Monaco Yacht Show returns to centre stage

alt="Monaco Yacht Show returns to centre stage"/>

The Monaco Yacht Show runs from September 22-25

A new-look Monaco Yacht Show makes its welcome return from September 22-25 after a two-year hiatus caused by Covid. Three hundred exhibitors and about 100 superyachts on display should ensure that this most exclusive event continues at the pinnacle of private yachting’s sales calendar.

Caution remains the keynote, however, and some owners clearly had second thoughts about allowing their vessels to be displayed. This resulted in some last-minute changes, but final adjustments take place at every boat show, and the overall message is that Monaco is back with a bang.

The superyacht industry, which traditionally takes stock at this time, has had a very impressive last year, as wealthy individuals across the world decide to invest in their own floating resorts. The attractions in owning such vessels, capable of getting away from it all, “far from the madding crowd”, have never been more evident, and order books are filling fast.

Builder bases in the pavilions provide links to vessels displayed outside

This development will be reviewed pre-MYS in a Monaco Yacht Summit on September 21 at the Yacht Club de Monaco, supported by JP Morgan Private Bank, Monaco Economic Board and the Monaco Convention Bureau.

High-quality speakers for the Business Report, which looks at trends and other aspects of chartering, buying, building and operating a superyacht, include Jonathan Beckett, CEO of brokers Burgess, Michael Breman, Sales Director of German yard Lürssen, which has eight new build and refit facilities, Rose Damen, Managing Director of Damen Yachting and Amels, and Aino-Leena Grapin, CEO of Winch Design.

Charlie Birkett, CEO and founder of Y.CO, is speaking on the charter market, and Benetti is among those addressing how to commission a new build, as is Oceanco.

Damen Yachting’s Time Off

MYS, owned by British shows and exhibitions conglomerate Informa, has refined a Dockside exhibition area this year featuring companies involved in the construction and management of superyachts, which is only accessible to visitors holding ‘Discover’, ‘Advise’ and ‘Sapphire’ badges on the opening Wednesday, September 22.

On Quai L’Hirondelle, a focus is now on super sailboats, as well as their shipyards, designers and specialist equipment suppliers such as sails, spars and deck hardware. This sounds logical, but some clients are interested in both sail and motor yachts, and separating them may be a challenge in practice. The demise in recent years of New Zealand’s Alloy Yachts and now Perini Navi in Italy has also put pressure on this sector, while opening opportunities for others.

Another innovation is that the Designer Gallery has been enhanced by addition of a Yacht Design and Innovation Hub, where designers can interact with potential clients and present some of their copious design ideas. We asked designers Espen Øino and Sam Sorgiovanni, separately, what they thought of this development, and both were very positive.

The new Yacht Design and Innovation Hub allows designers to showcase their ideas; this is the Frontier concept by Sam Sorgiovanni

Other complementary sectors include Tenders and Toys on Quai Antoine, luxury cars on the car deck, luxury products as usual in the Parvis Piscine pavilion, and nautical gear and latest tech releases on Darse Sud and Quai Albert.

Among more general comments, Marco Valle, CEO of Azimut-Benetti, said: “Monaco Yacht Show is for sure one of the key events for super yachting, and we are really happy to introduce some of our new models after a very satisfactory sales season, probably one of the best of the last 10 years.”

Jonathan Beckett, CEO of Burgess, also traditionally on Quai L’Hirondelle: “We have followed the evolution of MYS over three decades, and support the organisers’ new approaches to upgrading visitor experiences. We will bring a high-quality selection of our listed yachts.”

Michael Breman, Sales Director Lürssen: “We are happy to be back at the boat show. We are hopeful that the revamped show concept is a success, and that we will have the opportunity to engage with many new build customers.”

Feadship’s 94m Viva has a remarkable design-to-delivery story

Farouk Nefzi, Marketing Director of Feadship: “We were involved in discussions with Informa to deliver an event that will enhance the journey of visiting superyacht customers. This September show promises to be a top-notch lifestyle event.”

Gaëlle Tallarida, General Manager of MYS: “Rest assured that MYS 2021 will be covid-safe. An anti-covid sanitary protocol will be respected throughout the entire show, from the first day of preparations to the dismantling of the last stand and, of course, during the four days of the show.”

Builders taking part include Ab Yachts, Abeking & Rasmussen, Alia, Arcadia, Azimut, Baglietto, Baltic, Benetti, Bilgin, Columbus, Conrad, CRN, Damen, Delta, Extra, Feadship, Ferretti, Fincantieri, Gulf Craft, Heesen, Icon, ISA, JFA, Kusch, Latitude, Lloyd Werft, Lürssen, Maiora, Mangusta, Mondomarine, Nautor’s Swan, Nobiskrug, Ocea, Oceanco, Rossinavi, Royal Hakvoort, Royal Huisman, Sanlorenzo, SES, Silver, Sunreef, Southern Wind, Tankoa, Turquoise, Vitters, Wally and Westport.

SilverYachts’ Australian-built 85m luxury explorer Bold

Leading brokers include Burgess, Bluewater, Camper & Nicholsons, Edmiston, Fraser, G-Yachts, Imperial, Merle Wood, Moran Yacht & Ship, Peter Insull, Sunseeker Monaco, Y.CO and Yachting Partners.

Silver Yachts and Echo Yachts, both based in the Australian Marine Complex south of Perth, are at MYS. Silver Yachts has the remarkable 85m luxury explorer vessel Bold on display, and another global explorer under construction will be available for custom outfitting.

The yard is also producing 35m Silver Yachts SpaceCats at Jiangmen in the Pearl River Delta. These and the explorers, and earlier Silver Yachts motor yachts of 73 and 77m, are designed by Espen Øino as fast but economic world cruising vessels.

Heesen’s 55m Moskito shown visiting Malta

Other vessels expected to feature at Monaco include one of Damen Yachting’s Support Vessels, the 55m Time Off, ninth in this series, and Heesen’s similarly 55m steel Moskito delivered this year, as well as Sanlorenzo’s 62Steel Cloud 9.

Feadship’s 94m Viva, if she makes it, has advanced hybrid propulsion to lower her carbon footprint, and Burgess may also show the 85m Victorious built by AKyacht. Exterior design is by Michael Leach, and interiors by H2.

Zazou at 65m is pencilled in for Benetti, and Azimut is meant to be showing its largest flagship model to date, the 38m Grande Trideck.

Bilgin’s impressive 80m Tatiana

Two 80m 2020 deliveries are Artefact with distinctive exterior lines drawn by Greg Marshall, who was responsible for the unusual Big Fish in New Zealand some years ago, and Tatiana from Bilgin.

This well-known Turkish yard has built a spectrum of interesting vessels and is laying down its superyacht credentials with Tatiana and her following sister ships. Exterior design is by Unique and spectacular interiors from H2.