Category: Pocket Superyacht Blog

Last month I was invited to speak on the Future of Superyachts conference. Initially a daunting prospect as I was imagining an audience of suits with stern faces who would all want to hear about… about what actually? Ironically the conference took place in Hotel Saratoga where, 3 days prior I performed with my band for an audience of cheerful people who were letting their hair down. This was going to be very different! Speaking over the phone with the people of Quaynote, the organisers of this event, months prior to the date, put my mind a bit more at ease. In fact, it made me realise that I am probably operating in an area of the industry which most of these people won’t be so familiar with. I could then see how it might be interesting for them to learn more about Pocket Superyachts. Most of the guest will be involved with large commercial vessels that have to be managed with a long list of complicated rules and regulations in mind. But the complications involved with the smooth running of a 15-30 meter luxury yacht is a whole different kettle of fish. When managing these smaller yachts the emphasis […]

For the second consecutive year SY Aenea, the CNB76 that we have been managing since her launch in February 2017, has competed in the Maxi Yacht Rolex Cup in early September. The conditions on the first race day were bliss. We were finding our groove somewhere in the middle of the fleet. But around the last mark a curious windless patch stalled the yachts that were ahead of us. Just like them, we arrived at full speed, pushed by a 25kt breeze, into this pacific space. But before we lost momentum a light breeze took us past our opponents and around the mark! Admittedly, this lucky shift had a great stake in us being the first CNB over the line that day. Friday was very different altogether… It was a very breezy day with true wind speeds around 30kts. Having torn the genoa before the start meant we didn’t race that day. Once back on the dock the owner brought beer o’clock a few hours forward and we cheered to being the first at the sail loft! Those guys had their work cut out as we saw their loaded vans go up and down the dock. We also watched how […]

The most important question a business owner should focus on is the one often heared over the phone in a somewhat rehearsed and unconcious fashion: “How can we HELP you.” When business owners put financial gains second, the magic happens. I’m talking about more people engaging with your business. Fulfilment as well as revenue will be the return on investment! A few weeks ago I was contacted by an American who lives in Asia. He is the owner / driver of a 58ft sail yacht and he enquired about what we could do for him on a long term basis. Many people think we only place crew or only manage crewed yachts but we also provide consultancy and training for owner-drivers. We help them find the best yards and marinas, source parts, organise maintenance, insurance, yacht transport, the occasional extra crew or delivery and so on. A few minutes into our chat it became clear that this owner had a more accute issue at hand though. When he left his yacht in an Italian marina, several weeks before, he was forced to give the keys to some guy he didn’t know from Adam. While he had planned to leave the […]