It is no secret that the realm of superyachts can come across as a bit of a man’s world. For many though, yachting is a family activity, a way to bring people together, see the world and have new experiences. In a happy break with tradition, the cover of Issue 13 features one such family. The Mayers, midway through a round-the-world trip on board their yacht The Big Blue, tell us how leaving their old life behind to travel the globe has been the best decision they have ever made.

Shirley Robertson OBE is a woman in a man’s world. The double Olympic gold-winning sailor is no stranger to breaking barriers and records, and has been the only woman at the helm on the superyacht regatta circuit for the last couple years, steering Salperton to victory on several occasions last year and this year helming Moonbird. Following the St Barths Bucket, she spoke to The Superyacht Owner about racing the biggest boats of her career and the responsibilities of race crew.



As one of the sponsors of this year’s St Barths Bucket, a regatta calendar highlight, The Superyacht Owner had the opportunity to race with and have candid conversations with many owners, including the owners of S/Y Twizzle and Marco Vögele, the Swiss owner of S/Y Inouï. Vögele shared his thoughts on yacht design, ownership and the lure of the Med, while the owners of Twizzle spoke to us about switching from motoryachts to a sailing yacht, their world tour and the decision to sell.

For Neville Crichton, only the fastest will do. A hardcore competitive sailor, typically associated with success on the racing circuit in his supermaxi Alfa Romeo, Crichton has just completed his first Feadship, 46m Como. The straight-talking Kiwi talks to us about why he has always wanted to a Feadhship, how J-classes are “too bloody slow” and how he is already pondering his next yacht.



This year marked the fifth edition of the Singapore Yacht Show, so we assess its potential validity for the wider industry and how the industry should be education itself to meet the new market demands. Continuing to look beyond traditional hubs, The Superyacht Owner visited Palmarina Bodrum to see how it plans to take on the traditional Mediterranean charter and marina spots. Four leading charter professionals reveal what questions owners should be asking if they want to run a profitable charter yacht, Charlie Birkett, CEO at Y.CO shares what he has learned over the last 10 years and a selection of owners, brokers and designers tells us what they would do with 30M euros.

Turning the focus to design, a selection of designers go through the increasingly innovative ways that they are ensuring that an array of sporting platforms, from squash courts to golf greens, can be integrated into yacht designs. Good design can also mean a more efficient yacht. Leave the complex bits to the captain and engineer, but knowing a few basics on how engines at sea burn fuel differently from your car is part of good seamanship and can help cut the cost of ownership, so this issue explores the fundamentals of fuel efficiency.

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