Making the Leap into Yachting

For many people, if you truly love the ocean and can't get enough of it then yachting is the next step.  The great thing about buying a yacht is that if you have enjoyed other forms of boating such as fishing or going on a leisurely cruise, you can do all of those things and more from the deck of your luxury yacht.  Yachting adds a whole new level of pampering because unlike a smaller boat, it can serve as a home away form home so you can totally relax and let the stresses of life disappear.  You will be amazed how even personal problems can be left on the shore for even a few hours out on your yacht.  And when you return to the concerns of life and business, you will come back with a fresh view on the world and be able to tackle those problems with a new energy and vigor.

When you do even something fairly routine but you do it on your yacht, it takes on a feel of the extraordinary and the elegant.  A business dinner at your home is warm and intimate and effective.  On your yacht you can have the identical business meeting and it becomes supercharged because just being out on the water in a luxury environment adds a feel of success and power to what you are discussing.  The yacht can close the deal when that final push is needed and in doing so pay for itself in one evening.

A fallacy about yachting that keeps a lot of people from taking that big step into becoming a yacht owner is that they have to know all about sailing and how to manage a boat on the open sea.  There have been plenty of movies and news stories about yachting disasters to scare you out of owning your own boat if you think you have to be an expert seaman and manage every technical detail of the voyage yourself. 

This is simply not the case.  Most yacht owners engage at least a captain if not a full yacht crew who are skilled in managing that sea craft and are also highly trained in what to do in the event of an emergency while you are away from port.  Your friends who already enjoy yachting and the venue that is going to sell you your yacht can recommend services that provide such crews on an as needed basis so you can focus on simply enjoying your yachting experience to its fullest.

Another approach to making the decision whether to buy a yacht all your own is to "try before you buy".  Of course you no doubt have been out on yachts owned by your friends or businesses with whom you are associated and that may be what has gotten the wheels turning on making this step into yacht ownership yourself.  But you know from other areas of life that ownership is completely different from being a guest and just as owning a home is wonderful, you cannot understand it just from being in someone's home. 

A middle ground is to charter a yacht for a few weeks and go ahead and take a step at being the skipper of that big luxury boat.  You can go ahead and engage a pilot and crew who will be there to make sure your wishes turn into commands and to manage the ship because of their specialized skills.  But because this is your yacht for this period of time, you not only will make all of the destination activities and what kind of things to offer your guests onboard, you will do all the planning and preparation for the trip.  Your level of responsibility goes up as does your feeling of empowerment.  As you stand out on deck watching the waves break over YOUR yacht, you can enjoy the feeling of power and success and ponder if you want to make the step to make this feeling permanent.