Our friend, James, manager of motor yacht DOUBLE DOWN, dropped us an email last week. He knows we are big fans of this 65 meter Codecasa. James seemed excited to share the news about the superyacht and her newest watertoy.
We were certainly intrigued. A multi-repeat client of ours enjoyed 10 days exploring Greece onboard this spectacular yacht. He raved about the vessel’s condition, amenities, and the crew’s outstanding silver-service.
“DOUBLE DOWN has a magnificent new towed tender for the Mediterranean season – a 42ft (12.8m) MTI with centre console and 4 x 300 HP engines,” wrote James.
“Wow!” we emailed in response. “What year and what does she look like?”
James replied, “She is in fact a 2015. Silver with black highlights on the hull. Black Mercury outboards. White radar dome is now painted grey.”
James was correct – we ARE excited! Performance-style tenders have replaced on-deck Jacuzzi tubs as the “must-have” amenity for many of our private luxury yacht charter clients. The days of hopping in the “dinghy” are long gone. As one of our clients explained to us, “I don’t pull up with my wife to Joe’s Stone Crab restaurant on South Beach in a Kia, so why would I come ashore in St. Tropez in an inflatable RIB tender?”
The MTI V-42 center console tender added to the stable of watertoys onboard Codecasa motor yacht DOUBLE DOWN is simply a beast. With quad 300hp power, this 42 ft tender can cruise at 40mph, and hit top speeds in excess of 70mph. The tender’s unique hull design yields straight, stable handling at all speeds.
COMPANY PRESIDENT RESPONDS
Jana Sheeder, our company President, explains why this matters:
“A fast tender is an important component of a private yacht charter vacation, especially in remote areas, like the Ionian islands of Greece. If the seas get rough while taking charter guests sightseeing, the MTI V-42 design keeps the bow high in both head and following seas, and the tender can easily knock down big swells. In simple terms, this means a dry ride in extreme conditions.”
Indeed ride and performance are important, but so are luxurious amenities and comfort. The seats are quite comfy for long-range cruising with the double-wide forward lounge the most comfortable. Speakers seem to be everywhere on this tender, so listening to your favorite tunes is a breeze, even with the engines at full throttle.
CURRENT YACHT PLANS
Captain Charles and his crew of 17 are currently enjoying yacht DOUBLE DOWN in the summer Monaco yacht charter season. To kick off the season, the yacht secured a berth in Monaco at the Monaco Yacht Club for client who were interested in a Monaco Grand Prix yacht charter. They are on the ball! With 8 large guest staterooms, this 65 meter superyacht boasts excellent flexibility for guest sleeping arrangements.
GUEST FACILITIES and AMENITIES
12 guests sleeping in 8 staterooms (6 king & 2 twin staterooms)
18 crew
Zero-speed stabilizers
Elevator
Gym
Cinema
Beach Club
Jacuzzi
On demand movies and music
Satellite TV
Karaoke equipment
WiFi internet
Large wind-protected outside dining area on the upper deck with bar
Massage facilities
It’s hard to imagine, but the perfect yacht for glamorous special events and summer private luxury yacht charter cruising in the Mediterranean is now even more appealing thanks to her newly-added 42ft high performance tender…
Our Team navigated congested roads and waterways of Miami Beach for the past 4 days at the 2018 Miami Yacht Show. We are now thrilled to announce the Miami show will relocate to the mainland! It heads near downtown Miami, for the 2019 installment of the annual event!
WHY NOT IMMEDIATE?
As expected, the move depends upon state and federal permits. Once approved, the show relocates to the Resorts World property (formerly the headquarters of the Miami Herald newspaper). The location is just north of downtown Miami. It is next to the Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts and the Sea Isle Marina.
WHO MANAGES THE SUPERYACHT SHOW?
The show is managed and co-owned by Informa and IYBA, the International Yacht Brokers Association (our company President, Jana Sheeder is a member of IYBA). The event runs concurrently with the Miami International Boat Show, which is owned and operated by the National Marine Manufacturers Association.
THE CHALLENGE
This year, as in years past, our biggest challenge in inspecting the luxury yacht charter vessels participating in the show is the lack of timely access. Some yachts are docked along the Indian Creek waterway, in front of the iconic Eden Roc and Fontainebleau hotels. Scenic? Yes. Accessible? Hardly… there’s only one road running north to south (Collins Avenue) and it can easily take 1 hour to traverse the mile-long row of yachts docked along Collins Avenue.
LARGE YACHTS ON DISPLAY
Further adding to the time constraints, the largest yachts (like 213 foot Codecasa superyacht Double Down, and 180 foot Heesen yacht Quite Essential) can’t fit at Indian Creek, so they are moored at the Island Gardens marina on Watson Island – about 5 miles away. Traffic congestion and a woeful lack of parking near the show locations exacerbates the access problems.
JANA SHEEDER, PRESIDENT of 1-800 YACHT CHARTERS
At 1-800 Yacht Charters, President Jana Sheeder and her team mitigates these problems by moving between the locations by boat. It helps – but still involves a loss of time traveling between locations, as low bridges force us to cruise a long circuit between Collins Avenue and Watson Island. Yes, it’s faster than traveling by car, but still far from ideal…
TRANSPORTATION OPTIONS
Other transportation options:
-Shuttle buses, but their schedules are irregular
-Bicycles for rent, but not ideal when with clients
-Skateboards, but those were used by crewmembers to zip back and forth between nearby hotels (too far to skateboard between marinas)
-Uber and Lyft – a good option, but inconvenient when only going a block or so
^ Resorts World LLC Miami Yacht Show location ^
HOW TO GET AROUND
The new site on the mainland offers ease of access, ample parking, and Miami’s rapid transit Metrorail and Metromover trains. This is prime waterfront property – located between the Venetian and MacArthur Causeways. Whereas the Collins Avenue location had minimal space for on-land exhibits, the new location will include exhibition space for compatible luxury products such as:
Exotic cars and vehicles like Bentley – Bugatti – Rolls Royce – Maserati – Tesla
Private aircraft like Gulfstream – Bombardier Global -Dassault Falcon – Embraer Lineage
Helicopters like Sikorsky Executive – Bell – Leonardo
Fashions like Gucci – Louboutin – Chanel – Hermes – Balenciaga – Louis Vuitton – Prada
Sun products like Shiseido – L’Occitane au Bresil – Equitance
Art by artists like Britto – Chihuly – Xavier Veilhan
FAVORITE MODE OF TRANSPORTATION FOR OUR TEAM
Most importantly for our team, water taxi transportation will connect the primary show site to Islands Gardens superyacht marina on Watson Island, where some of the largest charter yachts in the world will be berthed. Even cruising at 5 knots in a watertaxi should take no more than 5 minutes to shuttle between these two locations.
MIAMI INTERNATONAL BOAT SHOW
The new yacht show venue also has the added benefit of proximity to the Miami International Boat Show (MIBS) at the Miami Marine Stadium on Virginia Key (Key Biscayne).
ACTIVITIES DURING AT THE MIAMI YACHT SHOW
There are so many fun things to do during your visit to the Show. For instance,
Here are more ideas for activities for you. For example,
Wynwood Walls – Just 10 minutes from Downtown Miami. Art galleries. Walls of artistic graffiti. Artwalks. Photography studios
Multiple brewing companies – Sample craft beers and visit breweries throughout downtown Miami area
Foodie Culinary Tour – Take a culinary tour of the various restaurants throughout South Beach and the Miami Arts District.
Waterway Tour – Star Island celebrity homes tour by boat, Monument Island, Port of Miami cruiseships
JANA SHEEDER – IN CONCLUSION
We’re extremely excited about the future of the Miami Yacht Show. First, with better parking, second, greater access to the charter yachts, and third, luxury product vendors and restaurants, the 2019 show is an event not to be missed!
There is an old saying in football. When your team is on offense, “take what the defense gives you.” In other words, make the most of the opportunities that come your way.
No one understands that mentality more than our head honcho, Jana Sheeder, President of 1-800 Yacht Charters.
Every President’s Day weekend, #Jana rallies our team, and we invade the Miami Yacht Show. The show is held in Miami Beach, Florida. This year’s show runs from February 15 – 19, 2018.
The Miami Yacht Show
The Miami Yacht Show is known predominately as a “sales” show. Few yacht charter brokers attend. They prefer to wait until the charter-only show season in late Spring. What they don’t realize, and Jana does, makes her a leader in the industry. Multiple charter yachts quietly list for sale. They attend shows like #Miami before entering the charter season.
Sheeder and her team use this opportunity to inspect yachts and interview crews privately. Competitors cannot try to eavesdrop on our conversations. They are not in attendance! Fewer distractions and interruptions enable us to spend quality time with the crews. Firstly, we discuss our past charters. Secondly, we plan fresh itineraries and activities for guests. We look for ways to deliver a unique #Superyacht Experience to our repeat and new clients.
UBER? NO, THANK YOU…
Of course, having more time to see the yachts only matters if you can get to the yachts – a tall task when the superyachts are spread across Miami Beach in two locations – one in front of the classic hotels along Collins Avenue, and the other 4 miles to the south, at Jungle Island Deep Harbor Marina.
Anyone who has visited Miami Beach during the yacht show knows the roadways are snarled by heavy vehicle congestion. It can literally take an hour in traffic to travel just one mile along Collins Avenue, with drivers cruising slowly to gawk at and take photos of the hundreds of yachts docked just feet away from the roadway. Whether in a taxi, Uber, Lyft, or private car – it’s all the same: traffic, traffic, traffic…
Fortunately for us, Jana developed the ultimate solution to avoid gridlock – we zip around the marinas and pull up at the docks via boat! Professional, fun, and unique – wonder what she has up her sleeve for the future?
We use limousines and suv’s at every show to cater to clients. Cars and traffic do not mix.
For this year’s show, we used a Jupiter 31 center console model (after our Van Dutch 55 had mechanical problems). [Side bar: The Van Dutch is a stylish cruiser, and some of our superyacht clients had flown in to inspect several luxury yacht charter vessels with us. We thought they would be bummed not to cruise “in style” on the Van Dutch 55. Turns out they had a blast with Jana – roaring around Biscayne Bay in the fast Jupiter, and cruising up the Miami River for a dockside late lunch and sunset at the Casablanca Seafood Restaurant. A special bonus was the sighting of a manatee and dolphins! The Miami Magic…]
FOR CHARTER…
Some of our most popular charter yachts (and crews) came to town, including:
DOUBLE DOWN – 213 Foot Codedasa superyacht selected last season by one of our clients for a 10–day Greek yacht charter odyssey through the Ionian islands. [Click on the yacht name to see photos we took at the Miami Yacht Show…]
BLISS – 145 Foot Heesen charteryacht – a fantastic modern yacht with a fun-loving crew who delivered a memorable Balearic islands yacht charter holiday to one of our Dutch clients and his family last July.
QUITE ESSENTIAL – 180 Foot Heesen – eco-friendly motoryacht with impressive looks and great interior comfort. Another great superyacht for clients.
STUNNING NEW YACHT…
We also took the opportunity to inspect some brand new yachts for sale. Why would we look at yachts not currently in charter? Many buyers in the market for a brand new yacht will often buy a yacht, then enter it into the charter marketplace. If this is done after the boat show season, there may not be an opportunity to inspect the yacht for many months. We prefer to promote charter yachts that we have inspected, and while that’s not always the case, taking the time to look at popular, newly-built models increases the odds that we will see a new charter yacht before our competitors do. We’re always looking for ways to stay a step ahead!
Our favorite new model at this year’s show is the NAVETTA 33, from the custom series of yachts built by Italy’s Ferretti Yachts.
Ferretti has already sold ten hulls since the model was launched in 2017. After inspecting this yacht, it is easy to see why. The Navetta 33 Ferretti features a voluminous interior flooded with natural light through floor-to-ceiling windows. We walked through with one of our clients who has designed contemporary interiors for luxury suites in NBA arenas – and she was just as impressed!
THE 1-800 YACHT CHARTER DIFFERENCE…
So there you have it – another great yacht show for 1-800 Yacht Charters. Jana took our team (and our clients) on some of the most popular luxury yacht charter vessels found anywhere in the world. We also saw newly built yachts, and we’re anxious to see them enter the charter market.
Most importantly, we had the opportunity to spend quality time with our clients and share with them another aspect of our dedication to Delivering The Superyacht Experience…
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