Talking sailing yachts in Palma with CNI broker Simon Goldsworthy

SuperYacht Times Merijn de Waard visited the 32nd edition of the International Boat Show Palma, and the third edition of the Palma Superyacht Show. Here, Merijn speaks to Simon Goldsworthy, one of Camper & Nicholsons International's senior sales brokers about the benefits of the Palma Show specifically to the sales of sailing yachts, as well as talks about the 38 metre Oyster sailing yacht Twilight which the brokerage firm currently have on display here in Palma.

SYT: There are a lot of sailing yachts here in Palma. Do you think it’s good to have a show in which there are more sailing than motor yachts?

Goldsworthy: Absolutely. In many of the larger shows there’s very often a lack of sailing yachts - take Monaco as an example. When buyers come to Monaco looking for a sailing yacht, there are never more than three or four that you can show them, whereas here, there’s around 9 or 10 in each size category. That provides more choice, which hopefully leads to more sales. I think the other really useful thing that Palma gives us is a show at the right point in the season, in that you can come here, see a boat, and if you move reasonably quickly, you can be sailing around all summer. With the autumn shows there’s never that sense of urgency. A potential buyer can come to the show, look around and then think about it for a while. They know they have all winter. Then of course they lose their momentum, and their purchase perhaps gets put off for another year.

SYT: Do you think it helps that there is a very big German population here? They seem to be very active in the sailing yacht market.

Goldsworthy: I haven’t thought about it, but you’re probably right. There are a lot of German sailing boat owners - more than you would expect. I think the Spanish are very keen sailors as well.

SYT: As a broker, do you think it requires a different strategy to promote a sailing yacht over a motor yacht?

Goldsworthy: It’s a lot smaller world in sailing yachts. There are only really 10 or 12 sailing yacht brokers as individuals that are very active in the sailing yacht market. It’s quite a small community of brokers, so you have to be quite targeted with your marketing rather than diffuse as with motor yachts.

SYT: We have seen a lot of regattas over the years. Do you think this helps to generate interest in sailing yachts?

Goldsworthy: The whole regatta scene is a really fun thing. I have a couple of owners that do them and they really enjoy them. It’s a great opportunity for them to meet other like minded owners and talk about yachts, and a great opportunity to have a party! Events like this and the St Barths Bucket are almost a must for most sailboat brokers nowadays.

SYT: What do you have on display here in Palma?

Goldsworthy: I have the 38 metre Oyster Twilight which was built two years ago for the former owner of Oyster Yachts. He sold the company and then treated himself to this as a retirement gift to himself. He’s had a great time with it and now he’s ready to move on. As you would expect because of his experience, he’s a very knowledgeable owner, and this is about as good as it gets in 38 metres. She’s extremely well engineered, sails very well even in very light winds due to her composite hull, and has been chartering very successfully this winter, so there is potential good income for a new buyer. We’re feeling quite positive about being able to sell her fairly quickly, she should attract a lot of interest now that she is back from the Caribbean and available to view in Palma.