YAC H T I N G
bearing in mind what kind of weather
is forecast. For the summer season in
hot climates, light linen shirts, suits,
dresses, comfortable loose trousers
and shorts,” she says. “Footwear is
important — one can go barefoot or
wear-rubber soled shoes, so as not to
ruin the teak of the deck.
Depending on your budget (chartering
starts at around €30,000 per week and
goes up to €1million) yachts come with
huge amounts of entertaining space,
VIP luxury cabins, gyms, games rooms,
cinemas, and even mini submarines
and helipads. And what isn’t already on
board can often be arranged.
Mark Duncan adds: “Today, according
to the latest research, a new generation
of luxury consumer is now spending
over US$980bn purely on experiential
purchases. 70% of UHNWI today
list personally tailored experiences
(not goods) and privacy as their most
sought-after luxuries. When it comes
to combining and enjoying both, I can
think of no better solution than that of
luxury yacht charter.”
While the crew and their food will
be included in the price of a charter, all
provisions, fuel and extras such as marina
fees, taxes and telecommunication
costs will not be included, so need to be
budgeted for.
“It works out the same price or less
than a hotel,” says Mark Duncan of
YPI. “The only difference is that you
have an entirely bespoke experience —
the ultimate luxury.”
G UA R D S P O LO C LU B
DOs and DON’Ts
• DO choose a yacht charter broker
that is affiliated to the Worldwide
Yachting Association (MYBA; myba-
association.com) to ensure the yacht
is properly insured, operates to
high levels of ethical and technical
standards and adheres to an
industry-agreed code of conduct.
• DON’T think that choosing a
sailing yacht means you have to get
involved; yachts now have automatic
rigging so you can get as involved as
you want.
• DO have a clear idea of the sort of
holiday you want — cultural, water-
based, sporting, family, corporate
trip — before you contact a charter
broker.
• DON’T automatically assume you
can take children. Most yachts do
welcome families, but some stipulate a
minimum age for children.
• DO take out proper travel insurance
as you would for any trip, that will
cover you for cancellation and
curtailment as well as personal
accident, loss of personal belongings
and medical insurance.
• DON’T charter a boat without
stabilisers if you know you get
seasick. most modern yachts have a
sophisticated type of stabilising system
to vastly reduce rocking. Similarly, it
would be wise to avoid a planing hull
semi-displacement yacht as these tend
to swirl quite a lot at anchor.
99