Insight: Captain Mikulicic on prepping the 41m yacht Legenda for charter

Delivered in 2009 by Mondomarine, the 41.1-metre yacht Legenda is available for charter with Imperial for the first time. Having undergone an extensive refit in 2016, Legenda has been kept in pristine condition since her delivery. Boasting several exterior and interior upgrades, all those onboard are guaranteed a special experience with high-tech amenities and top-class comfort. Up to 10 guests are invited to enjoy her sophisticated exterior design by Cor D. Rover, who has penned sleek lines and a coloured hull to reflect the shimmer from the Mediterranean waters. Inside, Luca Dini has created classic interiors for guests of Legenda. Plush furnishings, cream carpets and a contemporary use of colour can be seen throughout the superyacht and her full-beam main-deck owner’s suite and office, four guest rooms, upper-deck saloon and main-deck dining area.  

Now entering into a new chapter alongside her experienced crew of seven, the captain of Legenda, Zeljko Mikulicic, speaks exclusively to Imperial and SuperYacht Times to discuss what makes this superyacht such a special addition to the charter fleet.  What makes the superyacht charter experience special? 
First and foremost, the superyacht industry is about luxury - you get to visit the world’s most lavish destinations and meet some of the world’s most extraordinary people. It is luxury at the highest level, in terms of services as well as places and products, so even the skipper of a yacht like Legenda, there is still a great deal of pleasure to be had! What makes Legenda particularly attractive? 
I’ve been involved with Legenda for a few months now and for a 41-metre superyacht, the space available on the three decks is very impressive – particularly outside at the aft end and on the Jacuzzi-equipped sundeck. We’ve got an aluminium hull, which is very typical of Mondomarine’s 40-metre plus yachts, and we’ve got a lot of toys such as stand-up paddleboards, kayaks, skis, wakeboards and inflatable toys. We’ve also got two GP100 Jetsurfs, plus a couple of jet skis, two Seabobs and a comfortable five-metre tender.

We’re also an authorised RYA training centre, so if guests don’t have their yachting licences and they want to pass a course during their charter, we can do that for them. On top of all of that is the sense of exclusivity... Legenda has never been available for charter before summer 2018, so it’s a really exclusive yacht and it very much feels that way.  

How would you characterise your crew? 
My crew is very experienced. We have a new first officer, a new chief steward, and an additional chef, so the chefs are now on rotation – and already, it’s working very well. We’ve got a mixed crew, so although English is our primary language, we’ve got enough flexibility in terms of their abilities, experience and languages to cater for pretty much any blend of charter guests. 

Photo: Imperial yachtsHow has your charter experience been so far? 
We’ve been cruising the Turkish and Greek waters for some time and Legenda really does feel ideal for the Mediterranean. Turkey, in particular, was fantastic - far better even than we expected. There are plenty of beautiful anchorages, lots of sheltered bays and the Turkish mooring technique, where you connect the vessel with ropes to the rocks - it’s a lot of fun! In fact, I like it even more than the western Mediterranean in many ways. It’s not really been discovered yet compared to destinations like the French Riviera or parts of Italy or Corsica, but it has this really special atmosphere, it’s a comfortable place to cruise and in terms of value for money, it’s amazing.

Would you describe Legenda as a particularly capable sea vessel? 
She’s very capable. During a charter period, there’s always a compromise to be made between speed and comfort. In a Beaufort Scale 5, we can still carry on with a relaxed passage, but if it goes beyond that, we need to make it relatively slow to keep things comfortable - but that’s yachting! It always depends on the conditions and while our stabilisers are designed to mitigate the impact of poor conditions, we can always adjust the itinerary to cater to bad weather if we need to. 

How easy is it to change the itinerary as you go? Is Legenda an easy yacht to do this with?
Yes, absolutely. We do need to be quite certain in terms of where we begin and end the charter. In terms of safety, we obviously have to impose certain limits. But as for the rest, we can always be flexible - and that’s necessary because our clients are fully entitled to be demanding. If the planned itinerary says they want this island and they change their minds that’s no problem at all. On the contrary, I really enjoy that because that’s what charter is. Otherwise, why would our guests choose to charter our vessel? Itineraries change all the time and that’s normal for us. We’re always primed to make that happen - and if our guests are happy, then we all get a good experience out of it. 

Why should people charter Legenda? 
We are quite fresh on the market and that in itself will be very attractive to people. Our length of 41.1-metres means we can access a lot of places, but we’ve still got a lot of toys, a lot of space and an excellent crew. 

With our experienced team and the additional chef, we can provide everything from traditional cuisine to a more modern Mediterranean style of cooking, with every kind of food in between; and we are ready to provide the very highest level of service, whatever our guests’ wishes might be. 

Legenda is available for charter this summer from €135,000 per week with no delivery fees. She will initially be in the East Mediterranean before moving to the West Mediterranean. Enquiries can be made via Charter CA, Ekaterina Pavlova, at Imperial using the details below.