Superyachts like these (lined up at the Fort Lauderdale show) are a great investment right now, argues Bob Saxon.

And it’s telling them to stop watching the gut-wrenching machinations of global stock markets. Instead, IYC’s president says, investors should look to the world of yachting as a safe and stable place to park their cash.

“Given the remarkable ride on Wall Street of late,” IYC President Bob Saxon states, “and watching with a certain kind of amazed fascination the political gamesmanship over the deficit and debt ceiling, I’m encouraging our team to suggest to prospective yacht and charter owners that there is perhaps no better hedge against economic uncertainty than a yacht.”

The advice implies that Saxon believes yachting’s corner of the recession, as it were, has hit bottom. His statement comes after nearly three full years of global economic shrinkage during which yacht owners have watched the value of their boats plummet by millions of dollars and charter clients have been able to get discounts as high as 50 percent.

As Saxon reads the current tea leaves, those things may have been bad economically for the past, but they’re good economically for the future. And anybody who buys back into the yachting industry now is not only positioned to do well financially, but also will be doing right by a world whose citizens are so desperately in need of jobs.

“Pent-up demand for yachts and yachting amongst our demographic has never been higher,” he states. “Gone is the perceived ‘embarrassment of affluence’ of 2008 and 2009. In its place is the understanding that owning a yacht puts an entire industry to work. Chartering yachts is a good, strong business and offers those able to afford it seclusion and elegance and a private way to enjoy hard-earned wealth.”

It certainly does sound much more pleasant to think about vacationing aboard a megayacht as an economic bulwark, as opposed to ruminating over the bailouts of entire banking systems and nations. Saxon bangs that point home with the certitude of the most ardent Republican candidate giving a stump speech in Iowa or New Hampshire.

“Doing business with the large-yacht industry works a whole lot better than wondering what next steps governments might take to ensure fiscal prudence,” he states. “Rest assured the entire team at International Yacht Collection is here to facilitate the re-emergence of yachts and trickle-down economics.”

A dollar for yachting is a vote for prosperity. I can see the T-shirts already. Red, white, and blue, with a fancy lining of silky green.

The yacht Super is now available for charter out of Puerto Los Cabos.

Now Puerto Los Cabos owner Eduardo Sanchez Navarro is offering a new way to explore the Sea of Cortez: Super is a 100 ft Jumbo built by Azimut, and she’s available for charter by the hour, day or weekend. With a cruising speed of 12 knots, up to ten guests will looked after by a captain and crew of four. Super offers all the amenities you’d expect, including a Jacuzzi on the flybridge, satellite TV, and a collection of toys varied enough to please everyone on your guest list.

“The Super is simply the best way to experience the magic of the Sea of Cortez,” said the ship’s captain, Edgar Ulloa. “This state-of-the-art vessel provides passengers with the ultimate charter experience. And along with some of the finest amenities of any charter in Baja, the crew provides a seamless and personalized experience for guests.”

Charter rates include fuel, snacks, and “national drinks.” For more information, visit the Yacht Super web page.

Puerto Los Cabos Charter Yacht Super

Puerto Los Cabos now offers a charter option, the yacht Super.

The Western Mediterranean is the most popular yacht charter destination in the world. Right now, escalating piracy stands between this marina in Monaco and some megayachts that want to get here from the Indian Ocean in time for the summer season.

The danger zone for boaters, according to the USCG notice, now runs from the coast of Somalia into the Gulf of Aden and the Arabian Sea, south to the Mozambique Channel, and east to the coast of India. It is a region, as The Washington Post put it, as vast as the continental United States.

It is not news to the megayacht industry that piracy is a problem in this region. Many captains and fleet managers tell the story of the 210-foot Perini Navi Felicita West, which tried to make her way from the Mediterranean to the Seychelles for last winter’s charter season, but had to turn back at the Gulf of Aden because of escalating piracy concerns. A number of captains who moved megayachts through the same waters for the current charter season sailed in convoys with specially trained security teams onboard.

Now, with piracy fears escalating, some megayacht captains in the Indian Ocean are thinking about how, or even if, they will be able to return this summer to the Mediterranean—the most popular charter location in the world. It’s the place where about 70 percent of luxury yacht charters take place each year.

Make no mistake: Big money is on the line. Megayachts that have been operating in the Indian Ocean this winter include the 211-foot Benetti Silver Angel, the 196-foot CMN Cloud 9, and the 184-foot Perini Navi Panthalassa, all of which are part of the charter fleet at Camper and Nicholsons International. Just those three yachts, when their weekly base rates are combined, bring in €965,000 a week in charter fees in the Mediterranean. That’s $1.34 million a week at current exchange rates, and charter yachts of their caliber tend to do at least three or four weeks of charter in the Mediterranean each summer.

Captains of course are not tipping their hands about specific future plans—there’s no need to let the pirates know when the yachts might try to move again—but charter managers are well aware that marketing adjustments might need to be made if piracy continues to escalate in advance of the upcoming Mediterranean season.

“I think, overall, the megayachts that are already in the Indian Ocean right now are scared to leave—period,” said Shawn Laird, charter fleet manager with Northrop and Johnson. “I was just talking to someone the other day about all the yachts that will probably get stuck down there. The increase in piracy is totally shocking.”

It’s also an unfortunate experience in irony. More and more megayachts have just begun trying to use the Indian Ocean as their winter base these past couple of years, in response to decreasing charter demand in the Caribbean and Bahamas. As a leading broker from Burgess Yachts told me in December, with the global recession continuing to weigh heavy, “For yachts over 150 feet, this is the worst Caribbean season in the history of the charter industry.”

Now, the megayachts that have been trying to offset that winter-season fiscal problem with a new location appear to be at the mercy of a security problem that could drastically affect their summer season income, as well. The continuing recession, when combined with escalating piracy, could prove an insurmountable combination for some of the largest megayachts in the world.

Editor’s Note: Shortly after publication of this story, Soundings Trade Only published an interesting report on how cruising sailors are finding a different approach to transiting this area: “Dockwise Yacht Transport Offers Plans to Avoid Piracy”

Industry insiders predict that the megayacht industry could soon see some major companies merge or fold.

On the first day I attended a delicious luncheon aboard the 130-foot Christensen motoryacht Sweet Escape, as a guest of management company Northrop and Johnson. I could write volumes about the seared scallop, filet mignon, and wasabi mashed potatoes, but the real story is the conversation that occurred around the table. Top charter brokers and media from the United States and Europe sat overlooking the Antigua Yacht Club, in a warm island breeze, and shared tidbits that they had heard here and there in recent months.

The consensus was that, within the next year or two, some serious, brand-name shipyards are likely to be forced into mergers, or out of business altogether.

It would be unfair of me to name names. Suffice it to say that the shipyards seen as most vulnerable are well-known and well-respected, on both sides of the pond. The trouble is a lack of new megayacht orders, something that Oceanco CEO Marcel Onkenhout spoke about less than six weeks ago at the Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show.

As he explained it then, virtually all of the megayacht shipyards are in the same position following the global recession. They are completing the orders they had before the downturn—these yachts take about three years to build—but have no new orders coming in. The few clients who have begun calling again after a dismal 2009 are once again interested in buying, he said, but banks have tightened lending so much that financing is impossible to attain.

The gourmet luncheons are one of the highlights of the Antigua show.

These same realities were the focus of my luncheon discussion, with charter brokers trying to anticipate how the megayacht shipyard situation will affect the charter industry a couple of years down the line. Right now, according to the brokers I spoke with, yachts larger than about 150 feet are having little luck booking charters this winter in the Caribbean. While the less expensive end of the market is beginning to show signs of recovery, these megayachts may not enjoy a serious return of business until there is once again more demand than supply—something that may only occur when the new-megayacht shortage hits in the next three or four years.

That’s a dire prediction for the next few Mediterranean and Caribbean charter seasons, and it’s an unfortunate new parlor game that is likely to continue for some time. The one certain thing is that, as with any business, perception can become reality—and the perception right now, at the tables where people-in-the-know are talking quietly amongst themselves, is that not even the most historic yachting brands are immune from continued economic turmoil.

Read more on Boats.com: Custom Megayacht Builders: a Dark Economic Forecast

Kim Kavin is an award-winning writer, editor and photographer who specializes in marine travel. She is the author of six books including Dream Cruises: The Insider’s Guide to Private Yacht Vacations, is editor of the online yacht vacation magazine www.CharterWave.com, and writes the blog at www.BrokerageBoss.com.

The 151-foot Delta motorayacht Katya launched in 2009 and made her world debut about this time last year, at the Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show. (That’s Katya‘s sundeck in the photograph at right.) I got onboard at that time for a tour and a lengthy discussion with Capt. Alec Cunningham, who impressed me with his charter experience. You may recall that I wrote about Cunningham’s willingness to compile and give daily fuel burn information to charter guests, thus helping them manage their expenses more efficiently. It was the first time in a decade of covering the industry that I’d heard a captain make such an offer. Katya‘s lowest weekly base rate this winter through Burgess is $161,000 for 10 to 12 guests. That’s the same rate the yacht charged during her introductory winter season a year ago through Ocean Independence.

Also new to the Burgess fleet is the 205-foot Icon motoryacht Baton Rouge, which launched this past summer and made her world debut at the Monaco Yacht Show in September. The exterior is by Tim Heywood with an interior that design firm Redman Whitely Dixon calls eclectic contemporary. Like the 205-foot sistership Icon that launched last fall, Baton Rouge has a beach club at sea level. However, the company says, Baton Rouge is otherwise a “fully customized vessel.” Her charter debut will be during summer 2011 in the Mediterranean, at a lowest weekly base rate of €420,000 for 12 guests.

The third new charter yacht in the Burgess fleet is the 197-foot Proteksan Turquoise motoryacht Yogi, which is scheduled to launch from the shipyard in Turkey in time for the summer 2011 Mediterranean season. Amenities are expected to include a teppanyaki bar on the sundeck, a multimedia play lounge, a massage room, a beach club at the stern in addition to a beach club on the yacht’s starboard side, and a temperature-regulated swimming pool (I haven’t seen that before on a charter yacht). Yogi‘s lowest weekly base rate will be €357,000 for 12 guests.

Island Global Yachting, a Fort Lauderdale-based company that operates marinas in the Americas, Caribbean, and Middle East, has just announced two new deals. The first, Anchor Pass, targets transient megayachts. The second, HomePort, is designed for megayachts that base year-round in a single location.

“Anchor Pass is the result of us surveying about 60 yacht captains,” said Sarah Bensimon, IGY marketing and sales manager. “They all wanted more flexibility within our network of marinas, so that is what we are now offering.”
Under the Anchor Pass program, you pay for 120 days of dockage and receive 365 days for use at Yacht Haven Grande in St. Thomas, The Yacht Club at Isle de Sole in Sint Maarten, Simpson Bay Marina in Sint Maarten, and Rodney Bay Marina in St. Lucia. For megayachts in charter, the participating marinas would provide one base each in the Virgin Islands, the Northern Caribbean, and the Southern Caribbean, giving captains flexibility no matter where charters are booked.

I asked Bensimon to work up the financials on Anchor Pass for a 125-foot motoryacht. Normally, she told me, that owner would pay an average of $4 per foot at the participating marinas, which is $500 per day. If you paid for a full 365 days, the bill would be $182,500. With Anchor Pass, the total bill is $60,000—a savings of $122,500, or about two-thirds off.

“You’re buying in bulk and saving up front,” she said. “That’s the whole idea.”

The same idea is behind HomePort, which allows less-transient yachts to lock in rates for as long as ten years at a single participating marina. I asked for the rates on a 125-footer at Yacht Haven Grande for the next five years. At $3 per foot, Bensimon says, the five-year total would normally be $684,375. With HomePort, IGY would provide the same access for $374,430. You put 10 percent down when you sign up, and you pay the full balance on the date that your long-term plan begins—and you save more than $300,000.

These deals come with two concerns, to my mind. One: You may pay in advance and then not use the slips. Two: IGY or the participating marinas may go out of business before your deal ends. The former concern only you can address. The latter, I think, would be worth bouncing off your attorney before you sign the papers.

But once those concerns are satisfied, the savings to be had are substantial—and for many years to come.

However, management company WEM Lines just announced to charter brokers that the yacht has two bookings confirmed this winter in Costa Rica. One is from December 25 through January 2, and the other is March 20-27. Both charters are round-trip from Golfito, which is on Costa Rica’s western shoreline.

That means RM Elegant will be in the area if you are interested in chartering before or after those specific dates. And there should be no delivery fee from the yacht’s home port in Sint Maarten, a nice financial bonus.

I was on Costa Rica’s western shore some years ago for Yachting magazine, which in 2007 uploaded my article to its website. I can still vividly recall the tropical dry forests full of howler monkeys, whitewater rafting along a river flanked by towering waterfalls, and the sheer scope of the banana plantations that stretched across the land. Believe me when I tell you that I do not recall all my charter experiences so clearly. Costa Rica remains a unique charter destination in my mind, one whose sights I have yet to see anywhere else in the world.

International Yacht Collection, LLC, has acquired The Sacks Group Yachting Professionals, a leading full service superyacht charter and brokerage company.

IYC’s acquisition combines one of the top branded charter and brokerage companies in the USA with IYC’s international network of full service superyacht professionals.

“Our companies share similar values,” said Felix Sabates, chairman of IYC. “We both put our clients first and are committed to new ideas to improve their yachting experience. As partners, together we offer a compelling first class service to charter clients, owners, captains, crew, and shipyards around the world.”

According to Jennifer M. Saia, president and charter specialist of TSGYP, “Today the superyacht world has blossomed into a vibrant and professional business, and we feel by joining forces with IYC that we can benefit from the company’s vision and global reach to deliver a more enjoyable yachting experience for our collective clients worldwide.”

With this acquisition, the group’s combined fleet of charter, brokerage and management yachts will total over 160, what amounts to over 20,000 linear feet of yachts (4.17 miles, or almost four times the length of the Brooklyn Bridge of New York).

Sabates concluded, “As we continue our program to expand and strengthen our company, the acquisition of TSGYP supports IYC’s mission statement: Our commitment to better serve our client base internationally and in ALL aspects of yachting!”

“Mary-Jean II is every bit the yacht we have all been waiting to see,” says YPI charter marketer Jacqueline Leigh. “Everything from the unique Aristo blue of her hull, the Mark Berryman designed interior, the way she moves through the water … every bit of Mary-Jean II speaks of quality and perfection.”

The first charter brokers and press to tour Mary-Jean II at this past weekend’s Monaco Yacht Show gave the yacht high marks for quality and design, which are also apparent in the just-released brochure photographs at right and below. The sky lounge is likely to be a favorite space for charter clients, offering a cinema screen, more than 2,500 movies, and a remote control system that manages everything from the volume to the window shades. Guest cabins, too, boast flat-screen televisions, iPod docking stations, and Kaleidescape entertainment systems.

Mary-Jean II has also been outfitted for outdoor fun, with two custom-built, 23-foot Novurania tenders, a pair of clear-bottom kayaks, two Jet Skis, and toys such as water skis and wakeboards. There is also a full gymnasium onboard.

Mary-Jean II will be in the Caribbean this winter, and then will return to the Mediterranean for the summer 2011 charter season.

Liveras Yachts

The 2008 Benetti, formerly known as Amnesia, has been rechristened Andreas L in honor of company founder Andreas Liveras, who was killed in the November 2008 terror attacks in Mumbai, India.

Andreas L is an entirely different type of charter yacht for the Liveras operation, a traditional build taking 12 guests in six staterooms. By contrast, Liveras Yachts has specialized in recent years in “super-size” charter yachts such as Lauren L, which takes 40 guests, and the 280-foot sisterships Annaliesse and Alysia, each of which accommodate 36 guests.

Early in 2008, before Liveras was killed, I was told that Liveras Yachts had begun construction on 354-foot sisterships intended for the charter market, to cement the company’s status as managing the world’s largest, highest-capacity charter yachts. As of today, Lauren L, Annaliesse, and Alysia have all been sold, and no further details have been released since the start of the global recession about the status of the 354-foot projects.

The news about Andreas L is thus interesting not only because she is a lovely yacht available for charter, but also because her acquisition may signal at least a temporary shift in Liveras Yachts’ plans for its future position on the worldwide charter stage.