#11 / 2019
We just delivered 109 me-
ter Bravo Eugenia with Oceanco
and 93 meter Lady S with Fead-
ship; we just signed 77 meters
with Feadship; we have 80 me-
ters project with Nobiskrug and
the second one is just signed.
But we are always burning pret-
ty much diesel in our industry
and boats are still painted with
acrylic paints. Anyway boats are
not burning diesel everyday, in
compare with big commercial
ships they hardly move. So con-
sumption of diesel for yachts
is not a massive consideration.
People keep asking us what is
percentage of fuel in opera-
tional cost? It is relatively small,
crew costs more.
S o yo u s t i l l d o n’ t w o r k w i t h
boats below 50 meter?
It depends on who the own-
er is. We have some owners with
the smaller boats as well, so we
will never turn them away. We’ve
got a number of charter yachts
around 40 meters.
What is the most unusual
re q u e s t yo u g o t f ro m
the client?
We had a request for an ele-
phant and for Häagen-Dazs ice
cream to be delivered on the
yacht in some remote part
of the world.
A s a b ro ke r d o y o u e v e r o f -
f e r yo u r c l i e n t a b o a t n o o n e
f ro m yo u r t e a m e v e r s a w ?
No. For charter we would always
want to see the boat. If the boat
is based in some remote place
someone from our team has to
fl y there.
W h e re d o yo u u s u a l l y g o
w i t h yo u r p e r s o n a l y a c h t ?
This summer we cruised in
Greece, which is amazing. For
me Mediterranean is the perfect
cruising ground, from Spain all
the way through to Turkey. We
like Caribbean too. Sometimes
we would like to make longer
cruise there.
D o c a p t a i n s a n d c re w
m e m b e r s a l s o s t ay w i t h
B u rg e s s f o r a l o n g t i m e?
Once a captain worked with us
he prefers to stay with us usual-
ly. If the boat gets sold captain
would wait and fi nd another po-
sition.it is all about relation-
ships. They, hopefully, know we
are good people and we look af-
ter them well. You’ve been on
board of Excellence. The captain
works for the same owner for 30
years. Have you saw his incredi-
ble cabin? I guess this is well de-
served.
D o yo u h ave a f avo r i t e y a c h t ?
I think in my role it is very dif-
fi cult to have a favorite boat.
I have yachts that are dear to
me, because we’ve sold them
not just once. We’ve got one
boat that we started manag-
ing in 1987 and we’re still man-
aging it today. I have to see the
boats through the client’s eyes,
have to mark all the nice fea-
tures. So, you do remove your-
self from saying I like this and
don’t like this.
What about favorite
yacht designer?
I have a few, and actually it is
a long list. I’m very friendly
with all the designers, with lot
of them we grew up together in
the industry.
What is the most outstand-
i n g p ro j e c t yo u w o r ke d o n?
Azzam was incredible project
for us. We started with a clean
shit of paper and ended up with
the largest and fastest yacht in
the world.
W h a t i s t h e f i r s t t h i n g yo u
p ay a t t e n t i o n t o s t e p p i n g
o n b o a rd ?
You know, I could go on board of
any yacht, stay there for 15 min-
utes, knowing who the build-
er is and what the quality is go-
ing to be, and understand if
crew is good, friendly and help-
ful. I quickly look at decora-
tion units, open and shut doors
of cupboards. Then I go down to
the engine area and crew quar-
ters to see what the mainte-
nance is. Then I leave.
Obviously if you’re list-
ing the boat for sale you spend
hours or even a day on board.
A n d w h a t a re yo u r f a v o r i t e
destinations besides
yachting?
Generally, we rent one or two
houses per year. When we go
to Caribbean, we rent the same
house every year. We quite like
short breaks in the cities, New
York or Paris. I’ve got three
young children, so I like to
spend more time with them go-
ing where they would like to go.
W h e re yo u d re a m t o t r ave l ?
What is ideal cruise for you?
I have 64 feet sailing yacht and
for me it is a perfect cruise. If
you are a sheikh or an oligarch
you probably would like 120 me-
ter yacht. If you’re a family with
kids and grandparents 40-60
meter yacht is a great choice.
In the end everything depends
on your budget. There are great
boats of 40 meters, there are
great boats of 140 meters.
What kind of new technolo-
g i e s i n y a c h t b u i l d i n g a re o n
the edge now?
I think nowadays environment
is the hot topic. Everyone wants
to be slightly more environmen-
tal friendly, eco and green. This
is probably the biggest chal-
lenge for yachting industry now.
I would like to cruise in the Pa-
cifi c. I’ve stayed on yachts in
the Pacifi c, but never took a lon-
ger cruise there. I would like to
spend couple of months in In-
dia, to go deep into country.
I quite enjoy the trips you may
call edgy. It’s lovely to come to
South of France or New York,
but it’s fun to go somewhere
a bit more remote, less civi-
lized, to experience oppose side
of nice hotels where I stay a lot
for work.
H o w d o yo u re c r u i t p e o p l e?
I have to say our recruitment
process is quite painful. For ex-
ample, we just opened offi ce in
Australia and we have been hir-
ing the team for almost two
years. With future head of the
offi ce we had at least 10 meet-
ings. Here on the stand we had
series of interviews with some-
body we have been talking for
seven months already. What is
important for us is not just hire
a person who will do job well,
but who will fi t in the team, be
a part of the family. So very
few people leave us. We have
colleagues who go on holi-
days together.
TF