Yachting Intelligence - your guide to superyacht business & lifestyle » Charter

Bluewater: one company, one complete service

Yachting Intelligence — Mon, 11 Oct 2010 19:59:03 +0000

Bluewater is a yacht charter company based in Antibes, in the South of France.

Bluewater is a cutting edge company with a particular focus on personal service and attention to detail. Established in 1991, the company has five branches – Brokerage, Charter, Crew Training, Crew placement and Management.

Bluewater operates globally in Zug, Switzerland, Palma de Mallorca, Spain, Fort Lauderdale, USA and London, UK. Headquarters are situated in Antibes on the French Riviera.

Bluewater philosophy is “One Company, One Complete Service”. Dedicated teams specialize in all areas of yachting, drawing on accumulated knowledge and experience to fulfil clients needs and requirements, surpass expectations and give total peace of mind. Bluewater guarantee a discreet, professional service with a added personal touch.

The ultimate experience

Chartering a private super yacht is unarguably the ultimate holiday experience and a unique opportunity to escape the stress of every day life in absolute luxury and comfort. Visit some of the world’s mot remarkable cruising destinations in complete freedom, with a dedicated, professional crew on hand to provide customer and his guests with first class service around the clock.

Bluewater’s unrivalled experience and in depth knowledge of the worldwide charter fleet provides a select choice of the most luxurious and reputable crewed yachts, matched to customer needs and tastes . Bluewater know how and expertise will be of great use to create a tailor made itinerary and to ensure that customer expectations are continuously exceeded.

From start to finish Bluewater ensures a impeccable service, fine dining and all the details that makes chartering a yacht such a spectacular experience with memories that customer will keep forever.

Charter management : making it work for yacht owners

Charter represents a significant opportunity to generate excellent financial returns for each yacht owner. Whether the owner wishes to charter his yacht all year round or simply undertake a few select charters to keep crew busy and cover some running costs, Bluewater’s dedicated Charter Management Division will act as a marketing agent for the promotion of the vessel to an extensive network of clients and brokers worldwide.

Our aim, at Bluewater, is to maximise each yacht’s charter potential and revenue and to provide you with the highest standard of service, all whilst minimising stress and time involvement, leaving the owner free to enjoy tangible benefits ownership. Bluewater operates a successfull and reputable Charter Management Division which focuses on specific needs and requirements.

As exclusive central agent of a vessel, services include :

- Marketing and promotion of the Yacht
- Managing the yacht’s booking calendar
- Issuing all contracts and charter agreements for charter purposes
- Financial administration
- Frequent reports on enquiries and booked charters

Corporate charters & events

What better way to reward motivate and inspire key employees or build and promote business relationships than through chartering a super yacht ? Corporate hospitality through yacht charter as seen a huge increase over the years, as it provides a luxurious and sophisticated environment in wich to work, socialize and relax. Five star service and entertainment facilities will ensure that each event is a guranteed success from start to finish. Team-building seminars, water sports activities, on board business meetings, luncheons or large cocktail parties can all be organised with the expert help of your dedicated charter broker.

Very often tied in with world-famous events and business conferences, such as the Cannes Film Festival, Monaco Grand Prix, MIPIM or MIPTV, a yacht is the ideal venue to promote corporate branding and high-profile entertainment. Bluewater specialises in corporate event planning, management and bespoke corporate charters that will deliver the « Wow » factor.

Bluewater Yachting

Le Cap Vauban
14 av Mirabeau
06600 Antibes

T. +33 493 34 34 13
F. +33 493 34 35 93
E. charter@bluewateryachting.com

http://www.bluewateryachting.com/

Sunreef Yachts Charters, from dreams to reality

Yachting Intelligence — Mon, 11 Oct 2010 19:34:07 +0000

Sunreef Yachts Charter, originally launched in 2002 as a small in-house broker office, has today rapidly grown into a major player on the international market with an elite niche.

A fine selection of power and sailing yachts are offered for charter in the most beautiful charter destinations worldwide, guaranteeing the most unforgettable charter vacations.

Beyond the selection of Sunreef Yachts, Sunreef Yachts Charter has extended its offering with powerboats and superyachts. These superb vessels will take customers’ dream destinations and provide truly unforgettable memories. They perfectly complement the wide variety of Sunreef luxury catamarans, together constituting an impressive charter fleet.

What will the future reveal for Sunreef Yachts Charter? Based on the progress of the last few years, prolonged success seems in order. With new breathtaking yachts regularly joining the fleet and promising new projects on the horizon, there is little doubt that the future of luxury catamaran charters will hoist the colours of Sunreef Yachts Charter.

The highest standards

In 2009, Sunreef Yachts Charter became a proud member of MYBA, the most prestigious worldwide professional yachting and trade organization, whose general objectives include establishing and maintaining a high standard of professional ethics, professional rules and skills in charter, sales and yacht management. MYBA only endorses brokerages with a proven track record of professional excellence in the yachting industry, thereby offering valuable benefits and safeguards to clients choosing to purchase, sell, build or charter a yacht through a MYBA broker. The road to becoming a MYBA member involves a long-term commitment to being supervised and verified by the MYBA committee in order to prove absolute transparency, reliability and the highest quality services. Luxurious yachts and fantastic holidays deserve a worthy management service. For Sunreef Yachts Charter, being a MYBA member represents significant and valuable proof of its highest standards and ethics of professional expertise in charter commerce.

Yacht Marketing

Sunreef yacht marketing services have been established to maximize the pleasure of yacht ownership and make the most of the potential income. Any yacht involved in luxury charters will greatly benefit from assistance with participation in major yacht & charter boat shows around the world, as well as charter broker trips organized on board.

Each yacht has a specially tailored marketing program established for its purposes: press and media relations support, production of yacht-related marketing materials, like brochures as well as the annual Sunreef Yachts Charter catalogue, regular direct communication trough email newsletters to targeted customers, website support, which every yacht owner will surely benefit from.

Sunreef Yachts Charter
Address : ul. Doki 1. Hala 41A
80-958 Gdansk
Poland
Tel : 00 48587762316
Fax : 00 48587697796
Web : www.sunreef-charter.com
Email : martha@sunreef-charter.com

May 2010 Market Report

Yachting Intelligence — Wed, 23 Jun 2010 16:03:35 +0000

From the point of view of brokerage sales, May 2010 proved to be a solid if unspectacular month with 21 superyachts over 24 metres sold at total asking prices of €145 million, a dip from the previous month’s 24 yachts sold asking €261 million.

The largest yacht sold was DCAN’s 75.31m Phocea asking €9.9 million, while the figures do show an increase on May 2009 when 17 yachts totalling €132 million were sold.

Jonathan Becket, CEO of Burgess, gives his views on the current brokerage market: “2009 will be remembered as a tough year for brokerage, but in the final analysis, a reasonable number of sales were completed, although these were at price levels in favour of buyers rather than sellers. At the start of this year there was optimism by some that the market had gained momentum and trading conditions would continue to improve, but in practise this has not been borne out.

“In the pre-credit crunch bull market, activity levels were strong year-round, but the trend has now reverted to the historical pattern of a soft first quarter followed by a strong second quarter, with a potential final flurry of activity in October/November. Undoubtedly, buyers are still incentivised by price right now and brokers who identify the best opportunities will see results, although transactions continue to remain challenging and very hard work”.

“When the market dived, determining the value of a large yacht was somewhat of an enigma, but with a track record of new values established over the last 18 months, valuing a yacht has now become feasible again. Values are substantially lower now than during the bull market phase, and some buyers that purchased pre-owned yachts at the top of the market have been caught out. By the same token, sellers that commissioned new builds a few years ago are achieving a good return at re-sale, although the days of turning a profit on re-sale are over, at least for the time being. Until the supply/demand balance shifts again when brokerage listings start to dry up which will in turn stoke new build orders, pricing levels of the current market are unlikely to alter in any significant way for another couple of years. Movement on yachts over 70m is considerably slower than for the 38m-70m sector, with only two brokerage sales completed so far this year.”

And Jonathan’s certainly right about the supply/demand balance for, while we reported 21 yachts sold last month, we counted 36 superyachts entering the market and, of course, that doesn’t account for the yachts we know are very discreetly for sale. This oversupply means that prices continue their downward trend, with 33 price reductions reported in May.

Chart 1: Month-on-month and year-on-year comparisons by total value and volume

Chart 2: Month-on-month and year-on-year comparisons broken down by length

A Builder’s Perspective

The largest new build recorded in May was a 61m motor yacht from Turkey’s Sunrise yard for delivery in 2013 but new orders remain thin on the ground so far this year. We counted 14 superyacht launches in May, the largest being the 78.43m Titan from Abeking & Rasmussen. Henk De Vries at Feadship gives his view from a builder’s perspective.

“The statistics speak for themselves: 250 yachts above 40m were delivered in 2005/6/7 of which about half by the 20 SYBASS members, averaging two boats per yard per year. The other half came from over 100 yards, averaging one boat per yard over the three year period. Needless to say, many of those yards no longer exist.

“The market has shown a sustainable demand level of 30-40 boats per year over the past decades, so the ‘fantastic ride’ of the first years of the 21st Century was indeed enjoyed by all of us. I used to say that anyone with a large enough backyard and a welding torch was becoming a superyacht builder. Wise companies gradually expanded capacity and booked longer backlogs.

“The first three quarters of 2008 were incredible, with 100 new contracts signed up, real clients, but also projects financed, multi-yacht deals, speculative builds. And then, in the last quarter of 2008: 2 (yes, two). The year 2009 closed with less than a dozen signed up and 2010 until now shows a handful. The new build market still experiences competition from secondhand and speculative yachts coming on the market, but this supply will lessen in the coming year or so. The unreal projects of 2008 were cancelled or are coming out in the coming period, and after that we are back to reality.

“The good yards did sign up some new orders, and we are in good shape because we had good order books in 2008. Our experience is rewarded with our clients’ trust. We see lesser yards keel over and some weak ones being purchased, keeping under-performing companies in business for now. This is still not a stable situation at the lower end of the market.

“It is good to see that the serious clients shun the less experienced companies, and demand from true yachtsmen is back. The finance-driven clients have disappeared, making our industry healthy again. The challenge for the new-build yards is to explain price levels which are naturally higher than second-hand because material and labour costs have not dropped; now is a good time to look at more efficient production and business re-engineering. We will come out stronger. A much smaller group of experienced yards who know the real costs of creating works of art will cater to the demands of much wiser clients.”

The Charter Market

The charter market is a good barometer of conditions in the superyacht industry and here again we sought the views of an expert:

“The Summer is now in full-swing, but the bookings are still shy of what they were in the past”, according to Jennifer M. Saia, President and Charter Specialist at The Sacks Group Yachting Professionals. “The negotiations take longer and the rates are lower, leaving less in commissions at the end of the day to show a profit for our company.” This was confirmed as well by the members of the FYBA Charter Professionals Committee at their recent monthly meeting with such firms in attendance as IYC, Fraser, CNI, and other major players in the industry. Managers and owners are starting to say “Thanks, but no thanks” to the ridiculous discount rates being offered by charterers. There has also been a trend of new “all-inclusive” rates which are not realistic. This said, firm bookings have increased slightly in comparison to Summer 2009.

“At The Sacks Group, we are communicating via various means with our repeat clients more than ever in order to keep piquing their interest in charter vacations worldwide…when they are ready, they know who to call”, adds Jennifer. “Of the book of business looking forward, 80% seem to be repeat or referral clients. Wealthy and smart business people recognize this fact and continue to charter. However we, as an industry, need to address ways to attract new customers”. This is the agenda for the American Yacht Charter Association’s (AYCA) PR Committee, which Jennifer chairs for the balance of 2010: to get the “Best Kept Vacation Secret” out to the high-net worth public.

“Yacht charter is the best luxury travel ‘bargain’ in the world. It costs a fraction of owning a vessel; however, in this economic climate it seems that owners are subsidizing charter clients’ vacations with all the discounts.” Says Jennifer, “I anticipate this will change as we get further into the Summer and high season prime dates are booked for August.”

Finally, to end on an optimistic note, ten yachts have been reported sold in June 2010 already, with the palm going to the 85m Alysia, the largest superyacht sold so far this year.

Read additional analysis of brokerage sales in the Market Intelligence section of Boat International

April 2010 Market Report

Yachting Intelligence — Thu, 13 May 2010 13:52:56 +0000

Brokerage:Â a buyer’s market

April 2010 saw 23 superyachts over 24 metres sold at total asking prices of â‚¬253 million, a marked increase over the March 2010 figures of 14 yachts sold asking a total of â‚¬153 million. This also represents a 36% increase on April 2009 when 21 yachts were sold asking â‚¬186 million.


Chart 1: Month-on-month and year-on-year comparisons by total value and volume


Chart 2: Month-on-month and year-on-year comparisons broken down by length

These positive sales figures are, however, balanced by the fact that we counted 34 yachts being put on the market in April, meaning that the stock of unsold yachts is continuing to grow.

The largest motor yacht sold in the month was CRN’s 72m Clarena II asking â‚¬58 million, while finally several sailing yachts also left the market, headed by Perini Navi’s 53m Independence at $24.95 million. Full details of the yachts sold in April can be found in Table 1 below.

As Independence was sold by Will Bishop at Yachting Partners International, we asked company CEO Bertrand Vogele for his views on the current state of play across the market. And we also spoke to Hein Velema, CEO at Fraser Yachts.

“In brokerage it is still very much a buyer’s market. » Says Bertrand, “Buyers are looking for more added value, more expertise and a lot more information and analysis on the yachts and the market. Last September we officially launched our specialist Sailing Division and the speed with which that took off surprised even us. Buyers are getting the expertise and insight they want and they are buying and selling their yachts through YPI – yachts like Independence, the biggest sailing yacht sold since Maltese Falcon last August. » Hein Velema at Fraser notes that it’s a fact that brokerage boats are being sold, although prices are still very low and he doesn’t see them going up any time soon.

Indeed, during the course of April 2010 we reported no fewer that 37 price reductions, the largest being on Oceanco’s 82m Alfa Nero, down by â‚¬10.75 million to â‚¬119 million. Here again Bertrand has something pertinent to say: “The price reductions still coming through worryingly seem to be encouraging sellers and buyers to hold off on transactions rather than encouraging them – an uncalled for signal that the bottom of the market may not yet have been reached. »

Charter

“The charter market is still very fragile. » says Bertrand at YPI, “There are lots of enquiries and bookings compared to last year are solid, but still everyone wants deals. The good news is that, within our Charter Division, our owners have more confidence now to refuse the low offers. » Here Hein Velema is in complete agreement, saying that the winter Caribbean season was very poor and he’s not sure that the company can make it up for the current year. However, bookings at the moment are comparable to the same period last year and he too notes that there is currently less discounting by yacht owners.

New Orders and Launches

We have reported only a handful of new orders since the beginning of 2010 and Bertrand comments: “The new build market has come to a halt. However, what bodes well for the future is that designers are talking with a lot of interested clients now but for the moment the yards are quiet – many fighting for any refit business that is now available. » However, Hein Velema does say that his brokers have reported increasing interest from owners in new build projects.

We tracked 17 new launches in April 2010, and it is interesting to note that a number of these yachts are going straight on to the market, like the 53.03m Baraka from Baglietto and Trinity’s 57.9m Mi Sueno.

Overall

We’ll leave the last word to Bertand Vogele: “Overall, we see a market that is moving – experienced brokers, like YPI, serious about their continued success will survive and succeed because they are going the extra mile to give their clients that extra intelligence, support and advice. I think more than ever we need to really promote our industry now – to show potential charterers and buyers that the market today is probably shaping up to become as professional and value-orientated as it has ever beenâ€¦and that has to be good news. »

Greek crisis impacts charter yachts

Yachting Intelligence — Wed, 12 May 2010 19:01:29 +0000

The ongoing economic crisis in Greece isn’t just of concern to the EU – it has also now started to worry the charter sector.

“The big concern coming from brokers is about client fund escrow accounts in Greek banks that are holding charter funds,” explains Missy Johnston, owner of Northrop & Johnson Yacht Charters. “One Greek central agency company now has its client funds account for charter funds in Switzerland, and I spoke with another company about doing the same.”

On a more positive note, the ninth Poros charter yacht show, held in late April, is considered to have been a success with 78 boats on display – 28 of which were new to the crewed market, and eight of those new launches. Brokers are also reporting that there is also some attractive price flexibility for charter yachts to be found in the Greek islands.

Source : IBINews

Adventure Trips : What You Should Know About Yacht Brokers

Yachting Intelligence — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 09:21:13 +0000

Consumers today have the privilege of choice. You can customize almost every detail of our luxury vacation, but also packaged the package as an all-inclusive vacation, if he so wishes. They cost the cruise ship lifestyle and have had their fair share of aircraft. Now they want something a little different. Whether it is a holiday, a wedding, a special event or just the trip of a lifetime, luxury yacht charter is the best way to travel and see all the hard-to-reach corners of the world. Before you begin planning, here are a few things you should know about yacht brokers.

A yacht broker makes his or her living off commissions from a number of local charter companies, without costing you extra money. Essentially, the broker acts as your personal travel agent by interviewing crews, looking at boats and researching itineraries.

There are more than 200 luxury yacht charter brokerage firms. Before selecting one, be sure they are belong to the American Yacht Charter Association, the Charter Yacht Brokers Association or international groups such as the Mediterranean Yacht Brokers Association, and get references.

The yacht broker, you can in a range of sailing holiday destinations. In winter, the Caribbean, the Bahamas and the Indian Ocean are popular places to enjoy the warm weather. During the summer months, a yacht charter Greece / Turkey / Croatia / Mediterranean tour is very popular. The PacificOcean, the waters off Alaska and the Atlantic ocean areas have a lot to offer as well.

You can keep your boat on board, or select a number of micro-routes. The choice is yours. The advantage of having private yacht charter is that you come and go as you and you get access to small, pristine islands that can not be achieved by large cruise ships.

The best place to find qualified agents, the Charter Yacht Brokers Association in Cyba. To become a member, all yacht brokers must agree to a code of ethics to maintain standards of honest advertising, fiscally responsible business conduct, write up to fair contracts and to keep all charter fund in a separate escrow account.

In addition, they must have a thorough knowledge of styles and teams, as well as two luxury yachts shows each year. You must pay an annual fee of $ 125, two other members will be supported and must be sponsored by three clearing-house management companies. The broker must also the firstgo through a mentoring program, before the membership to win.

Source

All at sea, the new trends of superyacht market

Yachting Intelligence — Mon, 10 Aug 2009 21:59:06 +0000

Roger Horner, founder of the yacht electronics company, began to notice an unfamiliar trend in the superyacht market this past winter after a heady decade of expansion: customers were calling his Mallorca headquarters to see whether they could cancel or cut back their orders.

If the radar was broken, it had to be fixed. But owners suddenly decided they did not need that fancy new audiovisual entertainment system for their superyacht. The luxuries are being postponed or cut, says Horner.

Less than a year ago, Russian and Gulf billionaires were paying the full asking price for their new superyachts and the fittings. Shipyards had more business than they could handle and the supply of luxury vessels fell woefully short of global demand from ebullient oil magnates, entrepreneurs and hedge fund managers.

The collapse of Lehman Brothers, the US investment bank, and the global economic crisis changed all that in a matter of weeks.

Ferretti, the Italian yachtmaker, recently restructured its debt to stave off administration, while Candover, the UK private equity group, wrote off its whole investment in the company. Among France’s luxury yacht groups, Rodriguez opted for a safeguard procedure, a French legal regime that allows it to continue under normal conditions and to suspend debt repayments temporarily; and Couach sought court protection from creditors.

Prices of new and second-hand yachts and superyachts “ a super-yacht is loosely defined as a boat more than 30m or 100ft long “ fell sharply as the financial crisis deepened.

Bad news but not for everyone. As in the markets for luxury homes and private jets, the crisis has thrown up rare opportunities for anyone with plenty of cash who wants to buy or charter a superyacht.

Today, if you’ve got cash, there’s never been a better time to buy a yacht, says Jamie Edmiston, director of the London-based yacht broker of the same name. Some yachts are being priced at 30 per cent below what they were being priced at a year ago, and in some instances we expect to see prices coming off more than that.

In Palma, Jonathan Syrett of Camper & Nicholsons International, another big broker, agrees. Generally it’s been very slow, he says. I think yachting has been affected quite badly. There most certainly are bargains out there.

Savings can be substantial, whether a buyer covets a new 49ft sailing yacht built by Jeanneau of France (offered by UK yacht broker WestWays at Â£251,853, or Â£59,469 off the list price), or the second-hand luxury motor yacht Enterprise V (offered by Edmiston in January at $19.9m, reduced by $2.6m). And these are the asking prices, not necessarily the sums paid.

Nevertheless, it now looks to brokers and charterers as though the superyacht market is recovering from the low point it plumbed in the first two months of this year.

The crisis hit the wallets of almost all classes of yacht buyers, among them investment bankers and those who made their fortunes from high commodity prices. Banks, including administrators of the UK private banking arm of Iceland’s collapsed Kaupthing, further punished the yacht market by withdrawing credit lines for boat purchases.

Martin Redmayne, chairman and editor-in-chief of The Yacht Report, the superyacht bible, estimates that 6-7 per cent of buyers cancelled new orders or otherwise extricated themselves from a purchase, although others simply slowed the production process and extended their payment instalments. The banks across the whole market of yachting just pulled the plug on the financing, he says, confirming that there are deals to be had at shipyards and that there are some bottom-feeders out there eager to buy at a discount.

Redmayne, Edmiston and others say the superyacht market has not collapsed entirely, though they talk of a correction and a return to realistic prices after years in which sellers could dictate the price of yacht and buyers could fund them with an easy loan.

People are still rich, says Edmiston. So you are not going to see people giving yachts away. I’ve never lost $2bn overnight, but if you do lose out, I’m sure it gives you a cold sweat. But once they get over the shock they go back to living a normal life.

Yet the uncertainty over the fate of the global economy “ along with public hostility towards bankers and other wealthy individuals “ is inevitably affecting the behaviour of the world’s tycoons, whether they own a yacht or plan to charter one in the Mediterranean for, say, â‚¬770,000 ($1.08m) a week this summer.

So for instance, naming one’s yacht and the two tenders (the small boats that ferry passengers to shore) Nipple One and Nipple Two “ as Prince Jefri of Brunei once did “ now looks like an aberration of the vulgar world before the crisis. Prudence and discretion are the new watchwords. “People have told us that they have clients who want to spend money but are embarrassed to, says Horner at.

One way of avoiding too much attention is to charter instead of buy. Outside the high season months of July and August, the crisis has again reduced prices and increased availability. We are seeing people asking for discounts “ and getting them, which is very unusual, says Syrett at Camper & Nicholsons.

And then there is fractional ownership. The concept did not take off when superyacht owners were so wealthy they did not care if their expensive toy lay idle for most of the year, but it may now be coming into its own.

Mike Balfour, founder of Fitness First, one of the world’s largest health club groups, has already invested in a fractional ownership operation for villas and is now involved in YachtPlus, which is selling one-eighth shares in four strikingly original Italian-built motoryachts designed by Norman Foster, the architect. The first was launched in April.

If anybody goes out now and buys a whole boat, people are going to look at them and say: Why? You’re mad’, says Balfour, who owns a 20m yacht built by the UK’s Sunseeker. For the same price or less I’m able to have the joys of a 41m Foster superyacht. Four to five weeks a year on a boat is, frankly, enough.

John Hare, YachtPlus chairman and a former partner at Coopers & Lybrand, the accountancy firm, believes that the crisis has come at a good time for a yacht-sharing operation that will cost each part-owner less than â‚¬2m for the purchase and about â‚¬200,000 in annual running costs. Takers so far include investors from the US, the UK, Mexico and Hong Kong.

Up until recently, you wouldn’t be seen dead sharing a yacht. Now the game is: How can I cut costs?’,says Hare. You needed doom and gloom to make people start looking at things from a new angle.

Luckily for Hare, and for would-be yacht buyers, doom and gloom are “ like the yachts themselves “ still in plentiful supply.

Source : http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/40a642f8-5ec7-11de-91ad-00144feabdc0.html?nclick_check=1