Owning a yacht in a Yacht Ownership Program can provide you a window of opportunity. For past Sunsail owner and current Moorings owner, Paul Harris, and like many other Moorings owners, more time on the water at more destinations is essential to getting the most out of a Yacht Ownership Program. Continue reading to get some great advice from an owner who knows a thing or two about owning a yacht through an ownership program.
Where to start?
Whether you raced Lasers as a child or the first yacht you sailed was a 47ft monohull after your retirement, everyone’s love for sailing has to start somewhere. For owner Paul Harris, he has always enjoyed dinghy sailing, but getting into the cruising culture was something that he discovered on Anegada, BVI in 2010. As he explains, “We were chatting with a group of 15 or 20 people and we had discovered that four or five of them were Sunsail owners. They explained a little about the program and when we arrived home we looked into it, and within a few months we were Sunsail owners. We were Sunsail owners until 2015 when we traded our Sunsail 36i in for a Moorings 42.3.”
Where to sail and when?
Most sailors will tell you that they have their favorite destinations, but that does not mean we don’t have the desire to explore new locations and discover different terrain. In a Yacht Ownership Program sailing in different locations is actually quite easy considering destinations around the world have different seasons. For example, in the Caribbean, visiting in the winter provides ideal weather and sailing conditions, but in the Mediterranean you would likely want to visit during the summer months. As Paul explains, “We prefer to go to the BVI in January because we need that week of BVI sunshine to get us through the winter, and then by the time May comes around, we are more than ready to go sailing in Turkey.” For Paul, his favorite destination is Turkey. This was made clear when reviewing his sailing log and counting 13 trips to various locations around the country. But that is not to discredit the other 15 trips that he has been on. In fact, after Paul completes his sailing trip to the British Virgin Islands in January, he will have spent 52 weeks on the water. That’s right, Paul and his wife, Debbie, will have been afloat for an entire year.
Check out Paul and Debbie’s sailing log HERE
Techniques for booking your sailing charters
Paul reveals, “In advance, we like to book two weeks in high season and two weeks in low season, this way we are guaranteed the location and the yacht we want. Then we will book two weeks of short notice in low season. Off season in Turkey is very quiet, which we really enjoy. The cruising area in Turkey is lovely, and provides a lot of historical and cultural interest. Even when it is busy season you can find a quiet anchorage. And the locals are very friendly.”
When a Moorings Owner charters in different locations around the world, whose boat do they use?
When you are an owner in the Moorings Yacht Ownership Program, you can sail not only your own yacht, but sister ships at any of our destinations worldwide. While some owners prefer to sail their yacht, some owners prefer to sail other yachts in order to have the opportunity to sail in more locations. As Paul explained to us, “I understand that some owners want to sail their yacht, and if that is what they enjoy and it works for them, that’s wonderful. I wondered myself if it would be a richer experience for me if I sailed my yacht, but I learned that what was richer for me was making use of different sailing grounds and different destinations.”
How did you decide that a Yacht Ownership Program was a better option for you than traditional ownership?
“I love sailing, and I wanted to be able to enjoy it with my wife so I thought, ‘How can I make this happen?’ Well the answer was to sail in destinations that were beautiful.” Paul continued, “We came to the realization that if we bought a boat for private ownership, we would only be able to sail six months out of the year considering it’s cold here the other six months out of the year. Additionally, we would only be able to sail in limited locations. This option did not seem attractive to us, so it didn’t take much for us to come around to the idea.”
Do you have any final thoughts or advice for someone considering a Yacht Ownership Program?
“All I can say is that we have been very impressed. The UK Staff handling bookings and sales have been excellent. The Marina Staff and Management throughout the world have been great. Basically everything I have been promised has been delivered. That is the reason we bought another boat. At the end of the day, we trust a company that has been around for so long.”
The Moorings started with just six monohulls in 1969. The fleet now expands across the globe with more than 400 active yachts in 20 destinations. If you want to learn more about The Moorings Yacht Ownership Program, contact us today. We have Yacht Sales Experts that are ready and waiting to answer any questions that you may have.
