SHOOTIN’ THE BREEZE

We catch up with Chris Gates, CEO and founder of Setag Yachts.

QWHEN DID YOUR LOVE OF BOATING BEGIN? CG: When I joined Princess in 1989 it was chaos, but I was befriended by some phenomenal people and soon fell in love with the company and from that, my love of boating grew.

QWHAT WAS THE FIRST BOAT YOU OWNED? CG: I have only ever owned small sailing boats and enjoyed sailing our HobieCat with my children when they were younger. Due to my close relationships with the Princess dealer network during my time working there I have been fortunate enough to experience life aboard many times.

QWHAT IS THE CONCEPT BEHIND SETAG YACHTS AND WHY DID YOU DECIDE TO LAUNCH THE COMPANY? CG: When I left Princess, during the unprecedented period, as Brexit loomed and the dreaded Covid-19 pandemic swept across the globe, I used the time to think about our industry and hit on what I believe is a significant gap in our market. Whilst yacht sizes and costs have increased, there has been until now, no qualified luxury service generating complete confidence for total renovation and refurbishment of pre-owned yachts in this space, similar to that offered in the mega-yacht market.

This was the inspiration behind launching Setag: the opportunity to offer a unique, unrivalled luxury refit service for pre-owned yachts, where owners can experience the same level of personal service and expertise they have come to expect from leading yacht manufacturers.

Crucially, I have been able to draw on the best talent in the business thanks to the friendships I have developed during my time in the industry. This is a unique opportunity to deliver a refit service that allows you to personalise and refresh the interiors of your treasured yacht, as well as updating all technical functions through the expertise of our team of specialists who designed, engineered and built these yachts originally for decades.

QYOU WERE WITH PRINCESS YACHTS FOR 31 YEARS, INCLUDING CEO AND COO, SO WHY LEAVE SUCH A SUCCESSFUL BRAND? CG: When I decided to step back from my role at Princess Yachts in 2019, reducing my involvement to a part-time role as advisor to the Chairman, it was with a view to finally enjoy my time in the garden after three decades of building Princess towards record sales and profitability, with the strongest product offering and represented by the world’s strongest dealer network.

I am proud of everything we achieved at Princess but it was time for the company to be steered in another direction – encouraging me to launch Setag in 2021. Q YOU HAVE GONE FROM APPRENTICE TO CEO IN THE INDUSTRY. WHAT HAVE BEEN YOUR CAREER HIGHLIGHTS? CG: Yes, I have gone from Technical Engineering Apprentice to CEO. During my 31 years at Princess Yachts, I grew the company from a £30million to a £340million business, with a workforce swelling from 400 to 3,300 people – and leading the process of its purchase by the LVMH group in 2007. When I joined Princess in 1989, there were no bills of material, no planning system and no computers, mobile phones or emails. By the early 1990s we had implemented the business systems to enable us to build 1,000 boats in a single year.

QYOU HAVE SEEN THE MARINE INDUSTRY THROUGH MANY HIGHS AND LOWS. WHAT HAVE BEEN SOME OF THE GREATEST CHALLENGES OVER THE PAST FOUR DECADES? CG: We had to steer our way through turbulent waters in the ‘90s, when the European recession and war in the former Yugoslavia hit the industry hard – and again in the late 2000s. I would probably say that growing the company amidst the turmoil following the financial crisis surrounding Lehman and the subsequent global recession was probably my greatest achievement, alongside winning the much-coveted World Superyacht Awards a number of times (indeed every time we entered). QCAN YOU TELL US MORE ABOUT SETAG YACHT’S SUSTAINABILITY ETHOS? CG: We are committedtogenerating positive change for people and for the environment by building responsible and sustainable considerations into every stage of our refits – and of course, the simple act of ‘recycling’ an existing yacht is the ultimate in upcycling.

Reducing toxins without downgrading comfort is key for Sarah Luck, our Design Director, who is an expert in sustainable interior design solutions. Setag is ahead of the curve when it comes to lessening the environmental impact through a conscientious approach to design and refits… Setagbelieves that the commitment to the reduction of environmental impact and the protection of ecosystems and biodiversity are not only fundamental to the preservation of the planet and its inhabitants, present and future, but are also needed to ensure competitiveness, risk reduction and the further development of the business.

We do not compromise on comfort or style to get a beautifully organic or sustainable interior. You can still have the same level of luxury. We are not just about reducing our impact as much as we can, we are embarking on creating sustainable supply chains so that we can help protect and restore nature for the future.

And what can be more luxurious than an environment where you do not have toxins? And you have no guilt because everything is recyclable or biodegradable. We are very proud to be a business solely focused on upcycling.

BEFORE AFTER

QHOW DO YOU THINK COVID HAS IMPACTED THE MARINE INDUSTRY? CG: Covid has affected everyone’s work life balance and people at all levels of society are conscious of spending more time enjoying themselves and this has created unprecedented demand not seen in our industry for decades. This has in fact powered Setag as not only do we have the benefit of upcycling, but we can turn a tired beloved yacht into something resembling new in weeks – rather than years. setagyachts.com/projects

BEFORE

This Princess 61 has received the Setag touch

AFTER

We love the new look on this Fairline Squadron 42

“not only do we have the benefit of upcycling, but we can turn a tired beloved yacht into something resembling new in weeks – rather than years.”

BEFORE AFTER