Hemingway Returns to Lake Como

“To sail on GOTCHA is not simply to take a boat ride—it’s to take part in a ritual.”

“Hemingway’s spirit lingers here. In the clean lines. In the promise of freedom.”

On Lake Como, where stone architecture meets ripple-washed shores, one motorboat stands apart. GOTCHA is a 1974 Bertram 31 Sedan, recast with near-obsessive attention to authenticity. But her value lies not only in polished teak decks or sleek silhouette—it’s the layers of story concealed beneath her varnish.

GOTCHA is the result of a patient pursuit that spanned years of research, inspections, and refinements. When a rusting hull appeared in a forgotten Florida yard, its finder experienced a definitive moment: “Gotcha”—hence her name, now etched onto the stern. A reclaimed bond. A purpose rediscovered.

Tapping into GOTCHA’s mystique is the suggestion—although unconfirmed—that Ernest Hemingway once captained her. A few consistent threads: private correspondence referencing a Florida boat used between Cuba and the Keys, matching model details, and that same minimalist yet muscular aesthetic he admired. There’s no autograph in her cabin, but boarding GOTCHA, many say, evokes a sense of Hemingway’s ethos: freedom, quiet discipline, seaworthiness.

The Bertram 31, introduced in 1961, is often credited with redefining offshore boating through its deep-V hull—designed by Ray Hunt and piloted to victory in intense races like Miami–Nassau. Recognised as “one of the most iconic models in yachting history,” the Sedan’s design has endured for over six decades. Like GOTCHA, many of its peers were chosen by figures such as JFK, Onassis, King Hussein, and King Carl XVI Gustaf: captains of power, taste, and maritime ambition.

Gotcha Tours and Water Experience Center have preserved every original line on GOTCHA, integrating modern systems discreetly. At ten meters and powered by a 600-horsepower engine, she reaches nearly 35 knots—yet it’s the onboard atmosphere that distinguishes her. The galley, helm, and cabin are restored to evoke the 1970s, while the ride whispers stability—a testament to Bertram’s structural ingenuity.

To sail GOTCHA is to commit to a singular experience—stepping into an interplay between history and water, past and presence. It resists the clichés of opulent leisure; instead, it asks passengers to inhabit a mindset: navigation as purposeful ritual. Each passage—across shimmering mid-lake waters or past villas guarded by cypress trees—feels like an unfolding chapter.

Now available on Lake Como, GOTCHA offers ten guests a rare opportunity: for a day, to become part of a floating narrative—one that includes the echoes of Hemingway’s sentences, the contours of maritime engineering excellence, and the wind’s dialogue with stone and wood.