There are few yacht owners who have displayed more passion, knowledge and interest in yachting over the years than Paola Trifirò. She fell in love with boats during her university days when she sailed on Lake Como, sparking a decades-long fascination with yachting which resulted in some of the most beautiful sailing yachts ever built.
BOAT INTERNATIONAL, JULY 2024
From her first yacht, the seven-metre Calife, to the Dubois-designed Kokomo that introduced Paola to superyacht racing, her yachts have been as varied as they are impressive. Some of the exceptional yachts that she and her husband, Salvatore, have built over the years include the head-turning Zefira, a 50-metre Dubois design that won Sailing Yacht of the Year in 2011 for her lightness, elegance, speed and modernity, and 33-metre Ribelle, whose sinuous lines contain a sumptuous interior by Rémi Tessier.
As a legendary cook and host, Paola’s passion for food has had an undeniable impact on her yachts’ designs. Working closely with design studios and shipyards, Paola has always paid special attention to creating exceptional galley spaces, even on a sailing yacht. What unites all of Paola’s yachts is that they have been intelligently conceived based on her many years of experience.
Paola truly uses her boats for what they were made for. Fond of adventurous sailing to far-distant seas, she has cruised the oceans from the South Pacific to the high-latitude fjords of Norway. Paola is also an avid racer, having competed at the Loro Piana Caribbean Superyacht Regatta and Rendezvous, Loro Piana Superyacht Regatta in Porto Cervo, Les Voiles de Saint-Tropez and the Dubois Cup, where her sailing boats turned heads and garnered admiring reviews.
A committed member of the World Superyacht Awards judging panel, Paola has given her time and energy to the awards since 2012. As her fellow judges attested: “Paola has built and sailed a number of spectacular superyachts and is well known and respected in the industry. She is a great personality, and through her long-term work as a judge, she has supported the industry in many ways. She is an icon, instantly recognisable and highly knowledgeable.”
A remarkable life in boats, and a muchdeserved recipient for the 2024 Legacy Award.
