As September comes ever closer, all eyes are turning towards Monaco Yacht Show, and as such, our Monaco issue has a specific focus of ownership and brokerage. Within the owner section of this edition, I speak to Guido Krass, owner of 77m Silver Fast, whom I met at Singapore Yacht Show earlier on this year. Discussing the business practices of SilverYachts, his shipyard located in Perth, Australia, Krass revealed how his experiences as an owner ensure the standards are the highest possible. “We don’t cut corners; quality is important. We are a very small shipyard. If you have an owner who is unhappy because of quality, then it will spread out into the world, so we cannot afford that.”

I also catch-up with James ‘Jimmy’ Liautaud, owner of 60m Feadship Rock.It, who will be at Monaco Yacht Show this year. Liautaud is in the final design stages of his new vessel and has recently placed his beloved first yacht on the market. She is - at the time of writing- currently in a joint listing with Burgess and Northrop & Johnson for €70,000,000. “Rock.It is an amazing piece of art,” he explains. “I am a steward of her. If someone is ready to take her, they can take her, if they don’t take her, I will keep enjoying her.”

Speaking frankly about his opinion of the industry, Liautaud points out an interesting personality trait he has found among fellow owners. “To get to the point where you can buy a boat, you have had to be an independent thinker, and have some balls to make some decisions that sometimes are good and sometimes are not, and you have got to roll with it.”

A slight twist on our usual ‘Lessons Learned’ feature, Paul Gillcrist talks us through the conversion of 85m Delma into 91.5m Queen Miri by Amico & Co. Completed in a record 17 months, Gillcrist worked as an owner’s representative throughout the refit and it was his first superyacht project.

For those of your lucky enough to be attending this year’s show, make sure to stop by our stand and grab yourself a copy of issue 181 of The Superyacht Report. For our 25th anniversary we offer all VIPs (Captains, Owners, Yacht Managers, Chief Engineers, First Officers, Brokers, Designers, Senior Shipyard Management, Owner’s Representatives, Investors and Family Offices) a 12-month complimentary subscription. Click here to apply.

Image: M/Y Rock.It (courtesy of Northrop & Johnson)

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