More on MARATHON
A couple of posts back, I introduced you to the motoryacht Marathon, a brand-new launch that is booking an amazing number of charters before even being seen by a single broker. True to my word, I made a point of following up with management company Fraser Yachts Worldwide and giving Marathon a look at last week’s Miami boat show–to try to determine exactly what all the fuss is about.
I toured the yacht with the marketing manager from Christensen Yachts, the company that built the boat. He and I know each other well, as I have written feature articles for magazines about Marathon’s two recently launched sisterships, Privacy (not available for charter) and Barchetta (click here to read my First Impression).
Marathon is certainly a gorgeous yacht (you can read my First Impression starting in March) but not so different from her sisterships, I thought, that she should be getting so much attention so quickly from the charter market. She also wasn’t chartering in any exotic location, but rather in places where there are other established charter yachts available.
As beautiful as the boat itself was, I was still scratching my head about her stunning popularity for charter as my tour came to an end.
That’s when the marketing director asked me, “Oh, before you go, would you like to meet Capt. Knox?”
“Paul Knox?” I replied.
“Yes,” the marketing director said, surprised. “Why, do you know him?”
Mystery solved: Everybody in the industry knows Capt. Paul Knox, one of the finest crewed yacht captains around. I last saw him when he was running the motoryacht Dream, which, just like Marathon, had brokers beating down its door to book charters for their clients. Paul and his crew are just that good.
This little tale highlights something well-known in the industry, but that anyone looking to book a charter for the first time might not realize: It is the crew, more than anything, in which reputable brokers place their trust when helping you to book a charter. Crew literally make or break your trip, no matter how nice a brand-new yacht may be.
Keep this in mind the next time your broker suggests a boat you haven’t heard of, or that’s too new to have so much as a brochure available. If the crew are coming from another boat with an excellent reputation, then the odds are high that you’ll have a fabulous vacation, no matter what.