The 27th edition of the Monaco Yacht Show fulfilled all its promises and reflected a more buoyant market, supported notably by the strong attendance of American and Russian clients on the quays of Port Hercules to visit the 125 superyachts.
This year’s fleet was larger and younger – average length 49m, 50 percent of the yachts less than two years old – and according to Gaëlle Tallarida, Managing Director of the Show, it appealed to visitors right from the start: “The exhibitors were busy from Wednesday morning with business meetings on their stands and a full list of bookings for yacht visits.
“We felt that the whole industry was concerned by an event they’ve been preparing for months, with high trade expectations. By midday this impression was shared by all the different participants, brokers or shipyards who already confirmed negotiations with visitors interested in chartering or purchasing a yacht.”
Attendance at this year’s edition was higher than 2016 with 36,400 participants, up by eight percent, including an international business clientele but also private visitors invited by the MYS organisers via the Sapphire Experience programme.
One hundred and sixty ultra-qualified individuals enjoyed a bespoke stay in Monaco with visits to the superyachts displayed in Port Hercules. Around 400 appointments on board were scheduled with the yachts’ representatives; one “Sapphire Experience” guest has already placed an order for a yacht.
On the eve of the MYS, the second edition of the Monaco Yacht Summit welcomed some fifty potential new superyacht clients – or their representatives – to discuss the key information to be borne in mind when chartering or purchasing a luxury yacht for the first time.
The presence of these future owners or charterers in Port Hercules was the tangible result of the marketing and public relations actions managed by Gaëlle Tallarida and her team to promote encounters between the 580 exhibitors and new clients: “The Monaco Yacht Show has become a brand with a strong identity, clearly defined since the first edition in 1991.
“The MYS is unique in being the only hybrid show in the world exclusively dedicated to the universe of superyachting. We are proud to host both the B2B community today and tomorrow’s superyacht purchasers. They make a perfect fit.”
Possibly the most important painting in the collection of Dmitry Rybolovlev, Leonardo da Vinci’s Salvator Mundi, is due to go on sale at a Christie’s auction on November 15. Described as the last da Vinci painting in private hands, the masterpiece, dating from about 1500, is expected to sell for about €110 million ($130 million).
Although the painting was once owned by King Charles I, its history includes a long period in which it was thought to be the work of one of da Vinci’s students. In 1958 the painting was sold in the UK for €50 (£45).
The reason for the sale is unclear, although Rybolovlev reportedly bought the painting for about €106 million through art dealer Yves Bouvier four years ago. The AS Monaco majority owner has since claimed that the Swiss dealer cheated him with huge and unknown mark-ups on a number of paintings, a charge that Bouvier has strongly denied. The row between the two has embroiled the former chief of Monaco’s judiciary, who resigned following press reports of his closeness to the Russian billionaire.
“Salvator Mundi is a painting of the most iconic figure in the world by the most important artist of all time,” Loic Gouzer, chairman of post-war and contemporary art for Christie’s New York, said in a statement released by the auction house.
Christie’s specialist Alan Wintermute has said that the sale of Salvator Mundi is a unique event. “It seemed just a tantalisingly unobtainable dream until now. To see a fully finished, late masterpiece by Leonardo, made at the peak of his genius, appear for sale in 2017 is as close as I’ve come to an Art World Miracle.”
Andy Warhol’s 1986 painting “Sixty Last Suppers” – based on Leonardo’s “Last Supper” masterpiece – also will be featured. Its estimate is around $42 million ($50 million).
Princess Stephanie unveils a statue of Prince Rainier III on the Place du Cirque in Bucharest. Photo: F. Nebinger/Prince’s Palace
On Wednesday, October 4, Princess Stephanie was in Romania to unveil, along with Gabriela Firea, Mayor of Bucharest, a statue of Prince Rainier III on the Place du Cirque in the centre of the capital.
The monument was a fitting tribute to Prince Rainier, a great defender of the traditional circus. In 1974, the Prince created the International Circus Festival of Monte-Carlo to reinforce his commitment to the Arts.
Consequently, held every January over the past 43 years, the festival has continued to grow in its success.
Princess Stephanie unveils a statue of Prince Rainier III with Gabriela Firea, Mayor of Bucharest. Photo: F. Nebinger/Prince’s Palace
Tribute to Prince Rainier III. Photo: F. Nebinger/Prince’s Palace
Princess Stephanie meets HRH Princess Margareta and her husband Prince Radu of Romania at the Royal Palace of Bucharest. Photo: F. Nebinger/Prince’s Palace
Princess Stephanie with HRH Princess Margareta and her husband Prince Radu of Romania at the Royal Palace of Bucharest. Photo: F. Nebinger/Prince’s Palace
Princess Stephanie with Gabriela Firea, Mayor of Bucharest. Photo: F. Nebinger/Prince’s Palace
Princess Stephanie in Bucharest. Photo: F. Nebinger/Prince’s Palace
Princess Stephanie with Gabriela Firea, Mayor of Bucharest. Photo: F. Nebinger/Prince’s Palace
Circus training in Bucharest. Photo: F. Nebinger/Prince’s Palace
Princess Stephanie, who inherited her father’s passion for the circus and is currently the President of the International Circus Festival of Monte-Carlo, ended her visit by meeting HRH Princess Margareta, daughter of King Michael, and her husband Prince Radu of Romania at the Royal Palace of Bucharest.
The Circus has a privileged place in Romanian culture and the Arts, which is why the city of Bucharest has honoured Prince Rainier.
HE Deo Saran, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Fiji; Gilles Tonelli, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation; HE Marcia Covarrubias, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Chile; Paolo Tricotti, Honorary Consul of Chile; Marie-Catherine Caruso-Ravera, Director of Diplomatic and Consular Relations and Olivier Barelli, Secretary General of the Monaco Economic Board. Photo: Manuel Vitali/DC
Gilles Tonelli, Minister for Foreign Affairs and Cooperation, hosted a luncheon at the Hermitage Hotel on Thursday, October 12, for HE Deo Saran, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Fiji and HE Marcia Covarrubias, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Chile, who in the morning presented their Letters of Credentials to the Sovereign Prince.
HE Deo Saran was appointed CEO of Fiji Sugar Corporation in 2008. In 2010, he became a management consultant and then Ambassador for Climate at COP23. He is successively the Permanent Delegate to UNESCO, FAC and IFAD, Permanent Representative to the European Union, Non-Resident Ambassador to France, Italy, Netherlands, Spain Portugal, Luxembourg, Georgia, Greece and Morocco, Ambassador to the Kingdom of Belgium and Head of Mission to the European Union. He is the first Ambassador of the Republic of Fiji in Monaco.
HE Marcia Covarrubias, began her diplomatic career in 1989, responsible for the formulation of Chile’s foreign policy with the Arab world. In 1990, she was appointed Ambassador to the Republic of Tunisia and Special Envoy of the President of the Republic of Chile to several countries. She successively held the posts of Ambassador in Algeria, with the Hellenic Republic and in Morocco. In 1996, she became Diplomatic Advisor to the Minister of the Economy, including Founder and General Director of the Greece-Latin America Business Council, UNDP Senior Expert for Transition in Tunisia, UN Senior Advisor to Tunis and Member of the UNESCO-ICHC Board for the MENA Region.
St Barths Bucket is a go for 2018, according to its Management Team, headed by Peter Craig, Event Director and Race Chairman. “The Bucket Stewards are committed to a 2018 St Barths Bucket that will provide all that this storied event is famous for: superb competition, fantastic shoreside socials, and the Bucket hallmarks of camaraderie and sportsmanship,” the team said in a statement on October 10.
“In the days immediately following Hurricane Irma, the Bucket stewards were firm in their support of a 2018 event in St Barth even though the number of entries could be far less than in previous years,” Mr Craig told St Barts Life. “The reasoning was very simple – it is the single best action we can take on behalf of the people of St Barts.”
Mr Craig went on to explain the revenue that the event, which has been held every year since 1995, brings to the economy of St Barts “will have a direct and positive impact, but perhaps more important is the message going out now that St Barts is clearly on the road back”.
He added, the Bucket organisation was active helping deliver critical supplies in the immediate aftermath, made an early donation, and raised awareness of recovery support through our Bucket network, but the early announcement that the 2018 edition of this renowned superyacht regatta will definitely take place next March may in fact be our most meaningful action.”
Although Mr Craig is not on island, he said that “we are all very impressed by the resolve and resiliency that the people and their leaders have shown” and that “many restaurants, villas and hotels plan to be ‘open for business’ and ready to welcome visitors in November and for the holidays.”
St Barths Bucket will take place March 15-18, 2018. To date, over 25 superyachts have showed intent to enter and the list has been posted on bucketregatta.com, where regular updates will be made, as well as for the Schedule of Events (see “Racing” link).
“The feedback we have received from past Bucket participants, owners and captains, has been incredibly supportive and touching,” the Event Director shared.”This is but one example: ‘At this point we are committed to returning to the Caribbean and participating in the Bucket. The owners feel that it is critical to support the islands that have given so much to the yachting industry. Please sign us up.'”
Addressing inquiries about helping St Barts post-Irma, the St Barths Bucket Team suggested two humanitarian campaigns, both of which work directly with the government and the Red Cross: Help St Barths Gofundme account and Lion’s Club of St Barts.
Q&A with Gordon Percy, Captain and Cogs4Cancer cyclist
ML: How did you end up in Yachting? GP: For some reason, I always loved boats. By age 16, I already had my RYA Instructor certificate, and I was very lucky to be working in the school holidays at a sailing school that had about 20 different boats of all sizes and shapes, which was an excellent grounding in boat handling (excuse the pun).
I was also an avid dinghy racer, sailing with the Scottish Youth team, and doing quite well at European level. I trained as a teacher of PE and Biology, but after three years teaching in international schools, I knew teaching was not for me, so I went off travelling in south east Asia. With the monsoon season approaching I headed back to Singapore where by mere chance I landed an unpaid deckhand’s position on a classic 35m top-masted schooner, a large yacht at that time.
ML: What certification/training do you need to become a captain? GP: Today there is a quite distinct path to follow, as opposed to when I first started in yachting back in the early 80s. There are now 200/500 and 3,000 tonnes licences with many modules, days at sea required, and a training log book to be completed, all which takes time and, of course money!
As the years have progressed, more and more courses have to be retaken, which is a good thing, the most recent being the requirement for the STCW certificate to be revalidated every five years.
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ML: What does being a Captain entail? GP: Yachting is unlike the Merchant Navy where you work for a company who will then dispatch you to any of the vessels in their fleet for predetermined period of time. Generally, a yacht is owned by an individual, and so you are employed to work on his yacht only, unless he happens to have a couple. Generally, the contract is indefinite with a stipulated probation and termination period.
Many people assume that manoeuvring a large yacht is the most difficult and demanding part of the job. But in fact, although it is the most fun part, in reality it takes only a very small percentage of one’s time. A Captain is running a quite large business, with 20 or more employees, dealing with large budgets, logistics, constant maintenance, and a hundred and one other things required to keep a large yacht ticking over, and a very exigent Owner or Charter party happy at all times.
Being accountable for millions of dollars’ worth of yacht, the safety of the guests and crew is a large responsibility, and with the ever-increasing regulations that are easy to fall foul of, this can all weigh heavily on one’s mind. Particularly today where, if there is a serious accident or a regulation broken, the first person sent to jail is the Captain, even before proven guilty, and it is this increasing criminalisation that we are seeing more recently, which puts the Captain in a very vulnerable position. The buck definitely stops at the Captains feet as they say!
ML: Can you describe the yachting community to an outsider? GP: It’s a very diverse group of people from all walks of life and countries of the world. There are the very young just starting out, and the older more established crew with perhaps wife and children at home, which makes it all very interesting. Living in a tight community aboard a yacht, one makes good friends, and it’s always a pleasure to bump into old friends in the most weird and wonderful places.
Pros – seeing the world from a yacht is by far the best way to travel, unless you get seasick. Salaries can be good compared to shore side, but there are good reasons for this. It can be a fulfilling career for the right person; there is a great solidarity between the yachties, as in reality it’s quite a small community. The food is usually delicious, and the living conditions better than you would have at home.
Cons – the hours are long, the work can be very monotonous, very repetitive, you live in a very small space with some crew who you may not like. You may not get ashore for weeks at a time. You miss many Christmas celebrations, birthdays and weddings as the yacht always comes first.
ML: How has the new French law on social security (Decree no 2017-307 of 9 March 2017), which came into effect on July 1, 2017, impacted you and other crew? GP: It is by no means simple, and one wonders how it can and will be enforced. But basically, depending on your place of residence, a crewmember until now did not need to pay social security on his salary. This is obviously about to change, but as I write, the latest news is that the law has been deferred until a later date, to allow negotiations to continue. Primary, I’m guessing, because there was a large drop in business this summer in France as most of the yachts decided to go elsewhere.
Gordon Percy riding in yachting industry’s Cogs4Cancer Charity Cycle
ML: Tell us about the COGS4CANCER (C4C) charity cycle. GP: Cogs4Cancer started in 2013 and has since then raised over €908,000 for both Cancer Research UK and local French cancer charities.
This year will be the 4th edition of the charity ride, which will see 36 cyclists travel 1,400km from London to Antibes in 10 days. C4C hopes to hit the €1 million raised marker.
This will be my second ride with the COGS, the last one in 2015 was from Barcelona to Antibes in 5 days. Cogs4Cancer is managed by a group of volunteers who all work within the superyacht industry and 100% of all money raised goes to the designated cancer charities across Europe and the UK. Volunteers not only put in countless hours planning, preparing and promoting, but also pay for all their own travel and equipment needed to make the cycle rides happen.
ML: What is the Tribute Ride and how can people get involved? GP: The tribute ride on Friday October 13th is a wonderful opportunity for those who wish to join the riders for the last day of our ride from London. It’s a great day, the riders are in need of encouragement and new people to talk to, and its gives those who either could not commit the time, or felt it was too far to ride to get involved with the event. Last year we had over 100 people join us, which was really uplifting and good fun. There are a few options – from Greolieres to IYCA Antibes, approximately 60km (mainly downhill) or from Port Gallice, Juan les pins, to IYCA Antibes, approximately 10 km along the coast. For more info on the ride, see http://cogs4cancer.org/2017-tribute-ride or for the Tribute Ride, email at frenchtribute@cogs4cancer.org
ML: How significant is the Monaco Yacht Show and is it relevant for crew? GP: I guess it is considered as the most prestigious of all the shows in the world, of which they are possibly too many. It’s a chance for real buyers to peruse some of the biggest yachts for sale, but I would say it’s also an excellent event for networking for more senior crew.
ML: What yachting magazines do you read to stay atop of industry news? GP: Yachting Matters is always a good read, and Boat International to see what’s happening in the market.
ML: Yachting app you can’t live without? GP: I am not a yacht spotter so the likes of Marine traffic I steer clear of but Windy is my favourite for weather info and flight tracker to check if the Boss’s flight is on time.
ML: Advice for anyone looking to get into the industry? GP: If you want to work on a yacht for the money, please go elsewhere! It’s a tough business, and there are reasons why the salaries are good, but as Captains we are finding it more and more difficult to find the right crew. There is no longer enough crew who want to be there because they love yachts/boating, love the sea, and love travelling. Start at the bottom, learn your chosen trade inside out, resist moving up the ladder too fast, and always remember who is paying your salary and giving you the opportunity to see a bit of the world.
