Every month, superyacht owners reveal where they are in the world and share their future plans. This month, BOAT catches up with Matt Voorhees about chartering the famous 67-metre Alloy sailing yacht Vertigo before getting an update on the experienced owner's personal fleet.
Yacht owner Matt Voorhees
Yacht: Vertigo
Length: 67.2m
Year: 2011
Location: BVIs
You’re chartering the famous 67-metre Alloy sailing yacht Vertigo. How has that gone?
Fantastically. It’s a bit of an anniversary. We chartered the yacht five years to the day since we were last on board when the world shut down for Covid-19. That year, we got trapped in St Kitts until my pilots could come and get us out. I invited all the same guests back for this charter. I chartered Vertigo that year as I was waiting for my yacht Broadwater (now Juneluck), which I’ve since sold, to be delivered by Royal Huisman after an extensive refit.
What’s Vertigo like?
It’s an amazing sailing platform. We’ve sailed a few times on passage from St Barths to the BVIs but the winds have been a little light so we haven’t had ample opportunity.
Did you enjoy the Bucket?
It was crazy. St Barths is a very special place, and basically the charm of the South of France concentrated into a paradise island 1,000th its size. We did try to convince the owners of Vertigo to let us enter the event in the Corinthian Class but we couldn’t get approval. So we watched with great interest but were secretly glad in the end as the wind was very light.
What’s next for you?
I go home for a day and head straight to another charter on board the 54-metre Baglietto C. I’m being joined this time by my son and a group of his friends, as well as my parents. It will be a slightly drier trip! We’ll head to the Bahamas and finish up at Baker’s Bay.
How are you enjoying the BVIs?
Yesterday we had a Painkiller cocktail at the Soggy Dollar Bar, which is a tradition in these parts, but I don’t tend to get off the boat much. The group I’m with is very sporty so they’ve all been out snorkelling and hiking mountains. The topography of these islands is remarkable – it’s a bit like Greece, only greener and with more sand.
How is the fleet?
My Palmer Johnson, Thunder, is coming out of refit and I think we’ll use that on the East Coast this summer. My Benetti Oasis 34M is also finishing up some work in Fort Lauderdale in the next couple of months and my Feadship sportfisher Catch will be in Chesapeake Bay this year. We’ll get plenty of time on the water between those three!