First Impression: Harmony

Date toured: December 2007

I am hesitant to tell you about the 115-foot charter yacht Harmony. Not because there’s anything wrong with the 1998 build, but because unless you’ve chartered her before, it’s going to be darn hard for you to book a vacation aboard.
     Harmony, you see, is a motoryacht that has developed an outstanding base of repeat clients under the direction of Capt. Jack Mckay, who has been in command since the current owner bought the yacht in 2003. Mckay told me that every charter Harmony did in 2007 was for a repeat client, except for one—and that group had to book a year and a half in advance to get the slot.
     Yachts in this position tend to go one of two ways. They either milk their repeat clients for more business while letting the boat itself get rundown, or they continually add to and improve their program so that if their repeat clients should leave, new clients will be waiting at the boarding gate. Harmony takes the latter approach, which is one of the reasons she remains so successful.
     “We really like new business because you always have people who fall away,” as Mckay put it. “You can’t live off of repeat business. You have to continually be improving.”
     It’s that attitude that keeps Harmony so busy, and that keeps the yacht herself in such good condition. As I walked around, I saw fresh carpeting, nice fabrics, and nothing at all that seemed worn out or over-used after such a busy charter schedule.
     Harmony is typically listed as taking eight to 10 guests. That’s because she has a master cabin with a king-size bed, a VIP cabin with a queen-size bed, and two additional cabins that can be configured to sleep four or six people. As Mckay says that Harmony is ideally suited for families, those last two cabins, when filled to capacity, are usually the domain of children who don’t mind sharing.
    The yacht is part of the fleet at The Sacks Group Yachting Professionals, with a weekly base rate of $43,500 with six crew. That’s about $5,400 per person with all the beds full and typical 25-percent expenses factored in.
     Contact any reputable charter broker to learn more.—Kim Kavin