Galaxy Bound for the Maldives
Camper & Nicholsons International has just announced that the 184-foot Benetti motoryacht Galaxy will be offering charters this summer in the Maldives. This is a top-notch, big-money charter yacht, recently refit with zero-speed stabilizers and featuring a beautiful interior that had me literally dropping my draw when I saw her in the Caribbean a few years ago.
As I first reported last month here on the Editor’s Blog, charter in the Maldives seems to be a growing trend in the crewed yacht market. The owners of larger boats in particular appear to be looking for an alternative winter destination to the Caribbean, which reportedly comprised about 15 percent of large-yacht charter business in 2007. The Maldives, combined with the Seychelles over the course of a season, seem to be grabbing a good share of charter yacht owners’ attention.
There is also opportunity to charter in New Zealand and Australia during the traditional winter charter season (December through March), but I’m hearing far less chatter about boats going there–as the destination is harder to reach than the Maldives and Seychelles for yachts that are positioned in the Mediterranean during the summer.
It will be interesting to see whether the boating infrastructure in the Maldives and Seychelles can rise to meet the increasing demand. A new marina that went up in the Maldives just three years ago can accommodate 20 yachts with a maximum length of 262 feet, so there is room for this level of charter yachts there. When I was in the Seychelles a few years ago onboard the 161-foot Feadship motoryacht Teleost, there was just one marina, mostly for small boats. That island nation’s first superyacht marina had just begun construction, also to accommodate yachts up to 262 feet long. (And Teleost, by the way, is heading back this winter too, part of the Edmiston & Company fleet.)
These destinations, of course, are interesting for charter in large part because they are far less developed than the Mediterranean or Northern Caribbean. You can enjoy an out-of-the-way feeling without being nose-to-nose with dozens of other charter yachts and tourists at the same time. Good evidence of that is the photo at the top of this post. I captured the shot on a beautiful beach in the Seychelles.
Still, on-shore support and marina services are just as important as pristine coves for making charters succeed. As more yachts of Galaxy and Teleost’s caliber head to the Maldives and Seychelles, it will be important for their crews to have resources available onshore to provide you with top-notch charter service.
Stay tuned.