Yachting Havens

European Boating Grand Tour with Ryan Leigh-Smith.

LEIGH-SMITH YACHTS are Sanctuary Cove’s resident international yacht brokers.

Director Ryan Leigh-Smith recently took advantage of the borders opening to visit European Boat Shows, shipyards and yachting havens with the vision of expanding the market position of the already revered Leigh-Smith marque.

With an eight-week program scheduled, the tour commenced with the family joining Ryan for some French emersion.

Paris was the first destination, an eye-opening experience for young daughters, Tiffany and Olivia, with the girls making life long memories overflowing with culture, history, cuisine and Parisian fashion.

Next stop was the French Riviera.

Boarding the train at Paris Gare de Lyon, the family enjoyed a stunning cross country rail journey to the coastal town of Cannes.

Arriving a week before the Cannes Yachting Festival was ideal to get settled in and explore the city and beyond.

The work started at this point with visits to Edmiston Yachts in Monaco, brokers and captains in Antibes and port sites along the coast, before clients flew in from Australia and New Zealand for the festival itself.

“The Cannes event is the ultimate showcase of new production yachts and a real visual display of the cutting-edge yacht designs,” Ryan says.

“The weather was perfect and the heat and humidity was a nice reminder we were in the middle of a French Riviera summer.”

One major client meeting was with the owner Masteka II, a 122ft Superyacht Ryan sold 18 months earlier, to formalise the vessel’s return to the market and to look upgrade options.

“We also had a day with young clients from Australia that we sold a 112 San Lorenzo to 12 months prior to look at future options,” Ryan says.

“After cruising the Caribbean and Mediterranean for an entire year, these clients went from novice owners to seasoned yachtsman in a remarkably fast period.”

According to Ryan, there is a major Australian marine contingent at Cannes with representatives of most major brands having local dealers.

“This always means a fantastic social element to the show and a great event to network with peers, buyers and sellers,” he says.

With the successful Cannes yachting festival behind him, it was time to head to St Tropez to join a 50m Feadship for a week cruising the coast.

“This was a great opportunity to meet a lot of Australian yacht owners, listening to their stories of adventures, trials and tribulations with a bottle of French Rose never too far from sight.”

Ryan then teamed up with another Superyacht Broker friend Steve, who had been working the large yacht scene in Europe and USA for over 30 years, putting some very large deals together.

“I was able to absorb his knowledge and learn a little more detail about the larger yacht market from his perspective,” Ryan says.

The pair visited captains and contacts in Antibes, Nice, VillleFranche before ending up in Monaco with a few days rest before the Monaco Yacht Show (MYS), which sees owners and brokers make the pilgrimage to the epicentre of large yachting, Port Hercules Monte Carlo.

“We were graciously hosted by our trading partners Edmiston yachts and from the outset the show was a totally different proposition to the relaxed Cannes event,” says Ryan.

“It’s hard to put the scale and concentration of wealth into words … suits, blazers, jewellery … it was time to dive into the Superyacht world and mix it with the elite of the industry.”

First on the agenda was to visit with known contacts to remind them of the strengthening market in Australia.

“It was interesting to hear how much discussion and interest there was about the small but fastgrowing Pacific market.

“Australia has a maturing of yacht ownership of recent times and with our weaker dollar we are always conscious of value for money especially at present with the cost of building soaring across the globe.”

After much investigation Ryan arranged a meeting with the owner of AvA Yachts based in Antalya, Turkey.

This threw his travel plans out the door completely, with Ryan jumping on a flight to Antalya after the Monaco madness came to an end.

“Not knowing what to expect at all I went with my eyes and ears open looking to learn what the industry there was all about.

“The owner picked me up personally and took me to the yacht building facility they refer to as the (Tax Free Zone).

“It is a government facility that houses over 30 yacht building companies, including Dutch superyacht builders who are operating in a huge capacity, which gave me a lot more confidence in the capability, quality and efficiency there.”

“After inspecting a 110 Ava Kando and the new build just being finished for NBA star Tony Parker, I felt the opportunity for Leigh-Smith Yachts to work as a dealer for AvA was a perfect fit for our direction and growth strategy,

“Agreement and terms of the arrangement were formalised and we have another flag to fly from our home base of Sanctuary Cove.”

After some touring of the beautiful Turkish southern coastline it was time to head off to the last destination of the trip, Istanbul

“We have two yachts in build there … a Vicem 93 and 55,” Ryan says.

“The 93 is a spectacular superyacht we sold late last year that is set to be delivered Q2 2023 to her very fortunate new owners, who will operate her as a charter vessel between Cairns and Tasmania.

“If timing aligns correctly, we also look forward to displaying the Vicem yachts at Sanctuary Cove International Boat Show 2023.”

With a wealth of new knowledge under his belt, Ryan and the rest of the team at Leigh-Smith Yachts are ready and able to assist you to buy, sell or build, no matter what size project you are looking to take on. leigh-smith.com