This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Matthias Bosse, a former superyacht captain. It’s been edited for length and clarity. Bosse is now the cofounder of the Maybach Ocean Club, a private-membership yacht.
I’ve done everything there is in the shipping industry. I started with cargo ships. Next was the cruise industry. Then I entered yachting.
In the shipping world, yachting is the most complex thing you can do, and also potentially the most rewarding. I always enjoyed being on a ship and being part of that community. When you leave port, the ship becomes your little world. I’m hoping to recreate this in my next venture.
In 1991, I got my first yachting job on the mother of all superyachts, Lady Moura. Eventually, I became captain.
Lady Moura was owned by a Saudi billionaire family for 30 years.
It was a family boat and not about parties. We were mainly in our home port in Monaco, and it was pretty quiet. The owners had their routine: go to a café, read a book, watch TV. There were 60 or 70 crew members, and we had a dedicated chef for them as well as the owners.
The owner was on board the whole year, and when he was, I had to be on board. That can make maintaining a private life quite difficult, but my family was never far away, and the owner allowed them to come and stay on board. My son learned to walk on the yacht.
Once a year, we went to Sardinia, and Maddalena Island was one of my favorite spots: the air, the smell, the atmosphere, the landscape. It was so different from Monaco.
Discretion is one of the most important virtues in this industry, so I can’t say much. There are good owners and bad owners. At the end of the day, yacht owners are people; they have the same issues you may be struggling with, whether that’s problems in business or family, whatever it is.
The captain has to maintain a sense of calm. If a captain gets nervous and shows it, people recognize it. There have been tight moments, but you have to show you are in control.
Expanding the superyacht experience: A community at sea
In 2021, when Lady Moura was sold, I closed that chapter.
I started thinking about about forming a community at sea, which has become the Maybach Ocean Club — a private members club where every member is a shareholder and gets four weeks on board a year.
Because owners have a usage limit, members won’t want to waste it. I’ve seen so many underutilized yachts that owners only use for a few months a year.
It’ll be the perfect place to meet people, too
During the pandemic, we conducted a few test cruises aboard Lady Moura with 14 couples to prove the concept. After a week, people who didn’t know each other became friends and formed a community. It’s not about going from point A to B to C — that’s what cruise ships do. There will be lots of laughter, fun, activities, great food, and water sports.
We were overwhelmed by the level of interest in becoming members among those who tested it out. We will have a maximum of 300 members. They will pay a buy-in fee in the low seven-digits, followed by an annual fee of about 4% of the buy-in.
We are now building a new yacht with Mercedes-Maybach. It will be 155 meters long, have 30 identical suites and an 85-person crew, huge spa areas, and a gym. We will have tenders, inflatable toys, and Jet Skis. No private yacht could offer all of this on a consistent level.
We hope to launch in 2029. We plan to start by yachting in the Mediterranean and the Caribbean and attend events like Formula 1 races, the Cannes Film Festival, and New Year’s Eve in St. Bart’s. But if the majority of members decide to do the Indian Ocean instead of the Caribbean one winter, we have that flexibility. Same with chefs — we expect to have several, but if our members want something specific, they can decide.
I’m working on becoming a member myself. I don’t think I’ll have any problem leaning back and doing nothing. And I can have a glass of rosé, which I was not able to do in my previous position.
Read the full article here
