Canada

Covey Island Boatworks

Tony Browne is a superyacht veteran – a young one, I’m hasten to add! With over 10 years aboard and six years of captaining under his belt, directing superyacht constructions and now directing marina operations at <a data-gid="gid://syiq/Company/1857" href="#managed-by-system" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" title="Porto Montenegro (Company)">Porto Montenegro</a>, if anyone knows the true definition of a luxury boutique experience, it’s Tony. <img src="https://photo-assets.superyachttimes.com/photo/218446/image/large-79ee386bbfacce1a22ed57d607ad683a.jpg" data-gid="gid://syiq/Photo/218446">For this very reason, Tony was appointed as Chairman of the Board for the Global Marina Institute and invited to be a member of the <a data-gid="gid://syiq/Company/1886" href="#managed-by-system" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" title="International Superyacht Society (Company)">International Superyacht Society</a> Board of Directors. We caught up with Tony to hear his journey and to discover the going-ons at the marina draped in accolades and which was voted “best superyacht marina in the world,” at the ACREW Superyacht Business Awards 2021.Tony, from what I gather, it has always been difficult to find you off a sailing yacht. What has your journey been like?&nbsp;In 1997 I left Australia and was pretty fortuitous as the owners I worked for were very keen on seeing the world. When you're into yachting you want to travel and experience different cultures, places, sights and sounds. So it’s fair to say I landed on my feet.&nbsp;I started off on an adventure holiday tall ship, sailing around picking up guests for cabin charter and taking them to some pretty exotic places, crossing a number of oceans to hit those far-flung destinations. I was rubbing shoulders with guys from the superyacht industry who were earning far more money than me, so it was certainly time to “jump ship”.My forte has always been sailing, so even as a superyacht captain, I was drawn to all things rigs, masts and sails. I took the helm of quite a few different sailing yachts and I did try my hand with a motor yacht – once, only once; I need sailboats in my life!<img src="https://photo-assets.superyachttimes.com/photo/218451/image/large-4fb39529bc53d104123944db43a37931.jpg" data-gid="gid://syiq/Photo/218451">After circumnavigating the globe not once but twice, and racking up over 80,000 nautical miles at the helm, are there any superyachts that really standout?&nbsp;Perhaps my most notable vessel, was the 28.35 metre traditional gaff rigged schooner, <a data-gid="gid://syiq/Yacht/6236" href="#managed-by-system" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" title="Tree of Life28.35m (93'0&quot;)Covey Island Boatworks1991">Tree of Life</a> which is modern in its build, but still wrought with traditional. She was built by <a data-gid="gid://syiq/Company/4573" href="#managed-by-system" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" title="Covey Island Boatworks (Company)">Covey Island Boatworks</a> and delivered in 1991 featuring a design penned in full by <a data-gid="gid://syiq/Company/4574" href="#managed-by-system" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" title="Brewer Yacht Designs (Company)">Brewer Yacht Designs</a>. We sailed her for some pretty adventurous owners over a three or four year period, which was a great experience and good fun.Another project I worked on was the iconic Eye of the Wind, during her refits in Gloucestershire, the UK between 1999 and 2000. &nbsp;She needed some extensive changes to bring her up to the new LY2 class rules. Eye of the Wind has an interesting and star-studded story. She was launched in 1911 as an engineless trading sailing ship but a fire put an end to her service in the 1960s. She was laid up as a hulk in Sweden until the mid-1970s when she was rediscovered and refitted to start life as an adventure holiday vessel. She's also a Hollywood star and featured in numerous movies, such as White Squall, Blue Lagoon and Tai Pan.&nbsp;I also worked as build captain for a 40 metre project, which was being constructed in Turkey. This project was the culmination of 10 years of climbing the ranks and earning my stripes, and she was certainly a special one to work on. &nbsp;<img src="https://photo-assets.superyachttimes.com/photo/218449/image/large-f8457d7146106b8d4bf6465d85d3a7ed.jpg" data-gid="gid://syiq/Photo/218449">What happened? Surely the wind wasn’t taken out of your sails – there must have been a big motivator that drew you ashore after all these years seafaring.&nbsp;It was around the same time as when the construction of the 40-metre project in Turkey was coming to an end that <a data-gid="gid://syiq/Company/1857" href="#managed-by-system" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" title="Porto Montenegro (Company)">Porto Montenegro</a> Marina reached out to me. It was a great opportunity to become the Marina Director, but one that I certainly didn’t take lightly as it meant stepping ashore.In the back of my mind, I always thought I could return to sea if it didn’t work, but it turned out to be a once-in-a-lifetime deal. I’m so pleased I made the decision I did. The backdrop, of course, goes without saying played a role in the decision. As someone who’s travelled extensively, location is important – and, you know what, you can't really put a finger on what it is that creates something quite special here in <a data-gid="gid://syiq/Company/1857" href="#managed-by-system" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" title="Porto Montenegro (Company)">Porto Montenegro</a>.It’s clear that you have a strong attraction to&nbsp;<a data-gid="gid://syiq/Company/1857" href="#managed-by-system" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" title="Porto Montenegro (Company)">Porto Montenegro</a>&nbsp;Marina, but how do you ensure that guests and clients have the same experience as you do?&nbsp;We really try hard to ensure that our guests maximise their visits to Montenegro, and we have the capacity to cater for any yacht in the world. In the marina itself, we have 460 berths and we have the ability to build under our concession agreement with the government a further 850 berths. So while 450 berths is not a huge number, the actual size and scale of <a data-gid="gid://syiq/Company/1857" href="#managed-by-system" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" title="Porto Montenegro (Company)">Porto Montenegro</a> is beyond that of any other marina.&nbsp;We have also – and it's been a long time coming – added a shipyard aspect to Porto Montenegro. There is a shipyard facility literally a stone's throw away which we have won the concession tender for. We joined forces with <a data-gid="gid://syiq/Company/6122" href="#managed-by-system" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" title="DryDocks World (Company)">Drydocks World</a> Dubai for this venture and are now busy renovating and restoring the site for our opening later this year. In fact, we've just placed an order for a 10,000-tonne 180 metre floating dry dock and a 720-tonne travel lift, which will be arriving in the second quarter of this year.We are more than just a parking lot for yachts, though, and we have really tapped into the local geography and culture of Montenegro. The relationship is bilateral and we give as much as we take: when we first established the marina we provided the first free Wi-Fi infrastructure throughout the town; and we have a budget specifically for upgrades of local infrastructure and for sporting facilities where we'll all don overalls and grab a can of paint and go and repair something that needs to be repaired; another thing we pride ourselves with is that we provide various scholarships for the local schools and yachting industry each year.&nbsp;This harmony between the marina and the town is felt and experienced by our guests and clients. <a data-gid="gid://syiq/Company/1857" href="#managed-by-system" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" title="Porto Montenegro (Company)">Porto Montenegro</a> Marina is also incredibly safe. The country has the lowest crime rate per capita in Europe, for one. It also isn’t impacted by ground swells, unlike most other marinas in the Mediterranean, as we are located within the enclosed protection of Boka bay. <img src="https://photo-assets.superyachttimes.com/photo/218447/image/large-a36880f4b9cca3d81bd56a035070c6b3.jpg" data-gid="gid://syiq/Photo/218447"><a data-gid="gid://syiq/Company/1857" href="#managed-by-system" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" title="Porto Montenegro (Company)">Porto Montenegro</a>&nbsp;Marina has a calendar teeming with events – anything recent that you particularly enjoyed? And what dates shall we pen into our calendars for this year?&nbsp;My ethos is to create a marina that offers all visitors a five to seven star service – and our “crew club” event schedule is part of that. Just the other week we headed up into the snowy mountains of Montenegro to welcome around 16 teams of four to participate in the industry-renowned Superyacht Winter Games. It was fantastic! Lots of team building, lots of activities and lots of frivolity. We set up some really cool challenges and just had fun with it.&nbsp;Like you said, our schedule is chockablock but if I was to highlight just two events, I would say the Boka Bay Trail and the Superyacht Summer Games. The Trail will take place in May and we have organised three running races around the bay of Boka, so there is a trail for everyone. The Superyacht Summer Games is set to be just as action packed as the Winter ones we just held – this time though we’ll be out at sea competing in sailing regattas.<img src="https://photo-assets.superyachttimes.com/photo/218448/image/large-80bf931e0160edab0ed1023d68c8dd67.jpg" data-gid="gid://syiq/Photo/218448">Before you go, can I hear a little bit about your work with the global Marina Institute?&nbsp;So the global Marina Institute is basically an umbrella organisation that ensures a level of consistency with training, services and the general experience at marinas across the world. We are a group of professionals from the UK and Australia, primarily, and we are working at creating a high-level standard that is pretty much universal. As part of this we have created a training program so that people can climb the ranks and be duly certified for their efforts with diplomas that are globally recognised.

In conversation: Tony Browne, Porto Montenegro Marina Director

SYT caught up with Tony Browne, Porto Montenegro Marina Director, to hear his journey and to discover the going-ons at the marina.