Interview with broker Beverly Parsons of Interpac Yachts about the May 2008 charter show in Marmaris, Turkey

Beverly Parsons, a broker who owns Interpac Yachts in California, has attended every industry-only charter show in Turkey since 1983. “I actually missed one year, but then I went twice another year,” she says with a chuckle. At the May 2008 show, she was honored by the mayor of Marmaris, where the show is held, and she also received a plaque from the Marmaris yacht club for her many years of working with the local charter yachts.
     Here are her observations from this year’s show, exclusively for CharterWave readers:

How was the May 2008 Turkey charter show compared with shows of years past?
Very upbeat. There were quite a few brokers there from several countries, about 55 boats, a lot of them Turkish motorsailers called gulets plus some motoryachts and sailing yachts. The quality was good, too, with 85 percent to 90 percent of the yachts being what Americans would demand.
     These yachts aren’t yet the caliber of some in Greece and many in the Western Mediterranean, but they’re getting there. And the prices are still comparably affordable.

How is the charter market in Turkey different from the neighboring market in Greece?
The yachts are typically a better deal. For example, there’s a boat called Aegean Schatz, which used to charter in Turkey for 18,000 euro a week. Now it has the same crew, with a few small changes in the interior, but it’s in Greece instead of Turkey, with a new Greek owner, and it’s 40,000-something euro  per week. I believe that most of the equivalent boats in Turkey are half, or less, the price of the boats in Greece. That’s just one example.
     The Turkish yachts still want Americans to visit, so they’re keeping the prices as reasonable as they can.

Did you notice any trends at this year’s show?
Some of the Turkish boats are getting away from local tradition. They’re decorating differently, adding features like hot tubs on deck and awesome sound systems and massage showers and murals on the walls. They’re not just cookie-cutter boats anymore, with mahogany or pine interiors and not much else. When you walk on a gulet in Turkey, you don’t know what you’re going to find anymore.
     The crew are becoming more internationally appealing, too. They’re not just Turkish cooks anymore. A lot of these gulets now have chefs with international skills.

Which yachts stood out to you at this year’s show?
Mare Nostrum, she’s unbelievable. She’s a high-quality boat with a captain-owner who has been chartering in Turkey for years and knows everything about the area. He’s kept the price reasonable, and the boat is brand-new. It has a lot of feature like fixed biminies for shade, and the dining area is not aft, so there’s more privacy. Plus, the chef can cook anything.
     The 110-foot Papa Joe, they love to sail. It takes them only 10 minutes to put up their sails. There is beautiful artwork on this boat, which is unusual for a gulet. You don’t typically see artwork on the gulets in Turkey.
    The 62-foot sailing yacht Zarick II always looks great, and it did this year again. The couple who run that boat are unbelievable people. I have known the woman for years. I feel like she’s one of my best friends. I also always like the 98-foot Clarissa, too, and she looked great with the same crew as last year.
    Blue Capricorn, a 90-foot gulet, is much improved from last year. It went from a 3.5 to a 4-star boat in my opinion, with onboard upgrades and a new crew.
     Blue Eyes is a new yacht, and I gave it 5-plus stars. It’s gorgeous with a fabulous crew, Internet throughout, lots of fancy stuff. She’s pretty darn nice with an international chef.
     And there’s an interesting, very nice gulet called Comet with an Israeli captain. The boat is fairly new, but he’s had his crew together for about four years. The boat is light and bright inside, airy and comfortable, simple and clean.

Are any of the Turkish yachts offering new services this year?
Blue Way 1 is a boat with a dive master who’s legal in Turkey. There have been some junky boats that allowed diving in Turkey before, but this one is striving to operate at yacht quality. It’s a gulet, but you can dive from it legally without having to do a rendezvous dive with a local scuba company.
     This is the first time I’ve seen a gulet of this quality offering scuba diving right from the boat.
 
How are the strong euro and weak dollar affecting the charter yachts in Turkey?
They’re busy in July and August with European clients, but usually, Americans book in June and September—and the yachts are feeling a loss.
     They are all telling me the exchange rate is creating a problem, that Americans aren’t coming. I can tell you from my own business that demand is down. Some of the boats are considering lowering their rates at this point.

Were there any trends that stood out to you at this year’s show?
More of the gulets are turning over with new owners faster than they used to. More owners seem more interested in building their boats, showing them for charter, and then selling them than in actually chartering them—even if people have booked them. Carpe Diem II, Blue Pirahna, these are some of the yachts that sold in the past year, and it puts the charters in limbo.
     When this happens with a smaller boat in Turkey, it’s usually possible to find a replacement of similar or even better quality for the charter. But with the bigger, fancier boats, it’s a concern, because there might not be an equivalent yacht available in the area.
     As Turkey is getting newer and bigger boats that truly stand out in that market, it’s more important than ever for clients to book through brokers who know which contracts to use and which other yachts are available at the same time. Brokers who visit this annual boat show will certainly have an advantage there.

Was there anything else that stood out to you?
More and more of the Turkish boats seem to be willing to go into the Greek Dodecanese islands. You have to remember that it costs $600 to $800 for customs and immigration to go in and out of those islands, but they’re willing to do it.
    As always, Turks are willing to please. They still fall all over themselves to make you happy. They really want us chartering there.




You can learn more about broker Beverly Parsons in our exclusive editorial interview here on CharterWave.