Blue Leopard Yacht News & Events

Netherlands

Rotterdam Boat Show 2023 will feature the most prestigious yachts, suppliers and tenders from shipyards all over the world. The Marina de Rotterdamsche Admiraliteit, located in the bustling centre of Rotterdam, will be transformed into a chic exhibition location exhibiting various elements of luxury watersports and boating.

Rotterdam Boat Show 

Infinity yacht cruising through Rotterdam

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Italy

In April, Marina Genova will host the third edition of Sea You - Yacht Sales and Charter Days 2023. The event is dedicated to the exhibition and discussion of yachts both available for charter and for sale, and provides an opportunity for brokers, yacht owners, captains, and potential new clients to meet.

Sea You - Marina Genova 2023

Marina Genova - Sea You 2022

Sea You - Yacht Sales & Charter Days

France

Les Voiles de St Barth Richard Mille 2023 is a sailing regatta spanning five days, with participants competing in diverse challenging coastal courses. The event provides more than just racing, offering contestants and guests the opportunity to attend evening concerts and beach parties, and explore St Barth’s fine dining scene, great shopping culture and marvellous beaches.

Day two of Les Voiles de St Barth Richard Mille 2022

 Les Voiles de St Barth Richard Mille logo

Les Voiles de St Barth Richard Mille - 2023

Bella Mente yacht at  Les Voiles de St Barth Richard Mille logo

Spain

Held in Marina Port Vell Barcelona, the MYBA Charter Show 2023 celebrates yachting, bringing together the world’s leading luxury charter professionals to assess some of the finest yachts available for charter. The event focuses on charter and will be filled with enlightening seminars and endless networking possibilities.

MYBA charter show 2019

MYBA Charter Show logo

MYBA Charter Show - 2023

Singapore

ONE˚15 Marina

Singapore Yachting Festival

ONE°15 Marina Sentosa Cove

The Palma International Boat Show 2023 opens the Mediterranean nautical season from Palma’s Moll Vell, in the centre of the island’s capital. The show will feature some of the finest superyachts on the international brokerage and charter market.

Palma Superyacht Village

Palma International Boat Show Logo

Palma International Boat Show

Greece

The Mediterranean Yacht Show 2023 is a targeted trade show for yachting professionals, and will be returning in April as one of the largest shows in the world exhibiting professional crewed yachts from this part of the world.

Mediterranean Yacht Show 2022 

Mediterranean Yacht Show

Turkey

The TYBA Charter Show 2023 returns in May, hosted by the renowned D-Marin in Turkey. The event will be located in Gocek, a beautiful town emerging as a new hot-spot for Turkish yachting. The TYBA Charter Show offers attendees the opportunity to view some of the greatest yachts in the region and network with fellow yachting industry professionals.

TYBA Yacht Charter Show 2019

TYBA Yacht Charter Show

TYBA Yacht Charter Show 20222 at D Marin Gozek 

Australia

The Sanctuary Cove International Boat Show 2023 is one of Australia’s most popular boating events. With over 45,000 visitors in attendance, there is plenty to do, with the show featuring luxurious superyachts, the latest-and-greatest boating tech and equipment, and endless activities allowing for ample family-fun.

Sanctuary Cove International Boat Show

Sanctuary Cove International Boat Show logo

The Venice Boat Show 2023, held in the historic Arsenale of Venice, is one of the main international boating events. In addition to showcasing numerous yachts and superyachts, the show will also provide themed conferences, exhibitions, art installations, regattas, and has a family-friendly approach, with educational activities for children.

Venice Boat Show

Venice Boat Show logo

Venice Boat Show - 2021

The Giorgio Armani Superyacht Regatta 2023 will be returning in June for its 16th edition, held in the glorious waters surrounding Sardinia. Organised by the YCCS, with the support of title sponsor Giorgio Armani, the regatta is open to sailing yachts of over 27 metres and multihulls of over 15 metres, and is a week filled with superb competitive racing.

Giorgio Armani Superyacht Regatta 2022 Day 4

Giorgio Armani Superyacht Regatta

Magic Carpet Cubed yacht at the Giorgio Armani Superyacht Regatta 2022 Day 4

Portofino Regate di Primavera 2023 is an invitation-only sailing event filled with some of the best-known Italian boat manufacturers. The regatta returns in June, and will include all of the traditional events, as well as a few new ones. The season’s most important event, the Rolex Giraglia, comprises three days of inshore racing from Sanremo/Saint-Tropez to Genoa.

Portofino Regate di Primavera 

Portofino Regate di Primavera - 2023

Twin Soul B yacht sailing in the Portofino Regate di Primavera 

The Superyacht Cup Palma 2022 - Day 1 

The Superyacht Cup Palma 

Malta

The Malta Maritime Law Association, together with the Malta Chamber, will be hosting the second edition of the Malta Superyacht Symposium 2023 in July. The event aims to showcase and analyse Malta’s superyacht industry, looking at its achievements over the years. Last year’s event was a huge success, with over 170 delegates from an array of industry sectors offering insight on various topics.

Malta Superyacht Symposium 2022

Malta Superyacht Symposium

Maxi Yacht Rolex Club is an iconic sailing regatta which dates back to 1980, its partnership with title sponsor Rolex commencing in 1984. Every year, the regatta offers an insight into the quality of boats and sailors in attendance, packed with highly demanding courses.

29th edition Maxi Yacht Rolex Cup

Maxi Yacht Rolex Cup

Maxi Yacht Rolex Cup and Rolex Maxi 72 World Championship

Hosted in the heart of the French Riviera, the Cannes Yachting Festival 2023 welcomes boating enthusiasts to join the meeting point of some of the most beautiful yachts and sailboats in the global fleet. Representatives from renowned shipyards, yachting media, leading brokerage houses and the wider industry will be in attendance, providing information and networking opportunities.

Cannes Yachting Festival 2022

Cannes Yachting Festival - 2023

Cannes Yachting Festival

Blue Leopard yacht in Monaco

Blue Leopard yacht anchored off Saint-Tropez

Blue Leopard

When I think of fashion, the faces of Giorgio Armani and Donatella Versace come to mind. With cars it’s Enzo Ferrari and Ferruccio Lamborghini. With music, Bob Dylan and Michael Jackson. When I think of yachting as an industry, a number of faces also come to mind with which I immediately connect our business. Peter Insull is one of these faces. Often seen at yachting events around the world and consistently appearing in news headlines, I have up until now known very little about the man and his business that has seemed to exist forever. A visit, therefore, to his Antibes office (a stone’s throw from where Dilbar and the Riviera regulars were tied up in a full-house IYCA marina) to learn more about the face behind the iconic name was in order. &nbsp;<img src="/uploads/store/photo/17286/image/large-4994e52488a244e3bb062efa41e44766.jpg" data-gid="gid://syiq/Photo/17286"> The summer season is drawing to a close when I arrive on the French Riviera with only a few days before the start of the boat show season. It’s another scorcher of a day in what has been a very hot summer across the Med in general. It is a welcome relief, then, to step inside the Peter Insull’s Yacht Marketing office to escape the heat and be welcomed by the bearded man himself. Scattered around the space as we walk through the office are a number of impressive yacht models all of which, according to Peter, he has had some association with. It's difficult to tell if the building is supported by brick walls or by a series of massive filing cabinets, as an impressive system of files and yachting book collections dominate the space. Peter proceeds to demonstrate how, in case of a power outage or inability to access a yacht’s digital file the team can, without much effort, locate and sift through any yacht’s past including operation correspondence and in-house details. A veritable font of knowledge in print. Also lining a wall is a collection of numbered black files labelled Project Vertigo as a reminder of Insull’s involvement in one of the largest Feadship projects to date, now cruising under the name Faith.As a recent ex-crew member myself, the Insull name is as familiar to me as the terms bow and stern. But I want to know how it all started for Peter Insull and how he has experienced changes over the years in this dynamic business. Things turn to business and the recorder starts rolling…Let’s start at the beginning. When and why did you decide to work on boats?I come from a big family in the U.K., all of whom were fairly academic. I on the other hand just didn’t get along with school that much, so I left school when I was 15. My folks ran pubs back in England, so I spent much of my childhood growing up in pubs and being around people all the time and, although I didn’t realise it at the time, I became very comfortable talking to people. When I left school, however, I decided not to go into hospitality like my parents, but into retail. It was a photographic company where I worked. I was quite focused on my job and only a few years later I was doing quite well in the company. When I turned 18, I felt it wasn’t quite what I wanted to continue doing, despite doing very well. By living in Gosport, an important centre for Camper &amp; Nicholsons’ yacht building operations at the time, I came to meet a gentleman, who turned out to be the captain on the sailing yacht Blue Leopard. It was this meeting that really got me interested in the field of yachting and everything I found out at that time was brand new information to me; how these yachts are run, the crew that work on them, the building process - all of it I found very fascinating.Did that lead you to then working on yachts?Yes, I started applying for jobs on these luxury yachts and finding positions in the classifieds or simply through one of the vessels in the area thanks to my location in Gosport. I eventually got a job on a new build project at Camper &amp; Nicholson in Southampton. It was a 25-metre wooden motor yacht, and in its time, 1969, was an important project in the yachting world. We left England and came down to the Med where we were based in Beaulieu-sur-Mer, France. I worked on the yacht as steward/deckhand and spent the next five years cruising the entire Mediterranean with our British gentleman owner, who was 27 years old when he took possession of his bespoke yacht.The yacht’s name was Hedonist, which beautifully described the owner’s lifestyle. His guests were mainly from the landed gentry set and were great people for me to look after. Spending many hours and days in direct contact with such special people also helped me to be relaxed and self-confident, which helped greatly in my future life dealing with potential yacht owners/clients.How did you become land-based again?Following five great years aboard Hedonist, the owner decided to sell his yacht without any thought of replacing her. The yacht sailed away to Greece, so ending that episode of my life, but leaving me with many sweet memories.By that time, I had already met my wife who was working in Monaco. As a result of our extensive cruising during that period on the yacht, I got to know a lot of other crew and, when some of these people found out that I was ashore again in the south of France, I started receiving enquiries to help yachts with finding new crew. As a very informal friendship thing, I would go down to the local bars looking for new crew to fill certain positions. And after some time doing this I remember one captain asked me, ‘Why don’t you give me a bill for this?’. At that time, there were no crew agencies, as there really was no need for them. The quantities of yachts and crew were completely different to what we see today.With the settling of the original crew agency into a formal business, we elected to move along to the global commercial centre of yachting, Antibes. One thing led along to another, even though a business plan never existed.In 1983 the Van Lent shipyard asked me to find the best captain possible for an American gentleman and his wife who were taking delivery of a new 38-metre Feadship. After finding the right man, a great relationship developed and I represented this gentleman in developing and contracting a new Feadship. This contract went to De Vries in 1984 and the 55-metre yacht we contracted was de Vries’s largest yacht at that time. We took delivery of the new Cacique in 1986. By 1988 the world had changed and I was given the task of selling the Cacique. The successful sale turned the yacht into La Belle France. The next few years saw my company becoming established as one of the world’s leading yacht brokers, with many famous yachts helping to build our reputation. I have to say that I always found this title quite amusing, knowing my own history and never believing it was justified. <img src="/uploads/store/photo/17284/image/large-226a58060cceb53ca0ad1c994abd72b9.jpg" data-gid="gid://syiq/Photo/17284">Superyacht Pegasus IV (now Lady Haya)Do you regret not strictly following brokerage to build your brand as a bigger brokerage firm with multiple locations?Some days yes, other days no. Realistically, I didn’t have any business acumen to put together the type of structure needed to be successful and financially stable. There was no real way to gauge exactly how the industry would evolve and how brokers would fit into the picture. In the main, I feel that the right decision was made, to remain small, independent and in control of our own destiny. When I look at the major brokerage houses today of Burgess, Camper &amp; Nicholsons, Edmiston &amp; Fraser's, I still feel comfortable.What do you see the future of crew placement services looking like?Because of how I turned everything I did upside down when I first started in terms of marketing, I was considered a disruptor in the late 70s and early 80s in the brokerage community. &nbsp;In those days it was regarded as an innovation. &nbsp;Today we have that same type of disruption in the crew-placement business. In those days this was considered as being innovative. Certain individuals appear to be very dynamic in the field and are really pushing things ahead in my view, some good and some bad developments.You recently ceased the crew agency operations of the company, why is that?We had our best year in 2009, and after that, with the financial crisis and rise of social media, it just slowly declined each year. It was really tough for me, emotionally, to ‘close’ the crew agency. However, there have just been too many disruptions in this sector for us to keep up. I still feel that the business model is very viable, and it remains an option to continue with it. If a dynamic individual presents themselves to me, then it is back. I would love to see my Crew Agency active in the sector and again leading from the front.Looking back at your career so far, what have been some of your highlights?There have been many exciting highlights, particularly in the yacht sales and new building part of our business. Far too many to list, but the building of the Feadships Cacique and Vertigo (now Faith) are the new build stars. Brokerage deals that stand out are:<ul><li>Cacique which was the first yacht to be offered for sale over $20 million</li><li>Pegasus IV &nbsp;(now Lady Haya), the highest value brokerage deal at that time</li><li>S.Y. Jessica&nbsp;(now Adix) which was the largest sailing yacht built since before the Second World &nbsp;War</li><li>Leander, in 1993 the highest value yacht sold in a brokerage deal up until that time. &nbsp;&nbsp;</li></ul> <img src="/uploads/store/photo/17283/image/large-ee06219129d675797e3afe563b5b228b.jpg" data-gid="gid://syiq/Photo/17283">Superyacht Leander Happily, the list of special yachts that we have been involved with is long, too long for this short report.I continue to be excited by new directions and this year alone saw the sale of a 13,000 GT cruise ship, delivery of the 2,999 GT Faith and equally good fun the purchase of a 30-metre Dutch-built luxury yacht/barge. <a href="http://www.superyachtcompany.com/newspaper/the-superyacht-times-subscription" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" title=""><img src="/uploads/store/photo/13976/image/large-0479ea0b23567c145bad5ee46c7a49e8.jpg" data-gid="gid://syiq/Photo/13976"></a> This article was featured in the latest edition of the SuperYacht Times newspaper.&nbsp;<a href="http://www.superyachtcompany.com/newspaper/the-superyacht-times-subscription" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" title="">Susbcribe now</a>&nbsp;to receive your copy straight to your door, and never miss another issue. &nbsp;

Yachting’s original disruptor: A conversation with Peter Insull

Founded in 1927 in the quaint sailing town of Lymington, Laurent Giles Naval Architects has recently celebrated the milestone of their 90th anniversary in business. With over 1400 yacht projects under their belt, the brand has firmly stood the test of time, a true testament to the generations of support for the brand. We recently sat down with Managing Director, David Lewis, who gave an insight into keeping a small English studio alive for almost a century.

<img alt="" src="https://syt-store-production.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/photo/166656/image/large-feca4ffb19941e756972770e44ec130d.jpg" data-gid="gid://syiq/Photo/166656">

Speaking candidly about his personal journey into the industry, Lewis explains where his passion for yachting really began. “I guess my love for the industry started with a love for sailing, I sailed with my family from a very young age. When I left home I did a boat building course in Falmouth for a year before moving on to do a degree at Southampton Solent University.” Interestingly, it was during this time at university that Lewis was first introduced to the Laurent Giles studio, “One of my lecturers, Stephen Wallis, was a director at Laurent Giles. The week I graduated, he offered me a position and it was from there that my involvement in the industry grew right up until 2008 when I was appointed Managing Director of the firm and became a major shareholder in the company.”

Throughout his time at Laurent Giles, Lewis has witnessed the company’s focus evolve from traditional sailing yachts to high-performance racing yachts and more recently, on to superyachts. Looking at the progression of the brand, Lewis talked us through the history and heritage behind the name. “When Jack Laurent Giles started the business in 1927, many of his early designs were what we would call gentleman’s sailing yachts. Though the performance was always paramount, the yachts of this era were substantially smaller than what they are today.”

<img alt="" src="https://syt-store-production.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/photo/166657/image/large-286f1b147e130dc754808e6abbf5e6f5.jpg" data-gid="gid://syiq/Photo/166657">

It was during the following years that ‘Laurent Giles’ became more than just a name, and truly evolved into the brand that it is today. “The 60s was a hugely productive design period for the firm with major large yacht projects becoming the norm,” says Lewis. With technicalities at the forefront of design, Jack Giles and his partners went on to embrace greater architectural complexities on an increasingly large scale. “He (Jack Giles) was quite an innovative person, he pursued performance and technology and it is that very DNA and heritage that still drives us today.” Indeed, from pioneering projects such as the 34-metre Blue Leopard to new concepts like the 110-metre motor sailor, Project Atlas, it is easy to see this thread of passion woven throughout the rich tapestry of the studio’s history.

Looking to their involvement in the superyacht industry, it is only in more recent years that Laurent Giles has truly ventured into the larger league. “Though the company has always had a heritage of doing big yachts it was around the year 2000 when we started working with Devonport Management Limited (DML) that we got into the superyacht business.” From the 58.5-metre superyacht The Other Woman to the 77-metre Samar, the designs have continued to evolve both stylistically and structurally yet it remains overwhelmingly evident that whilst the size of boats have grown, their legacy of the brand has lived on uncompromised.

<img alt="" src="https://syt-store-production.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/photo/166658/image/large-8df588acf18506c2f1391d887b83c0cd.jpg" data-gid="gid://syiq/Photo/166658">

Samar (Photo by Karl Borg)

Building on their firm foundations, Laurent Giles has expanded and evolved into a multi-faceted firm of dynamic naval architects, yacht designers and engineers with the skills and services provided by the studio stretching across the boundaries of the various disciplines. As Lewis explains, however, this isn’t the norm, “Back when I started in the industry, the naval architect was also the designer, the engineer, they would have all the skills in their toolbox. Whereas in the superyacht industry these trades have since been divided up.” Though they are commonly overlooked for their role in the design process, Lewis explains their involvement in all aspects. “For quite a long time we focused on naval architecture in the superyacht industry, however, we have always given a lot of support for the designers and for the shipyards, so officially expanding our expertise into exterior design and general design seemed like the natural thing to do.” The combination of practice is where the firm's strengths really lie. “We welcome projects that have a technical idea behind them and we build the design around that. It’s a sort of holistic, naval architectural design process that is behind every product.”

Though this holistic, naval architectural approach has been truly fundamental in the 1400 projects produced by the studio, naval architects still remain the unsung heroes of the superyacht industry (as we spoke about in our last issue featuring <a href="http://www.superyachttimes.com/yacht-news/bmt-nigel-gee-making-naval-architecture-cool" target="_blank">BMT Nigel Gee</a>). It is easy to see how the essential architectural input from smaller studios such as Laurent Giles slips under the radar. “A lot of what we do goes largely unnoticed and people are totally unaware of it. It’s difficult to discuss because it is seen as boring, people think it only becomes exciting when you can see, touch and feel a project.” As put by Lewis, “Owners expect their boat to float and we are the people that make that happen. There is a slightly sexy side to naval architecture, it’s not really quite as boring as people think!”

Though clients over recognition remain the primary focus, Laurent Giles’ dedication to innovation and advancements in the yacht building process is interesting. Superyacht design remains highly traditional at the request of owners, yet a strong emphasis of the Laurent Giles studio is the consistent and committed pursuit of the latest developments in new materials and methods, pushing the boundaries of conventional design.

<img alt="" src="https://syt-store-production.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/photo/166659/image/large-ea4c0a822501453b4e40f0dafd8f9ca6.jpg" data-gid="gid://syiq/Photo/166659">

Stella Maris

Looking to the future of superyacht design, ecology and efficiency are at the forefront of focus for Lewis and his team. “We try to keep on top of anything that is up and coming and when there is an opportunity to use something that is new, we try to incorporate it into our design. Certainly, more recently, a lot of emphases has been put on green or eco parts of vessels and seeing if that is something we can integrate into our industry. From diesel electric engines to solar panels and glazing, we try and engage with all products in a well thought out manner. Rather than just creating a typical yacht and sticking solar panels on it, we incorporate the design from the very beginning and that is crucial. Eco aspects of designs are becoming increasingly important and I think many vessels will continue to incorporate this in future.”

<img alt="" src="https://syt-store-production.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/photo/166660/image/large-cc20c625799ff01e9ce207c203988704.png" data-gid="gid://syiq/Photo/166660">

HEMY

With a desire to drive the ecological evolution in design, the studio has unveiled a high-efficiency motor yacht or HEMY for short. Maintaining performance as a priority, the team have miraculously managed to create an environmentally conscious design that upholds the same luxurious standards of living, whilst drastically reducing output. “The HEMY is a great example of an environmentally friendly superyacht. At 110-metres it is a very large vessel but it uses the same power as a 72-metre yacht to do two knots more.”

<img alt="" src="https://syt-store-production.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/photo/166661/image/large-e165be84f8a51cacf3a9bf8c86e08e9b.jpg" data-gid="gid://syiq/Photo/166661">

Atlas

From the 72-metre Stella Maris to the 76.88-metre Samar, Laurent Giles has certainly worked on many distinguished designs over the years. Showing no signs of slowing down and with a busy year ahead, Lewis talks us through what is in store for the brand in the upcoming months. “We have got quite a few things happening right now, we’re doing a 90-metre refit at the moment which we have been heavily involved in for quite some time. We’re also just about to launch a very efficient 32.3-metre semi-displacement vessel in Turkey.”

<a href="http://www.superyachtcompany.com/newspaper/the-superyacht-times-subscription" target="_blank"><img alt="[no-lb]" src="https://syt-store-production.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/photo/166662/image/large-0650f118b24b5d301c5da129a0ac8d39.jpg" data-gid="gid://syiq/Photo/161506"></a>

This article was published in our latest Monaco special edition of the SuperYacht Times newspaper. <a href="http://www.superyachtcompany.com/newspaper/the-superyacht-times-subscription" target="_blank">Subscribe</a> now to receive your copy straight to your door and never miss another issue.

Insight: 90 years of naval architecture and design