Founder & principal broker
Alessandro Merlino
Founder and principal broker at NewSail. Twenty-three years representing buyers, owners and charterers on the Mediterranean, from the Tyrrhenian coast to the Aegean.
Portrait to follow
On the water since before it was a business
Alessandro Merlino founded NewSail in Rome in 2003, after a chance encounter at sea with Fabrizio turned a shared obsession into a brokerage. He came to the trade from the racing side rather than the sales side: an IOR-class regatta sailor and the long-time skipper of the Adelante, a 45-foot sloop he has run across the western Mediterranean for decades.
That order matters, and it is the reason NewSail works the way it does. Every yacht in the books has been walked, opened up and — where the hull allows it — taken out. Every charter is briefed by someone who has slept aboard. When a survey turns up a soft deck or a tired gearbox, the conversation with the buyer is a technical one, not a commercial one.
Alessandro works from the Rome office on Via Lubriano and from the Valencia office on Calle Poeta Querol, which is how NewSail ended up with a book that runs from the Lazio coast and Sardinia through the Balearics to Croatia, Montenegro, Greece and the Turkish Aegean. He represents one side of a transaction at a time, buyer or seller, and says so in writing before anything starts.
What he actually does
Buyer representation
Specification brief, off-market search through the European broker network, viewing and sea trial, independent surveyor coordination, offer negotiation, closing and registration.
Seller representation
Valuation from completed comparable sales rather than asking prices, photography brief, multi-channel listing, buyer qualification, and negotiation from the seller side through survey.
Flag, VAT and registration
Italian, Maltese and British flag trade-offs, EU VAT status verification before survey, and the maritime-lawyer relationships in each jurisdiction to close cleanly.
Charter and charter management
Weekly charter across the western Mediterranean, and placing owner yachts into commercial charter: coding, crew, bookings, accounting.
In brief
- Founded NewSail
- 2003, Rome
- Racing background
- IOR class regatta sailor
- Own boat
- Adelante, 45-foot sloop
- Offices
- Rome and Valencia
- Languages
- Italian, English, Spanish
- Cruising grounds
- Italy, Spain, France, Croatia, Montenegro, Greece, Turkey
Writing
Alessandro writes the NewSail journal: market reports, buying guides, flag and VAT explainers, and itinerary notes from grounds he has cruised himself.
Read the journalCommon questions
- Who is Alessandro Merlino?
- Alessandro Merlino is the founder and principal yacht broker of NewSail, an Italian yacht brokerage he started in Rome in 2003. He is an IOR-class regatta sailor and the skipper of the 45-foot sloop Adelante, and he represents buyers, owners and charterers across the Mediterranean from offices in Rome and Valencia.
- How do I reach Alessandro directly?
- Call +39 342 09 12 910, message the Spanish line on WhatsApp at +34 697 31 15 57, or email brokerage@newsail.it. He replies within one working day.
- Which languages does he work in?
- Italian, English and Spanish. Transactions are documented in the language the buyer and seller share, most often English or Italian.
- Does he represent both buyer and seller in the same deal?
- No. NewSail represents one side of a transaction and states which side in writing before the process starts. Where a counterparty comes from another broker, the two brokers split the commission on the standard terms.
Speak with Alessandro
A yacht to sell, a charter week to plan, or a hull on your wishlist — start with a call. He answers his own phone.