Owners' Party in New York

On Wednesday 11 July, superyacht owners, potential owners and friends of the industry were invited by Dubois Yachts and Fitzroy Yachts to the New York Yacht Club for an exclusive evening event celebrating yacht ownership, design and manufacturing. With exclusive media support of The Superyacht Owner, the hosts, Ed Dubois and Rodney Martin of Fitzroy, welcomed guests to the Model Room, home to a spectacular collection of models tracing the history of America’s Cup from its inception.

Timed to coincide with the presence in New York of two Dubois-designed and Fitzroy-built yachts, the 44m Artemis, delivered in 2007, and the 50m Zefira, launched in 2010, the event was an opportunity for owners, their friends and partners to get together, pick up copies of The Superyacht Owner magazine, and chat about their current and upcoming yachting lives.

“It’s wonderful to see our friends in the pages of this magazine,” one owner said, pointing to the recent cover story on Cesare D’Amico and the build of his latest yacht, Aslec 4. “It’s nice to see what he’s done, where he’s going. I think there is real value in that.”



Ed Dubois took the microphone and talked about his company’s successful history of working with Fitzroy Yachts in New Zealand, and talked about his relationship with his own yacht. “The US remains truly a land of opportunity and the powerhouse of the world,” Dubois said. “It’s about opportunity and dynamism. It’s wonderful to have two of our designs here, both built by Fitzroy Yachts, and to throw this party to recognise our American clients and the potential of the US superyacht marketplace.”

The next afternoon, at North Cove Marina on the southern tip of Manhattan, adjacent to the redeveloped World Trade Center site, Artemis and Zefira were tied up alongside, attracting crowds of interested onlookers, as well as a stream of interested owners and potential clients.



“It’s been a great day,” said Toby Walker, MD of Dubois Yachts and the firm’s lead broker. “Both of these beautiful yachts are privately owned and operated, and demonstrate the height of quality design and manufacturing that Dubois and Fitzroy Yachts can achieve.” Rodney Martin, MD of Fitzroy Yachts, concurred: “Here, we have a couple examples of the finest sailing yachts in the world, in the heart of one of the greatest cities in the world. It’s a fantastic way to showcase our workmanship and support the US market.” Indeed, other brokers from leading firms took the opportunity to come down and tour the yachts, while curious Wall Street-types considered the yachting lifestyle—some for the first time.

“This is a truly spectacular vessel,” one New York banker said, concluding his tour of Artemis. He queried charter prices, and was given ballpark figures for Salperton, a near sister-ship of Artemis. He cast his eyes aloft, considered the height of the mast, and then smiled at his wife. It was the look of someone who’d had a realisation of how they could enjoy life a little bit differently.




Frederico Biattori, Captain of Zefira relayed the story of the yacht’s passage beneath the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge into New York Harbor (a very exciting moment!) and their anchoring just off the Statue of Liberty—apparently the first such anchorage since 9/11. “It was truly a magnificent site,” Biattori said. “I woke up in the morning and took a picture of Madame Liberté from our vantage point and sent it to the owner. He was really delighted with the idea of us anchored there. That’s his passion for sailing… though he couldn’t be with us, he was just so pleased his yacht was there.”

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