-pic of the month- Princess Celebrates Fifty Years
Azimut Wins Powerboat of the Year 2015
The Azimut 50 Flybridge was the overall winner in the category 'over 45 feet' at the prestigious award of "European Power Boat of the Year 2015" (EPY 2015), held on the occasion of the International Boat Show in Düsseldorf in 2015. As recognized by authoritative EPY jury, an undisputed asset of the new model was represented by the designers’ ability to contain in an only 15 meter yacht all the features and characteristics of her 'big sister' Azimut 80 while, in the true spirit of the Azimut philosophy, still respecting the unmistakable 'family feeling'. Being awarded with the EPY 2015 prize, a recognition as renown as an Academy Award in the maritime field, is a great success for the Italian brand, that once again gets recognized by the critics for its designers ability, as well as for the quality of its models. The EPY’s qualified panel of judges includes seven editors of the most renown European nautical magazines in Germany, Italy, Norway, France, Switzerland, Austria and Spain.
Bavaria New CEO
On January 7th 2015 Lutz Henkel joined Bavaria Yachtbau as designated new CEO. Lutz Henkel will assume his new responsibility as of February 1st 2015 and will replace Constantin von Bülow who will become speaker of the advisory board. Under the leadership of the current CEO, Constantin von Bülow, Bavaria has been stabilised and professionalized over the last two years and the foundation for further profitable growth has been laid. Prior to joining Bavaria Lutz Henkel was CEO of Salona Group and is an experienced boater himself. He has over 20 years of relevant professional experience from other industries in Operations, quality Assurance and Project Management as well as Sales, Marketing, Growth and General Management. Lutz managed international businesses and companies in Germany, Luxembourg, France and in the USA.
Bavaria Achieves Sales Target
Best results through quality Quality pays off for Bavaria, like last year over 100 yachts were sold by Bavaria. This year its own sales target was already achieved at this level on the last weekend of the largest international boat show. For Bavaria it is especially fortunate that a lot of the orders are for the catamaran Nautitech Open 40, which celebrated its German premiere in Duesseldorf under the logo Bavaria Catamarans. Almost all of the remaining annual production for the Nautitech Open 40 was sold in the nine days of the fair. The Bavaria team was already able to celebrate the first surprise on the first Saturday of the fair. The Cruiser 46, one of the most successful sailing yachts in Bavaria’s company history, was awarded the 'European Yacht of the Year' award in the category of cruising yachts. It was the German premiere of Nautitech Open 40, and it was the first day for one of the most visited ships in Hall 16 for sailing yachts. Since September, the successful French shipyard Nautitech has been operating under the umbrella of Bavaria Catamarans the new catamaran line. Already on Wednesday a mixture of nervousness and satisfied smiles was evident for Nautitech Managing Director Bruno Voisard and the managers of Bavaria, such as Daniel Kohl, CPO for everything to do with sailing and motor yachts at Bavaria, along with COO Sebastian Jürgens. Almost the entire annual production for the Nautitech Open 40 was already sold half-way through the fair. Now the production will be expanded at Nautitech in Rochefort to a third layer, in order to satisfy the demand of the coming spring fairs. Fair visitors to the boot came on noon of the first Saturday to finally see the new Sport 450. Under a white cloth, the new flagship of Bavaria waited for her revelation. Punctually at 12 o’clock Bavaria Managing Director Constantin von Buelow gave the command, and the new Sport 450 celebrated its world premiere. Nearly 160 guests from across Europe met for the second weekend, 'Sport 450 VIP Night', and celebrated the grand success of the new Sport 450 in Duesseldorf. Bavaria+ is the new service system of Bavaria, which premiered on the boot. With a short scan of a QR code you can obtain all the essential information on the equipment of the yacht, as well as many explanatory videos on the screen of your phone or tablet computer. Bavaria Information System, BAVIS for short, is what Bavaria calls this part of its new service campaign for owners and charter customers. Without having to read long manuals, now on a Bavaria you can see via a video how the anchor winch works, or receive an explanation for the switch panel at the card table. The Bavaria+ package also includes the service history of the yacht. There will soon be a shop where customers can also easily order additional equipment and spare parts. With the success of the Duesseldorf exhibition, Bavaria will now start up in the coming season. As previously announced, Constantin von Buelow, who took over the management of Bavaria in April 2013, will be placing the company in the hands of the new CEO Lutz Henkel by the end of the month. On February 1st Constantin von Buelow will switch to Speaker of the Advisory Board in the Supervisory Board of Bavaria, and thus will be more active in determining the fortunes of Bavaria on behalf of the owner.
Beneteau Roaring Fifties
On the 4th December, as a warm-up to the Paris Boat Show, Bénéteau and Suzuki Marine performed a serenade on the river Seine to commemorate several years of fruitful collaboration. This was a way of celebrating their anniversaries together and involving the journalists from the specialist press. Under the surprised eyes of Parisians, with the engines of the latest Bénéteau Flyers and VanVan Suzuki in unison and customised for the occasion, the convoy of ‘Roaring Fifties’ undertook a crossing of Paris that was at the very least original. Leaving Port-Javel at the beginning of the afternoon in the direction of the Ile de la Jatte, three Flyer Opens – the new Flyer 7 Spacedeck launched at the 2014 Paris Boat Show, the Flyer 6 Sportdeck and the Flyer 5 Spacedeck – escorted on the banks by four VanVan motorcycles personalised with the colours of Bénéteau’s 130 years and Suzuki Marine’s 50 years, allowed the journalists present to discover a somewhat unusual Paris. The lack of sunshine on the day was more than compensated by extraordinary light effects along the way. From the motor boat ballet at the foot of some of the capital’s most beautiful monuments to the cavalcades under the illuminated bridges, Paris treated the dazzled participants to its best party atmosphere. Two of the VanVans could later be won by two Bénéteau customers, who had ordered their boats during the Paris Boat Show. The 2014 edition of this major event in the European nautical calendar has just closed with an outcome full of optimism for Bénéteau as well as for Suzuki.
Benetti Appoints New Regional Manager
Benetti, part of the Azimut|Benetti Group, is pleased to announce the appointment of Luigi Adamo as General Manager of Benetti Asia. His task will be to directly manage and coordinate sales, marketing and customer satisfaction to further reinforce the Group's presence in the Asian market. Born in 1978, Luigi Adamo later earned his degree in naval engineering. With his certificate as project manager Adamo's experience in the yachting world began in 1994. At Benetti he covered the important roles of Service Manager and Sales Area Manager. Excellent results made him a key figure in several of the company's strategic markets.
Cerri Strengthens Management
Shipbuilder Cerri, based in Avenza, Carrara in Italy has started 2015 celebrating the acquisition of a new order (hull No. 5 of the Cerri 102 Flyingsport line) and is now presenting its new organizational structure. After gaining solid experience as CEO of Mondomarine and Baglietto, Diego Michele Deprati, an engineer, born in 1963, is the new Chief Executive Officer of the Carrara-based shipyard. He will be supported by Guido Penco, also an engineer and Baglietto’s Technical Director, who will be leading the Technical Department, and Giulio Bertani, as Sales Manager, who will have the task of relaunching the Tuscan brand on the international market. Carlo Cerri, who founded the brand, will keep his position as Chairman. The new, strengthened team will also include Adone Pucci – the Shipyard's Director - and Raffaella Daino as Communication and Marketing Manager, the same position she holds in Baglietto. Immediately after being appointed, the renovated team achieved a first important result by signing a new contract for the fifth hull of the Cerri 102' Flyingsport line, which will go to an Italian owner. This new job order follows another significant achievement that dates back to last summer, when a Cerri 86' Flyingsport was sold to an American owner and then presented as a world premiere at the 2014 Fort Lauderdale Boat Show. Thanks to the new organizational structure and its significant know-how, the Carrara-based shipyard will be able to carry on with its strategic projects: an increased production of fibreglass crafts (the brand's core business) and an expansion of the range, which will allow the brand to step into the ‘custom’ market with 2 fully-custom lines. Cerri’s 2 most successful series – the Cerri 102’ Flyingsport and the Cerri 86’ Flyingsport – will be restyled, preserving their distinctive décor features but adding a more contemporary touch, and 2 new lines of steel and aluminium and/or all-aluminium yachts will start to be built. The shipyard is indeed currently working on the conception of a range of small superyachts between 24 and 35 metres in length, and of an ‘Expedition’-style line ranging between 30 and 35 metres. This will give Cerri the opportunity to offer its international clientele a complete product range.
CRN Presents New Industrial Relaunch
This January morning the management of CRN – a company of the Ferretti Group specializing in the building of 50-90 m steel and aluminum yachts – presented its new industrial plan for 2015-2019. At the Ancona headquarters of Confindustria (the Confederation of Italian Industry), representatives of the main union met with the company management, namely Lamberto Tacoli, President and CEO of CRN S.p.A., Marco Zammarchi, Responsible for the Reorganization, and Giovanni Sardella, Head of Human Resources. The company presented its new industrial plan aimed at the re-launch of the shipyard, conveying the key elements of the plan and the effects of the company’s reorganization strategy, related to the workloads and the initiatives in support of the plan itself. This objective will be achieved through the expansion of product ranges and brands built in the shipyard, building also steel and/or aluminum vessels of the Riva and Pershing brands. In addition to that, the company started the refit of a 46 m CRN ship, thus starting a possible new area of business. This strategy of re-launch aims not only at generating an increase in the total turnover of the Company, but also at creating more opportunities for the Ancona shipyard, despite a quite complex marketing scenario. The shipyard has currently two yachts under construction: M/Y 131 74 m and M/Y 134 55 m, as well as the refitting of a 46 m craft. At the end of 2014, the contract for a 77 m vessel – currently undergoing the planning stage – was also signed. The commercial activity of the shipyard continues with several important negotiations, in line with the aforementioned industrial strategy. While remaining among the largest shipyards in the international segment of mega yachts (vessels over 40 m), CRN operates in a global nautical market strongly declined in the past three years. The re-launching plan of the shipyard involves a company reorganization aimed at creating a strong production specialization optimizing and consolidating the know-how existing within the company, through important training interventions and investments in the productive areas considered as strategic. In order to safeguard the occupational levels and its workers, the plan also provides for the opening of an Extraordinary Redundancy Fund for a period of two years, in order to absorb the low workloads expected for the next two years while preserving the present structure of production.
Fairline Announces Key Dealer for Arabian Gulf
Fairline is delighted to announce the further expansion of its dealer network in the United Arab Emirates and Middle East, with the appointment of motor yacht specialists ACE Marine L.L.C., trading as Fairline Middle East. Fairline Middle East will operate from new offices in Dubai, serving the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain and Oman. It is a sister company of Alkhalil Trading L.L.C., trading as Fairline Egypt, based at Abu Tig Marina in the resort of El Gouna, on the Red Sea coast. Both dealerships, along with Fairline Lebanon in Beirut, were established by Managing Director, Tarek Khalil, who has been part of the Fairline dealer network for five years and is a Fairline owner himself. The new dealership has ambitious plans to grow awareness of the Fairline brand in the Arabian Gulf region, building on the success of Fairline Egypt and Fairline Lebanon. Fairline Middle East will showcase some of Fairline’s newest models at the 2016 Dubai International Boat Show and will be introducing a number of models into the region in the meantime. In April this year, Fairline Egypt will exhibit the new Squadron 48 and Targa 48 Gran Turismo fitted with crew cabins, alongside a new Squadron 65, at the dealerships’ own event in El Gouna.
Fraucher New Partnership
Frauscher shipyard and MennYacht Group are starting a close collaboration for the distribution of Frauscher boats and yachts in the Adriatic region. Frauscher’s extraordinary day cruiser, with their innovative design and exceptional driving performance, will surely win the heart of cruising and racing passionate, thanks also to the new partner support. MannYacht’s branch offices are very well located in Croatia, Slovenia, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, Serbia and Albania. The Group can rely on 20 years if experience in the yachting services as well as in the yacht’ sales, thus making the Company the ideal partner to foster Frauscher’s expansions in the new markets.
Horizon Finalist in Showboats Awards 2015
Horizon is proud to announce that the Horizon RP110 superyacht Esther 7 is a finalist in the ShowBoats Design Awards 2015 for the “Interior Design Award – Motor Yacht below 500GT” category. Famed Italian Interior Designer Luca Dini was at the helm of the interior for ESTHER 7 and worked closely with Horizon throughout the build process, ensuring his modern visions were brought to life on board the superyacht. Esther 7 is one of 12 finalists in her category; an independent panel of judges will meet soon to review the finalists and decide upon the winners. Winners are announced during the annual Superyacht Design Symposium, which takes place in Kitzbühel, Austria from February 22-24th, 2015, and awarded the golden Neptune award. The ShowBoats Design Awards 2015 is in its sixth year and is presented by Boat International Media to the “most innovative, elegant and inspiring new yacht designs from the boards of the world’s leading yacht design studios” as stated on their website.
Marlow Awarded Aim Editors Choice
Marlow Yachts Limited, Inc. is pleased to announce that it was awarded the 2014 AIM Editors Choice Awards for our Marlow Explorer 62E in the 60-69’ Long Range Cruiser category. The AIM Marine Group magazines include Power and Motoryacht, Sail, Soundings, Yachts International, PassageMaker, BoatQuest.com and Soundings Trade Only. This award was presented and accepted by David Marlow, Chairman, and Michael Cannova, President of Marlow Yachts at the Tranquilo Hotel on October 31 during the 2013 Ft. Lauderdale Boat Show. Marlow Explorers are built at our environmentally green factory in Xiamen, China. As each vessel is completed at the factory, she undergoes rigorous quality controls to assure all performance, seaworthiness, and value is to the highest Marlow standards. Each vessel is manned by our top factory personnel and sea trialed over 100 miles on the China Sea to the Xiamen Port. Our capable team stays with the yacht to monitor the load and stow on the mother ship to ensure a safe travel to the USA. Recently our factory personnel were on hand at the Xiamen Port to oversee four Marlow Explorers waiting to be loaded on the transport ship and journey to the USA where our Marlow team will offload and prepare these vessels for the Miami International Boat Show on February 12.
Moonen Two New Refit Projects
Moonen Shipyards in the Netherlands has entered the new year in great shape, announcing two new refit projects. The company is also making good progress on its two new builds from the Caribbean series – the 37-metre Martinique and 32-metre Matica – and a number of other projects are also on the horizon. The first refit project has been commissioned by an owner who is very aware of Moonen’s quality of construction and engineering, having had not one but two new Moonens delivered in 2003. He purchased the Moonen 84 Phoenix in 2014 via Maarten ten Holter of Fraser Yachts Monaco with the express intention of refitting her to his exact – and exacting – specifications. The yacht has now been renamed Impetuous. The negotiations were clearly fruitful as the project involves a considerable amount of work. The swimming platform is being lengthened by one metre and the yacht is being fitted with a zero speed stabilisation system, new teak decking and a long range tank. The seating area on the flybridge is being enlarged and rearranged. Interior activities include replacing the existing owner’s suite and one of the guest cabins and installing two new guest cabins. The galley, currently part of the saloon, will be transformed into a separate area, while the audio/video facilities in both the guest and crew areas will be modified and renewed. The refit also covers comprehensive maintenance of the technical installations and an upgrade to the latest thinking in noise attenuation. The existing shore transformer will be dismounted and a new 50 kVA converter installed in the engine room. In addition, all navigation and communication equipment is being reviewed. Last but not least, by the time Impetuous is relaunched in time for the new European sailing season she will have a new tender and look resplendent with her new exterior paintwork. The second refit project at Moonen involves the 30-metre Amigo, originally built by Heesen in 2001 to a Peter Beeldsnijder design. Her owner is another familiar face at Moonen as he has commissioned the yard on two previous occasions for refit and maintenance work on the motoryacht. This time round the main activity involves a comprehensive repaint of the exterior.
Mulder Refit Completed
After cruising in the Netherlands and the Mediterranean for 20 years, M/Y Ingeborg, returned to the Mulder yard in Zoeterwoude-Rijndijk. The trip from the South of France to the Netherlands was done in February 2014 on her own keel with a crew of three. Nevertheless very heavy weather conditions, the trip was done in three weeks and the yacht performed very well. This beautiful, timeless yacht was delivered to her first owner in 1994. Back then, it was the first Mulder built over 20 metres. In 2014 the Mulder 70 underwent large maintenance and refit works. The hull of steel and the aluminum superstructure of this displacement yacht, got a bottom-to-top paintjob and the technical systems serviced. The interior was freshed-up and new windows are installed on main deck. The Mulder 70 has four cabins and serves perfectly for longer voyages with family and friends. She is now for sale for € 735.000 and available for inspection at the Zoeterwoude yard.
North-Star Takes Over Consonant Yachts
Harlingen-The Netherlands North-Line Yachts, builder of the North-Line motor yachts has taken over Consonant Yachts B.V. Consonant Yachts of Vriezenveen in the Netherlands has built more than seventy Kusters- Noaber motor yachts in the past decade but last year the company found itself in difficulties and the yard was taken over by the Kuster owners club. Recently the Kuster owners club, led by Herman van der Most, started looking for a new party to continue the construction and maintenance of the Kuster and Noaber vessels. Consonant Yachts will be incorporated into the existing organization of North-Line Yachts in Harlingen, all Kuster- and Noaber models of 31ft to 47 ft will be put ‘back on the drawing board’ and in consultation with a number of owners appropriate improvements and modifications will be made. Of course, the high quality of materials, seaworthiness and the unique look of all the models remain intact. Besides the construction of new Kunster yachts, current owners can also be provided with winter storage, moorings and maintenance at the yard in Harlingen. The yard can also offer modifications to existing interiors, major refits and changes and modifications to machinery and electrical systems.
Princess Celebrates 50th Anniversary
2015 marks the 50th anniversary of one of the world's leading motor yacht manufacturers Princess Yachts International. Founded in 1965 as Marine Projects (Plymouth), David King and two friends started the business with a Senior 31 hull and deck moulding to fit out in their rented shed based at Newport Street, Plymouth. Project 31 sold for £3,400 and marked the beginning of a successful Plymouth shipyard. Over the years Princess Yachts has produced some world-beating craft from the company's first sports boat; the 286 Riviera which firmly cemented Marine Projects' place in the high speed sports cruiser market, to the Princess 65 which became the company's flagship in 1990. On 1st August 2001 Marine Projects became Princess Yachts International plc now occupying sites in Devonport, Plympton and Lee Mill. In 2008 the company was purchased by L Capital and the following year South Yard, a 15 acre waterside site (formally part of the Royal Naval Dockyard) was acquired with plans put in place to take the brand over the 100 foot mark. Now with over 2,400 employees across six sites, Princess Yachts International is one of the biggest employers in the South West. Along with a complex distributor network covering more than 65 countries around the world and a product range consisting of 23 models; Princess has become a leading motor yacht manufacturer at the forefront of the industry. Princess Yachts is set to make 2015 a memorable year with the launch of two new M Class superyachts. The Princess 30M will mark the entry point into M Class with the 35M reaffirming Princess' ability to produce world-class superyachts. As with all M Class yachts the 30M and 35M will combine elegant lines with sophisticated and contemporary interior styling. 2015 will also see further announcements to Princess' Flybridge, V Class and S Class ranges.
Princess Financial Results
2013 saw yet another strong financial performance at Princess Yachts, set against a background of aggressive competition in volatile markets. Profit before tax for the year ended 31 December 2013 was £17.9 million (2012 £18.4 million) on turnover of £239.4 million (2012 £249.9 million). Net assets at the end of the year totalled £115.2 million, up £10.6 million from the previous year, with the company continuing to maintain a very strong balance sheet. Continuing investment in the future of the business has laid the foundations for future growth. During the year, the company spent £10.4 million (2012 £9.5 million) on new product development, £2.0 million on new plant and equipment and maintained a workforce of over 2,000 people. All expenditure on new product development is written off in the year in which it is incurred and further adds to the robustness of the company's performance. With new yachts continuing to be added, the breadth of the model range has clearly established Princess as an industry leader in all segments of the markets in which the business operates. The recently introduced range of M Class superyachts continues to grow, with two exciting new models due to be launched in 2015 to add to the award winning flagship of the range, the Princess 40M. By any measure, the dawning of 2015 will mark a milestone in the company's history and will herald a year of celebration as we mark the 50th anniversary of the formation of the business in 1965. We are proud that a fledgling West Country boatyard, then known simply as Marine Projects (Plymouth) Limited, has grown into the global industry leader that it has become today. It all began with a boat known as Project 31 and has today evolved into what is arguably the finest range of luxury motor yachts in the world.
Sea Ray Announces Plan To Expand Production
Due to the overwhelming market reception and solid retail demand for its new L-Class yachts, Sea Ray will increase production capacity by reactivating its Sykes Creek manufacturing facility in Merritt Island, Fla. The expanded production will commence in the summer of 2015. Hiring will begin immediately, and the company expects to create up to 100 new jobs over the next 12 months.
Sea Ray App Wins Prestigious Award
Sea Ray recently received a Qualcomm Vuforia Vision Award for the company’s L650 Fly Augmented Reality application. The highly competitive global contest awards only five winners each year, out of hundreds of entries. In addition to the Sea Ray award, other 2014 winners were Samsung, LEGO, Sesame Street Workshop and the Guinness Book of World Records, all esteemed multi-national brands. The app features both interior and exterior tours of Sea Ray’s flagship model. The boat design in the app is taken directly from the Computer Aided Drafting (CAD) files used to build the L650 Fly, so the experience within the app is as close as possible to the actual boat, down to the smallest details. Sea Ray employed Ignition Digital Images Inc., a Toronto-based company, to help with the app development. While Sea Ray and Ignition Digital Images Inc. have been working together for more than five years on various projects, this was only the second implementation of the award-winning Augmented Reality technology for Ignition Digital Images Inc., after Mercedes Benz of Canada partnered with them to help launch their all-new C Class automobiles a few months earlier. For the exterior tour, users point an iOS device with the free app at a “target,” available here. Users can then zoom, rotate and interact with the boat, even looking in the windows at incredible detail. The interior tour offers a highly intuitive, gyro-based interface; wherever a customer points the iOS device, they see what would be there if they were standing in the boat
Tiara Yachts New Sales Coordinator
Tiara Yachts is pleased to announce that Jennifer Jones has joined the Tiara Yachts sales and marketing team as a Sales Coordinator. In this position, Jennifer will be responsible for all facets of the order entry process and production scheduling. Jennifer will communicate with both domestic and international Tiara dealers, customers and our production team, and will also handle monthly reporting and other sales related functions. Jennifer has 6 years of experience working in the boating industry as a Service Coordinator for SkipperBud’s in Grand Haven, MI. She holds a bachelor’s degree in Communications and Public Relations from Grand Valley State University. Jennifer will be based at the S2 Yachts Corporate Headquarters in Holland, MI.
Viking Angler Achievement
Congratulations to Dawn Samuels as the 2014 recipient of the West Palm Beach Fishing Club's Richard Jeck Memorial Billfish Tagging Trophy! Presented in memory of Richard "Scrambler Dick" Jeck, the award is presented to the member of the WPBFC who tags the most billfish off Florida and the Bahamas each calendar year. Dawn, a regular angler on the Viking 56 Princess Lily and team member at the Viking Yacht Service Center in Riviera Beach, tagged 20 fish and is only the third member to receive this honor since the awards creation in 2007.
Viking Gold Standard
Dave Anderson, fishing on the Viking 70 Krazy Salt's, claimed Top Angler at the recent Gold Cup Team Fishing Tournament. Captain Keith Greenberg along with mates Luke Hickey and Jeff Theil also led the boat to a First Place finish with 12 sails released by the angling team of Dave, Eric McDowell, Brian Graul and Jamie Diller. The Viking 62 was hot on their heels with 10 sails and Third Place honors. Nice work Captain Ryan Higgins, mates Brian Komer and Mike Provow and anglers Patrick Healey, Greg Jones, Pat Kelly, Dave Meyer and Don Gemmell.
Viking Key West Challenge
After the overwhelming success and fun at last year's inaugural event to celebrate our 50th Anniversary event in Key West, round two of the Viking Key West Challenge is set for April 8-11, 2015. Much more than a fishing tournament, this edition promises to be more fun than ever for Viking owners, family and friends. The event includes two days of fishing, parties, a fishing tournament for kids and loads of family oriented activities. Our four host marinas are booking slips so don't miss out on the fun and make your plans today.
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