OceanStyle Aims to Fill Niche
There’s a company called OceanStyle that opened for business three years ago, as a sister operation to the worldwide charter powerhouse Burgess Yachts. The word from OceanStyle’s inception was that it was going to be a company that focused on yacht sales–not yacht charter–of boats from about 65 to about 125 feet long. The idea is that OceanStyle would take the “smaller” yachts while Burgess concentrated on the megayachts.
I learned today that during the past few months, OceanStyle has quietly begun building its own charter fleet in that same “smaller” size range–which is very exciting news. While there are plenty of reputable companies out there that manage larger yachts for charter, it has been difficult in recent years to find reputable companies handling yachts in the entry-level charter size range outside of the Virgin Islands. OceanStyle is currently focusing on building its fleet of charter yachts in the Mediterranean, with the Caribbean on its horizon as the next target market.
OceanStyle marketing manager Hanneke Maljaars told me today that the company has five charter yachts in its fleet right now, with the biggest being a 2007 Feretti 830 motoryacht. More boats are about to sign on, she said, with a goal of having a 20- to 25-yacht charter fleet at OceanStyle by the end of 2008.
There are no in-house charter brokers who are yet members of key professional associations such as MYBA, CYBA International, FYBA or AYCA, but Maljaars said the MYBA application papers were in her mailbox, and that for now, the company is working closely on charter bookings with sister company Burgess, one of the firms we recommend here on CharterWave as a reputable resource for people seeking to book charter yacht vacations. That’s a good start, and it’s my educated guess that OceanStyle will be standing on its own two feet in this area by year’s end.
If you’re interested in an entry-level sized motoryacht in a place outside the Virgin Islands, and particularly in the Med, it sounds like OceanStyle may be ready to fill your order. Any reputable charter broker can book OceanStyle’s boats, as with all reputable charter yachts.