Page Point Marina, a Leisure Cove Destination, is planning the addition of a fuel dock to its secluded resort in the Nanaimo/Ladysmith area. The fuel dock will complement the existing services at the Marina, including a restaurant, ocean view rooms, showers, laundry, & guest moorage.

For more information, visit the Page Point website.

Page Point Marina

January 10th saw the arrival of the first North Pacific 38 Sedan in North America.  The One 4 Crew had the opportunity of viewing her during her commissioning in Richmond, BC, and were very impressed.  We are planning additional viewings in the weeks ahead.  Please contact us if you’d like more details on the 38 Sedan, or if you’d like to join us for a tour.

“I am very excited about this model. It really blows me away.”

- Trevor Brice, North Pacific Yachts

North Pacific 38

We manage boats for private owners, and I had just returned from Edmonton myself, where one of our owners had shown me his blue car – happened to be the same model and colour.  Being that this blue car had an Alberta plate on it and it was parked within a few hundred feet from this fellow’s boat, I jumped to the conclusion that he must have driven out to spend some quality time with his boat -   a 42 foot sailboat here at Granville Island.

That season and into the next, Bob and Susan took our power cruise and learn and then moved into our Cooper Cruising Club Cooper Cruising Club .  They quickly gravitated towards the Westcoast Custom Yachts we featured in our lineup – built by our founder Forbes Cooper (who also had a blue car when he lived in Edmonton, but enough of that for the moment).  The cruise and learn complimented Bob’s theoretical training with the Canadian Power Squadron and allowed him to focus on docking, anchoring and application of those well thought out passage plans that he worked on while landlocked in St. Albert.  Bob and Susan soon had the disease – the one that nobody wants to cure.  Boating fever had set in and there was little that could be done about it other than to dive in further.  Sitting back home in his office, he realized that office time at home was now merely a bridge between boating trips.

By this time, the first Westcoast 46 had been launched for the fractional yacht program.  Now some people enjoy trying different boats out in our Cruising Club, but Bob and Susan were now heading out continually on the Westcoast 46 model alone.  So, I introduced the concept of them owning a quarter share of a Westcoast 46 themselves.  Bob and Susan picked up the 3rd quarter of Westcoast Spirit here at Granville Island and have since been exploring the coast for over 56 days in 2008 alone and boating fever is clearly still a big part of their lives – with no cure, the simple treatment is their time aboard this fine yacht.

The story got a little more interesting when the fellow with the other blue car from Alberta approached me with a few challenges.  Turned out his wife had put up with his sailing habit quite long enough now and he was also considering a different form of boat and a different form of ownership.  Until this point, Dr. Don LeDrew of Leduc, Alberta had owned a couple of sailboats in the Cooper charter fleet.  That program does effectively reduce ownership costs, but the boat is being shared with people who do not have an equal vested interest in the vessel.  The thought of sharing the boat with others equally seemed a better fit and Dr. LeDrew was headed towards the fractional program as well.

Not only do these fine people have similar taste in cars, they now have the same boat in the same program.

Bob and Susan’s boat is fully subscribed but Dr. Ledrew’s boat is still looking for additional fractional owners.  I suppose the plan might be to start looking around Alberta for blue cars – but even if your car isn’t blue or you are not from Alberta – check out Memories – the Westcoast 46 available with One 4 Yacht Fractions or the Cooper Cruising Club – you can always get a blue car and move to Alberta later!

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My wife, Sage, isn’t a big fan of sailing.  She isn’t prone to sea-sickness, she enjoys being on the water and she’s a wonderful companion when we’re out at sea.  We share the planning, provisioning, cooking and cleaning, and get along well on our cruises (especially at the dock or at anchor).  She can handle the steering and anchoring whenever necessary, and best of all, she goes to sea with me willingly and doesn’t complain about the privations of living aboard a 27-footer for a week — which is more like camping than yachting.

What she lacks, however, is confidence.  I’ve been on the water for much of my life, so handling a boat is second nature for me, but Sage and I met later in life, and she had no previous boating experience.  I do my best to explain the different sails, lines, sheets and halyards, and sailing theory, but apparently I’m not the best teacher in the world.  In contrast, she is a special education teaching assistant who is extremely skilled at explaining math, language and other subjects to elementary school students.  If she was teaching me, I’m sure she’d do a much better job of it.

Without understanding how boats work, it is pretty hard to know how to properly respond when necessary — and this makes it pretty tough to gain confidence.  I know this is a common theme for many experienced sailors — male or female — who take up with a partner with no experience.  It’s also probably the reason there are so many guys out there single handing, or offering their boats for sale in divorce proceedings.  Their wives have just said no!

So, whats a guy to do?  I suggest being understanding, patient, and not pushing to hard — or finding someone else to teach your partner.  The latter is certainly the easier solution and the best way to avoid conflict.  Sage isn’t yet taken with sailing enough to take lessons, so we’re taking the more difficult path.

The first year, the two of us spent a pleasant week in the gulf islands.  There were no disasters, but Sage was overwhelmed at times, especially when trying to figure out the tiller at the same time I was up on the foredeck reefing the sails in a blustery wind and lumpy sea as we crossed the Strait.  On that trip, we did the grand tour of the Gulf Islands and ended up covering a bit too much ground each day for her liking.

Last year, I wanted to make sure she didn’t give up on boating for good so we planned a more leisurely agenda.  It wasn’t going to be much of an adventure — we were only going from Vancouver to Howe Sound, but I figured it was my last shot before being relegated to sailing vacations with the boys or single handed.

We had superb, hot weather.  We spent two leisurely days at Halkett Bay on Gambier, two days at Plumper Cove on Keats, and two days at Snug Cove on Bowen.  The sailing was excellent and the pace relaxed.  She enjoyed it almost as much as I did.  We read a pile of books, snoozed a lot, swam a couple of times each day, and poked around onshore whenever we felt like it.

In the end, it’s not surprising that Sage enjoyed this second trip much better than the first.  And while she was still a bit flustered by the sailing, once again she proved a super companion and gained a bit more confidence.  I keep telling her she was doing great — and she was — but gaining confidence or the will to tackle extended cruising may or may not come to pass.  I think it is vital for anyone with a partner not enamoured with boating to do whatever is necessary to make the experience as fun as possible for that person — whether that means finding a teacher, or simply hanging on the hook nearby for a week.

The good news for me is that Sage has talked about perhaps replacing the sailboat with a trawler.  Well, if that’s what it takes. Anyone know of a couple getting divorced and selling a trawler for real cheap?

March 2009

By Colleen Ringer

Today, it seems that every megastar has a megayacht. And why not? These floating palaces are the epitome of luxury, not only because of the freedom they offer their captains, but also because of the privacy and seclusion that can be found onboard.

Just imagine sitting on the deck of your yacht as it cuts its way through the smooth waters of the Caribbean Sea. Complete darkness engulfs you, and there’s not a light in sight—except the stars, of course. If that image alone doesn’t make you want to go down to your nearest marina and purchase your own luxury liner, then perhaps our look at what’s hot in yachts will. Read on.

Amenities at Sea

The latest luxury yachts are inviting all manner of amenities onboard. Basketball courts, helipads, movie theaters, full gyms—these are just a few of the extras yachters crave. And hot tubs, bars and lounge areas are all but assured from the biggest and best designers like Italian powerhouses Ferretti and Benetti, and New Zealand-based Alloy Yachts. “Increasingly, owners are focused on personal fitness, so gyms are much in demand,” says Tony Hambrook, managing director of Alloy. “Onboard entertainment systems are often very sophisticated, with satellite TV and large libraries of movies and music.” He notes that clients want their water toys close at hand as well, resulting in spaces for kayaks, water skis, even mini-submarines. 

Ron Cleveringa, vice president of sales and marketing for Burger Boat Company, a custom builder based in Wisconsin, tells how one client ordered two identical vessels—one for use in the Mediterranean Sea and surrounding areas, and the other for cruising the Eastern Seaboard. “[These yachts] had saunas on board that had a TV on the exterior and a sound system on the interior, so you could sit in the sauna and watch television,” he recalls. 

Sumptuous amenities such as these are matched only by the opulent materials that designers are incorporating into their floating creations. Marble, granite and exotic woods are as plentiful at sea as they are in the country’s most exclusive custom homes. “The level of detailing, comfort and luxury has increased dramatically in the last 15 to 20 years,” Cleveringa says. In Burger Boat’s newest vessel, the Ingot, back-lit white onyx takes center stage in the dining room and the salon, while a teak bar competes for attention with a sizable hot tub on the sun deck. Those who want to see for themselves can actually sneak a peek at the masterpiece in person: The Ingot will be featured at the Monaco Yacht Show this September. “She’s the most luxurious and sophisticated motor yacht we’ve built to date,” Cleveringa says. Sounds like she’s worth a trip across the Atlantic.

Members OnlyIf you’re not looking to add full-time sailor to your résumé, but still want to feel the sea breeze on your face on a somewhat regular basis, fractional yacht ownership may be the way to go. “It comes down to a convenience aspect,” says Nuno Alves, president of Vancouver, British Columbia-based One 4 Yacht Fractions. “When [our clients] do have time to get away, they’re not doing things like oil changes and cleaning. They’re just out there on the water.”

While One 4 Yacht offers its members vessels almost exclusively located in British Columbia, the Global Superyacht Club (whose parent company Eusamarine is headquartered in the United Kingdom) manages yachts from California to Croatia to the Caribbean. “As a member of the Global Superyacht Club you gain a real sense of belonging,” says Keith Smith, founder and managing director. “You have your own skipper and crew on your own home yacht.”

Memberships range from $120,000 for a one-eighth share of a 55-foot cruiser to $19 million and up for one-third ownership of a five-deck megayacht. So how do you know which level of membership is right for you? First determine how you will use the boat (business meetings, vacations or both?) and go from there.

Whichever way you choose to go—full ownership or fractional—the benefits of being out to sea are priceless. “There’s just something about being on the water,” Alves says. “It really is kind of a last frontier [for] getting away from it all. There’s a lot to be said for being at the cottage or out of the city; but when you’re on the water, you take that to a whole new dimension.”

To Learn More

Download the article:     Estates West-2008-09-Come-Sail-Away

Read the article on the Estates West site here

For Hire :  Shared Boat Ownership

More Fun with Fewer Dollars 

by Elaine Lembo

Fractional boat ownership is a great way to get out on the water and into cruising, but sorting through the options can be as complicated as finding a cross-town address in Bangkok, one of the most sprawling metropolises on Earth.

This branch of the marine industry, which takes its cue from time-share vacation resorts and executive jets, is nonethless basic in concept.   It goes like this:  Paying up front for a sliver of a condo, a car, an RV, a jet, or — yes — a yacht to ensure that it is at your beck and call when you can actually use it is far less expensive than owning all of it while it sits idle.   Which, lets face it, is most of the time.

A little education goes a long way toward demystifying the fractional phenomenon.  Let’s start with the basics.

Types of Ownership

There are essentially three forms of involvement in a fractional boat:  You possess deeded ownership, you lease time aboard a specific boat as a “member”, or you have access to any of several boats in a fleet.

Contract lengths for deeded, or equity, shares usually run three to five years, at which point the boat can be put up for sale.   Lessee arrangements average a year.  “Club” membership is parallel to joining a health-club in that you avail yourself of any boat in a fleet at specific times; the obligation is usually for the term of use.

But, in all these cases, terms can vary.       “There’s absolutely no standard, and lots of people are offering things that are fundamentally different,” says Will Blozan, a consultant and president of Breeze Easy Inc., a yacht-management and fractional-ownership advisory agency in San Diego, California.   “There are no straightforward comparisons.”

Yes, but why is fractional boat involvement gaining attention these days?

“For starters, it’s timely because of what is happening in the economy and in U.S. demographics,”  says consultant William F. Mirguet III, of Drake Yachtshares in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida.  “The fact that it’s becoming more and more expensive to get out on the water is perhaps the impetus the industry needs to drive activity into fractional arrangements.  Economic pressures will make people more interested.”

The Check, Please

If economic pressures and fuel prices haven’t yet won you over, consider the words of Ronnie Chappell of Florida Yacht Charters and Sales, which has launched a program called FlexTime Yachts with a 43-foot Mustang.  “We’ve learned that most owners use their yachts about 20 days a year,” says Ronnie.  “If they realized how rarely they’re on the water, they wouldn’t put so much money into it in the first place.”

Wayne Diviney of Sailtime, a firm that’s currently launching an internationl fractional powerboat program patterned after the successful shared-sailboat plan it hatched in 2001, echoes this sentiment but in a slightly different manner:  “The overall cost of boat acquisition and today’s fuel prices make [full ownership] extremely expensive,” Diviney says.  “Here’s a way to get on the water without the full-blown costs.”

As an example, Chappell cites a 10 percent share in the aforementioned Mustang.  New, this boat costs $675,270.  A tenth-share membership allowing 32 days of use costs $82,810, with a monthly maintenance charge of $585.  That sum, besides incidental costs like fuel and provisions, places the fractional user far ahead of the sole owner in terms of dollars (and headaches).  “This is the wave of the future,” Chappell says.

Sailtime Power’s pilot program, which kicked off the international expansion, has operated in Toronto, Canada, since 2007, offering seven no-equity membership shares in a Cruisers 360.  The boat is worth about half a million dollars, says Sailtime director Kevin Kennedy.

An annual membership, which includes a one-time initiation charge, a monthly fee, and a minimum of nine days of use per month, runs about $15,540 a year.  “It’s not inexpensive,” Kennedy says.  “But when you consider that the vessel is a Cruisers 360, it’s a pretty affordable way to secure access to a full-featured boat.  The intent of the program is to provide a reasonable way for people to enjoy the yachting lifestyle.”

Points to Consider

Aside from these two specific examples, bear in mind that, in general, the cost of fractional use — whether equity, member lease, or club-level — can range from several thousands of dollars to a quarter of a million and upward, depending on the vessel and usage program offered.

You can choose anything from year-round monthly use of a bareboat in the 30-foot range in a tropical setting, to a fully crewed and managed megayacht of 100 feet or longer in a destination with a four-month season.  In some programs, such as the one offered by Florida Yacht Charters and Sales, as well as by several megayacht-management firms, the company will charter the boat when owners and members aren’t using it, to help defray costs.

Several boat manufacturers and builders are also now directly involved in fractional arrangements.  Most fractional managers are willing to tailor arrangements to owners’ purchase preference.

According to Mirguet, the following cost guidelines are typical:

Equity:   In this program, expect some markup of the acquisition cost to compensate the company that’s putting the deal together; monthly/quarterly/annual-maintenance payments to cover dockage, insurance, and yacht management;  and incidental/consumable costs such as fuel, provisioning, gear, catering and beverages.

Lease/member:  In this program, expect an arrangement that’s tied to the use of a specific boat as opposed to any vessel in a fleet; costs can include an initiation/training fee, a monthly fee, and a consumables fee.

Club:  In this program, expect access to a fleet of boats and usage fees by the year, month, multiple day, day, or hour; other costs can include consumables.

Taking the time to read the find print in any fractional offer is a worthwhile pursuit, stresses Mirguet.

“Consumers don’t always come to the table with a good approach, and perhaps they walk away disappointed because they haven’t done their homework about the true cost,” he says.  “If they fully prepared themselves, they’d find the process easer and more palatable.

“Most people who haven’t been boaters don’t understand the real cost of boating.   They talk to the fractional companies with unrealistic, uninformed expectations.  They need to understand there’s a tradeoff to everything.

“Prospective customers who think that bearing one fifth of the cost of boat entitles them to everything precisely when they want it aren’t looking at the give and take involved [in fractional ownership].”

Mirguet stresses a cautious approach to sweeping offers.  “Never use the works ‘make money’ and boating in the same sentence.  One expectation of fractional ownership is either making money or getting a boat for free:  That’s just the wrong way to look at it.  The realistic goal is to reduce costs and/or offset costs so this leisure actitivity isn’t taking too much out of your budget.”

The Human Factor

So, is fractional ownership for you?

“By and large, our  clients tell us that for them, it’s convenience and service that are bringing them to us,” says Nuno Alves, president of One 4 Yacht Fractions in Vancouver, British Columbia, which sells quarter shares and manages various boat models for its clients.  “We look after the maintenance and operation of the vessel, as well as the scheduling.   We are the glue that puts it all together.”

According to Diviney of Sailtime, fractional ownership is the ideal platform for inexperienced cruisers.  “The majority of our members are relatively new to boating,” he says.  “This way, we’re creating an easy on-ramp for folks.  From an industry perspective, we’re expanding the market and creating more of a yacht-club environment.”

Perhaps the words of a satisfied Sailtime member will suffice.  Klaus Buechner, a member of Toronto’s Sailtime Power, summarized his reasons for signing on in a five-point e-mail: 1.  It’s a great way to experience boating without a significant up-front investment.  2. The training and orientation are geared to make the member really comfortable in handling the Cruisers 360 alone.  3. The overall scheduling process is equitable, transparent, and easy to use.   4. The fees are reasonable for occasional use of a new yacht, even over several years.  5.  The service is very good, and the staff are well qualified, responsive and friendly.

Blozan of Breeze Easy suggests, “If you’re just trying to give the family some fun on the water, and ego isn’t part of it, then chartering or renting is the most cost-effective alternative.

“How frequently do you want to take your boat out?  If it’s not more than once a month, then a club is the most effective.  If you’re really a boat person and want to spend the weekend on the dock, then some form of ownership is going to be more cost-effective for you.”

Power Cruising Magazine
September/October 2008

Anyone who has been fortunate enough to visit Pender Harbour on BC’s Sunshine Coast knows what an unforgettable and special place this is.  Recently a Western Canadian development company, Canadian Rocky Mountain Resorts, has brought the fractional ownership model to Pender Harbour with the Painted Boat development. 

On a warm April morning, Andrew Mackenzie is happily puttering about his boat, getting ready to set sail from Granville Island to Princess Louisa Inlet on the Sunshine Coast.   The former vice-president of engineering for Agilent Technologies Inc. – who recently left his job for as-yet-uncharted waters – will be off on a four-day trip with friends on his 42-foot sailboat.

 Read the full article:  BC Business:  How to Live Large

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