Floating Assets
This month Antigua holds the Superyacht Cup, where decadent furnishings are as important as finishing times. Matt Westin reports Most international sporting fixtures, regardless of what obstacles stand in their way, usually rely on their competitors turning up. It’s a rather different scenario for the Superyacht Cup whose third annual regatta, at Nelson’s Dockyard in Antigua’s idyllic [...]
This month Antigua holds the Superyacht Cup, where decadent furnishings are as important as finishing times. Matt Westin reports
Most international sporting fixtures, regardless of what obstacles stand in their way, usually rely on their competitors turning up. It’s a rather
different scenario for the Superyacht Cup whose third annual regatta, at Nelson’s Dockyard in Antigua’s idyllic English Harbour, is due to take place
during 9-12 December. Just six weeks before the event, the organisers’ website announces that they’re “expecting 10- 12 entries for this year”.
alt="A classic J-Class yacht in full sail. This one dates from the 1930s, when it won many races">
“You’re never entirely sure whether entrants will turn up despite paying the entry fee,” explains event director Patrick Whetter. “Their private jet will be on the runway
and then they change their minds. I guess that’s the point of having money: it gives you freedom.” Entry fees are set at $150 (around £95) per metre, plus a $500 (£320)
charity donation.
Whetter’s explanation gives an insight into the calibre of yachts and yachties he deals with. His event, originally launched in 1996 as an informal barbecue held at the
back of his sail loft in Palma de Mallorca, now attracts some of the world’s largest, most awesome sailing yachts,
accompanied by some of the wealthiest recreational sailors to ever pull on a pair of blue wellies.
This year, Whetter expects the 88-metre Maltese Falcon, one of the world’s biggest privately owned sailing yachts, at his Antigua event, accompanied by its Silicon
Valley-billionaire owner, Tom Perkins. Those considering a luxurious life on the ocean waves should take a quick look at the price tag, though those with a dislike of
depreciation should look away now: the Maltese Falcon is for sale on www.yachtworld.com for the spine-chilling
figure of €115,000,000 (£92,850,000).
alt="The super yachts will be moored at Antigua’s Nelson’s Dockyard this December">
In more modest regattas, better sailors establish a clear lead within the first few races, leading the rest of the pack to duke it out for later places. Yet Whetter and co
are careful to award more points for the later races, lest the sailing billionaires lose interest. “If they haven’t got a hope of winning these guys might pack up and go home,”
Whetter confesses.
He is aware that these vessels are more like floating second homes than bona fide racing craft, hence tailors
the event accordingly (“80% social and 20% sailing”). Their trophy is a cleat or rope fastener, ripped from the
deck of one yacht pushed too far by its crew. “We mounted it on a piece of wood; it’s our way of indicating ‘don’t try to
get too serious’.”
alt="The Maltese Falcon, one of the world’s longest sailing yachts, will be taking part in the race">
It’s a useful reminder. “These people are heavily competitive, whether they admit it or not,” says Mark Stephens, a professional yacht captain who has taken part
in several Superyacht Cup events. “Yet these aren’t race boats, they’re big cruising boats.”
Stephens laments that, for every additional kilogram of luxurious adornment, a super yacht loses a fraction of its
manoeuvrability: “I’ve seen yachts with six-man jacuzzis cut out of solid lumps of marble and there was one boat
that had a full pipe organ on it. These things are so heavy that they affect the performance so much. But the owners
don’t care.”
alt="Although made for cruising, the boats in the Superyacht Cup are as fast as their America’s Cup equivalents">
Interestingly, Stephens explains that superyachts can still reach the speed of America’s Cup-style lighter vessels;
what they miss out on is agility. “Light winds are tricky, too,” he adds. While Stephens and co strive to sail as fast
as possible, he admits that they don’t throw themselves around as aggressively as they would aboard a genuine
racing vessel.
“With the nice paint work and lovely varnish, we don’t want to be damaging it,” he admits. “We’re concerned
about the boat first, and performance second.”
Nor is the triangular course the superyachts compete upon especially challenging. “We tend to do more reaching
[travelling roughly perpendicular to the wind], which suits these boats more readily,” Stephens explains. “And the
courses are really pretty; there’s lots of stuff to look at.”
alt="The yacht that Princess Diana stayed on with Dodi al-Fayed was packed with luxuries">
The Superyacht Cup has been careful to coincide their dates with key events in the cruising calendar. The Antigua
leg is held at the beginning of the Caribbean season, just after the island’s Yacht Charter Show. The Palma
Cup, scheduled for 24-27 June 2009, marks the start of the Mediterranean season, when boats, often docked in
Mallorca to take advantage of its clement climate for repair work, take to the waves once more.
Thanks to careful preparation, a fun, informal calendar of events – including a now legendary barbecue
– the Cup has grown from its modest beginnings to occupy a regular spot on any freewheeling nautical
billionaire’s wall planner.
Indeed, despite the astronomical sums involved, the price of the super yacht life is coming down, as Whetter
explains: “Over the past 20 years technology has come on sufficiently to allow you to have a very big boat of around
50 metres. That’s long enough to live on comfortably.”
It is unclear as to just how wealthy the ‘you’ in Whetter’s statement is. Yet he’s adamant that costs have
fallen. “When I came into the business in 1984 a big schooner needed eight crew on board,” he says, “now, with
technological innovations, like newer types of aluminium and carbon fibre, a similar sized boat can be run by two,
maybe three people
Anyone keen to take a peek at the super yacht life should take a stroll along Nelson’s Dockyard this month.
The boats will be moored up there, and Whetter makes it clear that the public are quite welcome to drop by and take
a look at them – though, needless to add, not actually stroll aboard (“That’s like walking onto someone’s house.”).
The real treat for yacht watchers comes next June, in Palma. “We should have four or possibly five J-Class
yachts in attendance then,” he says, referring to the beautiful, ultra-rare wooden decked vessels first built to
race in the America’s Cup. “That will be a spectacular sight – something that hasn’t been seen since the 1930s.”
As ever, numbers are sketchy, but the glamour is certainly there.
www.thesuperyachtcup.com. The entry fee covers 20 crew passes per boat and the charity donation goes to the Antigua
Yacht Club Youth Sailing Programme.
Hotels available to book at flybmi.com:
St James Club & Villas
You’ll never need to leave the three-star St James Club & Villas. The all-inclusive price includes access to the four
freshwater pools, six tennis courts, sailing and windsurfing, a children’s club, and nightly entertainment.
Coconut Beach Club
Secluded along a stretch of white-sand beach, this northwest-coast three-star Antigua resort for adults and
teens features close-up Caribbean Sea views from the 38 guestrooms and suites.
