Meeting of the megayachts

Marine
Monaco Yacht Show
Meeting
of the
mega­
yachts
There are not many places in the world where a
40-meter yacht does not stand out. But Port Hercules
marina in Monaco is one. The 43-meter El Sea can be
seen there alongside the 37-meter Izumi. Not far from
those two is the Icon – all 62 meters of her.­­
It’s showtime in Monaco. Every year in September,
the harbor is the backdrop to an exhibition of
superlatives: the Monaco Yacht Show.
From 21st to 24th September 2011, Monaco harbor was the
meeting place for the megayacht scene. Shipbuilders, architects,
designers, consultants and suppliers all came to show off what
they could offer the world of the rich and beautiful.
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Marine
The number of shoes left at the gangway tells you how popular a yacht is.
How can you tell how popular a yacht is? By the number
of decks? The length? The color? No, by how many pairs
of shoes there are in the baskets by the gangway onto the
yacht. That is because you don’t board a yacht in your outdoor shoes; the furnishings are far too precious for that.
You walk over the shining marble floors and deep-pile carpets in your bare feet. And in the world of yachting superlatives things are altogether different from how you might
think. The carpets running from one yacht to another are
not red but blue – azure blue like the color of the water in
the harbor. And along with sunglasses and iPhones, the
most ubiquitous objects at the show appear to be polishing cloths. Everywhere you look someone is buffing and
polishing; everything gleams and sparkles – including, of
course, the MTU engine in the yacht My Petra. It is white
with glittering chrome cylinder head covers.“I love my MTU
engine,” announces its owner, Frans Heesen. Until recently,
he owned the Heesen shipyards in the Netherlands but has
now sold the business but remains its Chairman of Supervisory Board. He wants to sell the My Petra too and have
another yacht built instead. In contrast with the My Petra,
which is an all alu­minium semi-displacement motor yacht,
the new craft is to be ­tailored specifically for his family
which is becoming more numerous: the Heesens now have
seven grandchildren and need a more voluminous yacht,
that’s why they chose a full displacement motor yacht.
Though one feature will be the same: the new yacht will be
driven by twin MTU Series 4000 engines as well. And just
like her predecessor, she will be named after Mr. Heesen’s
wife. She is to be called Lady ­Petra and presented as a gift
on Petra Heesen’s birthday on 25th April.
Discretion the watchword
The candor with which Frans Heesen speaks about his
yacht is by no means the norm in the luxury yachts business. Discretion is the watchword. Admittance to the boats
is by personal invitation only. Serious prospective buyers
arrive incognito and closely shielded. Especially in these
times of crisis and austerity measures, the yacht owners
don’t want to be ostentatious with their wealth. Because
there is probably very little in the world that compares with
a megayacht for its combination of enormous expense and
blatant luxury. Although the details of the prices are protected by that well-observed discretion. At one time there
was a general rule of thumb that every meter of a luxury
yacht cost a million euro, but that is long since surpassed.
Apparently the width, or beam, is important too, because it
affects the amount of interior refinements that can be fitted in the yacht. So we are informed by Matthias Kundert,
chief engineer on the My Petra. He is standing in the engine room of the yacht polishing the engine’s cylinder head
covers. Everything has to be sparkling when potential buyers look round. “The engine is brilliant – 2,720 kilowatts of
concentrated power. I have never had any problems with
it,” he recounts in praise of his gleaming white charge. The
question as to why it has to be polished, however, is some-
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2
1 The My Petra built by the Heesen shipyard in Holland is 44 meters long. That is roughly the average
at the Monaco show. The longest yacht was 86.5 meters, the shortest 26.
2 Gleaming white with chrome cylinder head covers:
yacht owners place great importance on the appearance of their engines.
France
MAP
“I love my MTU engine,” announces yacht owner Frans Heesen (right, seen with
Wouter Hoek of MTU Benelux, left).
1
Italy
Monaco
Mediterranean
MTU Brown
0-17-28-62
CMYK
MTU Brown
80% der Farbe
CMYK
MTU Blue
50-25-0-10
CMYK
MTU Blue
80% der Farbe
CMYK
60%
CMYK
40%
CMYK
20%
CMYK
60%
CMYK
40%
CMYK
20%
CMYK
Marine
thing he hasn’t quite got an answer for. It was just how
things should be done.
Trade only, no tourists
Just as much the way things should be for Frans Heesen
is to come to Monaco every year. He was at the very
first Monaco Yacht Show 22 years ago and hasn’t
missed one since. He recounts with a smile how once he
missed appearing at the comparably large yacht show
in Fort ­Lauderdale, USA. “People though I must be on
my death-bed,” he says, drawing on his cigar with gusto. Someone else for whom Monaco is the show highlight
of the year is Francesco Ansole from shipbuilders Azimut.
“Everyone who is anyone in the industry meets here,” says
the Italian. He uses the show to find out what buyers like.
Another important feature for him is that there are virtually
no sightseers at the event, just people in the trade. And no
wonder – the ticket price of 65 euro puts people off, even
though half of the takings from ticket sales are donated
to the Monaco charity in aid of the muscular disease
myopathy.
But you do get quite a lot for your money. For several days,
the stars of the Principality are not Albert or Charlene but
have names like Shooting Star, Triple Seven or Dou­­ble Shot.
They all stand gleaming white in the water, their decks festooned with flowers and the sofas invite you to sit and stay
a while. But which one to buy? It’s a difficult decision. Of
course, all the yachts on show are bespoke creations to
suit the wishes of their owners. But the differences are not
at all obvious. Standard features are a ­jacuzzi on the deck,
massage chair, sauna, helipad and cocktail bar. There is
hardly anything really brash or exaggeratedly lavish. Because the owners rarely keep their yachts for long periods.
They often sell them again after one or two years, so an
over-the-top pink bathroom could put off potential buyers.
The unsung stars of the show
There is one thing many yacht owners agree on, ­however.
They trust MTU engines. These unsung stars can be found
hidden away in the engine rooms of many yachts at the
show. The biggest seller is the 16-cylinder version of the
Series 4000. It propels the Double Shot, for ­example, to a
top speed of 32 knots. The five-man crew of the ­Mangusta
T130 keep a careful eye on it even during the show. And
the two largest yachts on show in ­Monaco, the Seven Seas
and the Cakewalk, are powered by the same engine. Both
craft attract visitors like magnets. The 85-­meter Cakewalk
boasts an impressive four sundecks, one on each level. The
handrails are wooden and give the ship a homely feel. The
Seven Seas is just one meter longer but quite different in
other ways. With dark-tinted windows and angular lines,
she looks more like a spacecraft on the sea. The rumor
quickly spreads that the Seven Seas belongs to the famous
film director, ­Steven ­Spielberg. Apparently you can charter
her for a ­million euro a week. So what are we waiting for?
Swimming pools, jacuzzis, sundecks and cocktail bars
are standard features of luxury yachts.
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Marine
Admiring the yacht at least once from the outside is a must
for every visitor to the show, “Have you seen the Seven
Seas yet?” is a question frequently heard. And it is asked
not only in French, but in English, Russian, Dutch and
G
­ erman too. This show is international. Though one group
conspicuous by their absence are Asian buyers. Do they
not have yachts? “The market there is only just getting
­established; it will take some time before it reaches a ­level
similar to that in Europe and the USA,” explains Daniel
Ramoli of MTU’s Yacht Sales Department. Of course, there
was an increasing number of rich people in Asia, especially in India and China, who could afford yachts. But as yet,
the lifestyle and the associated infrastructure was missing.
In the luxury yacht scene that means five-star restaurants
and cafes, hidden bays with crystal-clear water, ­expensive
luxury shops and palm-lined beaches – a deficiency in Asia
at present but one that could be put right. Something many
in the business are certain of is that there will soon be a lot
more Asian yacht-builders and owners.
2
Interest in after-sales
The yacht sector is expanding, and it needs to. It has still
not recovered from the downturn it suffered in the economic crisis of 2008. “It is improving slowly, but the European shipyards in particular are facing a difficult coming
year because of the debt crisis and financing problems,”
Daniel Ramoli outlines. There is no sign of that at the show.
The narrow gangplanks are crowded – 30,000 visitors
came to the event over four days. The MTU stand – easily
identifiable from a distance by its two flags – was always
well frequented. As well as in the engines themselves,
visitors were especially interested in the MTU Value Care
products such as maintenance contracts and extended
warranties. “They give owners and captains the certainty
that their engines will always be in working order,” explains
Stephan Knorr of MTU Marine Sales. “Which is why so
many captains and chief engineers come here to find out
about them,” he concludes. A cozy lounge area invited
visitors to stay a while. The view of the harbor was
magnificent. Almost like being on a yacht. Except that
visitors were not required to take their shoes off.
3
Words: Lucie Dammann
Pictures: Robert Hack
To find out more, contact:
Daniel Ramoli
[email protected]
Tel. +49 7541 90-7017 More on this…
Slide show of images with
impressions of the show
ONLINE
Floating billionaires’ dreams on the Côte d’Azur: there were over 100 yachts to be marveled
at in Monaco harbor. But to get on board you needed a personal invitation.
4
1 Well frequented: not only the yachts drew a constant stream of
visitors. The MTU stand was popular too. Among the exhibits was
a model of the Series 4000 engine.
2 Biggest attraction: the Seven Seas was a magnet for visitors to
­Monaco. Undiluted luxury over every inch of her 86.5-meter length,
8,000 square meters of floor space and five deck levels.
3 The 85.6-meter Cakewalk is the biggest yacht ever built in ­America.
4 Attention-grabber: the Meteor is a sailing yacht whose classic
­design stood out. A real head-turner among all the modern luxury
yachts.
How it works – see page 3 or log
onto http://bit.ly/qCkkfJ
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