Setting the Stage for Summer and Beyond

Springtime each year sees Molo Vecchio, the historic port of Genoa in Italy, packed with charter yachts eager to show how good they are to an assembled audience of charter brokers. The 25th commemorative edition of the MYBA Charter Show in late April and early May did not disappoint. More than 60 yachts attended.

The star of this year’s show was the dazzling new 180-foot (55-meter) Benetti, Ocean Paradise, so fresh from the yard that the paint still felt wet. Gloriously decadent, this extravagantly equipped yacht has ankle-deep silk carpets and a clever mix of vintage and modern décor, from antique figurines to carbon-fiber dining tables. Catch her if you can in the Mediterranean during the late season or wait until she cruises Southeast Asia during the winter months.

Sunrise, the 170-foot (51.9-meter) Oceanco, is now in the charter market for the first time through Burgess. The master suite is to die for with its own very private on-deck Jacuzzi, which no matter how hard you try can never be seen from anywhere else on board. This is a great family boat or would make the perfect yacht for six friendly couples wanting to spend Christmas together in the sunny Caribbean.

The 203-foot (61.8-meter) Sealyon, more famously known in her previous persona as Candyscape II, is another yacht new to charter. Among her many pleasures is a miniature planetarium clock set into the deckhead that visibly and intriguingly mimics the state of the solar system and the planets in relation to the Earth.

Old salts might consider chartering Elena and Eleonora. Charter broker Tom De Buse of Y.CO, looks after the 180-foot (55-meter) Elena, which was built in 2009. She is a meticulous re-creation of the Transatlantic Race record holder from 1928. De Buse recommends chartering both yachts and challenging a friend to a few days of historic match racing. He’ll throw in the trophy.

The Oyster fleet also provides good opportunities for tandem charter. The company has a wide range of yachts based in the Caribbean that would fit the bill. Oyster broker Molly Marston, based in Newport, Rhode Island, can find the perfect pair of boats to match race. A favorite at the show was the Oyster 82 Sarita.

— by Frances and Michael Howorth