It was supposed to be fun!

invisible-crew-find-work-on-pocket-superyacht

It’s really exciting to work with people who are serious about purchasing a yacht or already have a yacht in build. Prior to buying a yacht there are the dreams and the plans. The budget is the catalyst that makes the dream turn into a plan. At that early stage everything needs to be dreamed up. The colour of the hull, the toys, the fabrics and interior colour schemes and of course, the cruising plan and many other things. It takes professional guidance from people like us to make sure educated choices are made. We also make sure the less exciting items are taken care of. Such as the captain’s phone and laptop and the data contract to go with it. The crew bank accounts, the maintenance plan, the marina bookings, the uniforms etcetera.

Then comes the day when everything materialises. The yacht is commissioned, the crew steps on board, the gear is loaded on, procedures are in place, owners and guests step on board for their first holiday and the lines are thrown off!

Some owners have experience owning a yacht. Some even have experience owning a crewed yacht. Some owners have no experience at all.

Whichever category they are in, if they are going at it without any support at all, they are -in the best case- setting themselves up for a second day job managing their own yacht. In the worst case, they are setting themselves -and their crew- up for disaster. We often pick up our clients at the deepest point of disappointment. “Owning a yacht was supposed to be fun!”

If you don’t have the network, the energy and the time to deal with the operational side of your yacht, it’s going to suck the fun out of the experience quickly. Even the best crew need second opinions on making certain decisions. If you don’t have the answers, because it’s not your area of expertise, and you haven’t organised any support framework for your crew, you better trust them 1000% in their ability. If you don’t, this nagging, sour feeling is going to pop up at the time when you are supposed to be most relaxed: on board your yacht!

Our clients have understood this and they have chosen to outsource all the hassle to a team of people who have built an excellent reputation in managing 50-100ft Pocket Superyachts.

This month we are at this stage where the dream becomes reality for one of our clients as they take acceptance of their Lagoon Seventy8. They have given us the full responsibility over the yacht’s setup and operations. It’s extremely exciting to be in charge of such a project where we have a high stake in every failure and success. By the time you are reading this, the owners are spending their first holiday on board with the wonderful crew team that we’ve put together. We will soon receive the first impressions of the owners. We aim to keep them in that dreamy state that they have been in until now. We will make sure it stays fun, like it’s supposed to!

Jens Oomes

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