TSO 7 by LUKE SPRAGUE

Issue seven

Introduction

Striving for e’ fish in sea – words by MARTIN H. REDMAYNE

I recently read a serious report on the future of planet with owners that preserving the Earth, our oceans and Earth and wondered what impacts we may start to see on making provisions for the future demands of our planet are our small industry when some of the predictions unfold. If becoming critical. In fact, one owner recently commented any of you procreative owners have a baby this year, they will that his teenage children challenged him about the speed become a seriously grumpy and globally aware teenager by their yacht was travelling, the amount of fuel he was the year 2030. In simple terms they will inherit your Earth, burning and the pollutants spewing from the overhead exhaust. He went on to ask the Captain not just your wealth. By the time they are to throttle back and travel at a more 17, the population of India will over take efficient pace. that of China, with 1.5 billion people The world’s ultra All of these things are meant to inspire crammed into an exciting and emerging wealthy, and more so and stimulate a thought process in economy, but with a class divide the size yachting. We live on a tired planet that of the Grand Canyon. their offspring, are is being exhausted of manufacturing By their 18th birthday, there will be 24 hugely aware of the resources and energy sources. Recycling, million four-year-old children living and stresses and strains efficiency, environmental awareness, surviving in Nigeria, another emerging on the planet due to pollution and reduced wastage are all economy, but again rife with poverty. not only population entering conversations and driving the And with more than one billion people expansion, but also next generation of yachts. Having met to become part of the population growth resource demand Guido Krass on a few occasions, and during your child’s formative years, chatting to a variety of other similarover 95 per cent will emerge from the and climate minded owners, the idea of fuel-efficient developing countries. adjustments hulls and cleaner energy sources is clearly Now how is all of this relevant to The where we are heading. For the next Superyacht Owner you may ask? It’s very generation to enjoy snorkeling and diving simple; two things come to mind. The first, the world’s ultra wealthy, and more so their offspring, from their yachts, chasing the ‘fish in sea’ and enjoying are hugely aware of the stresses and strains on the planet the sights of even rarer corals, between now and 2030 we due to not only population expansion, but also resource have to focus our attentions on efficiency, otherwise it’s all demand and climate adjustments. And secondly, they a waste of time. want to not only make their contribution and improve the future for their inheritors; they also understand that philanthropy and charitable projects are in many cases more fulfilling than making huge amounts of money. Therefore it is clear from conversations and exchanges

Issue seven

Contents

2 4

From Silver to Smerald Unable to find a yacht that met his exacting requirements, back in 2005 German industrialist Guido Krass decided to build one himself. This led to setting up his own shipyard, Hanseatic Marine in remote Western Australia, where they are now building the fourth yacht in a series that has already become an icon of design. Management & operations What it means to be working class The sinking of M/Y Yogi brought to the fore the crucial distinction between building a superyacht to class, and owning a superyacht that is maintained to class. And although the industry may understand the importance of the latter, it may not be immediately obvious to the owner. With this in mind, The Superyacht Owner approached a broad spectrum of industry professionals with the following questions. 10 questions Nancy Mueller is a woman of many talents. After successfully building the frozen appetiser business, Nancy’s Specialty Foods, in 1977, she sold the company, now owned by Heinz, in 1999 and began movements on her next project. During her ‘retirement’ Mueller collaborated with Feadship on 42.56m Andiamo in 2003. She has enjoyed travelling with family and friends, photographing land and sea accounts of her travels, and spent six months a year for 10 exciting years aboard the yacht exploring the globe. Mueller speaks with Rebecca Curran regarding her decision to place Andiamo on the market through Fraser Yachts last spring. The wizard of Oss Like his mentor the late Wolter Huisman, Frans Heesen is one of the figureheads of the superyacht industry. Having sold the company he founded in 2008, a year later he was named Business Person of the Year by the International Superyacht Society. He announced his official retirement last year and shortly after took delivery of 47m Lady Petra. The Superyacht Owner was invited to lunch aboard the yacht in San Remo on the Italian Riviera at the end of the summer season. Events On the race line for ownership Attending a boat show or regatta is one of the best ways to get a feel for what yacht ownership is like and to experience the exhilaration of racing such luxury gems. It is no surprise then that such events continue to attract owners and potential owners alike. Returning for the fourth time since its launch in 2007, the Dubois Cup is one of many regattas in 2013 promising attendees the chance to race, socialise and be entertained over three days.

Round the world: how to change lives and influence an industry Gerhard Ruether, MD of Uniteam Marine, is midway through what he describes as a “stop start” circumnavigation on board his sailing yacht, 30m Zefiro. Ellie Brade met him in Auckland on the eve of the New Zealand Millennium Cup 2013, which Zefiro later went on to triumphantly win.

Tenders The practical pair Launched in July last year, Stella Maris is a 72m motoryacht by VSY, designed by Espen Øino International with interior design by Michela Reverberi and naval architecture by Laurent Giles Naval Architects. The Italian shipyard not only built the displacement vessel but developed the concept for two 7.3m tenders, designed by the creative hand of a fellow countryman, Paolo Virgolini, and built by High Tech Marine.

Location Every cloud Building his own sailing yacht and then cruising the world with his family on it was always the dream for Chris Lenz. After three years of hard work, in 2011 he launched the 31m S/Y Silver Lining and has since explored the far corners of the globe with his wife and two children. One of their first stops after departing the yard in Thailand was the captivating archipelago of Indonesia. Although still fairly undeveloped in terms of infrastructure for superyachts, for the intrepid ocean traveller Indonesia has more than 17,000 islands to discover, more than 400 volcanoes to marvel at, a friendly and culturally diverse population to meet and countless sheltered bays in which to anchor. Lenz tells Angela Audretsch how Indonesia taught him the value of time and brought his family closer than ever..

Charter & brokerage The buyers guide With faith in the resale market failing based on last year’s activity, brokerage editor Rebecca Curran goes straight to the source to ask brokers what needs to be done. The constant price reductions, yachts sitting on the market too long and an overflow of available yachts leads many to wonder how we can move on from this stagnation and get the market moving again. How can we reinvigorate the market and get people excited to own again? Brokers share their views on how we as an industry can put the fire back into buying and selling and leave the recession where it belongs: nothing more than a distant memory.

Business The meaning of the message Benetti celebrates its 140th anniversary this year and has taken the occasion to re-evaluate its brand identity. Following market research, it has restyled its in-house magazine, revisited its website and launched a new marketing campaign under the tag line ‘Being Unique is an Art’. Design Make no mistake A custom superyacht – probably the ultimate in bespoke indulgence. For a new owner, designing your perfect yacht can be a steep learning curve; exciting, exhausting and, hopefully, fulfilling. If designing and building your first yacht goes well, it can be the start of many more builds as you strive to perfect your vision and create your ideal vessel. However, there are many potential pitfalls when designing a yacht that can quickly make the process less than enjoyable. Angela Audretsch asked some leading designers about things to take into consideration and common mistakes that owners can make in the process. Over yonder way Owning four or five properties on different continents has become increasingly common for today’s affluent globetrotters. Often, this property portfolio includes homes in cosmopolitan hubs like London, Paris, LA or Hong Kong, whether it is for business or personal preference. But the emotional pull of owning an island, or the floating island that is a superyacht, often provides the greatest thrill possible when it comes to a real estate acquisition. Islands and superyachts each offer their owners a place of sanctuary, privacy, personal space and a unique way to enjoy quality family time. The aft deck A conversation with George Nicholson held at the Gstaad Yacht Club, with Don Hoyt Gorman.

EDITORIAL Editor: Martin H. Redmayne Managing editor: Lauren Barker Features editor: Don Hoyt Gorman European editor: Justin Ratcliffe Pacific editor: Ellie Brade Research editor: Thea Cheney Product editor: Will Mathieson Travel editor: Angela Audretsch Design editor: Andrew Johansson Brokerage editor: Rebecca Curran Picture editor: Luke Sprague Designer: Danielle Taylor Contributors: AJ Anderson, Dickie Bannenberg, Ed Bosarge, Peter Brown, Neil Cheston, Corrado Del Fanti, Ed Dubois, Anthony Gradwell, Frans Heesen, Jonny Horsfield, Roxanne Hughes, Guido Krass, John Leonida, Chris Lenz, Toby Maclaurin, Rupert Mann, Adrian McCourt, Kevin Merrigan, Nancy Mueller, Alberto Neri, Espen Øino, Michael Payne, Gerhard Ruether, Carlo Russo, Tom Saylak, Luciano Scaramuccia, Riza Tansu, Paola Trifiro, Rory Trahair, Hein Velema and Paolo Virgolini. COMMERCIAL Account director: Roland Archdall roland@thesuperyachtgroup.com Account director: Andy Howell andy@thesuperyachtgroup.com Business development director: John Mitchell john@thesuperyachtgroup.com Account manager: Luciano Aglioni luciano@thesuperyachtgroup.com Account manager: Donata Rotunno donata@thesuperyachtgroup.com Marketing operations manager: Victoria Riley victoria@thesuperyachtgroup.com For all enquiries, please email info@thesuperyachtowner.com or go to www.thesuperyachtowner.com Designed by:

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Cover: Superyacht owner Guido Krass is the owner of Hanseatic Marine in Australia where they are currently building the fourth yacht in a series. Photo: Justin Ratcliffe

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justin ratcliffe

From Silver to Smeralda â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Words by Justin Ratcliffe

Unable to find a yacht that met his exacting requirements, back in 2005 German industrialist Guido Krass decided to build one himself. This led to setting up his own shipyard, Hanseatic Marine in remote Western Australia, where they are now building the fourth yacht in a series that has already become an icon of design.

Issue seven

justin ratcliffe

From Silver to Smeralda

I met Guido Krass for the first time when he was cruising the Maldives aboard 73m Silver (now Rabdan), shortly after the first yacht to emerge from Hanseatic Marine had been launched in 2007. The long, slender hull went against the preponderance of beamy, high-volume yachts on the market at the time, but served to reduce fuel consumption even at high speed by maximising hull efficiency. In addition to the slippery hull form, the low superstructure profile and gullwing garage doors announced that this was a different breed of motoryacht, especially as she was also SOLAS certified and could sleep 18 guests. “Her naval architecture by Espen Oeino is so refreshingly different,” I wrote at the time, “that one is reminded of the heady days when Jon Bannenberg was challenging our sensibilities with some of the world’s most desirable yachts.” While discussing the yacht’s performance, Krass recalled an incident a few days earlier when he and his guests had decided to head 300 miles further south in search of better weather. The captain gave them the choice of cruising at 26 knots overnight or more slowly for a day and a night. They chose the first option. “Silver is not about your gentleman yachtsman with his Panama hat and pink gin,” he claimed. “Today’s clients are a different breed: they are busy and impatient and need to be able to relax quickly, which means getting to places quickly. They are young and dynamic with different tastes and expectations. I think my concept of yachting appeals to these people.” Two years later Silver Zwei (now Dragonfly) took over her predecessor’s title as the longest all-aluminium yacht in the world and the fastest conventionally powered motoryacht in terms of

“Today’s clients are a different breed: they are busy and impatient and need to be able to relax quickly, which means getting to places quickly. They are young and dynamic with different tastes and expectations. I think my concept of yachting appeals to these people.”

Issue seven

KLAUS JORDAN

From Silver to Smeralda

Opening page: The sun sets over another day aboard Silver. This page: (left) Owner Guido Krass set up his own shipyard, Hanseatic Marine, where they are now building the fourth yacht in a series that has already become an icon of design; (right) the newly conceived exterior living areas aboard Smeralda, such as the bigger beach club, reflect the demands of today’s owners, says Krass.

power to length. On her maiden voyage from Fremantle to Dubai in October 2009, Silver Zwei covered the 5,103 nautical miles in just under 12 days at an average speed of 18.26 knots with a mean fuel consumption of less than 18 litres per nautical mile. Fast forward to 2012 and the Monaco Yacht Show. I am sitting with Krass on the owner’s aft deck aboard 77m Smeralda, the third yacht in the Silver series that a month after the show would be sold to the Royal Family of Dubai. The day before Krass had been appointed an ambassador for La Belle Classe Superyachts in a ceremony on his yacht’s foredeck conducted by Bernard d’Alessandri, Secretary General of the Yacht Club de Monaco, using the time-honoured ‘sabrage’ method of cracking open a bottle of champagne with a sabre.

“Smeralda is an evolutionary step forward in terms of quality and technical solutions,” begins Krass in response to my question about how the yacht differs from her predecessors. “It takes time to come up with a more efficient solution; you assess it, discuss it, and only then introduce the change. The design process is one of bringing all your ideas into the box and deciding what you can keep and what needs to be thrown out. Evolution is as important as R&D in this process, and you learn so much by not only building boats but also using them.” This evolutionary process began with changes to the machinery specs aboard Silver Zwei, principally by downsizing the generators. It continued with Smeralda and besides the extra length was mostly visible in the newly conceived exterior living areas with a bigger beach club

Issue seven

From Silver to Smeralda

KLAUS JORDAN

and swim platform, enlarged sundeck and the addition of a ‘winter garden’ on the main aft deck. What has remained constant throughout is the length-to-beam ratio of the hull, the key to its efficiency in terms of speed, range and fuel consumption. Fuel economy is as important to Krass as top speed and in his business affairs he is closely involved in renewable energy technologies. He is the founder and Chairman of the Pari Group (he formerly owned a 35m built by Cantiere Navale dell’Argentario named Pari), a diversified investment group with interests in real estate, green HVAC technologies for buildings, solar energy, healthcare and software. With the German company WOLF Klimatechnik, for example, the Pari Group is active in developing energy-efficient A/C systems for world markets. Yet although Krass has invested heavily in ecofriendly technologies and founded Hanseatic Marine with the intention of building more fuel-efficient yachts, he is under no illusion

that a motoryacht can ever be truly ‘green’. This became evident at the La Belle Classe Superyachts Environmental Symposium hosted by the Yacht Club de Monaco in March 2012, when Krass joked that if owners really want to be eco-friendly they should consider buying a sailing yacht or travelling by train. “More seriously,” he counters, “I love motoryachts and Silver was built to be energy efficient from the hull up, and this premise has made all the difference.” Krass goes on to point out that in his business activities the emphasis is on energy efficiency rather than zero emissions. This way of thinking coincides with that of Espen Oeino, who believes in “always trying to design a yacht that is inherently more efficient than the last project”. For all her contemporary good looks, Smeralda and her sister ships are actually throwbacks to

justin ratcliffe

This page: (below) The 77m Smeralda, the third yacht in the Silver series, sold to the Royal Family of Dubai last year; (right) Guido Krass and his wife pictured aboard Smeralda when he was appointed an ambassador of La Belle Classe Superyachts by Bernard d’Alessandri, Secretary General of the Yacht Club de Monaco.

yachts of the past in terms of hull design. Indeed, the inspiration for the series originated with the elegant fast commuters that used to carry the Vanderbilts, Morgans and Astors between Connecticut and New York City in the 1930s. “I admired the fact they look so fast and effortless,” admits Krass. “So in many ways the series goes back to more conventional boatbuilding in terms of the relation between beam and length.” Given his commitment to energy efficiency, I ask Krass if diesel-electric propulsion combined with azipods would not have made more sense. “We’ve done studies,” he replies, “but I’m not yet convinced that the power consumption is all that different from conventional propulsion systems, at least for this type and speed of yacht. Dieselelectric allows you to distribute the weight of the main machinery around the yacht, but we have no need for that. There is also the question of the deeper draught associated with the heavy azipods, but I like to cruise shallow waters and we have a draught of just 2.6m that allows us to do that. However, I would be willing to look again if the technology improves.” His involvement in energy technologies via his business interests means Krass is sometimes frustrated by the lack of innovation in comparable marine systems. “Condensing boilers, heat pumps, combined power-heat gerneration, energy recovery, solar cooling and heating – these are all systems we’re using to reduce

“Smeralda is an evolutionary step forward in terms of quality and technical solutions. The design process is one of bringing all your ideas into the box and deciding what you can keep and what needs to be thrown out.”

10 Issue seven

KLAUS JORDAN

From Silver to Smeralda

“This is the part of the charm of the yacht building industry: everyone has their own dream and I don’t want to dictate anything. Every yacht is a compromise and you have to establish your priorities and enjoy the fun. After all, we’re in a pleasure industry.”

energy consumption in residential and public buildings,” he points out. “Any combination of these technologies is applicable to large yachts, but the market is so small we don’t think it’s viable to develop them further at the moment.” Krass has owned – albeit it briefly – all three yachts in the Silver series before selling them on. Smeralda arrived in the Med late last July after a 23-day cruise from Perth to Monaco and he spent most of the summer on board cruising between St Tropez, Portofino and Sardinia. He especially enjoys winter cruising in Indonesian waters and plans to return to the Maldives. With two Hanseatic yachts to date sold to Middle Eastern owners, Krass also has an entrepreneurial eye on the emerging Asian markets. Back in 2007 when we first met he

quoted the Forbes list and the many 30- to 40-year-old Indians and Chinese who already appeared in its pages. “We still need to educate these people into the yachting lifestyle and it’s very difficult to sell them a yacht based on a model or a set of plans,” he cautions. “But in Australia we’re in a similar time zone, which makes air travel less tiresome. I’m keen to develop China in particular, because it’s a new market in which we might be able to compete with the European builders on a level playing field.” When it comes to attracting new owners, whatever their nationality, Krass believes that the superyacht industry has matured sufficiently to make yacht ownership less of a burden than it might have been in the past. “I became an

Issue seven

From Silver to Smeralda

This page: (left) Smerelda is an evolutionary step forward in terms of quality and technical solutions; (below from top) Silver Fast, Silver Global and Silver Square are the new concepts from Hanseatic Marine.

owner in 1991 when the industry was much smaller and less professional,” he says. “Today it’s very different; there is more expertise and I see no reason why owning a yacht should be a burden.” He points to LVMH, the world’s biggest luxury goods conglomerate, which has invested in the Royal Van Lent shipyard and Princess Yachts, as an indication of how the group views yachting as an activity that complements other luxury products in its portfolio, such as Louis Vuitton handbags, Dior perfumes and Moët & Chandon champagne. “It’s an indication of confidence in the future of yachtbuilding, and this in turn has made the industry more representable and professional,” continues Krass. “Yacht ownership is a bit like running a business: there will always be ups and downs, but if you make a plan and

stick to it, it should be a rewarding experience.” With 77m Silver Fast in build and projects for an 83m and 100m, plus a fast support vessel waiting in the wings, Krass insists that Hanseatic Marine will remain a “boutique shipyard” and has no plans to increase output. Since the launch of Silver in 2007 we have seen related developments in more efficient displacement hull forms, most noticeably with the Briand Optimized Stretched Hull employed for the Vitruvius yachts and the Fast Hull Displacement Form designed by Van Oossanen Naval Architects that has been adopted by Heesen. There are fundamental differences between these designs, but they are all characterised by a long waterline and relatively narrow beam, which would seem to suggest that Krass is just one of a growing group of like-minded owners. “Other owners want the big volumes, but for my own needs it’s the perfect solution,” he affirms towards the end of our conversation aboard Smeralda. “This is the part of the charm of the yacht building industry: everyone has their own dream and I don’t want to dictate anything. Every yacht is a compromise and you have to establish your priorities and enjoy the fun. After all, we’re in a pleasure industry.”

to Comment on this article go to: www.THEsuperyachtowner.com

Issue seven

Management & operations

What it means to be working class Do superyacht owners truly understand their responsibility to maintain their vessel to class? What are the key considerations they should be aware of? The sinking of M/Y Yogi brought to the fore the crucial distinction between building a superyacht to class, and owning a superyacht that is maintained to class. And although the industry may understand the importance of the latter, it may not be immediately obvious to the owner. With this in mind, The Superyacht Owner approached a broad spectrum of industry professionals with the following questions.

Issue seven

Management & operations

Carlo Russo, senior specialist, Passenger Ship Support Centre, Lloyd’s Register During the past 10 years, superyacht owners and operators have become increasingly aware of the need for their vessels to be in class. This extra vigilance has spread to yachts’ crews and technical management companies, who all strive to make sure vessels comply with today’s increasingly regulatory environment. Above all, owners and operators realise the contribution a class society and its surveyors make to the technical aspects of their yacht’s construction and maintenance. Not only that – a modern class society offers training courses in all aspects of classification, statutory surveys and many marine advisory and tailored services that go beyond class. So as well as the implications that a classed vessel has for both banking and insurance purposes, she is undoubtedly more attractive to potential buyers and charter companies. Keeping a vessel in class will reassure owners of her structural strength – and where necessary the watertight integrity – of all essential parts of her hull, machinery and equipment, the safety and reliability of the propulsion and steering systems plus any extra features and auxiliary systems that have been built into the vessel. To maintain continuity, the class society surveyor makes periodic visits to ensure vessels comply with the rules and regulations, and if any significant defects or damage should occur between visits, the owner or operator must inform the class society. Similarly, if an owner wishes to make any modifications to his yacht that affect class, he must receive prior approval from the class society.

John Leonida, partner, Clyde & Co Whenever you drive a car off a forecourt, be it new or second hand, you instinctively know that you cannot do anything to the key elements of the car without making that car illegal to drive on the road. Not only does the car lose its road-legal status but it is likely that your car insurer will probably cease to cover you in the event of any accident. Even if you make no modifications, an obligation falls upon you to maintain the car in a way that is safe not only for you but for other road users. The same applies to yachts. It is not uncommon for owners not to appreciate that the moment the yacht is delivered from a builder to the owner, the responsibility for dealing with class becomes the owner’s. The obligation falls on the owner to liaise with class after delivery when the yacht has any works done, by any yard (including the original builder), that might affect class. The consequence of failing to notify class could be detention by port state control and also an insurance warranty breach, which would allow an insurer to potentially avoid coverage. But what does it mean to notify class? In simple terms, you tell them what has happened, if there has been a casualty, or is to happen, in the case of planned works, and they will advise you on what to do next. They may say to you that you should not go to sea until the matter has been resolved, or they may say that they do not consider it to be serious and that it should be corrected when the yacht next goes into dry dock or next has a statutory survey, and in the meantime they will put a note on the class records for that yacht which will be removed once the issue has been resolved. An owner ignores class at its peril. Safety must always come first and it is better for a yacht manager or a captain to deal with any potential issue head-on and notify class, rather than consider a matter so trivial that it does not require notification and then find out he is sailing a yacht with suspended class and open to detention by port state control.

14 Issue seven

Management & operations

Anthony Gradwell, founder and managing director, Manta Maritime I think it’s fair to make a generalisation that most owners are now aware that their yachts must comply with some mandatory rules, even if they don’t know exactly what. In the past 12 months I have worked for two owners who have bought new yachts for the first time, and both had a surprising comprehension of the certification process; the owner of the 100m-plus vessel even asked me if the class society needed to be informed of some minor structural changes we intend to make! What I think most owners don’t understand is why their yachts must comply with various regulations. Perhaps yacht owners need to be more aware that compliance with classification society and Large Yacht Code requirements are only mandatory if they want to register or operate the yacht in a capacity other than purely privately. In contrast, however, there have been at least a couple of cases where private yachts have been sold to owners without this certification, and only later have they realised that not only is the market for resale massively reduced because they cannot charter, but that retrospective compliance is practically impossible. For this reason an owner needs to be given all the options and advised of the pros and cons of each – before the contract is signed. However, I personally believe it would be foolhardy for any owner not to insist that their new yacht is class and Large Yacht Code compliant. It is common knowledge that maritime accidents can and do cause loss of life and environmental disasters. Therefore owners should, and generally do in my experience, accept that some degree of regulation is required, and it’s our job as an industry to explain it to them and to concentrate on the benefits rather than any drawbacks.

AJ Anderson, managing director, Wright Maritime Group Owners understand that they are required to maintain their yachts to class and flag certification or risk a number of financial and operational consequences. Owners do rely on their managers and captains to ensure that all certification is maintained, relieving themselves of the concern in the same way as they might with other assets. The key consideration is that surveys and compliance audits will take place and they can be scheduled in a way to mitigate cost and scheduling interruption. Owners should expect that the manager and captain plan scheduling of survey/ maintenance periods in a way that maximises what can be achieved during the period and minimises cost and time consequence. The impact of survey and auditing should be minimal to an owner. The costs related to maintaining the yacht in class is a fraction of the operating expense and, when well planned, the scheduling impact is mostly absorbed into the normal maintenance planning. Adrian McCourt, managing director, Watkins Superyachts The key considerations for owners are a) safety, and b) resale value. Show me a yacht that was built to class but has allowed class listings to lapse, and I’ll show you a yacht that is worth zilch. Try Dubai or Al Salamah; I’ve been looking for a buyer for Al Salamah for a year. It will eventually rot alongside. Do owners understand this problem? I believe that beneficial owners of commercially registered yachts absolutely understand, as it will be a condition of maintaining commercial status. With regard to private owners, however, I’m not sure. I have my doubts about one or two, as outlined above, but it’s really up to captains, managers or owners’ reps to make sure that they do. to Comment on this article go to: www.THEsuperyachtowner.com

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Issue seven

10 questions

QUEST NS Experienced superyacht owners share their personal views on the good, the bad and the ugly of ownership.

NANCY MUELLER Nancy Mueller is a woman of many talents. After successfully building the frozen appetiser business, Nancy’s Specialty Foods, in 1977, she sold the company, now owned by Heinz, in 1999 and began movements on her next project. During her ‘retirement’ Mueller collaborated with Feadship on 42.56m Andiamo in 2003. She has enjoyed travelling with family and friends, photographing land and sea accounts of her travels, and spent six months a year for 10 exciting years aboard the yacht exploring the globe. Mueller speaks with Rebecca Curran regarding her decision to place Andiamo on the market through Fraser Yachts last spring.

18 Issue seven

10 questions

Q. What made you put Andiamo on the market? My plan when I built the yacht was to campaign the vessel for 10 years and then move on to the next phase of my life. Now that the programme has come to an end, I didn’t realise how quickly those years would fly by. I did almost everything I had planned to do, including the Mediterranean, Galapagos, Vanuatu, Papua New Guinea, Borneo, Myanmar, Sri Lanka and dozens more in between. Due to pirate activity, we had to leave out the Maldives, Seychelles and Madagascar. I enjoyed every moment aboard with my crew, family and friends and have no regrets.

Q. How did you choose a broker? It was very simple, actually. I was in Indonesia in 2011 and was thinking about selling the yacht. I knew it was a bad market, not yet fully recovered after the 2008 financial disaster, so I wanted to get started on it early. I checked brokerage firms on the web while in Raja Ampat, and looked at the big brokerage house names that I was familiar with. When I looked on the Fraser Yachts website I saw a familiar name, as Hein Velema is now CEO. Hein was the managing director of Feadship when I launched Andiamo and knew the yacht and me very well, and I knew he was someone who I could trust. Soon after, I began working with broker Dennis Frederiksen and haven’t regretted my decision.

Q. Did you have any expectations when you listed Andiamo? She was offered for sale in May 2012 and even though the market was very quiet during the summer, she still generated quite a lot of interest. Once I decided to sell her, I put all effort against the programme, fitting in two wonderful last cruises circumnavigating Sicily and cruising from Positano to Sardinia. Being a fulldisplacement, expedition yacht, she is not exactly what owners prefer when parading around the Med, so I did expect it would take a while to sell her.

Q. How have you found the sales process to be? I’m not really involved with the process, but the brokers initially got together and looked at the market and competitive boats. It’s been a very fruitful and organised process where I fully trust my broker and captain. We attended all of the major boat shows to be sure she received the maximum exposure possible. Q. What was your experience in designing and building Andiamo? Andiamo is a beautifully appointed Feadship expedition yacht, better resembling the style of a cruising sailboat rather than a fast Mediterranean yacht. I planned to be in indigenous places, plying rivers and anchoring in bays with native people in canoes, and we wanted a more understated look. I had founded and built a successful business so I understood all of the liabilities and concerns of a business involving people, which I then carried into building the yacht. My priorities were safety first and form second; thus, we were among the first cohort of yachts to build to MCA standards. My late husband and I had raced sailboats for years and had two smaller cruising boats, one full- and one semi-displacement, which we took to Alaska and Mexico to name a few. Knowing that storms can make life difficult on the sea, I also wanted something that could weather all typical sailing conditions. During the two-year design phase, I dreamt about how I would use the spaces on board, continually refining, enlarging and growing the concept from 32m to 42.5m. I engaged Doug Sharp to specify the naval architecture

and the interior design was by Glade Johnson. I then presented the opportunity to several vetted shipyards and granted the project to Feadship, thrilled with the finished product.

Q. What is your most memorable experience? Definitely visiting the native villages of Vanuatu. Most of these 800 or so islands haven’t seen anything larger than an outrigger canoe, or perhaps the occasional cruising sailboat off their beaches. The natives still wear traditional clothing and headdresses and perform traditional dances to ensure good harvests, enhance fertility, to ward off evil spirits and to call to their ancestors. They care deeply for their children and are anxious to afford schooling, so every time they performed a dance, led us on a hike and scuba-dived in their waters, we paid them and they were all so thankful. Their costumes were made from dried banana plants, tropical greenery, coloured mud and ashes. They decorated their arms and legs and faces with tribal designs and performed traditional dances, passed down from generation to generation, recalling tribal traditions of the aeons. Being a part of their culture, if only briefly, was a rich experience full of memories to last the rest of my life. Q. what is your most scariest experience? My scariest experience was when I decided to place her on the market and we had to get from Sri Lanka to the Mediterranean. This took us through pirate alley where one is subjected to forces really beyond our control. My captain is brilliant and consulted with many different people as to how to do this safely. First, we ‘hardened’ the boat by placing heavy knotted netting, like a hammock, from the main deck up to the second deck, fastened securely through the handrails with tough cable ties. This would slow down any pirate assault as it would be hard to climb, but certainly would not stop an attack. Second, we hired four British Special Forces sharpshooters to stand guard on the top deck and respond to an assault. About 50 per cent of the boats going through last spring were doing the same and the deterrence was so complete that no ship had ever been taken with security aboard. This had become a $2.5 billion industry and I am sure it is growing. Before adopting this protocol, crew would try to find safety in a secure bastion on the yacht and let the pirates board. Third, we joined a Korean warship convoy to negotiate pirate alley south of Yemen. A real hot spot, this was the only time the captain felt insecure, although no women, including myself, were on board at the time. Upon leaving the convoy, we were in a fairly narrow strait with other boats that you knew were not really fishing boats. Although they were scoping us out, fortunately we made it through without incident.

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10 questions

Q. Do you have any tips or advice for other owners? Oh wow, that’s a big question! I think there are a few things that I would encourage other owners to do or be aware of. First, before I took ownership, I took the STCW training that all crew are required to complete. This covers everything necessary for safe crewing: CPR, first aid, fire-fighting, rules of the road, and so on. I’m the owner and am not required to do this, but I wanted to know what the crew knows, so I spent 50-plus hours studying with the purpose of becoming more knowledgeable and sensitive to the safety procedures required of the crew on board. Not only did I benefit from it but my crew and captain did as well – since then when they have asked me for safety items I have always approved the purchases. Second, it costs a good 10-15 per cent a year of the cost of the yacht to maintain her. Those expenses include crew, fuel, insurance, repairs and maintenance, provisions, campaigning her, and so on. You really are operating a small village and owners need to be aware of the costs involved.

Q. Will you own again? Andiamo has been a dream come true. I will probably eventually buy a smaller yacht like in the old days so I can treat my grown children and grandchildren to life on the water, at least on West Coast waters. I think of my life in chapters. The next chapter is yet to be written and will hopefully be as exciting as all the others.

Q. Any regrets in 10 years of ownership? To be honest, I can only think of one regret. I’m remarried now and our grandchildren were too young to enjoy time aboard a fine yacht. If we were tied up to hotel marinas where they could go down the water slide and play in the pool, that would have been fine, but we were in the jungle! The children weren’t old enough to thoroughly enjoy a luxury yacht. Should I have waited another five years to enjoy the global cruising life? Absolutely not, I wanted to build my dream and enjoy the rich experiences presented. I may, however, organise my thoughts and write a book for the grandchildren with pictures and stories so they can see what Grancy and Granbob did for 10 years! to Comment on this article go to: www.THEsuperyachtowner.com

Issue seven

The wizard of Oss

â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Words by Justin Ratcliffe

Like his mentor the late Wolter Huisman, Frans Heesen is one of the figureheads of the superyacht industry. Having sold the company he founded in 2008, a year later he was named Business Person of the Year by the International Superyacht Society. He announced his official retirement last year and shortly after took delivery of 47m Lady Petra. The Superyacht Owner was invited to lunch aboard the yacht in San Remo on the Italian Riviera at the end of last summer season.

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Charter & Brokerage

justin ratcliffe

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The wizard of Oss

Frans Heesen is a cigar-toting, straight-talking Dutchman who speaks little and only when he has something of consequence to say. His dry wit and preference for one-word answers means he is not the easiest person to interview and it isn’t until we sit down to a superb lunch, accompanied by his wife Petra, that he begins to warm to the subject at hand – perhaps helped by a glass or two of white wine. We are discussing how he spends his time following his retirement having worked full time ever since leaving school, first as a carpenter, then as an entrepreneur in industrial plastics and latterly as a boatbuilder. “I still go to the shipyard most days,” he responds, clearly animated by the opportunity to talk about what he knows best. “It’s my passion and what I’ve done most of my working life. What else am I supposed to do? I don’t enjoy sitting around the house; I’d much rather be at the shipyard watching the boats gradually take shape and chatting with the guys on the shop floor. I’m now 66 and I’ve been in this business since 1975, so boatbuilding is in my blood.” It is this passion for building yachts that Frans has promoted around the world as brand ambassador for Heesen Yachts since his retirement, a post that was written into the agreement when he sold the company and only came to an end in April. He particularly enjoys attending the international boat shows and was to be seen at the Dubai Boat Show last March and the Hainan Rendez-Vous. “I love going to the Monaco and Fort Lauderdale boat shows, and I’ve told the current management that the only way they’ll keep me away is when I’m in my coffin,” he continues with a twinkle in his eye. “Even then I want to have wheels on it so they can take me around!” His introduction to boatbuilding came about indirectly. As a young man he used to race motorbikes and set up his own fibreglass workshop to repair the inevitable crash damage when he fell off. He started building small boats in fibreglass as a sideline to pay for his hobby. This would eventually lead to him taking over a failing shipyard in Oss and starting up

aluminium production as Heesen Shipyards. Frans points to several milestone projects in the fleet of more than 150 yachts launched over the 30 or so years he headed up the company. These include 32m Oryx of London (ex Sunliner VII) for a Swiss client with a top speed of 31 knots; 36m Tropic C, his first tri-decker launched in 1996; and the jet-driven, 43m Octopussy, which was designed for John Staluppi to be capable of 50 knots, the fastest yacht in the world at the time. The contract terms were especially challenging and would have scared off most yachtbuilders: for each knot below the 50-knot threshold the owner would deduct US$200,000 from the asking price. Under 47 knots and the client could refuse delivery. Frans took the gutsy decision to accept the terms and during sea trials the finished yacht racked up 52.5 knots at full throttle. Despite having established Heesen Yachts as a global brand, Frans makes no claims to being a born businessman, although this is perhaps due to his Dutch distrust of showboating (no pun intended). Instead, he worked hard to build up the business, learning along the way, and when he chose to sell the company just prior to the financial crisis it was because he had suffered both a stroke and a heart attack and realised – no doubt under pressure from Petra – that

“It’s my passion and what I’ve done most of my working life. What else am I supposed to do? I don’t enjoy sitting around the house; I’d much rather be at the shipyard watching the boats gradually take shape and chatting with the guys on the shop floor.”

Opening page: Petra and Frans Heesen. This page: (above) The Heesens and their dogs aboard M/Y Lady Petra in San Remo; (right) Lady Petra was delivered last year and is when Frans Heesen spends his days since announcing his retirement.

Issue seven

jeff brown

justin ratcliffe

The wizard of Oss

it was time to take a step back. “There were three people interested in acquiring the yard,” he recounts. “I eventually closed a deal with the owner of Galactica. It came about because I had wanted to exhibit his boat at Monaco Yacht Show. He agreed, but under two conditions: I had to bring the yacht over from Greece at my own cost, and if I ever sold the yard he would have first refusal.” After an excellent lunch of lentil and potato soup with pancetta, marinated fish in a light beetroot salad, and iced macchiato for dessert, we sit on the aft deck over coffee while Frans puffs away on his favourite Justus van Maurik cigars. Moored near to Lady Petra in San Remo are two other Heesen yachts, G Force and Quinta Essentia. Frans and Petra have three children and seven grandchildren who often join them on board, so this end-of-summer weekend for just the two of them is a relatively rare occasion. Certainly he likes to use his yacht at every

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available opportunity and spent 16 weeks cruising the Mediterranean last summer, accompanying the yacht on its maiden voyage from Holland to Malta and on to Montenegro. He has never chartered his boats and once turned down Lady Gaga who was interested in his previous yacht, 44m My Petra. A fundamental complement to the way he likes to use his yacht is a Cessna Citation 650 jet, which allows the family to join the yacht at short notice anywhere in Europe. This he does hire out on occasion, but never at weekends. Frans had originally wanted to take Lady Petra across the Atlantic at the end of the Mediterranean season and spend New Year’s Eve in St Barths. However, this presented a problem as Michael Goller, his on-board chef, is loath to spend the winter season away from his partner and if the boat went to the Caribbean he would probably resign. This is something Frans and Petra want to avoid at all costs as they claim Michael, who cultivates his own permaculture garden (a sustainable horticultural system modelled on natural ecosystems) when at home in the South of France, has never served up the same dish in the five years he has been with them. Lady Petra, with an interior design by Bannenberg & Rowell styled around its owner’s industrial background, is the latest and largest of the boats that Frans has owned in his lifetime, but it is probably not the last and he has plans to build a 55m Fast Hull Displacement Form. He admits he has no real need for a larger yacht and would only order it if he could sell Lady Petra first. The extra space would certainly come in handy when his large extended family is on board, but more importantly it would provide the interior volume for an elevator instead of the chair lift as on Lady Petra, plus the opportunity to have an owner’s cabin on the main

david churchill

jeff brown

The wizard of Oss

deck instead of the upper deck for added comfort as Petra is prone to seasickness. One gets the impression that Petra is humouring her husband in his ownership of ever larger yachts and Frans is well aware that naming them in her honour has been an astute tactic on his part (if he does order the 55m, it will be called Princess Petra). Before leaving the couple to enjoy their long weekend, I ask Frans why Dutchmen make such outstanding boatbuilders. “I think it’s because we’re so stubborn,” he responds. “An American client once told me that we wear wooden clogs, we have wooden heads and we wouldn’t listen!”

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The wizard of Oss

This page: (above) The Heesens spent 16 weeks aboard M/Y Lady Petra last summer cruising the Mediterranean; (Left) a corner of the yacht’s interior designed by Bannenberg & Rowell.

HEESEN yachts’ HISTORY Prior to becoming a boatbuilder, Frans Heesen was active in producing industrial plastics, so when the failing Grioss Aluboats yard in Oss – formerly Striker Boats Nederland and faced with its third bankruptcy since the 1973 oil crisis – closed down, he moved to purchase the site as a new location for his companies Halcoplast Den Dungen and Kunststoffen Industries of Oss (KIO). Instead, he was persuaded to continue boat production, not least because he had already built composite hulls for Jaguar Yachts in Italy. One of the first yachts to be launched by Heesen Shipyards, as it was then known, was 28m Amigo for Dutch real estate developer Jo Roelof Zeeman in 1979. Shortly after, Frans departed for the US to promote the brand and returned with a number of contracts. “I could hardly speak English at the time,” he recalls, “but I travelled to the States and came back with the contracts, which I couldn’t read. It was only later that I learned I had to build and finance them myself on spec.” In the early 1980s the yard teamed up with Viareggio-based Versilcraft and established Dutch Italian Association Shipbuilders (Diaship) to produce yachts that combined Dutch technical quality with Italian design flair. The two companies complemented each other for a while, but their divergent long-term goals (the Italians were focusing on composite construction, while Frans wanted to build larger yachts in aluminium) eventually ended the partnership in the mid-80s. The Diaship acronym, however, survived and was modified to stand for ‘Dutch International Association of Shipbuilders’ under Blas Casares, who would head up Heesen’s sales and marketing office in Fort Lauderdale and bring in a long list of American clients. Although South America and Asia are today still regarded as emerging yacht markets, Diaship was ahead of its time in setting up a network of international dealerships in countries such as Venezuela and Singapore. The history of the Heesen brand has seen collaborations with other builders, including the Dutch yards Neptunus (24m Santhor), and Oceanco (50m Achiever). When Norship in Norway went bankrupt in 1995, Heesen took over construction of Bonita and Teeth (composite evolutions of Octopussy for the Sultans of Johor and Brunei). In 2000, Heesen anticipated the trend for displacement explorer vessels with 37m Alumercia, designed by Frank Laupman of Omega Architects. Unusually for an explorer, it was built of aluminium with an accompanying barge able to land a Land Cruiser jeep shoreside and Schottel jet propulsion system for more precise rudder control. By the start of the new millennium, Heesen was recognised as the pre-eminent builder of aluminium hulls that was able to adapt production to the growing market for both semiand full-displacement hulls. With market confusion surrounding the Diaship-Heesen partnership, from 2004

the rebranded Heesen Yachts adopted new strategies aimed at promoting the reliability and qualitative excellence of its semi-custom series. This led to the launch of Lady Ingeborg, which marked the start of the 3700 series, followed by the 4400 series. The 50m barrier was broken in 2007 with Galactica and then Man of Steel. Since then, the overall length of the yachts has progressively increased to 55m with Quinta Essentia and 65m with the launch of the flagship Galactica Star last March. Part of the reason why Heesen Yachts has weathered the recession years so well is that the brand offers uniquely flexible series products based on semi- or full-displacement platforms in steel or aluminium that approach full custom status in terms of engineering innovation, such as the Fast Hull Displacement Form and Hull Vane from Van Oossanen Naval Architects

The yachts being produced today are undoubtedly the result of Frans Heesen’s do-or-die approach to boatbuilding that started in the late 1970s when he took over a defunct shipyard in Oss, continued through technically and contractually challenging projects such as Octopussy, and has persisted to this day. introduced respectively on the latest 65m and 55m projects. The yachts being produced today are undoubtedly the result of Frans Heesen’s do-or-die approach to boatbuilding that started in the late 1970s when he took over a defunct shipyard in Oss, continued through technically and contractually challenging projects such as Octopussy, and has persisted to this day. There is one more enduring element in the success of the Heesen Yachts brand, which is imbedded in the personality of Frans. “Clients like people who promise something and make it happen,” he explains. “That’s been my way from the start: do what you promise, because what you promise you have to do.” for more information on heesen yachts go to: www.THEsuperyachtowner.com

On the race line for ownership â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Words by Andrew Johansson

rick tomlinson

Attending a boat show or regatta is one of the best ways to get a feel for what yacht ownership is like and to experience the exhilaration of racing such luxury gems. It is no surprise then that such events continue to attract owners and potential owners alike. Returning for the fourth time since its launch in 2007, the Dubois Cup is one of many regattas in 2013 promising attendees the chance to race, socialise and be entertained over three days.

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TIM WALLACE

Events

“The Dubois Cup represents our first foray into racing in the Med, and we can’t think of a more interesting way to do that than competing against yachts that share a common design element,” says Tom Saylak, who will be attending the Cup for the first time this year with 37m Genevieve. “The setting in Porto Cervo will ensure our guests have an excellent range of shore-side activities following the daily races, and also positions us to participate in the Loro Piana regatta, which begins immediately after the Dubois Cup in the same locale.” Genevieve is one of 14 yachts expected at the event at the time of publication, along with 50m Zefira, 30m Nostromo, 37m Bliss, 45m Salperton and 45m Timoneer. However, not everyone who attends the Cup goes to race and for these – individuals – which includes the owners of 53.5m Nirvana, 40m Tenaz, 36m Sovereign, 39m Ganesha and 38m Twilight, and possibly a couple of motoryachts – there will be entertainment arranged and areas to relax in the event gazebo on the quayside. So what sets the Dubois Cup apart from other regattas? Is it that the yachts in attendance were all conceived under the same creative roof and therefore there is an underlying unity, or is it because it’s not a rigid regatta

“The Dubois Cup represents our first foray into racing in the Med, and we can’t think of a more interesting way to do that than competing against yachts that share a common design element.” – Tom Saylak, owner of Genevieve in the true sense of the word? “Our owners really enjoy socialising together and we’re seeing the Cup become something of a Dubois boat show too,” says marketing manager at Dubois, Roxanne Hughes. “A number of owners capitalise on the occasion to showcase their yacht for charter or to promote the boat as a brokerage opportunity.” The opportunity to share time with fellow owners is a real highlight for the owners of Zefira, who have made good friends at the Cup over the years. “All the significant regattas are well, if not perfectly, organised,” reveals Paola Trifiro, who owns Zefira

Opening page: Tenaz races towards the finish line in the 2011 Dubois Cup. This page: Genevieve will compete in the 2013 Dubois Cup in June.

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jeff brown

Events

“each participant is really hopeful to receive such a special invitation to attend the event. Perhaps this is because of all the yachts that come from the same pencil and great capacity of Ed Dubois and his team.” – Paola Trifiro, owner of zefira

Issue seven

jeff brown

Events

This page: (Cloclwise from top left) The yachts race around Porto Faro in Sardinia; Zefira will contest the 2013 race with owners Paola and Salvatore Trifiro; Nostromo is back again this year as one of 14 yachts that have been confirmed in the line up. Next page: The yachts in mid race during last year’s event.

together with her husband Salvatore. “This is true of the Dubois Cup and I would dare to say that each participant is really hopeful to receive such a special invitation to attend the event. Perhaps this is because of all the yachts that come from the same pencil and great capacity of Ed Dubois and his team. Also, the fact the event is usually not so formal and often lifted by an excellent atmosphere with plenty of culture and music is another attraction for us.” The Dubois Cup, won by Timoneer in 2011, adds a twist by restricting the event to yachts designed by Dubois Naval Architects, an idea born from a discussion between principal designer and founder Ed Dubois and a client. The suggestion took hold and saw the first Cup in Palma, Majorca, but it later settled in Porto Cervo, Sardinia, where it is held and organised in collaboration with the Yacht Club Costa Smeralda (YCCS). The Dubois design origin is not the only requirement for the regatta, with the additional restrictions, such as your vessel having to be at least 24m, outlined in the literature sent out to attendees. Once you receive your official invitation, the entry form supplied by the YCCS should be filled in and returned with an accompanied entry fee of 2,500 euros. A discount of 500 euros is offered to members of the YCCS, IMA or SYRA.

Commencing on 1 June, the team at Dubois has modified the Cup to focus more on the event’s USP, which Hughes believes is its “relaxed approach and minimal corporate push”. Using this approach, the nonprofit event has a winning formula that continues to attract interest from Dubois owners, as well as owners not yet part of the Dubois family. Kicking off on the Saturday morning, the day consists of registration followed by welcome cocktails at the YCCS in the evening. Day two is when things turn competitive, as participants take to the course for the first race, with an owners’ dinner to look forward to at the end of the day. Monday sees the second race and prize-giving party to conclude the Cup. Included in the entertainment line-up is a UK-based modern cabaret group. “I saw the ‘It Girls’ at a Rolls-Royce event in London before Christmas 2012 and they were amazing,” says Hughes. “They’ve done shows with Virgin and for Sam Branson’s birthday and so on. They are used to being around VIPs and I feel confident they will put on a good show.” Although the planned performance will be one of the group’s signature pieces, it will be tailored to offer something unique for attendees. Although the team are still working on this year’s racecourse,

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jeff brown

Events

it will be largely based on the highlights of the previous Cup. “The racing area will be in the northeastern Sardinian waters,” say the Cup organisers. “Charts 42, 43, 323, 324, 325, 910, and the Italian charts of the Istituto Idrografico della Marina are recommended. The courses will be coastal.” As initially stated, regattas also provide the platform upon which first-time buyers can really explore whether sailing is truly for them, which in turn can lead to an interest in chartering or, in the case of Dubois’ Design 381, which is under construction at Fitzroy at the time of writing, it cemented the decision for her owners to build their own yacht. “We enjoyed the Cup,” reveals the owner of the 37.5m project. “The organisation was excellent and it was a good opportunity to learn a bit (we still have a long way to go) and to start meeting the yachting community. We have always enjoyed Porto Cervo, even before the Cup. It didn’t really make us change our opinion about having a Dubois-designed yacht, but it may have reinforced it and helped

me convince my wife to go ahead with such a project.” The owners of Design 381 are not alone in this route to ownership. As Ed Dubois explains, the family feel of the event and relaxed atmosphere has led to several owners feeling encouraged to move on to a Dubois design. In a couple of instances, a commission for a new yacht has either directly or partly come off the back of the regatta. “The number of Dubois designs assembled all together at a beautiful venue enables visitors to understand our design philosophy and the highly developed concepts that span 25 years of Dubois superyacht design,” says Dubois. “We look forward to taking the Dubois Cup on into the future and to showcasing our latest designs as they are launched, year on year. We see a very healthy future for the Cup.”

for more information on dubois naval architects, go to: www.THEsuperyachtowner.com

“The number of Dubois designs assembled all together at a beautiful venue enables visitors to understand our design philosophy and the highly developed concepts that span 25 years of Dubois superyacht design.” – ed dubois

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round the world:

how to change lives and influence an industry – Words by Ellie Brade and Photography by Luke Sprague

Gerhard Ruether, Chairman of Uniteam Marine, is midway through what he describes as a “stop start” circumnavigation on board his sailing yacht, Zefiro. Ellie Brade met him in Auckland on the eve of the New Zealand Millennium Cup 2013, which Zefiro later went on to triumphantly win.

The 30m Southern Wind-built sloop Zefiro is Gerhard Ruether’s latest yacht. A German-born Cypriot resident, he entered yachting later in life, first learning to sail a 470 Olympic Class dinghy at the age of 29. Ruether was instantly hooked and so began a love affair with yachting that has never diminished and culminated in Zefiro. “When I am sailing, I feel totally free. The lifestyle at sea and the escape gives me an enormous sense of freedom,” he says. “I can think clearly and recharge my personal batteries. The positive stress at times, due to being the skipper and owner of the yacht, is welcome as otherwise I could be bored, perhaps, during my customary three-month intervals on board.” The yacht is midway through a sevenyear extended navigation that stops and starts as Ruether takes leave from work for another instalment of sailing. The eldest of 10 children, Ruether built up his business, the ship management company Uniteam Marine, from scratch. Having grown up and been educated in Germany he moved to Cyprus in 1979 and has been based there ever since. Now in its 34th year, Uniteam has offices around the world and employs 5,000 seamen, with advanced training facilities based in Myanmar. On the choice of Myanmar as a base, Ruether says: “I chose it because in those times almost everyone employed Filipino seamen and we needed another leg, because it is never good to stand on one leg only. I went to Myanmar in 1979 and started in very small beginnings, and found that the Burmese people were perfectly suited to our requirements. At that time nobody gave them a chance, but I found them so good that we started employing them and training them and today we have complete Myanmar crews – from master to messman - on 400m-long ships and they excel.” As the captain on Zefiro, Ruether brings his

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Round the world

Entering the superyacht management sector was a decision driven purely by Ruether’s desire to make a difference to superyachting. “I do it out of pure passion, because I love this sport.” own nautical experience to the business: he sees crew as one of the most crucial elements in the success, whether on superyachts or on commercial ships and thinks that a company or a ship is only as good as the people who work in it. As the Uniteam Marine mission statement on their website reads, ‘The successful running of a ship depends on the hard work, discipline and teamwork of the entire crew’, with their motto being ‘Success Through Teamwork.’ This ethos is reflected in the loyalty and hard work of his own crew. “I left the yacht in Grenada and came back after two months and the owners on neighbouring boats said, ‘Where can you find such crew? You are not here, no captain, nobody observing, and every morning at 6.30am the crew are there working. What’s the secret?’ And I say there’s no secret! Train the people, pay them well, treat them right, respect them. It breeds loyalty. Then you can find good people anywhere in the world.” In a logical crossover, Ruether has just recently added Uniteam Yachting, a superyacht management division, to his company having been approached by many of his superyacht owner friends on management advice over the years. The division is still in its fledgling stages but the plan is that as soon as Ruether finds suitable key personnel to run the new company the business will take off. Entering the superyacht management sector was a decision driven purely by Ruether’s desire to make a difference to superyachting. “I do it out of pure passion, because I love this sport.”

Ruether will utilise his existing training facilities in Myanmar, and training approaches learnt in the commercial sector, and apply them to superyachts. As well as making good use of classrooms and training simulators, Uniteam Yachting’s crew will be trained on board actual yachts, including a 40m Perini Navi and a 24m New Zealand-built ketch which has just undergone a total refit. “We are also training our cooks and stewards in our hotels [Uniteam also controls hotels and a tour operator company in Myanmar]. So it all fits together; we have these facilities, we have the people, we have to train them, and then when they are ready we can give them

Opening page: Owner Gerhard Ruether is currently circumnavigating the world. This page: (clockwise from top left) Ruether has a training facility in Myanmar where he utilises training approaches learned from the commercial sector and applies them to superyachts; Ruether says if a yacht is too big he would not have the time to be the skipper and captain of his own yacht, and he will stop; The owner is pictured with children who have been helped through the two orphanages he has established.

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Round the world

A long relationship with the people of Myanmar has placed the country very close to Ruether’s heart and he focuses much of his philanthropic efforts there. jobs on superyachts.” A long relationship with the people of Myanmar has placed the country very close to Ruether’s heart and he focuses much of his philanthropic efforts there. As well as having built a school and assisted in rebuilding several others in the country, together with the financial support of his clients, he also founded the ‘Myittar Yaung Chi’ boys’ orphanage for 150 boys and is just completing a girls’ orphanage for 100 girls. “It’s a chance for me to give something back and where else could I do that better than in a country where I, as a businessman, have a social responsibility to do so?” says Ruether. “This gives me more contentment than anything else. These children come to us at the age of five or six, often malnourished, ill and frightened. To see them after six months prospering and happy when they go to school is very rewarding.” Some of the children who have benefitted from Ruether’s effort and care to promote their well-being, depending on their talents, go on to be a part of the Uniteam family. “Our duty is to help them into life, to find them jobs. Once they are on the way, then they can help themselves. Depending on their abilities, some might be able to attend university and we have to support them. Some can work on our cargo ships, on our yachts, in our offices, or they can work in our hotels. It’s a commitment that my two sons will take over for me at a certain stage.” With sailing his escape from work and everyday life, the circumnavigation is Ruether’s reward to himself. “I am 63 and I have worked hard all my life and now is my time to reward myself with the fulfilment of my dream.” The yacht has already travelled to multiple destinations. Beginning in Cape Town, where she left the shipyard after launching, she sailed to the Med; across the Atlantic in the Rolex Cup; around the Caribbean; along the US East Coast; and to Cuba. She then sailed to the San Blas Islands, through the Panama Canal; to the Galapagos Islands; the Marquesas; Tahiti; Samoa; Tonga; and now New Zealand. The yacht will leave New Zealand in May and move on to Fiji; New Caledonia; Vanuatu; the Solomon Islands; then to Australia and the Great Barrier Reef before heading to Sydney for the Rolex-Sydney-Hobart race. After that it will be on to Myanmar for a year, and then back to Cyprus to complete the circle. All going well there are further dreams of sailing to South Georgia, Antarctica, Brazil, Alaska, the Northwest Passage. That’s quite a list, even with half of the trip still to come, and I ask Ruether what his favourite destinations are so far. “It’s difficult to say, because they are all special for different reasons. Overall, I love the whole Mediterranean area for its diversity of cultures and I love the South Pacific also for its vastness, for its huge area and for the nature.” Watching humpback whales

in Tonga is a magical memory. “People say if you look into the eye of a humpback whale, you will never forget it and that’s true.” Along with travel, racing is another passion, and Ruether has factored several races and regattas into the circumnavigation. With a win at the Millennium Cup under his belt, next on the list is the Hamilton Island Race Week and thereafter the Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht race. “The Sydney-Hobart is high on my bucket list, like the circumnavigation. The locations of the races are stages that I want to do anyway, and it is logical to participate,” he says. Here is a man determined to make the most out of every experience in life. “I like to be passionate with things.” And will there be an another yacht? “For the time being, no. For my purposes, Zefiro is about the right size. She is large enough to sail around the world in comfort and small enough to manage her on my own with a small crew. If a yacht is too big then I would not have the time to be the skipper and if I cannot be the captain on my own yacht, I will stop.” to Comment on this article go to: www.THEsuperyachtowner.com

Issue seven

Round the world

This page: (top) The yacht began its circumnavigation in South Africa and is currently in New Zealand; (right) Zefiro is headed to Australia for the Rolex-SydneyHobart race.

Issue seven

Tenders

the practical pair – Words by Andrew Johansson

Launched in July last year, Stella Maris is a 72m motoryacht by VSY, designed by Espen Øino International with interior design by Michela Reverberi and naval architecture by Laurent Giles Naval Architects. The Italian shipyard not only built the displacement vessel but developed the concept for two 7.3m tenders, designed by the creative hand of a fellow countryman, Paolo Virgolini, and built by High Tech Marine. This page: (top) Steps portside of the pilot station on the limo tender and a flat bow make it easy to board; (bottom) Open tender during sea trials. Opposite page: Limo and open tender side by side by Paolo Virgolini.

“We wanted two tenders with specific characteristics such as ease of getting on and off, good performance and above all they had to be comfortable for guests and the driver,” reveals the captain of Stella Maris, Alberto Neri. “We wanted an open tender that included a toilet, and a limousine tender with a very bright and airy interior. The inclusion of these essential features, along with ensuring they were functional, was the main focus.” Presented with a design brief by VSY, High Tech Marine approached Paolo Virgolini to create tenders that would keep guests dry, perform well in medium to high swells, while also keeping in mind the length restrictions of the garage. While the open tender was created with the dual role of transporting guests and being used as a day boat, more attention was given to the limo tender, which provides access to the salon forward and aft of the vessel. “We examined the design of existing limos with Espen and considered the various pros and cons of existing designs,” explains VSY director Luciano Scaramuccia. “We found they are comfortable but often feel claustrophobic. For this reason we spent a lot of time on the design of the window and developed a drop shape. In addition, we decided to include a retractable roof in order to better enjoy the weather and fresh air, reducing the need for air conditioning.” While both boats include role-specific features, such as the inclusion of a day toilet hidden in the console of the open tender, one of the main objectives was to create a way in which to easily board and disembark the vessels. “This requirement inspired the need for the large step areas,” explains Virgolini. “The bow of the limousine, which has a specific pilot area with an aeronautical-

inspired windshield, offers guests the possibility to walk from the tip of the bow to the large steps, left of the pilot station, and into the salon. The open design was created with a double flight of steps, left of the pilot station, that leads towards the bow and stern.” A Yanmar engine connected to a stern drive propulsion system has been used on both boats to reach a maximum speed of 35 knots on the limo tender, with the open tender capable of travelling five knots faster. “We wanted to use the same propulsion system and engine on both tenders in order to optimise on spare parts and service. We also decided on using propellers, as it is preferred for seakeeping and efficiency,” says Scaramuccia. The project, which took eight months to complete from initial sketches to delivery, was not without owner input. Scaramuccia explains the owner worked with the team in order to develop the designs to best suit his needs. “The design has managed to combine the needs that I mentioned previously through the incorporation of unusual shapes, creating two boats with a strong family feel,” concludes Neri. “The tender complements the style of Stella Maris very well, as their asymmetrical design make use of areas that are not commonly accessed, making the boats more comfortable and safe.” Due to confidentiality, the cost of the two boats has not been released. However, for a custom-built limo tender capable of transporting eight guests and an open boat with a capacity to sit 10, you are unlikely to get much change back from a million euros. to Comment on this article go to: www.THEsuperyachtowner.com

Issue seven

Tenders

Issue seven

Location

Issue seven

Location

Every cloud â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Words by Angela Audretsch

Building his own sailing yacht and then cruising the world with his family on it was always the dream for Chris Lenz. After three years of hard work, in 2011 he launched the 31m S/Y Silver Lining and has since explored the far corners of the globe with his wife and two children. One of their first stops after departing the yard in Thailand was the captivating archipelago of Indonesia. Although still fairly undeveloped in terms of infrastructure for superyachts, for the intrepid ocean traveller Indonesia has more than 17,000 islands to discover, more than 400 volcanoes to marvel at, a friendly and culturally diverse population to meet and countless sheltered bays in which to anchor. Lenz tells Angela Audretsch how Indonesia taught him the value of time and brought his family closer than ever.

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Location

“When I think back, if someone came to me today and said they were going to build a 104-foot aluminium hull to ABS class and to superyacht standard, having never built a boat before, and build it at a shipyard that might be capable of building Noah’s Ark, I would tell them to have their head examined,” admits Chris Lenz, owner of Silver Lining. However, since her launch, the yacht has proved herself to be a crazy decision that was more than worth taking. Lenz and his family have sailed to the corners of the globe together, leaving the yard in Phuket to travel down through South East Asia, past Sri Lanka and Turkey, into Europe and most recently down into Morocco. Indonesia was a natural choice as one of the first stops, being safe and relatively close to the yard should anything need tweaking. A veritable tropical playground, it is an exceptionally friendly and culturally fascinating place, and for this reason, Lenz says, it is a country that could easily take years to fully explore and appreciate. With each rumbling tectonic shift the

exact number of islands rises and falls, but the official count from Indonesia’s tourism office currently stands at 17,508 islands, strewn east to west across the equator over an area as wide as the US. Only cruising around the region for twoand-a-half months, Lenz feels as though they merely scratched the surface. “The time we spent in Indonesia really would not even classify as a appetiser in my old trade as a gastronome,” reflects Lenz. “The correct gastro term for it would have to be amuse bouche, a little flavour from the chef.” The motivation for owning a superyacht for him has always been first and foremost about having adventures as a family. He describes becoming a yacht owner as a “two chapter dream”, explaining that building Silver Lining was chapter one and that chapter two is cruising the world with his wife Vicky and two kids. “The rewards for us as a family have been near on unimaginable,” he says. “I would argue that until you have cruised as we have as a family, it is very hard to understand the benefits. Our kids are now nine and

“I would argue that until you have cruised as we have as a family, it is very hard to understand the benefits.”

Opening Page: World Heritage Site and home of the famous giant monitor lizards, the Komodo islands. This page: (left) Owner Chris Lenz with his yacht, Silver Lining, in the distance; (above) It would take years to fully explore all Indonesia has to offer by superyacht; (right) One of the Lenz family’s highlights was visiting the orangutans in the Kalimantan jungle.

Issue seven

Location

11 years old. What they have seen, most adults will never see. They are learning through osmosis.” And as a family-friendly destination, Indonesia is hard to beat, particularly in terms of the rare wildlife and the untamed nature it offers. “We had a few days up in the jungle in Kalimantan visiting orangutans in their natural environment – truly amazing creatures,” says Lenz. “But it was an even more amazing journey to see them.” To reach the orangutans, the family left the comfort of Silver Lining for two days to take a ramshackle live aboard up the Sekonyer River. “I thought to myself, ‘I am paying to get off our Fifth Avenue apartment-like boat to go Third World on a local riverboat and sleep under mosquito nets in the jungle,’” he recalls. “We saw crocs, orangutans, proboscis monkeys, monitor lizards, hornbills, kingfisher, egrets and wild pigs. We smelt and we certainly heard the jungle and its amazing sounds, from ear-piercing shrieks to gentle owls hooting in the night. Seeing wild pigs swim across the river at 6am because they are afraid of the crocs certainly makes life simple and takes you back to some simple values that most of us don’t apply to our lives any more.” Another Indonesian highlight for Lenz and family was visiting Komodo National Park, a World Heritage Site and home of the prehistoric-looking giant monitor lizards, Komodo dragons.

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Location

“If you want perfection, go to Europe or the Caribbean; if you want adventure, beauty and the experience of a lifetime, go to Indo.”

Located east of Bali, Komodo lies deep in the Indonesian archipelago between the islands of Sumbawa and Flores. There are about 3,000 of the endangered dragons in the park and the Lenzes managed to get extremely (scarily!) close to these modernday dinosaurs. “We got about two metres away from them,” says Lenz. “We stayed on the dinghy and threw them rotten chicken. They loved it.” More than anything, above the exciting experiences and matchless locations, Indonesia taught Lenz the value of time. “Taking time in Indonesia taught me about something new that I didn’t understand before; a simple thing called ‘time’,” he reflects. “This wonderfully simple commodity that we are all given 24 hours per day has a strong tendency of slipping away from us and concealing itself in all kinds of mundane tasks. We labour on chasing the proverbial carrot, dreaming our life away rather than living our dream.” And time came in handy. The lack of

infrastructure meant that patience was a virtue and self-sufficiency was an absolute must in Indonesia. “There are no facilities for yachts, except in Bali, and those are very limited,” he says. “Cruising there is very much a case of ‘you better be able to take care of yourself’ and have an open mind for problem solving.” Lenz tells us they anchored every day for the two-and-ahalf months and never had power or water from land. Even fuel was a challenge. “Make sure that you have spares of everything as you will not be able to buy anything, especially for a bigger boat,” he warns. “You need to be able to think outside the box on how to jury rig things if what you have fails. If you want perfection, go to Europe or the Caribbean; if you want adventure, beauty and the experience of a lifetime, go to Indo. Expect and embrace the unusual, for this is why you are here.” Silver Lining has now been the Lenzes’ home at sea for more than a year and the experiences they have shared as a family are ones most people can only dream of.

The time away from the real world living his dream has allowed Lenz to reflect on life and become a bit of a philosopher. “Too often in life we grow up and part of growing seems to mean that we have to forfeit our dreams for adulthood and responsibility,” he muses. “I feel very happy to report, I broke the clasps – perhaps one of the most invigorating but at the same time scary things I have ever done. I am dreaming again and I am happy, afraid, worried, euphoric and at peace with myself. I have embarked on my voyage of discovery and I certainly hope it will be the same for my family and crew.”

This page: (Left) Since its launch in 2011, Silver Lining has taken Lenz and family all over the world; (right) Lenz and his family were able to stand just two metres from the impressive Komodo dragons. Opposite page: The Indonesian archipelago has over 17,508 islands and 400 volcanoes to explore.

While at sea, Chris and his wife Vicky have kept a blog of their travels. The entry below is from Chris as their Indonesian odyssey came to an end.

Just over two months of cruising now and the boat has settled and so has the crew. The time is flying and as we head north in the Java Sea I cannot help feeling that the time spent in Indonesia was just a taster. I felt sad to leave as we have barely just touched the surface of what these 17,000 islands have to offer. Sure we have seen the highlights and seen some mind-boggling things, yet on the other hand we rushed and were illprepared. I guess it is fair to say that we are amateur travellers. Ironically, I could honestly say we have travelled more than most I know and by most standards would be considered veteran vagabonds. I guess this trip has been the ‘turning of the leaf’ in our lives of the future. I am learning that we will have to spend more time with our noses in books planning what we want to see and where. This will help to ensure we get the most out of our travels, but we must be careful that this does not come at the price of ‘we must leave here by then in order to do that, there’. Part of the beauty of little preparation is the ‘figure it out as you go’ challenge, which I have always been a big subscriber to. I really don’t want to know everything about where we will go to next but do feel we need to know more as we are spending

more time than most doing it. The land of mystics is an amazing place, there is so much to see. We have tasted the adventure and the beauty of this country. We have seen the most amazing sights, from orangutans to mantas and many things in-between. We have been at high altitudes and deep underwater. All of which were beautiful. As we make our way back north I cannot help feeling sad that we have not done justice to this amazing country. I feel that I am sailing over my own tracks and somehow the feeling of excitement is gone. Our next destination we have been to before. Retracing steps is somehow sad. I don’t look forward to ending back in Phuket but know it’s the way we must go in order to sail west. So the smile face is on and we will persevere through the 1,500 miles back to home waters. What has happened that cannot be taken away is that the family and crew have settled. We have all seen enough to know we love this way of life and the adventure before us is no longer as scary as it is exciting. We have learned enough about Indonesia to know we must return and we have ideas of where we must return to and where we must make it to, sooner or later, Raja Ampat being very high on the list of many other places.

to Comment on this article go to: www.THEsuperyachtowner.com

“Too often in life we grow up and part of growing seems to mean that we have to forfeit our dreams for adulthood and responsibility.” – Chris Lenz, owner of Silver Lining

This page: (Left) For Lenz, his adventures on Silver Lining have above all taught him the gift of time; (above) The Komodo islands lie east of Bali, between Sumbawa and Flores, and shelter around 3,000 Komodo dragons; (right) The Lenzes took a ramshackle live aboard through the jungle up the Sekonyer River to see the orangutans.

Issue seven

Charter & brokerage

The buyersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; guide â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Words by Rebecca Curran

With faith in the resale market failing based on last yearâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s activity, brokerage editor Rebecca Curran goes straight to the source to ask brokers what needs to be done. The constant price reductions, yachts sitting on the market too long and an overflow of available yachts leads many to wonder how we can move on from this stagnation and get the market moving again. How can we reinvigorate the market and get people excited to own again? Brokers share their views on how we as an industry can put the fire back into buying and selling and leave the recession where it belongs: nothing more than a distant memory.

Charter & brokerage

Issue seven

51 Peter Brown, sales broker, Burgess In order to kick-start the market, I recommend the following to sellers and buyers: Sellers – must get the basic parameters of the sales campaign right if they want their yachts to sell, ensure yachts are readily available for inspection in the main shop windows and present them immaculately. Set a realistic asking price in line with yachts recently sold. Ensure maintenance schedule is followed throughout the sales campaign and don’t let anything lapse. Buyers are wary of ‘projects’ and are motivated by true turnkey solutions. Buyers – don’t just focus on the lowest selling price, but concentrate on pedigree, maintenance history and build quality, and ensure the specifications, layout and style of the yacht suit your requirements. Experience tells us that these factors are remembered well after the price that is paid. In order to keep the market moving in 2013, new levels of liquidity are motivating buyers to move much more quickly if they find the right yacht, but sellers must still listen to their brokers and set asking prices that sit squarely within the new pricing landscape. Inflated asking prices kill serious interest and stop the sales process before the initial inspection stage. Fairly priced yachts in first-class condition that are readily available for inspection now have a very real chance of selling within a relatively short time frame, and that is the difference as we move forwards into 2013. Expectation management is a critical element of a successful sales programme. To advise you properly, your broker must have in-depth market knowledge and a wealth of transactional experience, and if they have that then they should be able to manage your expectations carefully while still maximising the value of your asset and get you the biggest number that the market will bear. In order to bring the market back stronger we must reinforce the message that the luxury yacht market is alive and well. Support the yachting brands, companies and individuals who give the industry a good name, and sideline those that don’t. Encourage the uninitiated to experience the unparalleled thrill of life on a superyacht.

Michael Payne, chief commercial officer, Camper & Nicholsons Camper & Nicholsons brokers believe that buyers and sellers are finding more common ground and are more readily able to agree to sales prices than has been the case over the past few years. Our advice to sellers is that if they want their boat to sell they have to price it competitively. A seller who selects a broker based on the promise of the highest price will not, in most cases, achieve a sale. Instead, their yacht will remain on the market for several years, costing them money and impacting on the yacht’s reputation as the price is forced down until it sells. When correctly priced, yachts are selling and it is down to the broker to advise wisely in the first instance. We are fully aware of the market conditions and are realistic in our estimation of what sales price our clients’ yachts can achieve. For the large part, buyers have stopped talking about distress deals and bank repossessions; they are now looking for more sincere value-driven deals and reassurance that the yacht they are buying has been well maintained. It also seems that buyers are tired of waiting for the economy to stabilise, with many deciding to take the plunge and buy if the seller has priced their yacht sensibly. Hein Velema, CEO, Fraser Yachts The brokerage market was slow in 2011, slow in 2012 and will stay slow in 2013. Most yachts for sale are still overpriced; therefore it takes a serious drop in asking price to catch the attention of serious potential buyers. When a buyer finally does make an offer it is often at 60 per cent of the asking price. There is no quick fix to kick-starting the brokerage market; the major bottleneck is the lack of cash. As long as banks are not lending, buyers will have difficulties making money available to buy a yacht. However, if clients desire a prompt sale of their yacht, they should seek the advice of a good and reputable broker. They know the market well and will be able to advise clients about setting a realistic asking price for their yacht. Since the last three months of 2012, the American market has been slowly improving, specifically in the 30m to 45m ranges. Not only in the US but also Latin American countries are doing better too. The charter market has also been doing better and better and this is the most effective way to bring new buyers to the market, so there are signs that the brokerage market will continue to improve. Certainly brokerage companies with a large charter department have a competitive advantage. For motivated sellers we have the following advice: Start with a reasonable asking price, make the yacht available for inspections at the right time and location as advised by your broker, and ensure that you choose a broker who will set up a marketing plan that goes beyond the obvious advertising. Creative brokerage is the only way to stand out in the current market.

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Charter & brokerage

Rory Trahair, head of marketing, Edmiston In 2010 Edmiston sold more brokerage yachts than ever before due primarily to us having a broad selection of yachts, which we priced to sell, and represented buyers who were specifically looking for these opportunities. Today offers even greater possibilities to a buyer, as there are more yachts on the market than ever before and certainly more high quality, pedigree yachts for sale at a fraction of their replacement cost. There is no question that today is a buyers’ market with a wide variety of yachts to choose from across the size and style spectrum. Our message to our clients, whether buying or selling, is that the market will determine the true value of a yacht, and today that is simply down to what someone is willing to pay. There are more yachts for sale than ever before, whether in build, recently launched or on the brokerage market, meaning greater choice to a purchaser and greater competition to the seller. As brokers, our role is to attempt to bridge the gap between the demands of the purchaser and the expectations of the seller, both of whom must conclude a deal feeling they have got good value and achieved a good price respectively. While asking prices are little more than a guide in today’s market, they do reflect the expectations of the seller, their eagerness to sell and whether they are ready to genuinely ‘consider all offers’. This is where we encourage our owners to make a decision as to whether they want to test the market, or allow us to aggressively market a yacht for sale, at a competitive price. Owners’ expectations differ from one to another, whether they are ‘testing the market’ or ‘active sellers’. Today’s market presents a challenge to the listing broker, as the level of enquiries, inspections and general interest is down on what we have seen historically. We continue to proactively market our clients’ yachts both to the industry and to our direct clients through advertising, our Antennae magazine and other mediums, however we are finding that only the yachts that are priced competitively or are clear opportunities are attracting interest. Ultimately, we can only guide on what we regard the correct asking price, or indeed selling price, for a yacht to be, and we have to manage the expectations of our owners accordingly. In our opinion, a major issue facing the industry at present is that of stagnation. So long as owners’ expectations and asking prices of brokerage yachts remain high, savvy buyers looking for the best value will be unable to find these opportunities. In turn, fewer yachts will sell, while the number of yachts entering the second-hand market will continue to increase, thus making it increasingly competitive. Current owners looking to upgrade, whether to a larger yacht or a new build, are choosing not to, to avoid the associated cost of multiple yacht ownership. As an industry and more specifically as brokers, we must guide our clients on the true value of yachts today to ensure we meet the expectations of both buyer and seller and in turn encourage movement within the market. With greater confidence among buyers and, indeed, sellers, we are confident the market will pick up speed. The confidence booster is that our brokers are in discussion with active buyers and charterers, so the demand is there. It just has to be at the right price for today’s increasingly well-informed and shrewd clients.

Kevin Merrigan, president, Northrop & Johnson This is the most unique market I have seen in 25 years. It is a volatile market with some exceptional values to be had by savvy buyers. You can buy roughly 25 per cent more yacht this year than in prior years. Sellers are very realistic and a large number of yachts are coming off the market. As usual, the well-maintained, well-priced, high-quality yachts come off the market first. What brokers can do to assist the market is keep current on the outstanding values to be had, and apprise their clients. We should also let the client know if and how much activity has been surrounding the yacht. It will not work if a buyer is to say, “Let me know if there is an offer and I will jump in,” as it will be too late. The first buyer in is the one who wins the day. What will keep the market moving is buyers feeling confident in the economy and wanting to participate in the wonderful lifestyle yachting provides. There is no doubt it is a great market for buyers, and that yachting is one of the greatest pastimes available. Owners should price their yacht according to the market, listen to their broker for marketing advice and keep the yacht visible and very well maintained. We deal with the wealthiest and most economically savvy people in the world. They are specialists in what they do for a living. Yet they seek outside assistance for accounting, managing and investing. The top yacht brokers in the world are highly focused professionals. We live, eat and breathe yachts and the market every single day of the year. An intelligent owner will respect his broker’s expertise and take advantage of what the broker brings to the table. In order to provide a confidence booster to bring the market back, we all need to recognise that yachting is a service industry geared towards the enjoyment of our clients. I am not certain there is anything we can do to enhance the market other than enjoy the yachting lifestyle and introduce people to the pleasures of boating. Above all, the market moves at its own pace. We have just completed a very interesting transaction with a yacht that had been on the market for two years when suddenly three people realised it was the right yacht, a unique yacht and one they wanted to own. So we had two offers on the table and a third buyer (the one who said, “Let me know when there is an offer”) in the wings. Empirically, we know the true market value of the yacht. Why did it take two years? Why did these buyers surface simultaneously? The market moves at its own pace and seeks the correct values. What makes the yachting market unusual is that a custom yacht is exactly that; it is not a mass-produced commodity, therefore the pricing is tougher to ascertain. The confidence booster is that a large number of sales are occurring, there has never been a time when there were more values in the market and it is a magnificent lifestyle to enjoy right now.

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Charter & brokerage

Toby Maclaurin, commercial manager, Ocean Independence There is not one action alone specifically that is likely to kick-start the market, especially if we want such a start to be sustainable. However, as an industry we should work on our image and be positive about what we do at every given opportunity. A recent study commissioned by MYBA and undertaken by the London School of Economics (LSE) shows that in Europe alone the positive contribution of large yachting runs into billions. Maybe no surprise there, however then consider that 85 per cent of our industry workforce is categorised as physical labour. We provide vital employment for this workforce sector and, as an industry, we are going against the EU trend of falling employment numbers in recent years. The LSE thought this most interesting because it goes against the general perception of our industry. The message we can take from this is that our industry sustains the livelihoods of a great many people over a broad spectrum of vocations. And although the glitz and glam for the end users is interesting to a degree to the general public, we should focus more on the tangible benefits of yachting for both our clients and the wider world in general. A second comment, which may be a bit controversial, is let’s not forget that we (brokers, captains, crew, managers, agents and so on) work in and obtain our livelihoods from the marine leisure and hospitality industry. Anyone employed in yachting and its peripheries who disagree with this, I would ask to consider another career path. I say this because we all will have to manage the everincreasing pile and complexity of paperwork, but still keep smiling and delivering a service that leaves our clients more than satisfied and wanting more. We are going to have to be very pragmatic in our approach to, for example, the MLC 2006. Safety, yes always, but rational too – a glum union look saying “regulation says no” is not going to kick-start anything for us in the short or long term. In order to keep our market moving, fast commercial flexibility is the key to the sales and charter business now. Meanwhile, those in our industry have to remember what our key values are: leisure and hospitality. Maybe owners might consider a more commercial approach with timely decisions, better forward planning and, where possible, sufficient funding. Simple things can make all the difference. For example, retaining crew. Sometimes it is hard to sell a charter without knowing who the chef and chief stewardess will be because they have been let go for the winter; or knowing whether we need to charge both fuel and time on relocation fees on charters over a certain length. In regards to selling, can I move my yacht closer to potential buyers? Is that offer really so low when taking into consideration six to 12 months more running costs before another offer is made? Can we put on a show for potential buyers when they visit the yacht? How do we show that this yacht, and that yachting in general, is special? I feel we are still struggling to deliver hard news when it comes to price. We have enough data now from current market conditions to be able to make a

well-educated estimate of where a sales price is likely to be on a certain yacht. But somehow we struggle to front up to the owner from day one on this. If we did, some might say, “Thank you, I am not a seller today at those numbers,” but for those who do want to continue the conversation and list their yacht for sale, there is a better chance they will do so at a more realistic price. This might help reduce the wave of daily price reductions that makes us appear like some kind of floating discount shopping centre. It also might help achieve selling more yachts as we know that, more often than not, a first offer can be the best offer – but an owner who has not been correctly briefed will be disappointed and possibly insulted which means a sale missed, and a buyer frustrated, which is not good for anyone. To ensure the market comes back stronger than ever, people need to enjoy their yachts, use them, charter them, lend them to friends and family, explore more off the beaten track – challenge us to deliver more fun, more service and more of what they want. We can do this as an industry. Let’s be honest with ourselves and with our clients and let’s put the pleasure and leisure back into yachting.

To ensure the market comes back stronger than ever, people need to enjoy their yachts, use them, charter them, lend them to friends and family, explore more off the beaten track – challenge us to deliver more fun, more service and more of what they want. We can do this as an industry. Let’s be honest with ourselves and with our clients and let’s put the pleasure and leisure back into yachting.

54 Issue seven

Business News Charter & brokerage

Neil Cheston, director, Yacht Sales & Charter – Y.CO

The few second-hand yachts that were sold in 2011 and 2012 were sold for massively less than their Superyacht news and industry updates from around the world. original asking prices. April Fool, Selene, Northern Light, Pestifer and others that finally a home after Visit superyachtnews.com forfound the latest news and reports. years of trying went for less than half of what their owners had expected when they first decided to sell. Our comment: The message to sellers and their brokers is surely SaNlORENzO fRaSER MONaCO RECkMaNN STaR CapITal TO rebecca curran clear enough by now: price your yacht to sell right appOINTS NEW CEO GROUp pURChaSES CONSOlIDaTE SaM lIqUIDaTED from the outset, and avoid the downward spiral of Although it may have takenMaRINE some time to learn Sanlorenzo’s chairman, hOlMaTRO ThE BlOhM+VOSS Fraserfor Yachts price reductions. Do not price it hoping the has best,announced the lessons, brokers, buyers and sellers seem to be Massimo Perotti, has hYDRaUlICS pORTfOlIO the liquidation of Fraser because there are no more ‘crazy buyers’. coming around to the fact thathas in order to prosper, announced the appointment the reckmann Group Star Capital is to sell The yacht market thrives on hearsay. Sellers tend to Monaco’s Monaco SaM. Fraser we are much stronger together. Realistic pricing, of Fulvio Dodich as the purchased the marine branch the oil tooling division of place too much stock inyacht the rare instances of yachts operations will be assumed honesty and transparency from the market as a selling at ornew above their asking price, and let wishful builder’s CEO. Dodich, of hydraulics specialist Blohm + Voss. the German by a newly established entity, whole will ensure a stronger future for the industry. thinking doheld thethe rest. Thereathave been no such events who has position Holmatro. reckmann’s CEO, shipyard’s parent company Fraser Worldwide SaM. Sitting and waiting is no longer an option for in recent times.yards, Whathas willbeen keep the market moving in several Italian Marcus If Schuldt, that is also selling the mechanical buyers or sellers. sellerssaid want to move their yacht, thetasked months toexpanding come? Realism. with the would allow thethe group’s engineering division to focus they must itprice it at what market dictates, and Unfortunately we are not really managing the buyers need to learn that to waiting for more price yard’s presence further into yachting division offer a on the primary activity of yacht expectations of owners. All the brokerage houses drops is nocomplete longer an option and will only lead to emerging markets. rigging solution. building. are keen to build inventory, which means acquiring disappointment when they miss their opportunity. exclusive listings, in the expectation of greater 2013 has had strong beginnings with sales climbing demand as the global economic recovery continues. and price reductions falling. The Buyers’ Guide has In order to acquire those listings, brokers are obliged been created to keep this trend alive and put the fun to indulge the owners’ wildest dreams when it comes back into superyachting. to setting the asking price. My advice for a confidence booster for what all owners, buyers andReport sellerswe can do to ensure the At The Superyacht have examined our carefully INDUSTRY COMMENT to Comment on this article go to: market comesdata back everaisdetailed to investanalysis of researched instronger order tothan present Alev Karagulle, director of marketing and communications, www.THEsuperyachtowner.com time andsales resources into markets. 2012’s market. Byemerging comparing the recorded number of Burgess sales over 30m with their age, length and asking price, we At the beginning of the financial crisis, luxury trend can gain better insight into how the market performed as commentators were quick to pronounce the end of a whole, rather than simply looking at sales figures alone. superyachting, believing that the industry would come to a Due to confidentiality agreements, some of the sales have grinding halt. It’s true that the early stages of the recession been omitted; however, the figures still offer an intelligent created exceptionally challenging trading conditions, but overview of the market. once the reality of the adjusted marketplace took root, We also show their listing agents and top brokers have the superyacht industry has proven its resilience even in given us in-depth feedback on how 2012 progressed, the face of extreme economic turmoil. With pre-crunch suggesting how the market might perform this year. supply and demand fuelling over-inflated prices relegated to history, this is now a price-driven buyer’s market, with some very attractive opportunities. Sales have risen year on year since 2009, with only a marginal drop last year, although Burgess turned in an all-time record sales year in

ThE 2012 SUpERYaChT SalES MaRkET REVIEW

The yacht market thrives on hearsay. Sellers tend to place too much stock in the rare instances of yachts selling at or above their asking price, and let wishful thinking do the rest. There have been no such events in recent times. What will keep the market moving in the months to come? Realism. 2012 SalES Brokerage House

Number of Sales

Cumulative LOA (m)

Average LOA (m)

Cumulative Age

Burgess

917.98

45.90

191

Camper & Nicholsons

607.39

43.39

108

7.71

110.16

36.72

28.66*

Fraser

797.60

39.88

206

10.30

IYC

431.88

39.26

114

10.36

Merle Wood & associates

448.60

44.86

103

10.30

Moran

166.58

41.65

4.00

Northrop & Johnson

304.11

38.01

129

16.13

Ocean Independence

384.21

42.69

124

13.77

Edmiston

* Includes the sale of a 1954 build

This chart was originally featured in The Superyacht Report issue 142.

108

THE SUPERYACHT REPORT | ISSUE 142

Average Age (years) 9.55

aWlGRIp OpENS fOURTh TRaINING faCIlITY

BURGESS MaRINE aCqUIRES ShIp REpaIR faCIlITY

awlgrip is to open its fourth training facility. the Dutch facility will teach best practices in the preparation and application of awlgrip products and systems.

UK marine engineering and refit specialist Burgess Marine has acquired testbank Ship repair. the agreement will extend Burgess’ superyacht offering, said director Nick Warren.

2012, capturing almost 60 per cent of the brokerage sector over 55m. Of course, the context is important: price levels being achieved are indicative of a very tough market, with even the most experienced brokers requiring concerted acumen to close deals. The good news is that, despite a certain amount of hesitancy, there are still buyers with the appetite to go yachting, and serious sellers are more in tune with the new market dynamics. While order books at shipyards have also been impacted by the economic fallout, a recent return to confidence has spurred on a surge of new builds in the over 70m bracket (Burgess has five in progress, three of which are over 100m). Michael Payne, chief commercial officer, and Simon Goldsworthy, yacht broker, Camper & Nicholsons

Even the most optimistic of brokers would not claim that today’s secondhand yacht market is buoyant and, as such, those selling yachts continue to face a challenge. Early 2012 was steady in terms of sales, with the first quarter seeing the same number of yachts sold as the previous year’s first quarter, and the last quarter of 2012 seeing an increase in numbers, with a slight dip in the second and third quarters. Overall, the brokerage market was down 11 per cent in volume on the previous year and 25 per cent in value terms. This was largely attributed to continuing uncertainties in the EU economy. However, the third quarter was also affected by the run-up to the US elections. Autumn is usually a peak sales period as it follows the summer season when owners have been enjoying their yachts and are looking to upgrade for the following summer. This year, the uncertain outcome of the US elections had a significant impact.

Issue seven

NEWpORT ShIpYaRD INVESTS IN TRaVElIfT TO haUl laRGER YaChTS

flOaTING CharterlIfE & brokerage SuperyachtIndex.com aNNOUNCES NEW ChaRTER & BROkER MaNaGER

Newport Shipyard has upgraded its 300t lift to a 500t marine travelift in order to meet what the refit yard identifies as a demand among larger yachts.

Floating Life has appointed Elisabetta Colonna as its charter and broker manager. Ms Colonna has over 15 years’ experience in marketing gained in international companies.

The market continues to welcome excellent vessels for sale almost daily and remains oversupplied, but our brokers believe that buyers and sellers are finding more common ground and are more readily able to agree on sales prices than has been the case over the last few years. Our advice to sellers is that if they want their boat to sell, they have to price it competitively. A seller who selects a broker based on the promise of the highest price will not, in most cases, achieve a sale. Instead, their yacht will remain on the market for several years, costing them money and impacting on the yacht’s reputation as the price is forced down until it sells. When correctly priced, yachts are selling and it is down to the broker to advise wisely in the first instance. For the large part, buyers have stopped talking about distress deals and bank repossessions; they are now looking for more sincere value-driven deals and assurance that the yacht they are buying has been well maintained. At Camper & Nicholsons, the year has got off to a positive start, with enquiries coming in a lot earlier than expected. It is usually well into February before we get really busy, but this year we were dealing with a large number of offers and potential deals in January, which hopefully signals a successful spring. From a forecasting point of view, however, it is nigh on impossible to work out which periods will be more productive in terms of sales. Could 2013 be the year for a gradual but significant upturn in the market overall? Only time will tell. If there is an upturn, hopefully it will not be solely in terms of value, but will also impact the volume of yachts sold. There is a growing number of Asian HNWIs, although in terms of individual countries the US reigns supreme when it comes to

Highest Asking Price

Largest Yacht Sold

e66,750,000 (M/Y Sea Stallion (ex Smeralda), Hanseatic Marine)

77m (M/Y Sea Stallion (ex Smeralda), Hanseatic Marine)

e23,436,893 (M/Y VF-15, Christensen, JCa with Merle Wood)

59.8m (M/Y Blue Eyes London, CrN)

e5,950,000 (M/Y Istros, De Vries)

42.06m (M/Y Istros, De Vries)

e48,000,000 (M/Y FB255, Benetti)

60m (M/Y FB255, Benetti)

e26,517,020 (M/Y Four Aces, Benetti, JCa with Merle Wood)

56.08m (M/Y Four Aces, Benetti, JCa with Merle Wood)

e34,634,812 (M/Y Excellence III, abeking & rasmussen, JCa with Burgess)

57.3m (M/Y Excellence III, abeking & rasmussen, JCa with Burgess)

e43,493,013 (M/Y Project Stimulus, Palmer Johnson)

65.5m (M/Y Project Stimulus, Palmer Johnson)

e10,186,778 (M/Y Sovereign, Westport, JCa with Worth avenue Yachts)

43.28m (M/Y Kingfisher, Feadship, JCa with Burgess)

e37,610,000 (M/Y Harbour Island, Newcastle Marine, JCa with Worth avenue Yachts)

59.4m (M/Y Vicky, Baglietto)

THE SUPERYACHT REPORT | ISSUE 142

109

Issue seven

Business

– Words by Justin Ratcliffe

Benetti celebrates its 140th anniversary this year and has taken the occasion to re-evaluate its brand identity. Following market research, it has restyled its in-house magazine, revisited its website and launched a new marketing campaign under the tag line ‘Being Unique is an Art’.

“Every owner is unique,” reads the new ad, as we see over the shoulder of an anonymous owner into the interior of his pristine yacht. “Their world, their style and their success stories are unique. Which is why we like to listen to them, get to know them and build yachts that are as unique as they are.” Developed in consultation with the Lindbergh agency, the ad differs from others we have seen in one vital respect: it focuses on the owner, rather than the end product, and his experience of not just owning a yacht but also building it. The importance of this experience was reinforced during the 13th AzimutBenetti Yachtsmaster, the annual event that brings together the captains and crew for three days of seminars and social activities, which this year took place in Livorno from 26-28 February. The Yacht Ownership Lifecycle, presented during the opening session, is an ongoing process that begins with the build and continues through delivery, warranty and lifetime customer care, up to the sale of the yacht. Even then, the process does not necessarily come to an end and in the case of repeat clients will start all over again. “When it comes to custom superyachts, high build quality should be a given,” insists Corrado Del Fanti, communications manger for the Azimut-Benetti Group. “The build alone might last two or three years when the shipyard is in continuous contact with the owner, either directly or through his representative and captain. During this time the owner’s circumstances might change; a son or daughter might leave home or there might be a new addition to the family, for example. So from the owner’s point of view it’s not just about the product, but how you arrive at that product – the software rather than the hardware, if you like. We’ve realised that it’s all about the experience, and a positive build experience can make all the difference.” This realisation came about after the company took a long, hard look at the brand values that have put it at

the top of the global order book and seen Benetti launch close to 300 boats since 1873. Working with researchers from the University of Turin, a survey of owners, brokers and captains revealed that although Benetti enjoys high brand recognition, other aspects of its image were in need of updating in today’s ultra-competitive marketplace. Hence the three-year marketing and communications strategy is just one element of a campaign that will see a refreshed visual identity, a dense calendar of international events, new customer relations strategies, and social network activities on Facebook and Pinterest.

“Every owner is unique. Their world, their style and their success stories are unique. Which is why we like to listen to them, get to know them and build yachts that are as unique as they are.” Benetti yachts in the past have been easily identifiable. The soft, streamlined superstructures penned by Stefano Natucci were recognisable from a distance and brought valuable brand recognition. But such familiarity also meant the brand was rarely associated with innovation in terms of exterior styling. Then 65m Nataly came along and immediately changed the game. The masculine profile designed by RWD looked more north European than Italian and confounded our expectations. Benetti’s Design Innovation initiative, which

58 Issue seven

Business

“Historically, Benetti has built classically styled yachts, which have formed the basis of our brand equity,” But the downside of this is that visionary owners have been less likely to come to us for their next boat.” – Corrado Del Fanti aluminium Custom projects) contain the chapter titles The Art of Building Together, The Art of Italian Tradition, The Art of Building Excellence, The Art of Creating Unique Yachts, and so on. More specifically, the Custom book quotes the aspirations of owners who have chosen to build with Benetti. “I adore Italy and wanted my yacht to reflect this in the materials, in the architecture, in the excellence of the craftsmanship, in the advanced design and in the refined styling,” writes the owner of 59m Xanadu. “I wanted a yacht for long voyages that is permeated with the atmosphere and culture of the Orient and feng shui in particular,” says the owner of 52m Sai Ram. “A piece of the world that is all mine, in which tranquillity reigns and without any form of ostentation.” The message is that by listening to individual owners and interpreting their personalities, the famously flexible Italians are able to build yachts with and around their owners, not simply for them. The notions of tradition and family feeling – as important for most Benetti owners as the concept of uniqueness – have been visually retained in styling details such as the fashion plates on the recent concepts by designers such as Cor D. Rover and Marco Casali.

justin ratcliffe

presented multiple concept projects from 16 designers during the 2012 Monaco Yacht Show, reinforced this new direction and nested neatly with the current ad campaign. “Historically, Benetti has built classically styled yachts, which have formed the basis of our brand equity,” confirms Del Fanti. “But the downside of this is that visionary owners have been less likely to come to us for their next boat. Our new marketing strategy aims to redress the balance between tradition and innovation.” Communicating that message to the market has been the challenge facing Del Fanti and his colleagues. He talks of Above the Line (ATL) and Below the Line (BTL) communications. The former is basically advertising through the media, while the latter targets individual consumers on a one-to-one basis. The ‘Being Unique is an Art’ media campaign is an example of ATL promotion, whereas BE, the revamped in-house magazine, represents a more focused marketing strategy. The magazine also highlights another key aspect of the Benetti experience: building a boat in Italy. “This magazine is meant to highlight the very best of Italian lifestyle, culture and heritage,” writes Benetti CEO Vincenzo Poerio in his preface to the first issue. Between presentations of yacht projects both past and present, the articles within its pages take in a host of topics from silk weaving in Florence to interviews with iconic restaurateur Mario Stoppani, renowned perfumer Lorenzo Villoresi and garment designer Stefano Ricci. BE effectively takes the rather tired ‘Made in Italy’ slogan and adds a new dimension by celebrating Italian art and culture in general – the same ingredients that can make the owner’s experience of building a boat in Tuscany so different from anywhere else in the world. The Art theme is continued in two boutique catalogues that serve to explain the brand ethos to its clients. The hardback publications (one dedicated to the composite Class range and the other to the steel and

Above: Corrado Del Fanti, communications manager at Azimut-Benetti. Next page: A preliminary sketch for the new Benetti advert.

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60 Issue seven

Business

But they are also communicated in what marketing consultants refer to as ‘tone of voice’. Not so long ago, advertising campaigns were all about how a brand looked, which was articulated through graphic devices such as colour palettes, logos and typefaces. But as markets have become more competitive, the business value of tone of voice lies in speaking about a brand in a way that conveys its personality, which in turn makes it easier to build relationships with select consumers or clients. Automobile manufacturers were among the first to take this idea on board, but the more conservative yachtbuilding industry has been slow to catch on. “Benetti’s public perception is of a brand that it is refined yet also reserved and low key in nature,” claims Del Fanti, who has worked for Honda, Volvo and BMW in the past. “This image is perhaps best reflected in the sober personality of our CEO, Vincenzo Poerio. But it’s also transmitted in our tone of voice or brand language. I’ve always liked the expression ‘Money shouts, but wealth whispers’, and that is the message we want to put across.” Tone of voice is not just reserved for external use, but is also promoted internally. In a company that works on a daily basis with international teams of project managers, captains, consultants, brokers and suppliers, in addition to

“Benetti’s public perception is of a brand that it is refined yet also reserved and low key in nature. This image is perhaps best reflected in the sober personality of our CEO, Vincenzo Poerio.” – Corrado Del Fanti its regular Italian staff, English is the official language. To ensure these diverse stakeholders transmit the same brand message, a list of key words has been identified, including ‘bespoke’, ‘unique’ and ‘family feeling’ (interestingly, ‘luxury’ has been dropped from the lexicon). Moreover, to make sure its key subcontractors are educated into the same brand culture, 24 local companies referred to as PMIs (Piccole e Medie

Imprese) have been absorbed into the company where they can be trained and develop skill sets as a group known as the Benetti NET. Behind all this marketing jargon lies a broader issue that will probably affect the superyacht industry in years to come. “I believe that within the next twenty years there will be much more uniformity of products,” explains Del Fanti, “because technologies will be more widely shared and there will be far fewer shipyards, using the same pool of suppliers and designers.” In this scenario, he predicts that marque, signifying a premier brand, will become more important. Perhaps because of its exotic French origin and association with luxury cars, ‘marque’ is perceived as more up-market than the catch-all term ‘brand’, and this notion of exclusivity is conferred to the consumer. “When you buy a Ferrari, a BMW or a Mercedes, you’re making a statement about yourself as an individual. The same is true if you wear a Rolex or Patek Philippe watch. Or even no watch at all,” concludes Del Fanti, pulling up his sleeve to reveal a bare wrist.

for more information on benetti yachts, go to: www.THEsuperyachtowner.com

Issue seven

Design

Make no mistake – Words by Angela Audretsch

A custom superyacht is probably the ultimate in bespoke indulgence. For a new owner, designing your perfect yacht can be a steep learning curve; exciting, exhausting and, hopefully, fulfilling. If designing and building your first yacht goes well, it can be the start of many more builds as you strive to perfect your vision and create your ideal vessel. However, there are many potential pitfalls when designing a yacht that can quickly make the process less than enjoyable. Angela Audretsch asked some leading designers about things to take into consideration and common mistakes that owners can make in the process.

The designer It goes without saying that you and your designer will be in extremely close contact over the course of the design and build of your yacht. Choosing a designer whose style not only reflects what you want from your yacht, but is also someone you see eye to eye with in general is very important. “Respect goes a long way I think,” says Jonny Horsfield, owner and design director of H2 Yacht Design. “As a designer, if you have a good relationship with the owner, then you are willing to go above and beyond the call of duty for them.” Planning The key to making your first yacht a success is to work with the designer closely from the very start to clearly define the brief. “Often owners and clients do not spend enough time analysing their needs early on in the design process,” says designer Espen Øino, who has worked on some of the world’s largest and most iconic superyachts, such as Serene, Al Said and Skat. “This can cause them to redefine the brief halfway into the build process, thus creating unnecessary delays and additional costs.” It is not just about last-minute changes though. Understanding what you want and how you would use your yacht can also mean the difference between a yacht that you enjoy every inch of and one that has wasted space or superfluous features. Chartering a range of yachts in different sizes and styles before you begin designing is the ideal way to learn how you use a yacht and focus in on what you want. Taking a charter with your designer can also be valuable, letting them see first hand how you live on board. “Knowing what you want is crucial,” stresses superyacht owner and designer Riza Tansu.

Espen Øino

Jonny Horsfield

Expectations According to many designers, a lot of the problems that arise during the design and build of a new yacht stem from one common issue: unrealistic expectations from the outset. “A new owner can often come in with no idea of what to expect,” says Horsfield. “And because no one has managed their expectations before they come to the designer, their expectations of cost and time are rarely, if ever, met, which leads to unnecessary disappointment.” Managing your own expectations is key as it is likely that you will get a sugar-coated version of what to anticipate from those you initially make contact with in the industry. “The first contact clients have with people in the industry tends to be with people selling them the product,” says Horsfield. “The last thing brokers want to do is scare them with ‘horror’ stories of the realities of the work or money involved.” Forward thinking The temptation when designing your first yacht can be to focus solely on creating your perfect yacht. And why not? It is your money and your dream. But in the long term, the likelihood is that you will want to charter, trade up or sell one day. Considering the future charter potential and saleability of your yacht in the design phase can make things significantly easier when the time comes to market it to others. Rupert Mann of Rainsford Mann Design tells us that clients should see their yacht as an “investment project” and if they approach the design with charter and future sale in mind, it is possible to incorporate features that give it more universal appeal while still ensuring that their personal vision is not compromised too much.

Issue seven

Design

Over-involvement It is easy to get over-involved in the design process. With so many decisions to make and most decisions affecting the cost of the project, wanting to be involved in each choice, change and question is natural. “By and large, we welcome someone who is hands on and interested,” says Dickie Bannenberg of Bannenberg & Rowell. “But it can be a fine line when that interest is unable to distinguish the design wood from the trees, so to speak.” Being too involved can often be counter-productive and actually make the whole experience more stressful than necessary. “I think sometimes owners are slightly over-exposed to the project,” says Horsfield. “Often they think they want to be really involved but this means they get too caught up with the smaller issues that tend to arise when designing and eventually building their boat. It is my job to worry about them, and fix them.” Under-involvement Of course, there is also the flip side: not being available enough. Even without sweating the small stuff, designing a new build yacht requires a significant investment of time. “At the end of the day, there is a contract between you and the client,” says Horsfield. “There is a stipulation that if you issue some information to them, they are supposed to come back within a week or 10 days with approval.” The general rule of thumb is that if no reply is forthcoming within the agreed time, the designer will make a judgement call. “It can cause conflict,” he explains. “More often than not clients have a particular vision and their input is needed. You want to give them what they want but if they aren’t available enough then it is hard.”

Pinching the pennies Designing and building a superyacht is expensive and trying to keep the cost from getting out of control is an expected impulse. Although the cost of building the actual yacht can seem straightforward because it is generally all included in one price, designing can end up being an area you monitor the cost of more closely, particularly in terms of the interior. While the cost of the stainless-steel handrail the yard installs will not come into question as it does not show up on an itemised bill, the £500-per-metre pure silk carpet in the salon will. “It can end up being a bit of a ‘cut off your nose to spite your face’ situation,” says Horsfield. “A client will ask the designer to search high and low for the cheapest option, and maybe there is something cheaper, but I can’t think of a time when the cheaper alternative has been of the same quality.” In the long run, to save a few pennies in the short term on the build, you will end up spending more to replace the inferior quality interior fittings and furnishing over time than if you had just gone with the designer’s initial suggestion.

Riza Tansu

Dickie Bannenberg

Rupert Mann

Learn “When I was designing my first yacht, Troy Explorer, back in 1995, I tried to take into account the deficiencies and superfluities I had observed on yachts I had been on board as a guest,” Tansu recalls, explaining that ultimately every project is a learning experience that will enable you to refine your vision and streamline the process. “But observing as a guest and observing as the owner of a yacht are two very different things, so I tried to design my second vessel, CV70, with a great deal more experience and with better knowledge of what I wanted.” By his third yacht, Nomade, Tansu had significant experience as an owner and greater awareness of his needs. “This process continues to evolve,” he says. “Vixen, which I am currently designing for myself and my sons, will be even more developed that the first three vessels and will be just right for us.”

to Comment on this article go to: www.THEsuperyachtowner.com

With so many decisions to make and most decisions affecting the cost of the project, wanting to be involved in each choice, change and question is natural.

Over yonder way

â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Words by Esther Barney and images by Dana Jinkins, Rick Tomlinson and Rodney Waters

Owning four or five properties on different continents has become increasingly common for todayâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s affluent globetrotters. Often, this property portfolio includes homes in cosmopolitan hubs like London, Paris, LA or Hong Kong, whether it is for business or personal preference. But the emotional pull of owning an island, or the floating island that is a superyacht, often provides the greatest thrill possible when it comes to a real estate acquisition. Islands and superyachts each offer their owners a place of sanctuary, privacy, personal space and a unique way to enjoy quality family time.

66 Issue seven

Over yonder way

At The Superyacht Owner we are accustomed to discussing with owners their experiences of buying and building superyachts, but we are curious as to how acquiring a private island measures up to a superyacht purchase in terms of the hurdles and delights. In 2008, the Bosarge Family Office bought a largely undeveloped 72-acre island called Over Yonder Cay in the Bahamas’ Exuma Chain, around the same time as commissioning the 55m Vitters S/Y Marie (at the time, the family office already owned the 115ft sloop S/Y Tenacious, which is nowadays based mostly out of the Bahamas). Dr Bosarge had a strong vision for each of the projects and, five years later, he is enjoying them each with friends and family, as well as making them available to guests through charter. Marie, named for his wife, was built as a vessel that could comfortably cruise and fit in with the family’s lifestyle (including the salon’s Steinway piano, which was installed before the superstructure was put on) and explore the world, as well as be a contender at the Bucket Regatta level. Dr Bosarge recently returned from a family trip to the Pacific on Marie, where she was chartering for a number of months. Referring to Over Yonder Cay as his “large land yacht”, he originally conceived the island as a family retreat and an investment, with all the amenities you would expect from a first-class superyacht, as well as extensive land-based activities and a deep-water marina for vessels up to around 150ft. Dr Bosarge says of his instant attraction to the island: “It has undulating elevation, with the highest point in the Exumas where we have our central villa, at 66 feet. The privacy of having an island was a huge draw over other land-based properties, and the surrounding water is a constant reminder of the private and tropical location of the island. The Exuma Chain has deep water to the east in the Exuma Sound, which is famed for its fishing, and the Bahamas Bank extending out 20 miles to the west. The area we are situated in has a lot to see and do, but it still has privacy.”

The privacy of having an island was a huge draw over other land-based properties, and the surrounding water is a constant reminder of the private and tropical location of the island.

While demand for yacht construction has faltered over the past five years, the cost of buying undeveloped islands has increased, according to a source who has worked in both areas. There are only so many islands available to buy, and an increase in popularity – particularly in areas like Fiji and

Opening page: The recently developed 72-acre Over Yonder Cay in the Bahamas’ Exuma Chain. This page: (top) S/Y Marie was named after Dr Bosarge’s wife; (above) Dr Ed Bosarge heads skywards up Marie’s mast on a recent visit to New Zealand. Opposite: An aerial shot of Marie, a floating island in itself.

68 Issue seven

Over yonder way

the Exumas – has seen an increase in their price tag. The DuPont Registry lists many of the islands available around the globe, both developed and undeveloped. In the Exumas, for example, the undeveloped Goat Cay, a seven-acre island, is listed at less than $5 million, and 20-acre Robert Cay, also ripe for development, is for sale at $12 million. But it’s not the initial purchase of the islands that consumes the lion’s share of the budget. Remote locations, importation taxes on anything from food to floor tiles, and bringing in

outside skilled labour all add up to logistical and financial commitments many times that of the original purchase price (imagine building a 70m Feadship and you’re in the right ballpark). Dr Bosarge highlights an example of a fully developed island near Over Yonder Cay that is currently for sale: “Our neighbour, the 38-acre Little Pipe Cay, was developed over 11 years by Michael Dingman. It is considered one of the nicest islands in the Exumas, and it is now for sale on Knight Frank website for $85 million.” The investment into Over Yonder

Once islands are completed in development, they don’t tend to depreciate in value, because there are not many fully developed islands, particularly of a high standard, available for sale or for rent.

Issue seven

Over yonder way

This page: (left) Marie was built as a vessel that could comfortably cruise and fit in with the Bosarge family’s lifestyle, as well as a charter yacht; (below) The 115ft sloop Tenacious is nowadays based out of the Bahamas; Dr Bosarge refers to the private island Over Yonder Cay as a “large land yacht”. Next page: (from left to right) Over Yonder Cay runs on a hybrid renewable energy system to generate its own power; Life on board Marie is shared between the island for the couple; Marie has sailed extensively.

Cay is in the region of 200 per cent of the Houston property of the Bosarge Family Office, says Dr Bosarge: “We had 200 people working on the island for three years,” he explains. “And the costs of purchasing many items is multiplied by one-and-a-half times because of the duty on many, not to mention work permits for foreign the skilled workers. But we did make a decision to invest in green technology that both has less of an effect on the environment and has practical impacts on the way the island is run.” Unlike other islands that use diesel generators for power supply, Over Yonder Cay runs on a hybrid renewable energy system with three 100kW wind turbines and a 375kW solar field of 1.5 acres. Last year the island operated 96 per cent green energy. Tidal power is the next avenue the island is exploring. As the price of diesel continues to increase – even more so in remote locations like the Exumas – the cost of the fuel commonly exceeds $1

million per year for an island. After less than five years, says Dr Bosarge, the investment in the turbines and solar array makes financial as well as ecologically sense. “If your island is fuelled by fossil fuels, then you’ll have to shut down in 10 years’ time because you can’t afford the energy bills. That is one of the reasons that we have chosen our renewable energy sources, to future-proof the island,” he adds. He comments that there’s little he would have done differently with the development of Over Yonder Cay other than installing the nine-hole golf course and tennis court on the island sooner, as he was unaware of the research and development that has made such progress in synthetic turf so as to create a reliable and durable playing surface. The XGrass golf course is due for completion this summer. I ask how Dr Bosarge under what categories he considers the cost of the yachts and the island, and if the island falls into an ‘investment’ category. “Having owned lots of yachts over the years, I don’t consider them an investment. If they are classic, they maybe depreciate 10 to 15 per cent a year, if they are maintained properly. For contemporary motoryachts, second-hand and for sale, the day you take possession of that yacht, their value drops 40 per cent. Yachts in general are depreciating assets and they are quite demanding to maintain

70 Issue seven

Over yonder way

“The islands have been classed as some of the most beautiful on Earth by some particularly experienced travellers.” compared with islands, I think. Once islands are completed in development, they don’t tend to depreciate in value, because there are not many fully developed islands, particularly of a high standard, available for sale or for rent. This is the opposite of the situation with superyachts, where there is an oversupply to meet the demands.” If the ownership club of superyachts is small, then that of private islands is even more exclusive. Do owners have similar reasons for wanting their own hideaway in the Exumas, I ask. “Every owner up and down the Exuma Cays has a different motive for being here. Most people spend 10 years to develop their islands fully, and we have completed OYC in less than five. The previous owners of Musha Cay wanted to turn it into a world-class resort and when David Copperfield took over he continued to improve the island and made it a creative project as well as a real estate investment. I was surprised that the Aga Khan bought Bell Island in the Land and Sea Park with a reported development budget of $800 million. It’s a large island – about 400 acres – it’s a huge real estate development. But you

could never recoup that commercially.” The Exumas have become more of a hotspot for visitors and buyers of the islands in recent years. Over the last decade the Aga Khan, Tim McGrath and Faith Hill, Johnny Depp, David Copperfield, and numerous successful businessmen, have purchased islands less than 20 miles either side of Over Yonder Cay. And a growing number of regular visitors on superyachts are taking in the Exumas rather than spending all their time in the Caribbean further south. Dr Bosarge puts this down to the relative privacy of the archipelago, as well as the world-class diving and proximity to the US. “The islands have been classed as some of the most beautiful on Earth by some particularly experienced travellers,” he says. “When the first astronauts went into space and photographed Earth, they were asked where was the most beautiful place in the world. They said that it was a tie between the Exumas and the Society Islands. I have been to both with my family and I think that the Exumas is better by far. The visibility for diving is over 100ft in the Exumas, it’s not

fished out, there are lots of interesting attractions and the travel time is just so much easier from the US and Europe. You can easily go to the Exumas for a long weekend jaunt without even thinking about it. I have heard that the Exumas are being used more in July and August now than in January, which was historically the other way around, and this is because the South Florida residents are looking to escape the crowding in Miami and they can get here on their yachts in a day.” Undoubtedly yachts and islands have many commonalities, but rather than being opposing strategies to get away from the bustle of everyday life and stresses, Dr Bosarge proves that they can be complementary. To develop and island or to construct a superyacht takes patience and vision, and the financial commitment is significant, but the rewards go beyond anything that can be picked off a shelf. That is surely the most bespoke gift to oneself of all.

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Issue seven 73

The directory

THE PARTNERSâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; DIRECTORY The Superyacht Owner is supported by an exclusive list of partners comprising some of the best companies in the business, including shipyards, brokerage houses, management companies, lawyers, financial advisors, manning and training companies, specialist technology providers and other specialist service companies. They have been invited to be part of The Superyacht Owner based on their experience, knowledge and quality of product or service. They will be able to promote their services, yachts and products exclusively to our audience, both in print and online and where relevant, will be consulted on ownership issues and invited to contribute to the website

AVIATION FAI rent-a-jet AG

More than 25 years in business without accident, FAI is operating a fleet of 20 jets, representing one of EuropeÂ´s largest fleet of business jets. FAI is offering travel solutions from small cabin Learjet 40XR up to ultra long range wide body Global Express. FAI is operating worldwide out of a company owned ultra modern and carbon neutral 6,000 sqm FBO in Nuremberg, Germany. CONTACTS Dr. Siegfried Axtmann Chairman Direct line: +49 (0) 911 36009-11 Mobile: +49 (0) 172 81 01 770 Email: siegfried.axtmann@fai.ag Andrea Dippacher CFO Direct line: +49 (0) 911 36009-45 Mobile: +49 (0) 172 30 66 099 Email: andrea.dippacher@fai.ag Petra Polster PA to Chairman Direct line: +49 (0) 911 36009-13 Mobile: +49 (0) 176 1 36 00 913 Email: petra.polster@fai.ag Flughafenstrasse 100 90411 Nuremberg GERMANY Tel +49 (0) 911 36009-0 Faxx +49 (0) 911 36009-59 Website: www.rent-a-jet.de

BROKERAGE, CHARTER AND YACHT MANAGEMENT DUBOIS Dubois, founded in 1977, has been at the centre of world yacht design for many years. Renowned for our design expertise, we also specialise in the charter, sale and purchase of Duboisdesigned yachts. CONTACTS Ed Dubois Director Direct Line: +44 (0)1590 626 666 Email: eddubois@duboisdesign.com Toby Walker Managing Director Direct line: +44 (0)1590 626 688 Email: tobywalker@duboisyachts.com Roxanne Hughes PR and Marketing Direct line: +44 (0)1590 626 666 Email: roxannehughes@duboisyachts.com Dubois, Beck Farm, Sowley Lymington, Hampshire SO41 5SR United Kingdom TEL +44 (0) 1590 626666 / +44 (0) 1590 626688 FAX +44 (0) 1590 626 696 www.duboisyachts.com

and magazine on a variety of topics. The editors of The Superyacht Owner will manage and maintain the quality and integrity of the content, to ensure that our VIP private audience will receive the highest quality of information and insight. We feel that by managing the number and quality of partners, we will deliver a pure and clear environment for the reader and the partner. For more information on how to become a partner contact Martin H. Redmayne: Editor, The Superyacht Owner Email: martin@thesuperyachtowner.com

CREW MANAGEMENT

INSURANCE

VIKING RECRUITMENT

R&Q Marine Services

Viking is the leading large yacht recruitment specialists providing full crew management functions including offshore employment and payroll, crew scheduling and administration, pre-employment medical screening, organisation of STCW and nonstatutory training requirements, yacht officer training programmes, specialist marine travel services and are fully authorised and accredited for the provision of Filipino seafarers.

R&Q Marine Services has the knowledge, expertise, innovation and commitment to deliver. Our specialist teams provide insurance across a range of business lines. We insure some of the largest and most recognisable superyachts in the world and are known globally for our professionalism, integrity, innovation and service. Our products include Yachtsure24, Yachtsure and Racecover.

CONTACTS Dieter Jaenicke Chairman and founder Email: dieterj@vikingrecruitment.com Matthew Jaenicke Managing director Email: matthewj@vikingrecruitment.com Mark Jaenicke Recruitment director Email: markj@vikingrecruitment.com Viking House, Beechwood Business Menzies Road, Dover Kent CT16 2FG, United Kingdom TEL +44 (0)300 303 8191 FAX +44 (0)130 482 7710 www.vikingrecruitment.com

CONTACTS Paul Miller Director of Underwriting Email: paul.miller@rqih.com Matt Halpin Assistant Underwriter Direct line: +44(0)207 977 0915 Email: matthew.halpin@rqih.com Annabelle Oakley Underwriter Direct line: +44(0)207 977 0918 Email: annabelle.oakley@rqih.com 5thFloor, 130 Fenchurch Street, London EC3M 5DJ, UK TEL + 44(0)207 977 0910 FAX +44(0)207 283 9872 www.rqih.com

Continued overleaf

74 Issue seven

The directory

INTERIOR /EXTERIOR DESIGN

marinas

H2 YACHT DESIGN

CAMPER & NICHOLSONS MARINAS INTERNATIONAL LTD

Here at H2 Yacht Design we build partnerships with our clients, bringing the owner into the design process as much or as little as they prefer. Many of our clients feel extremely proud that they may have contributed in the design process, often getting involved much more than they may have expected. We actually encourage this! CONTACTS Jonny Horsfield Owner & Designer Direct line: +44 20 8788 5008 Mobile: +44 77 6877 4608 Email: info@h2yachtdesign.com Neil Lawson-Smith Business Manager Direct line: +44 20 8788 5008 Mobile: +44 7771 602772 Email: neil@h2yachtdesign.com James Bermudez Design Director Direct line +44 20 8788 5008 Mobile: +44 79 7967 4632 Email: james.bermudez@ h2yachtdesign.com 8 Princeton Court, 53-55 Felsham Road, London SW15 1AZ, UK TEL +44 20 8788 5008 FAX +44 20 8788 8043 www.h2yachtdesign.com

C&N Marinas owns and operates superyacht marinas in the Mediterranean, Caribbean and Middle East, with further expansion planned in China and the Far East. They have more than 40 years’ experience in marina and waterfront development and are specialists in the technical, financial and legal aspects of superyacht berthing, including berth ownership. CONTACTS Nick Maris CEO Direct line: +44 (0)20 3405 3210 Mobile: +44 (0)7709 777000 Email: nick.maris@cnmarinas.com James Beaver Chief Operating Officer Direct line: +44 (0)20 3405 3212 Mobile: +44 (0)7786 830820 Email: james.beaver@cnmarinas.com Kurt Fraser Sales & Marketing Director Direct Line: +44 (0)20 3405 3219 Mobile: +44 (0)7808 772644 E-mail: kurt.fraser@cnmarinas.com Richmond Place, 15 Petersham Road, Richmond, Surrey, TW10 6TP, UK TEL +44 (0)20 3405 1782 FAX +44 (0)20 3405 3229 www.cnmarinas.com

Marina Port Vell

Marina Port Vell, Barcelona, is undergoing a transformation to deliver a prime superyacht destination catering to yachts up to 180m. The marina will remain functional during works with spectacular results, the unveiling of a superb superyacht marina with world-class services in the heart of a world-class city. CONTACTS Norma Trease Director of Salamanca Marine Direct line: +1 954 478 7448 or +33(0)6 85 61 60 65 Mobile: +44 7739 325 675 Email: NET@salamanca-group.com Anella Alcott Commercial Director Direct line: +34 93 484 23 04 Mobile: +34 609 028 628 Email: aalcott@marinaportvell.com Gabriel de Sandoval General Manager Direct line: +34 93 484 23 00 Carrer Escar 26, 08039 Barcelona Spain TEL +34 93 484 23 00 FAX +34 93 484 23 33 www.marinaportvell.com

LAWYERS Area of expertise – superyacht law. Whether you are looking to build, buy, sell or own a yacht, our specialist lawyers provide advise at any stage in the process – from financing a yacht and drafting contracts, to specifying design and build requirements, safety and operational considerations. Clyde & Co is a leading international law firm with over 1,300 lawyers operating from 30 offices offering clients support across all major jurisdictions. CONTACTS John Leonida Partner Direct line: +44 (0) 20 7876 4875 Mobile: +44 (0) 7793 834 438 Email: John.Leonida@clydeco.com Anna Wilkins Senior Associate Direct line: +44 (0) 20 7876 4910 Mobile: +44 (0) 7703 748 026 Email: Anna.Wilkins@clydeco.com Giovanna Cabbia Associate Direct line: +44 (0) 20 7876 4856 Mobile: +44 (0) 7595 214 611 Email: Giovanna.Cabbia@clydeco.com Carmen Martinez Associate Direct line: +44 (0) 20 7876 4878 Mobile: +44 (0) 7725 683 561 Email: Carmen.Martinez@clydeco.com The St Botolph Building, 138 Houndsditch, London, EC3A 7AR, UK TEL +44 (0) 20 7876 5000 FAX +44 (0) 20 7876 5111 info@clydeco.com www.clydeco.com www.guidetosuperyachtlaw.com

AMELS AMELS, the unique yacht building member of the Dutch family-owned DAMEN Shipyards Group. The highly successful premium semi-custom Limited Editions range now consists of the AMELS 180, 199, 212 and 242. AMELS, renowned for custom and Limited Editions yachts also performs refits to the same high standards as its new builds. CONTACTS Rob Luijendijk Managing Director Direct line: +31 118 485 002 Email: info@amels-holland.com Johan Kaasjager Sales Manager Direct line: +31 118 485046 Mobile: +31 630721162 Email: j.kaasjager@amels-holland.com Koningsweg 2, 4381 NA Vlissingen, The Netherlands TEL +31 118 485046 FAX +31 118 482579 www.amels-holland.com

BENETTI YACHTS

Yacht Design

clyde & co

SHIPYARD – NEW BUILD

SECURITY Christophe Harbour, St. Kitts

The Christophe Harbour resort features elegant residences, resort hotels and exceptional amenities, including a superyacht marina, village and beachside pavilion on St. Kitts in the Eastern Caribbean. Ownership opportunities include hillside and waterfront residences and alongside berths in the superyacht marina. Christophe Harbour is an approved project of the St. Kitts and Nevis Citizenship by Investment program. CONTACTS Bill Lee Chief Operations Officer Direct line: +1 869-466-4557 Mobile: +1 869-762-5414 Email: Bill_Lee@ChristopheHarbour.com Thomas Liepman Director of Sales Direct line: +1 869-466-8737 Mobile: +1 869-762-0010 Email: Thomas_Liepman@ ChristopheHarbour.com Katherine Verano Director of Marketing Direct line: +1843-768-5221 Mobile: +1 843-817-0566 Email: Katherine_Verano@ ChristopheHarbour.com Post Office Box 2131 Building 5, Unit RS 201 Basseterre, St. Kitts, West Indies TEL +1 869-466-4557 FAX +1 869-465-6431 www.ChristopheHarbour.com

SPECIAL PROJECTS AND SERVICES LIMITED SPS high net worth security services are specifically tailored to your individual requirements, adhering to current legislation, international law and best practices. Having been established since 1991 we have the experience and the professional expertise to look after you and your assets on land and at sea. CONTACTS Simon Barlow Security Manager Direct line: +44(0) 1432 760179 Mobile: +44(0) 7776 140975 Email: sb@sps-global.com Julie Young Operations Director Direct line: +44(0) 1432 760179 Mobile: +44(0) 7796270253 Email: jy@sps-global.com PO Box 282, Hereford, HR4 7YT, UK TEL +44(0) 1432 760179 FAX +44(0) 1432 769224 www.sps-global.com

Founded in 1873, Benetti is the oldest Italian yard building luxury motor yachts. Benetti designs, builds and sells two product lines: Class Range – composite yachts from 93 to 145 feet; Custom – steel and aluminum yachts over 47 meters. Every yacht is unique and crafted around her owner’s needs: the key point of difference for Benetti is a unique ability to listen, to interpret and to fully satisfy owner’s wishes, offering an incomparable “building experience” before, during and after every launch. Benetti is part of the Azimut/Benetti Group, the world’s largest private capital group in the nautical luxury market. CONTACTS Corrado Del Fanti Communication manager Direct Line: +39 0584 382399 Mobile: +39 348 7203601 E-mail: Corrado.DelFanti@ benettiyachts.it Via M. Coppino, 104 - 55049 Viareggio (Lucca) - ITALY Tel +39 0584 3821 Fax +39 0584 396232 http://www.benettiyachts.it

Issue seven

The directory

BURGER BOAT COMPANY

HEESEN

LÜRSSEN

Burger Boat Company designs and builds custom yachts in aluminum and/or steel, ranging in sizes to 200 feet (60m). Since 1863, Burger has been recognised internationally for design, quality construction, seaworthiness and reliability, and is the most respected custom yacht builder in America. Sales offices are located at Burger’s headquarters in Manitowoc, Wisconsin; and Fort Lauderdale, Florida.

Over the past 30 years we have designed, built and delivered well over 150 yachts. Many of them award winning. No two of them alike. All of them delivered on time. Meticulous attention to detail and expertise at every level of build result in better performance and greater luxury.

Based in Germany, Lürssen is the leading shipyard for large luxury yacht building. The combination of constant innovation over the past 135 years, the high quality of the work, the dedicated work force, its discretion, and especially the close interaction with the client, are highly valued by its customers. Lürssen is a total facility shipbuilder, complete with sales, engineering, design, construction and logistical teams, plus a full training service. CONTACTS Michael Breman Sales Director Direct line: +49 421 6604 161 Email: yachts@lurssen.com Zum Alten Speicher 11 28759 Bremen, Germany TEL +49 421 6604 166 FAX +49 421 6604 170 www.lurssen.com

CONTACTS Ron Cleveringa Vice President Sales and Marketing Direct line: +1 920-686-5117 Mobile: +1 920-860-9985 Email: rcleveringa@burgerboat.com John Todd Sales Manager, Yacht Brokerage Office: +1 (954) 463-1400 Mobile: +1 (561) 329-0850 Email: johntodd@burgerboat.com

CONTACTS Mark Cavendish Sales Director Mobile: +44 7531 533554 Email: mcavendish@heesenyachts.nl Fabio Ermetto Director, Sales and Marketing Mobile: +31 6 53 34 04 03 Email: fermetto@heesenyachts.nl Rijnstraat 2, 5347 KL Oss The Netherlands TEL +31 (0)412 66 55 44 FAX +31 (0)412 66 55 66 www.heesenyachts.nl

Julien Elfenbein Yacht Broker Office: +1 (954) 463-1400 Mobile: +1 (954) 647-7486 Email: jelfenbein@burgerboat.com 1811 Spring Street Manitowoc, WI 54220, USA TEL +1 920-686-5117 FAX +1 920-686-5144 www.burgerboat.com

Fincantieri Yachts With a great network, Fincantieri is one of the most experienced and diversified shipbuilders in the world. Fincantieri Yachts is an autonomous business unit, focused on designing and building first-class luxury yachts over 70 metres, based at Muggiano, La Spezia. With a dedicated design department, Muggiano Yard boasts a reputation for excellence in high-tech and highquality vessels proved with the 134m M/Y Serene delivered on last July 2011 and the 140m Victory by Espen Oeino currently under construction. Fincantieri Yachts continuously develops technologically advanced concept designs in cooperation with the most prominent yacht exterior designers. CONTACTS Claudio Galbo Head of Corporate Image Tel: +39 040 319 2493 Email: fincantieriyachts@fincantieri.it Viale San Bartolomeo 446 19126 Muggiano, La Spezia TEL +39 0187 543 238 FAX +39 0187 543 23 9 www.fincantieriyachts.com

oceanco

Horizon Yacht Co., Ltd For over 25 years, the Horizon Group has defined, perfected and consistently exceeded the standards for design and craftsmanship with its range of 46 to 160-foot luxury motor yachts. As one of the ten largest yacht builders in the world, Horizon focuses on eight specialized series, each unique in style and function, and each designed and built to the highest standards to suit every customer’s individual yachting lifestyle. CONTACTS Name: Joanna Yang Job Title: Marketing Specialist Direct Line:+886-7-807-1440 Mobile: +886-9-52218277 E-mail: joannay@horizonyacht.com Name: Michelle Huang Job Title: Marketing Specialist Direct Line: +886-7-807-1440 E-mail: michelle@horizonyacht.com No.3, Yeong Kuang St., Hsiao Kang, Kaohsiung, 81260 Taiwan. Tel +886-7-807-1440 Fax +886-7-801-8045 www.horizonyacht.com

Since its inception in 1989, Ocenaco has earned a worldwide reputation of building the most sophisticated superyachts to the highest standards of technological achievement and safety. Oceanco had unique qualifications and resources to build the largest and most complex luxury private yachts to meet the market’s demands. CONTACTS Marcel Onkenhout CEO Direct line: +31 78 699 5399 Email: marcelo@oceanco.nl Dirk de Jong Design Projects and R&D Manager Direct line: +31 78 699 5399 Email: dirkj@oceanco.nl Michele Flandin Marketing Manager Direct line: +377 93 10 02 81 Mobile: +33 6 80 86 27 09 Email: info@oceanco.mc Zuiderstek 40, Alblasserdam 2952 AZ, Netherlands TEL +31 78 6995399 FAX +31 78 6995398 www.oceancoyacht.com

sunrise yachts

Sunrise Yachts specialises in the engineering and construction of luxury motor yachts in the 40m to 70m range in collaboration with leading designers such as Espen Oeino. The Sunrise Yachts shipyard is one of the largest and most modern in the Mediterranean, featuring a laboratorystyle paint hall and a full in-house engineering office. CONTACTS Jean-Claude Carme Vice President, Sales and Marketing Direct line: +33 6 8998 8983 Mobile: +33 6 8998 8983 Serbest Bolgasi, F Adasi, 07070 Antalya, Turkey TEL: +90 (242) 259 55 30-35 FAX: +90 (242) 259 52 85 www.sunriseyachts.com

SHIPYARD – REFIT AMICO AND CO

Amico & Co is the leading company in Europe for mega yachts refit and repair. The shipyard employs facilities and technologies among the most advanced, combining them with the provision of high-quality services and Ligurian traditional professionalism in the field, which has been always considered as a major value in the Mediterranean area. CONTACTS Alberto Amico Managing director Tel: +39 010.2470067 Fax: +39 010.2470552 Email: alessia.giacobbe@amicoshipyard.com Franco Cattai Senior project manager Tel: +39 010.2470067 Fax: +39 010.2470552 Email: franco.cattai@amicoshipyard.com Filippo Censi Buffarini Technical & customer care manager Tel: +39 010.2470067 Fax: +39 010.2470552 Email: filippo.censi@amicoshipyard.com Via dei Pescatori, Genova, 16128, Italy Tel +39 (0) 10 247 0069 Fax +39 (0) 10 247 0552 www.amicoshipyard.com

76 Issue seven

The directoy

YACHT MANAGEMENT DÖHLE PRIVATE CLIENTS LIMITED

Döhle Private Clients Limited provides a range of services specifically designed for those involved in the large yacht industry. These services help owners and their representatives, captains and management companies run their yachts as smoothly and efficiently as possible. These services include corporate, compliance and technical support, registration and administration, crew recruitment, employment and payroll services. CONTACTS Robert Tobin Director Direct line: +44 1624 653 050 Email: info@dohle-yachts.com Clive Harrison Operations Manager Direct line: +44 1624 653 050 Email: info@dohle-yachts.com Sally Aston Yacht Crew Recruitment Manager Direct line: +44 1624 653050 Email: info@dohle-yachts.com Fort Anne, South Quay Douglas, Isle of Man IM1 5PD, UK TEL +44 1624 653050 FAX +44 1624 653097 www.dohle-yachts.com

Wright Maritime Group LLC

Wright Maritime Group is the trusted leader in owner representation. WMG’s technical expertise combines to provide unparalleled service in yacht operations management, crew employment, yacht financial management and new yacht construction development and oversight. WMG has more than 500 years of operational and financial expertise within its world-renowned staff. Contacts Michael Hand Direct line: +1 954 523 0300 Mobile: +1 954 205 0014 Email: mh-wmg@wrightmaritime.com Lander ‘Bud’ Carn Direct line: +1 954 523 0300 Mobile: +1 954 328 1331 Email: bc-wmg@wrightmaritime.com AJ Anderson Direct Line: +1.954.523.0300 Mobile: +1.954.383.3636 Email: aa-wmg@wrightmaritime.com 800 South Andrews Avenue, Suite 200, Fort Lauderdale, Florida 33316 United States Tel: +1 954 523 0300 Fax: +1 954 523 2533 www.wrightmaritime.com

For more information on how to become a partner, contact: Martin H. Redmayne, Editor, The Superyacht Owner Email: martin@thesuperyachtowner.com

Issue seven

The aft deck

THE AFT DE CK

A conversation Located a kilometre above sea level, Gstaad Yacht Club’s more than 400 members belong to one of the rarest sailing communities on Earth. For starters, the club is nowhere near the sea and all members are either Swiss nationals who live in Gstaad or elsewhere in the country, or foreigners who keep a residence in the village. To join, candidates must demonstrate they have a connection with both the sea and the mountain culture of Switzerland. On a visit this winter to the snowy alpine village, I stopped in for lunch and a chat with George nicholson, who also helped found the club 15 years ago.

George Nicholson is a raconteur, a yachtsman, gentleman and a visionary who, since the 1960s, has been at the heart of what has become the global superyacht market. He is a broker by trade, though now he is truly an ambassador for luxury yachting, and not least a source of tremendous anecdotes about boats and people. Since its beginnings Nicholson has piloted the ship of superyacht brokerage, entertaining countless ultra-wealthy and ultra-powerful clients, endearing them to consider the lifestyle. Nicholson formed Camper & Nicholsons International, on behalf of Camper & Nicholsons Ltd. UK, in 1961 at the age of 24. Now Non-Executive Chairman, his visionary expertise still resides over Camper & Nicholsons, as it does at the Gstaad Yacht Club in Gstaad, Switzerland, which he co-founded 15 years ago.

On motor versus sail yachting You would think that with the environmental problems we’ve got, the cost of fuel, and everybody banging on about pollution, that more people would buy sailing boats because of the image. When I started in this business, the public who used to walk around the harbours, especially in Monte Carlo in the 1960s where most of the big yachts really were, had their own ideas about sail versus motoryacht owners. I remember once, a load of people had disembarked a coach in Monte Carlo and in front of them was the beautiful sailing boat Creole, and a beautiful motor yacht Christina. I was standing near this crowd of onlookers, and heard them postulating as to the identities of the owners. Regardless of who the owners actually were – and I knew them both – the public very clearly believed that the

owner of the motoryacht was a crook and the owner of the sailing yacht was a good chap! I think that impression still exists today. But when it comes to new clients buying a yacht, the perception is that sailing yachts need a large, skilled crew, and that it’s easier to find a crew for a motoryacht. I think that’s been the main driver over the years of the discrepancy in types of yacht built. It’s also a matter that length for length, the volume and comfort in a motoryacht is considerably more than that of a sailing yacht. Owners who don’t have any true, practical knowledge of sailing automatically think that sailing boats are a problem and motoryachts are not. But some of these huge gorgeous sailing yachts are a marvel. Just look at St.Barths or the Centenary Cup. What a spectacle and what a great time.

78 Issue seven

On Chinese clients I don’t have a lot of experience with the Chinese, but I do speak with a lot of people in yachting who have been to China and returned a number of times, and of course I read the business press, so I can reflect what I feel has been the consensus from my personal point of view. If you look at the superyacht industry and the transfer of technology from the old, Western countries to the new, Eastern countries like China, I am quite sure of one thing: Pure custom building of any size will probably remain a European and North American thing. Any production boat, when the numbers exceed say 50 a year, will migrate slowly towards China and South-East Asia, as they transfer the technology and train a local workforce. But the Chinese so far don’t know yachting as we seem to know it: as something to do for a week or two vacation or for a weekend with friends and family. But Hainan has offered the tax break for yachts imported and kept there and the Chinese are building marinas – though they’re empty at the moment. I had lunch recently with a French gentleman who has bought a Selene trawler yacht in China and spends a fair amount of time there and he told me that Europeans don’t understand the Chinese mentality for the most part. If we want to fill the marinas and berths in front of the apartments and houses that have been built for that purpose, we have to completely redesign the yachts so that they appeal to the Chinese sensibilities. He suggested that aft-deck entertaining with large video screens would be popular… it’s just a different kind of showingoff, really, from the kind you see in St.Tropez or Nice. But it won’t be difficult once we get that right. Yachts are exclusive and when the appetite is whet, very desirable assets to own or charter, no matter where one hails from.

Juerg Kaufmann

The aft deck

On his early clients Until it becomes easier to borrow money and people are confident enough that their businesses and incomes are assured, the new-build market will remain soft. There are exceptions: some of the Russians of course, and perhaps a third generation of Arab oil wealth – though the Arab Spring has changed their attitudes on spending large sums of money on yachts. In the 1970s and ’80s, most of the wealthy Arab oil families built and bought themselves nice yachts – I personally was a major beneficiary of that first wave of boat building. I don’t know if I can claim any responsibility for the first rush, but I do remember reaching the emir of Qatar at that time, Sheikh Khalifa bin Hamad Al Thani, who was to become one of the first people to build a yacht at CRN. I’d seen on the front page of the Nice morning newspaper a photograph of the emir

coming ashore from an old Benetti in the harbour. So, I went to his hotel and told the concierge I had an appointment with the emir, which I didn’t, and they directed me to his suite. I knocked on the door, and after some explaining, was allowed in. Through an interpreter, the emir and I talked yachts and eventually, I ended up with the order. I think what got him in the end was a point I made about the importance of keeping face in his culture. I pointed out that if he visited Saudi Arabia – a larger, richer country in those days – in his yacht, and the King of Saudi Arabia were to visit him, he would effectively be stepping aboard Qatari property, though in Saudi waters. Neither gentleman would lose face in that scenario. I don’t think they ever used the yacht in that capacity, but I’m sure that was what sealed the deal.

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A modest proposal One thing this industry needs – and I discussed this years ago with various publishers, including (The Superyacht Owner publisher) Martin Redmayne – is an objective yacht reviewing publication. The suggestion I’m sure would infuriate the shipyards, but look: Jeremy Clarkson from Top Gear says the most outrageous things from time to time and gets away with it, and he has a huge following. But, of course, most yachts aren’t sold in volume, so the only review that matters is that of the owner and captain. Most of the superyachts today are amazing products. I’ve quoted Jon Bannenberg over and over again on this subject: He always said that every custom yacht is a prototype. The shipyards are amazing; the subcontractors and all the artisans and workers involved are amazing, because nine times out of 10, they get it right first time. It’s the marine equivalent of building a prototype Boeing 747 – without all the financial power and R&D that the aircraft industry can call upon. But I’ve really never read an honest review, which points out what hasn’t worked. I think that would be interesting, and good for the industry.

“In the 1970s and ’80s, most of the wealthy Arab oil families built and bought themselves nice yachts – I personally was a major beneficiary of that first wave of boat building.” – George nicholson

This page: The yachts in action on the water during the 2012 Centenary Cup.

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The America’s Cup story In the middle of the 19th century, the London jewelers, Garrard, manufactured three nearly identical ewers as far as we understand, of which one was gifted to the Royal Yacht Squadron as the 100 Guinea Cup in 1851. Ted Turner acquired the second one somehow or other and still has it. The third, we have. “The trophy, not actually a cup, but an enormous vase-shaped silver pitcher with a handle on one side and a spout on the other, had been made in 1856 – after the actual America’s Cup had already been won by the New York Yacht Club – and found its way to Cairo.” From what we now know, it was given as some sort of an award, we think by an ancestor of Earl Mountbatten, to a civil servant or government employee in Cairo for services rendered. That individual was of Lebanese or Palestinian origin and after 1956, that family and their possessions returned to Lebanon and the ewer became a family heirloom. Fast-forward to 1996. The ewer had, by succession, ended up the property of a Lebanese lady married to a Syrian banker, living in Geneva. They used to come with their small children here to Gstaad to ski at the weekends. One day, they asked to see the yacht club. They looked around and as our then-manager showed them our trophies, they said, ‘this is where our cup should be.’ When he asked what trophy they were thinking of, they explained that they owned a replica of the America’s Cup. Of course, we were very interested in learning more. I was commodore then, so met with them the following weekend. They brought with them a file including an authenticating letter from Garrard. After we looked through everything, they asked if we’d like to keep and display it. I said, ‘we certainly would!’ The only condition was that the club insure the cup, so we had it valued, for £70,000. Every winter we have an event where a famous sailor will come and give a talk. Brad Butterworth (America’s cup-winning skipper with the Swiss team Alinghi), came to speak. We had 50 or 60 members and guests here, including Ernersto Bertarelli (main sponsor of team Alinghi). Brad told the audience that we were the most intelligent club he’d ever encountered in yachting. ‘This club doesn’t run around looking for good sailors and sponsors, raising money, designing and building boats and then going through qualifications, eliminations and finally go to win the America’s Cup. They just have it!’

“This club doesn’t run around looking for good sailors and sponsors, raising money, designing and building boats and then going through qualifications, eliminations and finally go to win the America’s Cup. They just have it!” Our comment: Don Hoyt Gorman George Nicholson’s sense of beauty, fun, classic lines and value in big sailing sport is epitomised by the Gstaad Yacht Club’s Centenary Trophy races, which are entering their third year at Les Voiles de Saint-Tropez this autumn. The races for the trophy – which itself is more than 100 years old was discovered by George in London – is open to all classic yachts more than 100 years old. The races are a celebration of seamanship, gentlemanly sport and the best kind of maritime tradition. Last year, Marigold, an 1892 Camper & Nicholson’s cutter that still flies cotton sails – chartered by George – won it. This year’s event will be held on Thursday, 3 October, at Les Voiles de Saint-Tropez.

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