Simply Abu Dhabi XXXVI

1 7 8 S I M P LY A B U DH A B I Yachting:it’safamilyaffair b y J u l i a Z a l t z m a n P rivacy. Luxury. An oasis at sea. These are the qualities that superyachts are often associated with when seen dropping anchor off the coast of St Tropez. Offering a level of opulence unrivalled by any other scenario in the world, can it really go hand in hand with young children? “Superyachts are perfect for family holidays on so many levels,” says Jim Evans, founder of boutique brokerage firm SuperYachtsMonaco. “Owning or chartering a superyacht allows a busy principal to draw his family together when the trend is for families to fragment. It offers something for everyone across the generations.” One northern European owner of a 60m motor yacht has spent time on board his yacht with his three children since they were infants. Having experienced a sailing holiday as a child himself, the adventure of discovering new destinations is something that has remained with him into adulthood. Now as a father, it’s the close-knit nature of yachting that is the key. “In a certain sense the audience is ‘captive’ in that you live together on the boat,” he says. “The family group needs to stick together and cannot wander off on individual missions as they might on other types of holiday. And there is an excitement derived from moving locations each day and to planning upcoming adventures that is shared across the generations.” It’s a pleasant dichotomy that it’s on board this confined space that all parties can enjoy a level of independence that is unobtainable elsewhere, he says: “They [the children] are free to do so many things on their own initiative that it is liberating – that might be a shore excursion by themselves or together with the crew, or using the tenders to go and explore remote bays.” Experiential travel is a growing phenomenon within yachting and having the opportunity to scuba dive the Great Barrier Reef, or partake in immersive cultural experiences in Fiji, or simply relax at anchor under the Mediterranean sun are all clearly life-affirming experiences for any teenager.