Special Delivery

Just one year ago, Pier Luigi Loro Piana—heir to the luxury Italian clothing company Loro Piana—was making celebratory toasts and basking in the light that gleamed off trophy after trophy. His 130-foot Baltic sailing yacht, My Song, racked up three first-place wins in as many races at the Loro Piana Superyacht Regatta, which not only bears his family name, but which he also hosts each summer off the Mediterranean’s playground of the rich and famous, Porto Cervo. Soon after those wins, My Song set a speed record for the RORC Transatlantic Race, which saw her crew sail her across the Atlantic from the Canary Islands to Grenada. “Racing at 20 knots was amazing,” Loro Piana told Sail-World at the time. “I am very happy.”

A few months ago, according to multiple news reports, he had his beloved sailing yacht placed aboard a transport ship so she could return to her home waters. The yacht—just 3 years old with plenty of prime racing years left under her keel—was scheduled to defend her title in the Loro Piana Superyacht Regatta again this past June. But never made it to that regatta, or back to Italy at all. After the transport ship reportedly made a stop in Palma de Mallorca, Spain, the yacht’s name became destined for a different kind of record book.