Boat International – April 2018

backed-up sewage system

on a classic yacht left a

rather poor impression

on one owner, who had

only recently embraced

chartering. He had

welcomed, with open arms,

a country music star and

his entourage for a short

charter. Disregarding warnings posted in the

dayhead, the guests upset the delicate system.

The ensuing unpleasantness put the boat out of

commission for a few days. The owner learned

from this mistake – get security deposits – and he

persisted with the charter business, which he has

since found rewarding.

However, most owners who run successful

charter yachts say bad experiences are few and

far between. A majority have never had to ask

guests to leave, although some have come close

and would not hesitate to do so in the case of

seriously egregious or illegal behaviour.

“My crew has strict instructions: if any charter

guest harasses anyone in the crew or does

something illegal they are of. Period,” says the

owner ofDream, a refitted 60 metre Abeking &

Rasmussen with a Zen-like Bannenberg & Rowell

interior. He reports trouble-free experiences with

groups varying from families with small children

(prone to touching everything) to adults of

various nationalities.

“We selectively charter for five to seven weeks

or so. We turn down many charter requests that

we believe could wear down the crew or the boat.

It is not a business for us,” he says. “We are lucky

to have a great management company [Dynamic

Yacht Management] and very experienced crew,

so we leave little to chance in our charter

programme,” he adds.

When things do go awry, there are some clauses

in contracts that allow a charter to be terminated

Allowing a family with a brood of sticky-ingered children or a stiletto-

clad pop star on board your superyacht may seem like a daunting

proposition, but the beneits do outweigh the potential pitfalls.

Cécile Gauertgets the inside track from seasoned charter owners

risk and reward

under precise conditions – such as documented illegal activity, including

drug use or crew or boat abuse. However as Craig Plassmeyer, the owner

of 35 metre BenettiSiete, says, for anything less than this the solution

usually is to “grin and bear it”, if only to avoid paying huge penalties. He

remembers a particularly tough charter with a family whose members

could not stand each other. “They were not used to spending so much

time together,” he says. The family yelled at each other and at the crew,

who endured it but ended the week with badly frayed nerves.

He advises owners not to enter a multi-week contract but instead to

do multiple single week contracts. “This way, if it does not go well the

first week, you don’t have to sign for the next,” he says. He has two boats,

the other being a 28 metre Horizon he used to keep in California but

which he has recently moved to Florida, closer to his Benetti Classic

and his new home. Although involved in the running of the charter

programme, he mostly leaves it to his charter manager, Vicky Holmes

of Fraser – who brings him more than 90 per cent of the clients – and his

award-winning chef, who holds an MBA and “keeps an eye on things”.

Plassmeyer has been gratified with experiences as diverse as his

Horizon being selected as a location for an episode of the crime

television showNCIS and his Benetti as the honeymoon getaway

for a huge star hoping to avoid paparazzi.

It’s unusual for owners who charter their yachts to turn a profit from

the enterprise – it’s more a pragmatic way to cover some costs of a

pastime they love. “Yachting is not an inexpensive hobby. You have to

accept that. Ofsetting costs is definitely an upside [to charter], but it

shouldn’t be the only one,” says Sabina Nasser, who enjoys the recently

A

The idea to charter

43m Bina came

after the owner’s

guests responded

so positively to its

Hamptons beach-

inspired interior

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