Once upon a time, yachts were the domain of elderly businessmen and balling celebrities with too much money.

Ask Paul Allen, or better yet, check out the yacht that visited Cape Town’s shores recently.

For millionaires with yachts, the Monaco Yacht Show has become one of the most prestigious events in the social calendar. From today until September 29, over 120 yachts will be showcased at the event, 40 of which will make their debut.

Buyers come from all over the world to view and purchase the luxury vessels. Plot twist – this year it’s not just rich old dudes.

They came for your diamonds and your mayonnaise, and now Millennials are coming for your yachts. Here’s CNN:

Within the next 20 years, the superyacht owner median age — which is currently between 45 and 55 — will drop by 10 to 15 years.

The reason for this, the Monaco Yacht Show suggests, is that yachting is simply an “occasional pastime” for millennials.

It’s one part of a fast-moving, self-made lifestyle. For them, a yacht is more like a “floating pied-à-terre” for attending luxury events — from the Monaco Grand Prix to the Cannes Film Festival.

Johan Pizzardini, communications and media manager for the Monaco Yacht Show, says that Millennials don’t want to be tied down by superyacht ownership. Instead, they prefer the freestyling lifestyle that comes with chartering.

“They’re more adventurous,” he tells CNN of a group of people now in their 20s and 30s. “New millennials say ‘I want to charter a boat this week and next week I’d like to be somewhere else in the world so I’ll have another boat.’

Younger clients are more interested in the water toys available on board than in the indoor decor and trimmings that make luxury yachts, well…luxurious. Instead, they prefer outdoor entertainment areas like decks and pools.

I mean really, how else will you be “seen”. And natural light is way better for Instagram.

As such, Millennials are changing the way that superyachts are consumed. This is evident in 40 vessels making their worldwide debut.

“Every year the fleet is different,” Pizzardini says. “Half of the fleet is less than two years old — so it’s a very young fleet.

[…]Among the vessels on display is the new and highly anticipated 295ft Dar superyacht. It’ll be the third largest vessel on show with Kismet [below] being the largest — the award-winning 312ft boat belonging to billionaire Sahid Khan, owner of the NFL team Jacksonville Jaguars and English Premier League side Fulham.

The show also offer a premium “Sapphire Experience” service, which provides a money-can’t-buy concierge service to VIP guests looking to enter the world of luxury yachting.

Apparently, it really is priceless. Nobody can buy it even if they have the money. It’s a personalised schedule designed specifically for people with little to no yacht experience.

As part of the experience, guests are invited to the opening gala, and are given private visits onboard superyachts as well as an exclusive tour of the bay.
First time buyers could be looking at spending up to $62M, with yachts like Amels’ Boadicea on sale.

The Monaco Yacht Show attracts clients from across the globe, so it’s the perfect place for companies to showcase new yachts, and for aspiring stewards and stewardesses to seek out work. The pay is excellent, but the hours are rough, so it’s not for the faint of heart.

Superyacht stewardess and onboard yoga teacher, Chelsea Nielsen, says that it’s a great place to network.

“That’s how you start building contacts and start building your CV,” she tells CNN Sport. “Anywhere you can be during any big boat show is a really great way.”

Ultimately, the Monaco Yacht Show is “a celebration of the quintessence of the superyacht lifestyle”. The event will be attended by over 36,000 participants and visitors to port Hercules in Monaco.

If you like superyachts, it’s the place to be.

If you can’t afford it, then no worries. Millennials are also ruining divorce now, which is an equal opportunity enterprise.

[source:cnn]