JANUARY 2018 WWW.BOATINTERNATIONAL.COM
Darling
on Deck
Mix it up! New Year’s resolutions can help
ward off boating blues, says Kristin Ducote
recently asked a friend about his New Year’s
resolution for a newly acquired 130ft yacht.
His unguarded response: “Sell it and never
buy another one!”
Obviously he was joking, but the sentiment rings true.
There’s almost nothing we love to hate more than our
boats. Yachting is a confluence of emotional opposites,
swinging from the highest high – a beautiful canopied
lunch of crab claws on the aft deck – to the lowest low –
an unexpected $24,000 bill for crew uniforms or yet
another trip to the “yard,” a word that inspires fear
tantamount to death and taxes combined.
To prevent my friend’s resolution becoming yours,
here are some positive New Year’s resolutions for 2018.
GET FIT ON BOARD. The most common New Year’s
pledge is to get fit, but a yacht cruise, with endless plates
of gooey hot cookies and bottomless cocktails, can
throw a wrench in your new diet regimen. Don’t feel bad
about sending dietary requests ahead of time. Whether
you want to be gluten-free, sugar-free, high-fat or
low-fat, your chef will tailor exquisite meals to your
requirements. And although it’s easy to park yourself in
a lounge chair, novel in one hand, glass of rosé in the
other, resolve to get yourself moving. Buy a Peloton
stationary bike and stream live spinning classes. Insteadof taking the tender to survey a new anchorage, launch
the paddleboard. Plan an afternoon of family Olympics:
think swimming races, beach sprints and a conch shell
toss. If all else fails, remember snorkeling is a sneaky
way to trick yourself into cardio.
CHARTER MORE. Why not defray costs when you aren’t
on board? Don’t be afraid to charter. Just take your time
and find the right broker. You might suddenly find that
your floating beauty can pay for itself. Everything after
that is gravy.
UPDATE YOUR INTERIORS. Lighten the fabrics; brighten
the cabins. Update your art. Get rid of that Turner-esqe
ship tossing in the waves and find new pieces that are
fun and unexpected. Sunny interiors will improve
everyone’s mood and draw family back to the boat.
EXPLORE NEW WATERS. Don’t get stuck in a cruising rut.
If you always spend the summer moseying up the East
Coast, branch out. There’s more to life than the
Hamptons. Does the head waiter at Le Club 55 know
you by your first name? Give Saint-Tropez a break!
Try lesser-known islands in the southern Bahamas or
off the coast of South America.
INVEST IN WATER TOYS. The exorbitant price of a new
JetSurf or SeaBob might make you blanch, but their
expense in relation to their fun metric actually makes
them a bargain. Pack a new water toy for each cruise and
give your guests a fresh skill to master. Consider a
Flyboard, a Seabreacher, or another exhilarating
machine from the Superyacht Tenders & Toys website
(superyachttendersandtoys.com).
Everyone’s heard the saying: “The best days of a man’s
life are the day he buys a yacht and the day he sells it.”
Here’s hoping with a few carefully kept resolutions, the
best day of your life will instead be that one anchored
offshore, cabins full of friends and family, a drink in
hand, as the sun sinks below the horizon, watching,
waiting, and finally seeing that elusive green flash.
Happy New Year! Wishing you great adventures and
glorious memories in the year to come.BThere’s more to life than
the Hamptons. Does the
head waiter at Le Club 55
know you by your first name?
Give Saint-Tropez a break!I
(^64) OWNERS’ CLUB