In 1930, when W. G. Hetherington from Glasgow had his 34 metres yacht, Janetha IV, built at Dickie & Sons Shipyard in Bangor, North Wales, he wanted her magnificent and comfortable, according to the standards of that period, in order to allow himself relaxing cruises together with family and friends, along the coasts of Scotland. Infact, in the years which followed her launching, Janetha IV sailed in the scottish waters for a long time, until, in 1939, at the beginning of the second world war, she was commandeered by the Royal Navy and put at its disposal as coastal patroller; in memory of that period, on the main wall of the dining room – for which the beautiful Honduras mahogany panels have been reused – there are still the signs of the darts which didn’t hit the target, during what was, at that time, the only hobby of the military crew. In the years which followed the war, after a short period spent sailing in America, the yacht arrived in the Mediterranean Sea, and more precisely in the greek waters; in that period, in Greece, the game of chance was forbidden by the law, and Janetha IV, at the anchorage off the harbour of Athens, was transformed into a little floating casinò. The yacht, whose name was then changed in Ismini III, disappeared for a long time, almost forty years, until, at the end of the eighties, an english owner bought her, renamed her “Classique”, and proposed her as a charter yacht, a successful market for about ten years, until a new owner moved the yacht to Cote d’Azur, where it was left in a state of neglect.

And it’s right here that the worldwide famous belgian artist Jean Michel Folon sees it and falls in love with it.

The courting, as any other respectable one, is long and difficult but Folon – the name with which the artist is worldwide known – at the end manages to buy the yacht, avoiding the loss of its precious historical value and, most of all, bringing her to a new life, by giving the yacht a new future and the dignity of a work of art.

And so in the year 2002 Over The Rainbow, the new name with which the yacht starts its second youth, arrives at Mondomarine’s slipway in Savona, shipyard which places side by side the construction of large yachts, which bear the same name, with refit & repair activities.

During the works, which lasted more than two years, some frames and planks were replaced, mainly in the stern area, and both the top and the bottom sides were minutely checked and repaired – previously wood scraped – and the entire hull was caulked with the traditional method before being completely painted.

The external walls of the superstructure of the main deck have remained original, while the interior layout was modified; even the walking surface of the deck was saved, and a new teak layer was placed on top of it. The flybridge went through more important changes instead, it was extended in order to replace the stern cockpit cover – originally in canvas – with a structure apt to contain a big solarium, whereas the new wooden tender, with classic design by Folon and naval architecture by Luc Bouvet, was placed astern the funnel; the classic external design of the yacht was minimally altered. The bronze bollards are another detail designed by Folon.

The interior design was, instead, substantially changed – as for the layout and the design, the Genova based SYDAC took care of the entire restoration project – with the complete rebuilding of the guest area in the lower deck. In order to meet the needs of her new owner, Over The Rainbow’s cabins were reduced in number to increase the sizes of the new ones; the furnishings are simple, nautical and made of light cherry tree wood, to increase the brightness of the interiors, which was always scarce in the yachts of the thirties of the last century.

The crew quarter – which occupies the extreme stem of the lower deck – was enlarged and made more comfortable and functional; the cabin of Jean Louis Legros, the captain, who also supervised and coordinated all the restoration works, is, instead, placed in the flybridge’s deck-house – completely rebuilt but identical to the original one – in direct communication with the wheelhouse; finally, obviously, the entire plant engineering was completely rebuilt to meet the actual standards and guidelines.

The arrangement of the interiors is the following: on the main deck, starting from the stem, the dining room, which Folon will use as studio where to paint and sculpt, the galley – enlarged, completely rebuilt, magical illuminated by “cathedral” stained glasses and provided with a wash-basin “sculpted” in teak block – and the large salon, with the library designed by the artist with the peculiar drawers graded by size; always in the salon, a diorama of a sailing vessel of the nineteenth century is placed side by side with a scale-model of Over The Rainbow, whereas Folon works of art – among which a set of fish and a wonderful small suitcase with a ship inserted in – alternate with other famous artists’ works such as, for example, David Hockney.

Owner’s works of art are skilly positioned also in other rooms of the yacht, enhanced, moreover, by antiques of great value, particularly from China.

In the lower deck, starting from the stem, two double cabins have been created, to which you go down from the dining room, and the large owner’s cabin, with access from the salon. The niches along the walls of the owner’s cabin contain small but precious memories of Folon’s life, among which, in particular, the drawing of a bird surreptitiously traced in 1970 – taking advantage of the guard’s moment of distraction, with the light of an electric torch, a pencil and a small sheet of paper, which he always carries with him – from a bas-relief, that decorated the interior of an egyptian tomb. Folon loves remembering that this bird, after centuries buried in a tomb, was given a new life like Over The Rainbow.

To the more formal convivial meetings as well as the more private ones are dedicated, on the main deck, the big stern cockpit and the small but comfortable open air sitting room placed under the stem canvas cover.

On the occasion of the delivery cerimony of Over The Rainbow, Folon shared his emotions with all the people present, with words that don’t need to be commented. Here they are.

“There are many things to say about this strange place, this shipyard in which yachts are usually created and that is now empty.

We have just heard Judy Garland’s voice, who sang “Over The Rainbow” (the “sound-track” of the ceremony, writer’s note).

Three years ago I was in a little bar and I had just bought a wreck and I was looking for a name and Judy Garland was singing “Over The Rainbow” on the radio, a wonderful song, which doesn’t mean “over” but “beyond” the rainbow.

Judy Garland sings this song in the film “The Wizard of Oz”; at a certain point a storm rises, Judy Garland is in the street protecting her dog when, suddenly, the storm comes to an end and in the sky a rainbow appears.

I think that this song is appropriate for this shipyard, Mondomarine, that, for more than two years, has sung “Beyond The Rainbow”.

More than sixty craftsmen worked together, with enthusiasm and without a break, on this yacht, and I think that this yacht belongs to everybody, to Diego (Deprati, Mondomarine’s General Manager, writer’s note), to Angelo (Giaccone, Mondomarine’s Production Manager, writer’s note), to all the people who worked on her and also the wonderful shipwrights, who came from Sicilia to work for me, and she came back to life in a shipyard that builds modern and fast yachts.

And now, as far as I’m concerned, my dream has come true.

I’d like to tell you a short and stirring story, about which I was thinking a little while ago.

Some years ago I was in Roma with Federico Fellini, in the street and under the rain, and Federico had an appointment with his doctor.

After a while he put his big hands on my shoulders, looked at me and said “We’ve spent our life fulfilling our childhood dreams”; we all had dreams when we were children, and I believe that when we were children we all thought, “one day I’ll fly”. Childhood dreams are very important. In life we all face reality soon, it stresses us and it takes everything away, our energy and our time. All things considered, all the children are the same when they say “when I’m a grown-up, I want to fly, I want to find a boat and sail far away”.

I’ve spent all my life trying to fly and I assure you that I can’t, I’ve spent my life drawing blue men who flew, and during my life I’ve also drawn many rainbows.

Eventually I took refuge in the sea, and, luckily, I’ve found the boat to go to sea with. One day in a port I saw a wreck that was going towards death and I thought that it shouldn’t have died; I said to myself immediately “you’ll have a new life”; I started counting my money to see what I could do, I realized that it was hardly impossible for me but I tried anyway.

And so this yacht is not just a yacht for me, but a real creation, which is part of my life, with her I want to discover countries that I don’t know very well, with my Captain Jean Louis (Legros, writer’s note), who’s a wonderful person; and from this yacht I want to see the lights of the coast and the stars in the sky.

Two years ago I was looking for a captain; I was not sure to find him and I didn’t know what it means to search for a captain; so I saw many people who came to apply for this job; then, finally, I met Jean Louis who, when he saw me, didn’t even say good morning to me, he smiled and I immediately understood that he would have been the right person; I decided to trust him completely and today I can say that without him this yacht wouldn’t be ready.

And then, after having found the captain, I needed to find the crew.

There’s Bouchra, a maroccan girl who cooks marvellously, there’s Xavier, Jean Louis’ son, who knows the yacht very well, there’s Remy the sailor, there’s Mrs Paolina (Jean Michel Folon’s wife, writer’s note) who’s welcome on board whenever she wants; and today she very well done to come here because she was given a bunch of beautiful flowers.

I, instead, was given an extraordinary scale-model, that you all have seen.

And all this to tell you that I could still speak for ages, because now the only thing I think about is this magic yacht; she hasn’t got anything so extraordinary, I think she is quite an ordinary yacht, she isn’t particularly fast, she can’t give you a great performance because she is slow, lazy, she allows herself to be dragged away by the sea; but she is more than that, she’s a real wooden yacht as you’ll never find again, and I want to go and see the stars with her.

This morning everybody asked me the same question: is she very expensive?

The answer is easy: more than that, but not only moneywise, also as far as enthusiasm and energy are concerned; I’m not a millionaire, I’ve never been one and I’m not now that I’ve spent everything, but I feel a billionaire because from this evening onward, I’ll be able to see billions of stars from the yacht and I’ll feel a real billionaire; I think that in life people should have many dreams, because they guide us and Over The Rainbow is a dream. My little crew and captain Jean Louis believe in the yacht and so do I, and together we’ll go to stroll an visit islands; and I’ll come back with many images, drawings and water colour paintings, because I want to look at nature, the lights on the sea and the beauty on the earth”.