A Superyacht for Christmas?

A Superyacht for Christmas?   The dream gift, or is it?

Do you think a superyacht could possibly be the best Christmas present ever?  Well let’s face it, not many of us would say no, would we! But after the initial euphoria, the reality of owning one of these highly luxurious, state-of-the-art sailing masterpieces might just set in.  And that’s when you realise why this game is only for a privileged few of the world’s ultra-high-net-worth individuals.

So, as much as you might like the idea of gently gliding across the glistening azure seas of the Caribbean or the Med, waited on hand and foot by a meticulous crew where nothing is a problem, the reality is that superyacht ownership comes at an enormous cost – and some!

Take for example a typical estimate of the costs of purchase and maintenance – in superyacht terms.  At the entry-level, you could pick up a perfectly respectable 30-metre luxury motorcraft for around $3.5 million.  Or if money is definitely no object you could head for the dizzy heights and splash out around a cool $95 million on 70+ metres of opulent sailing luxury!

But that’s just the start.  You’ve then got to factor in the maintenance costs such as fuel, crew, insurance, mooring fees etc. which can start around 10% of the initial cost of the boat.  Plus you also need to build in a contingency for other unexpected general expenses, breakdown, berthing and accessories, and you’ll see the maintenance costs potentially rise by another 10%.  And that’s per annum!

So what are your alternatives if you really want to own that dream yacht without having to have very deep pockets?  Well, you could go the fractional-ownership route where you could still enjoy access to your genuine superyacht but without the associated cost and hassle.

One example of a company offering a range of fractional ownership programmes is Yachtplus.   They offer year-round access to a fleet of private superyachts in the Caribbean and in the Med, under a range of different programmes, depending on how many weeks you want – or on how much you’d like to spend.  All of the crew and maintenance costs are shared between the owners and you get guaranteed availability every year – or you can charter out your weeks if you like or swap with other owners if you’re unable to use the yacht in any of your allocated periods.

Of course, maybe a better present could be chartering one of these amazing superyachts – an easy walk-on walk-off option with a one-off payment –  and favoured by many of the rich and famous.  A week in the Caribbean over the Christmas period could be the answer, and if so there’s still availability on this 47m beauty, the AXIOMA motor yacht.  It’s available this winter and is on offer at an exceptional 40% discount for a Christmas charter!! M/Y AXIOMA is available from 19th until 28th December at the special weekly rate of USD 130,000 plus all expenses (instead of USD 220,000) – so you better be quick!

Or coming back down to earth with a bit of a bump, we have a better and much cheaper way to get access to that superyacht! Take a trip to the London Boat Show at ExCel, London from the 12^th to 20^th January and see these fabulous crafts of all shapes, sizes and budgets on display.  And you don’t need to just look, you can even touch and feel, and dream – but then walk away – with your bank balance still intact!

All Images (except Axioma) Copyright Lovesail.com