, into what feels like the set of a movie.

Helicopters have flown overhead. Ambulances have sped by with the sirens blaring. The Coast Guard has patrolled the waters off shore, within sight of a cordoned-off dock that had been turned into an emergency headquarters.

On Wednesday afternoon, a church bell tolled after the first body bag was loaded into an ambulance, a crowd watching in silence.

The survivors were sheltering in a sprawling resort near Porticello, with a view of the shipwreck spot, and had so far declined to comment.

Attilio Di Diodato, director of the Italian Air Force’s Center for Aerospace Meteorology and Climatology, said that the yacht had most likely been hit by a fierce “down burst” — when air generated within a thunderstorm descends rapidly — or by a waterspout , similar to a tornado over water.

He added that his agency had put out rough-sea warnings the previous evening, alerting sailors about storms and strong winds. Locals said the winds “felt like an earthquake.”

Mr. Costantino, the boat executive, said the yacht had been specifically designed for having a tall mast — the second-tallest aluminum mast in the world. He said the Bayesian was an extremely safe and secure boat that could list even to 75 degrees without capsizing.

But he said that if some of the hatches on the side and in the stern, or some of the deck doors, had been open, the boat could have taken on water and sunk. Standard procedure in such storms, he said, is to switch on the engine, lift the anchor and turn the boat into the wind, lowering the keel for extra stability, closing doors and gathering the guests in the main hall inside the deck.

12 guests occupied the yacht’s six cabins. There were also 10 crew members.

Open hatches, doors and cabin windows could have let in water during a storm, according to the manufacturer.

Open hatches, doors and

cabin windows could

have let in water

during a storm,

according to the

manufacturer.

Source: Superyacht Times, YachtCharterFleet, MarineTraffic

By Veronica Penney

The New York Times attempted to reach the captain, James Cutfield, who had survived, for comment through social media, his brother and the management company of the yacht (which did not hire the crew), but did not make contact.

So far none of the surviving crew members have made a public statement about what happened that night.

Fabio Genco, the director of Palermo’s emergency services, who treated some of the survivors, said that the victims had recounted feeling as if the boat was being lifted, then suddenly dropped, with objects from the cabins falling on them.

The Italian Coast Guard said it had deployed a remotely operated vehicle that can prowl underwater for up to seven hours at a depth of more than 980 feet and record videos and images that they hoped would help them reconstruct the dynamics of the sinking. Such devices were used during the search and rescue operations of the Titan vessel that is believed to have imploded last summer near the wreckage of the Titanic.

After rescuers broke inside the yacht, they struggled to navigate the ropes and many pieces of furniture cluttering the vessel, said Luca Cari, a spokesman for Italy’s national firefighter corps.

Finally, as of Thursday morning, they had managed to retrieve all but one of the missing bodies, and hopes of finding the missing person alive were thin. “Can a human being be underwater for two days?” Mr. Cari asked.

What was certain was that Mr. Lynch’s death was yet another cruel twist of fate for a man who had spent years seeking to clear his name.

He earned a fortune in technology and was nicknamed Britain’s Bill Gates. But for more than a decade, he had been treated as anything but a respected tech leader.

He was accused by Hewlett-Packard, the American technological pioneer that had bought his software company, Autonomy, for $11 billion, of misleading it about his company’s worth. (Hewlett-Packard wrote down the value of the transaction by about $8.8 billion, and critics called it one of the worst deals of all time .) He had been increasingly shunned by the British establishment that he sought to break into after growing up working-class outside London.

He was extradited to San Francisco to face criminal charges, and confined to house arrest and 24-hour surveillance on his dime. In a townhouse in the Pacific Heights neighborhood — with security people he jokingly told associates were his “roommates” — he spent his mornings talking with researchers whom he funded personally on new applications for artificial intelligence. Afterward, he devoted hours to discussing legal strategy with his team.

Despite his persistent claims of innocence, even those close to Mr. Lynch had believed his odds of victory were slim. Autonomy’s chief financial officer, Sushovan Hussain, was convicted in 2018 of similar fraud charges and spent five years in prison.

During Mr. Lynch’s house arrest, his brother and mother died. His wife, Angela Bacares, frequently flew over from England, and she became a constant presence in the San Francisco courtroom during the trial.

After he was finally acquitted, Mr. Lynch had his eye on the future. “I am looking forward to returning to the U.K. and getting back to what I love most: my family and innovating in my field,” he said.

Elisabetta Povoledo contributed reporting from Pallanza, Italy.

Emma Bubola is a Times reporter based in Rome. More about Emma Bubola

Michael J. de la Merced has covered global business and finance news for The Times since 2006. More about Michael J. de la Merced