Owning a yacht has become the ultimate social status symbol for celebrities and businessmen from all over the world, and especially for the Russian oligarchs.
To better understand why some people are willing to spend hundreds of millions of euros in his own vessel, he has gone to Croatia, one of Europe’s hot spots for superyachts.
I have spent a night on board a superyacht of almost 50 meters in length with capacity for 30 guests that can be rented for between 55,200 and 82,800 euros per weekdepending on the season.
Miha Menegalija of charter company Goolets says that owning a superyacht is a way to show off your wealth. The problem is that buying it is not the only expense. The owner must also take into account the cost of crew and maintenance expenses, which can amount to one tenth of the purchase price each year.
None of this seems to deter the super-rich from getting one. But, Why do they like superyachts so much?
It’s relaxing
Before boarding the Ohana, I had never been on a boat, let alone a superyacht. I was shown to my cabin which had 2 single beds, a bathroom style suite room surprisingly roomy and a closet big enough to hold 2 people’s clothes for a week.
The Ohana was completed in 2020, just as the pandemic broke out. Despite being so new, its owner – who is also the captain – assures that the yacht will be completely refitted next summerin order to serve a more demanding clientele.
I was afraid of getting seasick, but it turns out that I barely noticed the rocking of the ship.
has good food
Breakfast buffet had everything you could wish for: Fruit, cold cuts, eggs, cheese and ham toasties, smoothies, and specific requests could also be made.
Lunch consisted of 2 courses and dinner consisted of a starter, a main course and a dessert.
For me, the star dish was the broccoli stew, which I repeated 3 times and for which I asked the chef for the recipe to prepare it myself at home.
Check out this superyacht with a Spanish soul that pays homage to yin and yang and even has a wine tasting room
In the dining room there were 2 waitresses, Valentina and Tea, who made sure that my glass was always full and that I stocked up on Diet Coke throughout the day.
you feel freedom
Talking to the captain’s right-hand man, 39-year-old Zoran Vidović, I could tell he was at a loss for the right word to express what he was feeling as he sipped my morning coffee on deck. Suddenly appeared: it was freedom.
It was something I had not experienced before: waking up in the Adriatic Sea (part of the Mediterranean) every morning it offered me a peace I had never experienced before on land.
The other crew members I spoke to told me that They wouldn’t trade their job for the world.
Personally, I couldn’t work being available to clients all day and taking care of the yacht’s maintenance before going to sleep in a cramped cabin, only to do it all over again the next day.
This is what it’s like to be the chef of a superyacht at the service of the world’s richest: from 18-hour days to clients who ask to “warm up the Adriatic”
It’s a special experience
Luxury dinner, jet ski, paddle surfing, kayaking… the list of things to do is endless.
Owning a yacht is the ultimate display of wealth because it’s a bottomless money hole. Unless the owner allows others to rent his boat, he cannot expect any return on his investment. Though that, of course, doesn’t make them any less attractive to the wealthy.
My stay at the Ohana made me feel special the bartender even made me my own secret drink.
It may not come as a big surprise, but I could certainly get used to spending a lot of time on a superyacht. You’d catch me having a cocktail in the jacuzzi.
