A wave of luxury Sunseeker International

A WAVE OF LUXURY

Renowned British boatbuilder Sunseeker International is enjoying a positive period of growth and development, with a new sales office and innovative product launches at the Southampton Boat Show. Emma-Jane Batey spoke to international sales director Sean Robertson to find out more.

Sunseeker International has steadily grown from a small shipyard in the 1970s to the 2500-strong boatbuilder it is today, selling its distinctive boats and yachts in 61 countries on five continents. Even though it employs all the resources of its modern shipyard and state-of-the-art technical centre, the company has always prided itself on listening closely to the needs and desires of its customers and building its high-quality boats accordingly.

Founded in Poole, Dorset, where its main operation remains, this British boatbuilder is also proud of its roots, even though it has developed into a global operation. International sales director Sean Robertson told Industry Europe, “We have been able to maintain our impressive upward trajectory by focusing on constant innovation in design, performance, technology and luxury across our range of beautiful boats. We know that Sunseeker has evolved into an iconic brand, with owning a Sunseeker being an ultimate lifestyle statement, so in order to guarantee that we retain this well-deserved reputation, we make sure that we stay at the top of our game.”

Sunseeker achieves this aim via a number of avenues, with all aspects of the business subject to continuous reassessment and development. Mr Robertson continued, “At Sunseeker, only the best will do – both for us

Sevenstar

Since 1999 Sevenstar has organized the transport of yachts and motorboats on a worldwide basis mainly by using the vessels of the Spliethoff group.

It started with just a couple of small yachts back in 1999 and has developed into being the main yacht transport company in the world.

Sevenstar can arrange transport of your yacht anywhere in the world on-board a secure carrier, providing cradles and specialised transport insurance for you.

Headquartered in Holland, with offices in strategic locations around the world Sevenstar staff understands the unique requirements of boat owners.

Our group has direct access to around 100 of its own ships, offering you a virtually unlimited choice of transportation options.

We offer you these specialised boat transport services throughout the year to and from popular port cities in Europe, West- and East Coast USA, Oceania, Asia and the Caribbean.

In addition, we can arrange special individual transport to any worldwide destination of your choice such as the islands in the Indian Ocean.

In October 2011 we opened a new office based in Southampton that can now offer our clients services on regular liner carriers throughout the world extending our global reach and service offerings so we can now provide the best of both world for both Charter and liner sailings.

Beauty and power go hand-in-hand when Sunseeker meets Garmin

Garmin has raised the bar. We offer an integrated system featuring a superb range of products, such as VHF, AIS, chartplotters, radar, instruments, infrared cameras, weather receivers, fishfinders and autopilots, which not only look great but deliver every function you would expect from a first-class manufacturer.

Sunseeker yachts represent the finest platforms on which to demonstrate the most advanced marine navigation and communications technology from Garmin. The GPSMAP 7000 series brings to a peak all the Garmin functionality you’d expect from a navigator which integrates chartplotters with sonar, radar, instruments and more. Featuring G Motion technology for an ultra-responsive touchscreen interface, the 7000 series is the ultimate in networked navigation systems.

Powerful, dependable and stylish, the Garmin–Sunseeker combination is unbeatable.

as a business and for our customers. Take for instance the craftsmanship of our boats, where each boat is handbuilt by a team of dedicated and highly experienced craftsman, with traditional boatbuilders working alongside design and engineering experts that can push the latest technologies to their maximum capabilities. It’s a potent mix, and one which enables us to offer our distinctive boats to a global audience.”

Expanding presence

That global audience has recently been given a strong boost with the company’s latest sales office opened in Southampton, on the UK’s south coast. The office is located at Swanwick Marina, a popular UK boating destination that also plays host to many high-end international boats, with the resident Sunseeker team bringing their knowledge of boat sales, brokerage, charter and service to new and existing customers across the south coast.

Sunseeker’s activities in the south of England also include its recent presence at the globally respected Southampton Boat Show, held16th–25th September. The company hosted an impressive stand that not only exhibited it craftsmanship across a range of craft, but also introduced an important new model to the Sunseeker portfolio. Mr Robertson said, “We had a total of 18 Sunseeker motoryachts on display at this year’s Southampton Boat Show, both on and off the water, which is our largest display to date at such an event. It was the perfect opportunity for us to launch our stylish and versatile Manhattan 53 performance motoryacht as it marks the latest addition to our most luxurious range to date.”

New and improved

The new generation to the highly successful Manhattan 52, the new Manhattan 53, offers a range of upgraded interior and exterior features, all designed and created following, feedback from customers and utilising the skills of the best yacht designers. Mr Robertson explained, “The Sunseeker designers have taken great care to create a similarly optimised blend of interior layout, exterior social areas and overall proportions to make the Manhattan 53 an even greater success. The exterior styling is unmistakably Sunseeker and, thanks to the very latest design software, the interior feels spacious while making the very most of every available inch. There’s also a brand-new hull design that has been developed to provide increased beam lower accommodation, and the boat has an overall feeling of sporty luxury coupled with safe and predictable handling.”

The Sunseeker participation at the Southampton Boat Show also included the upgraded Predator 60, with its added option of glass sliding cockpit door and carbon fibre styling hop top package, and the Predator 130 was proudly on display with the impressive achievement as the largest and most expensive motoryacht at the show.

In addition to design and performance, Sunseeker also takes the environmental footprint of its boats seriously, a focus which has recently been rewarded with the prestigious RINA Green Plus Certification at the Green Yacht Plus Awards 2011. Granted only to those companies that the established classification society RINA determine as ‘going one step further with investing in environmental excellence’, the Green Plus Certification is the result of Sunseeker going through a set of tests across eight different pollution sources such as engines and environment control procedures.

As Sunseeker looks to its coming years in business, the company intends to continue its history of success with continued innovation and development across its range of highquality boats and yachts. The new Poole sales office is set to make the most of its strategically placed location at the heart of the UK yachting industry, and the company’s skilled team of designers, engineers and technicians will be maintaining its market-leading position with more head-turning designs that exceed even the most luxurious expectations. n