The J Craft Gotland Experience
We felt very happy as we got the invitation to the J Craft Gotland Experience, arranged by the Italian bureau Negri Firman PR & Communication, since our previous time with J Craft last summer was such a treat for us. We had high expectations of this trip but we must admit that this experience exceeded our expectations by far and we have done our best to describe it in the following.
Photo Credit : Lucio Gelsi
The first day started with a flight to Visby Airport where Johan Hallén, Chief Master Builder and Head of Production at J Craft, picked us up and transported us for check-in at the historic Visby Börs Hotel. After a little rest and settling into the hotel room, we gathered in the diner saloon downstairs for a meeting with the other journalists and influencers joining the experience as well as the CEO of J Craft, Niklas Ljungström and its owner Radenko Milakovic. After a presentation from Radenko about the essence of what J Craft is all about (which we have tried to describe and make justice in our previous articles) we were served some fantastic Nepal dumplings for dinner. Interesting chats and discussions were shared over a few drinks with fascinating and talented people before it was time to sleep and prepare for the day after, which would turn out to be one we will remember to say the least.
The next day, after a nice breakfast at the hotel, we went off for a ride in the J Craft Torpedo. Seeing the yacht with her incredible luster lay in the water alongside the harbor made us almost suffer from Stendahl’s syndrome; a psychosomatic condition which can manifest itself in rapid heartbeat, fainting as we become exposed to artworks of great beauty! When entering the torpedo one could see the exquisite craftsmanship in all details of the superyacht. While sitting down in the extremely comfortable leather seat in the back as we headed out at sea we could enjoy the beautiful surrounding nature of Visby and the breezy wind on this lovely sunny day. When out at sea, we had the pleasure to experience the Torpedo from the driver’s seat. The direct maneuvering when spinning the Nardi steering wheel and the power when pushing the aggregate made us experience the performance of the Torpedo, which enabled us to do some amazing turns at high speed that almost made us fly over the water yet remaining comfortable and solid in stability. It was in this moment that we grasped what emotions the Torpedo brings out of you apart from the ones relating to her visual beauty.
When returning from the experience in the Torpedo at sea we sat down for a quick tasteful lunch at a restaurant by the harbor. After that it was time to explore the nature of Gotland and what better way to do that than in a helicopter, right? We took off and followed the west coast of Gotland with its steep cliffs and limestones up to Fårö, which is a cultural and historic island just north of Gotland where rare stone formations called “raukar” rise from the beach. These special sea-worn limestone pillars are a result of millions of years of water from the Baltic Sea eroding what used to be mountains. Another curiosity from Fårö is that the legendary Swedish director Ingmar Bergman lived on the island and that the famous scene from his “The Seventh Seal”, where the main character Antonius Block (played by Max von Sydow) plays chess with the “Death”, was shot here!
Back in Visby after this hectic day it was time to get a short siesta at the hotel before heading to the fine restaurant; Bolaget. The French bistro served delicious dishes and drinks and was the perfect place to recap our impressions and share our thoughts of this fantastic day.
Those of you who have read about our previous visit at J Craft will know that its shipyard was being relocated from Fårösund to Visby during our time there so that was where we headed towards after breakfast on Saturday. We were eager to see how the new shipyard would look and we were very impressed with what we were about to see. Johan Hallen, who has been with J Craft since the beginning, told us everything about J Craft’s craftsmanship, woodwork, details and working process as we walked inside the shipyard. We got to see the fine craftsmanship with our own eyes as workers were doing woodwork, tightening the hull of the yacht and detail work for example. A fascinating work we had the pleasure to get a glimpse of was the bending of the eco-friendly mahogany wood which is only possible by using an age-old technique that the Vikings used 1000 years ago already, where the wood is heated up in an oven and thereafter bent by the workers. Seeing this process, where the workers passionately work on different details and frames without settling for anything but perfect and a finished Torpedo located just a few meters away, made us understand why the workers feel both sad and proud at the same time, as the final product, which they have spent more than 8,000 man-hours of labor on, is leaving the shipyard. Therefore, the passion from the workers truly permeates the finished Torpedo which could be looked upon as a way of transferring the soul of the fine craftsmen to the new owner. We must say that we feel proud to be Swedish as we, thanks to J Craft, can be able to say that we have a completely “made in Sweden” superyacht that is without comparison in its genre.
After visiting the new shipyard we went for a guided tour at the Gotland Museum Fornsalen to learn more about the history of Visby. A great tour-guide took care of us and captured our interest as he passionately lectured us about the historic significance of Visby's location and its trading heritage. For example, we learned that the Vikings didn’t only go abroad to kill, rob and do other terrible things but they also had a sense for fashion, luxury and business which led them to bring home things from their escapades around the world. Visby therefore became a very rich place in the 12th century which we could imagine as we were shown a gigantic silver collection as well as other golden accessories and coins preserved at the museum.
Photo Credit : Federico Avanzini
The evening continued at Lindgarden Wärdshus, a restaurant that served us traditional Gotlandic cuisine made by local commodities, and it was absolutely splendid. Before the night was over we had shared some drinks, laughter and even dancing in a bar which was the perfect way to end such a stunning day.
Unfortunately, all good things must come to an end so we had to leave J Craft the following day and fly back home. It was sad to say goodbye to all the nice people and new friendships we had made, but it is perhaps not that strange because of what we had experienced together. J Craft and Negri Firman PR & Communication arranged the J Craft Gotland Experience in a way that made it truly memorable. We hope that we in this article have at least captured the essence of it so that you can grasp our impressions of the experience. It has been our pleasure to once again shine light on J Craft and we cannot speak warmly enough about the Swedish superyacht manufacturer. Therefore, we encourage you to head over to www.j-craftboats.com for more info or if you are interested in purchasing the Torpedo.
Thank you J Craft!