The Magic Number is 81
Finally, I have confirmation on the number of boats in the newly merged charter fleet created by Ocean Independence’s takeover of Cavendish White: 81.
This does indeed, according to all my sources, verify the April 9 claim by Ocean Independence that it now controls the second-largest fleet of charter yachts in the world, after Camper & Nicholsons International, which had 106 charter yachts in its fleet as of April 11. The next-biggest fleets number in the 70s.
Why did it take so long to confirm these numbers? Because the only objective resource that keeps track of all charter fleets is a subscription-only database accessible only by pre-screened charter brokers. I had to work not just with management companies to get their numbers, but also with my sources among such charter brokers to verify that what the companies were telling me was factually correct. You, as a member of the general public, would have had no way of verifying the claim on your own–something worth keeping in mind the next time you hear a similar claim by any yacht charter company.
Another interesting side note is that, during the course of my inquiries, several of the world’s management companies suggested to me that the number of charter yachts in a fleet is not the most important thing. Instead, they asked me to consider the size of the yachts in each company’s charter fleet. Having 40 yachts over 150 feet long in a fleet of any size, they would argue, is more impressive than having the largest total number of charter yachts in general.
The underlying sentiment in such an argument is that when you’re deciding which charter company is “the best,” there is more than one way to define “the best,” depending on what type of charter yacht interests you.
Fair enough, as long as you’re being given accurate information during your research. I’m happy to say that in this case, the claim being made to the public was absolutely true.