5 things you need to know about the superyacht market in June

2015 was widely regarded to be a bad year for sailing yacht sales, with 32 sales, down from 45 in 2014, but the market is showing promising signs of recovery.

So far this year there have been 11 sales of sailing yachts, the same number as in the equivalent period last year, but the average asking price of €8,440,000 is well above the €2,910,000 figure from the first five months of 2015 and indicates there could be a busy summer ahead for brokers specialising in sailing superyachts.

Notable sailing superyachts to change hands so far this year include the 57.5 metre Royal Huisman yacht Twizzle (pictured above) and 51.8 metre Alloy yacht Mondango 2.

And looking forward there are several notable new listings to feed the demand, including 25.6 metre Cookson sailing yacht My Song and 34.14 metre Sangermani yacht Seljm.

Looking at the market more broadly, we know of 44 superyacht sales completed in May. This figure is slightly down on the 49 we reported in April, but marginally up from the 43 reported in May 2015. However, one brand that cropped up time and time again was Feadship.

The largest sale in May was 60.66 metre Feadship motor yacht Meduse (pictured above), which was asking $25million, while the largest new listing was also from Feadship — the 96.55 metre in-build superyacht Project Vertigo.

Other notable Feadship sales completed in May include 52.1 metre yacht Gravitas and 50.3 metre Déjà Vu, which had an asking price of $17.9million.

The venerable Dutch builder is showing no signs of slowing down either, with the recent news that it will be opening a new Amsterdam yard in 2019, which will be able to launch yachts measuring up to 160 metres.

This year’s World Superyacht Awards were dominated by Dutch yards, with 6 out of the 15 awards going to yachts designed in the Netherlands — an even more impressive haul than the 5 wins from the 2015 awards.

Chief among these was the highly innovative 83.5 metre Feadship Savannah (pictured above), which was the judges’ overwhelming choice for the biggest prize — Motor Yacht of the Year 2016.

Other key Dutch winners included Unfurled, the 46 metre Vitters sailing yacht, whose flush deck and technological innovation scooped the Sailing Yacht of the Year award for 2016.

And with 70 metre Heesen Yachts flagship Galactica Super Nova and 66.25m Feadship superyacht Vanish recently delivered, you can be sure that the Dutch will be well represented at next year’s World Superyacht Awards as well.

For charterers looking to book up a last-minute luxury yacht holiday for the summer, you still can’t beat the West Mediterranean for the sheer level of choice.

More than 40% of the world’s available charter yachts are still based here according to a recent report by Camper & Nicholsons International and Wealth-X. Although this is down on the 60% figure reported in 2010, the West Med is still far ahead of the next most popular destination, the East Mediterannean, which has historically held a market share of around 20%.

Notable yachts recently made available for charter in this area include 86 metre Vitters sailing super yacht Aquijo, 47.25 metre Sunseeker motor yacht Princess AVK (pictured above), and 41.4 metre Alia Yachts Rüya.

Those looking to venture further afield can choose to take part in 72.5 metre Abeking & Rasmussen explorer yacht Cloudbreak’s circumnavigation cruise, which begins in British Columbia in September.

Looking further ahead and we learned this month that Axioma, a 72.5 metre Dunya Yachts model, will be made available for charter in Cuba for the first time in 2017.

More and more owners are looking beyond the traditional Mediterranean and Caribbean haunts and are letting their superyachts truly stretch their globe-trotting legs.

EYOS Expeditions have noticed a distinct trend towards exploring icy destinations, with the past winter seeing more superyachts visit Antarctica than ever before.

Ben Lyons, CEO at EYOS, said: “More than five years ago, there was maybe one superyacht visiting Antarctica each season. Now there is a new generation of owners looking to explore far beyond the traditional Mediterranean and Caribbean yachting circles.”

One such case in point is 119 metre Blohm + Voss Superyacht A (pictured above), which has recently been spotted in Iceland, visiting both the capital of Reykjavik and the north coast city of Akureyri.

That’s not to say that remote tropical destinations are being ignored, however, with 91.5 metre Oceanco superyacht Equanimity recently exploring the South Pacific nation of Palau.