Incredible Video Shows Every Luxury Vessel Owners' Worst Nightmare

Incredible Video Shows Every Luxury Vessel Owners' Worst Nightmare

Image: bilibili.com

Superyachts and super boats are almost as expensive to maintain as they are to buy. But while some dismiss them as 21st century “let them eat cake” artifices, others see them as The Holy Grail of capitalism.

Either way, every time an expensive piece of flotsam finds itself in strife, it attracts eyeballs.

Enter: the following video, recently posted to Instagram by Top Yacht.

It’s not quite a superyacht (a superyacht must be over 80ft in length). However, the luxurious languishing boat at the Plage de Pamplonne inspired us to find more videos of expensive vessels being parked. A little digging showed this is not the first time it’s been poorly done.

From the following 2017 video to this 2019 incident in Cairns, luxury vessels of all shapes and sizes have seen some catastrophic faux pas over the years.

 

To understand the true cost of these mishaps, DMARGE got on the phone with Istanbul-based luxury yacht manager Candaş Balci, who told us a vessel like Sailing Yacht A (one of the most lavish superyachts on the planet) would cost, in his estimation, 8 million euros per year to insure.

This is not optional, he said as “you can’t enter any country, any marina” without insurance.

He also told us parking mishaps aren’t the only reason many superyacht and luxury vessel owners hire a manager.

“They [the owners], relax onboard, and don’t want to have to think about any other problems.”

“They also often have limited time on the vessel.”

Balci told us there were various pain points to owning a superyacht you might not be aware of (which makes enjoying a smaller vessel a lot more attractive).

“Owning a superyacht has risks. You have 10 people (maybe) working on your yacht so it’s like a small company with payroll, social security, etc. As an owner you don’t have time for that.”

“If you have some problem it can ruin your whole summer – if you lose any of your crew and need to find another in the season it can be hard.”

There are also complex regulations that owners should be aware of, Balci told DMARGE.

“They can lock your boat down in some ports if you have something against the rules.”

All the while: “if you have a small yacht you can enjoy the same bay as a 50m yacht.”

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