What if this troubled period was in fact the ideal time to embark on the project that has been close to your heart for a while now?

Our sister company The Moorings celebrated 50 years in business in 2019. Clearly not a record by any standards but having been a part of the Moorings for over forty years I couldn’t help but reflect why many other competitorscame and went. New ones seem to pop up every year, while others disappear from the landscape…maybe I should sayseascape. The 50th Celebration was held last fall and I was privileged to be invited to be part of the gathering. TonyRainold, one of the founders of the Moorings whom I worked with closely in those early years, was alsopart of the celebration. I asked Tony why he thought The Moorings succeeded in a tough industrywhere others had failed. He did not ponder the thought at all. He said; “We always tried to do things right by ourcustomers.”  That has been a hallmark of The Moorings way of doing business. It was then and it is now. TheMoorings was a very close held private company for many years. She was sold to a French consortium inthe late 1980’s. Then bought by the management team and a small private equity in the mid 1990’s,about ten years later it was united with what back then was one of its fiercest competitors, Sunsail. Thiswas by way of acquisition by First Choice Holiday, a British Travel Group. Then merged with the tourismbranch of TUI AG to form TUI Travel PLC. Its “Specialist” Group, renamed “Travelopia”(www.travelopia.com) was sold to KKR (www.kkr.com) in May 2017, arguably one of the world’s largestand most powerful private equity group. Through all those changes, one thing remained the same. Do things right! The Moorings along withSunsail have remained the leaders in the industry during all those sometimes challenging times.That brings me to the point of what is going on today. Potential charterers and yacht buyers areunderstandably concerned. Travel restrictions makes it impossible to go on holiday even if one wantedto take the risk. Charter yacht buyers don’t want to make a commitment, albeit not for the short termbut five years or more. It is important to remind them even during the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks, The Moorings did thingsright. We never missed a payment due an owner. Most recently the hurricanes IRMA and DORIAN,devastated the Caribbean and Bahamas. Many yachts that were damaged are still undergoing repairssome nearly 30 months in the process. The Moorings and Sunsail continued to pay the owners. I shouldmention this is without the aid of insurance. Business interruption coverage for our industry is notavailable. With the current situation and outcome albeit unknown, I do not think even the most pessimistic ofpundits believe the pandemic will not be controlled and we will be back to normal sooner rather thanlater. All those that have or had relationships with The Moorings/Sunsail can rest assured this pandemic willend and like the last 50 years we will be standing ready to provide the best yachting holidays andownership experience in the world because WE DO THE RIGHT THING.

Considering buying a boat and taking part in the Yacht Ownership programme? If so, read on to find out more about what makes the SUNSAIL Yacht Ownership programme stand out from those you may find elsewhere, namely the size and professionalism of its Owner Care Team and the fact that you will become part of close-knit yachting fraternity.

One of the latest additions to the SUNSAIL fleet, the SUNSAIL 46, is a customized version of the Best European Family Cruiser of the Year 2019, the Oceanis 46.1: is it therefore better than the best? Read on and find out why we believe it is…

When you think of a yacht owner what comes to mind? Courageous, adventurous, glamorous, skilled? Whatever it is, we deliver a true representation or your sailing needs. Built upon years of experience, we’ve tweaked, fine-tuned, tried and tested, listened to feedback and made the entry into our Yacht Ownership programmes as accessible as possible. Remember your first mail, phone call, questions? We do. So, acknowledging your initial interest, we have a responsibility to deliver you the reality. Along with our sister company ‘ The Moorings’  we are part  of Travelopia, one of the world’s largest collection of specialist travel brands and part of the  KKR investment portfolio. This setup makes us financially stable, for peace of mind and gives us the ability to deliver the desired reality of ownership for years to come. Setting sail is the moment we all live for; the hoisting of the mainsail, the commanding of the crew, the setting course. Sharing passion, experiences, the freedom that the open seas offer, that’s the spark of the sport and nothing can match the feeling of  dropping anchor and then enjoying your drink of choice whilst the sun slowly sets in the distance and you relax without a care in the world.

As 2019 comes to a close, we at Sunsail Yacht Ownership wanted to share this season’s highlights as well as thank you, our long-term partners and global community for your continued support.

To meet our clients expectations, Sunsail Yacht Ownership is committed to providing options; not only through our programmes but also our fleet. Acknowledging how new trends, design innovations and yachting experiences evolve, we endeavour to curate the perfect fleet each season. Joining our extensive collection of sail and motor powered, Leopard catamarans, is Lagoon, the world’s best-selling catamaran brand on a mission to create freedom.

We love the breathtaking beauty of nature in our sailing grounds and in order to keep them beautiful we must respect the people and animals that live there. Through a few simple changes we can minimize the impact on the environment and preserve it for the future. In order to raise awareness, we have collected the below suggestions that every water sports enthusiast can follow to help all of us be more environmentally friendly.

This is one of the most common questions I am asked and the answer I think, usually comes as a surprise! The exact amount will vary from yacht to yacht, but the cost of Sunsail Ownership is nearly always 2 weeks or less a year. That’s right for the same cost as your annual two week summer holiday, you could become a Sunsail Owner and sail for as many as 12 weeks a year! Let me give you an example for each of our programme options:

Setting Sail  I guess that I have always loved sailing, at least I don’t remember a time when I didn’t. This is probably because I grew up with sailors. As an infant, I would be taken out in the picturesque Chichester Harbour aboard my parents 16ft Norwegian Rana. Though it was obviously much later that I took up an active interest of my own. I remember being sent off to trial my primary schools “sailing club”. This involved being pushed off from a windy Lee-on-Solent shoreline, solo aboard a Topper in a force 4 (felt more like a 9 to me). I hadn’t a clue what to do and I think the idea was that I would quickly learn through trial and error. It wasn’t a smooth start, but from those many failed attempts, I was determined to understand how the other boys made the boat go where they wanted and how to do that the right way up!