Bayesian tragedy has not blown superyacht brokers off course

Everyone is exceedingly friendly at the Monaco Yacht Show, the annual superyacht trade fair in the famously tax-free tiny principality on the Mediterranean Cote d’Azur.
In unseasonable rain storms this week, brokers trying to sell the latest yachts lent visitors umbrellas and raincoats, leaving them to get soaked to the skin, and it is hard to walk more than 100 yards without being offered another glass of Moët & Chandon.
For many, however, the friendliness cools immediately on any mention of the Bayesian, the $25 million superyacht that sank off the coast of Siciliy last month claiming the lives of seven people, including its owner Mike Lynch, the British technology entrepreneur, and his daughter Hannah.
A young British yachtbroker (the nautical term for a salesman) excitedly talks about the number of people who have expressed interest in buying Fidelis, the sailing superyacht that he is trying to sell for €32 million. “There’s been a lot of interest, a lot of people have come on board to view her. People from around the world. Most interest has been from keen sailors.”
Fidelis was built in 2011 by Perini Navi, an Italian shipyard that specialises in sail-powered superyachts. The same shipyard built the Bayesian (formerly known as Salute before it was bought by Lynch, who renamed it after the mathematician Thomas Bayes). The yachts, both of which are 56m in length, are so similar in design that they were often referred to as “sister yachts”.
When asked if Fidelis’s similarities to Bayesian have given potential customers pause for thought, the broker clams up. “I’d rather not answer any more questions. What happened to the Bayesian was a very unusual accident. I don’t think people are concerned it would happen again.”
Perhaps he’s right. Padding down the yacht’s gangplank in his socks (no one is allowed to wear shoes on a superyacht, not even billionaires) is Thomas Cleator, a broker for the Californian company Denison Yachting, who has just finished a tour with a client who is interested in buying (but not interested in talking to The Times about it).
“It’s very nice and in really great shape,” he says of Fidelis. “We’ve just sold a big sailboat and we’re looking for another one.” Did the sinking of Bayesian had put a dampener on the appeal of vast sailing superyachts? “Not really, no. That was a freak thing, it wouldn’t happen again. I love sailing boats.”
At the marketing stand for Italian Sea Group, Perini Navi’s parent company, Vittorio Blengini, its world sales director, says that sales are “very strong” and that two new sailing superyachts larger than the Bayesian are under construction for clients. He refuses to answer questions about the possible impact of the Bayesian tragedy on future sales.
Giovanni Costantino, the company’s chief executive, has said that all Perini Navi yachts “are absolutely safe” and has suggested that human error was to blame for the sinking, which “could have been managed with an average amount of attention”.
The Bayesian sank in a matter of minutes in the early hours of August 19 when it was caught in a sudden storm with strong winds that created a tornado-like phenomenon called a waterspout. The Italian authorities are investigating the causes of the sinking, but so far naval experts have found it hard to explain how such an advanced superyacht could sink so easily. Speculation suggests that the crew may have underestimated the severity of the storm and left a hatch open, which could have allowed the boat to take on water very quickly.
In recent decades sailing superyachts such as the Bayesian have become increasingly popular among the super-rich as they offer a more exhilarating experience than motor-powered yachts. Of the 5,932 superyachts (vessels over 30m in length) plying the world’s oceans, 893 are sailing vessels, the highest number on record, according to research by SuperYacht Times, the trade magazine.
The yachts also have grown considerably in size, as their owners demand more in an apparent competition with other super-rich sailors.
There are 120 superyachts (111 motor yachts and a handful of sailing vessels) on display at this year’s yacht show. Combined they are worth more than €4.6 billion, according to the Monaco Yacht Show Market Report 2024 by SuperYacht Times.
Ralph Dazert, head of intelligence for SuperYacht Times, says that overall superyacht sales “continue to follow the downward trend” after a record year in 2021 that followed the coronavirus pandemic and resulting lockdowns. “What is definitely not going down is the amount of new superyachts being completed by shipyards, as the yards and their supply networks continue to do their utmost to deliver all the yachts sold during 2021 and 2022 as soon as they can. The world’s superyacht fleet over 30m could hit a new milestone of 6,000 yachts by the end of this year.”
If you are looking for a new superyacht, the biggest available at the show is the 123.2m Golden Odyssey, built for Prince Khaled bin Sultan al-Saud, of Saudi Arabia, who never set foot on it after it was seized and sold at auction to enforce debts of €116 million secured against it. The yacht was a last-minute addition to this year’s event, announced the day before Prince Albert II opened what is the 33rd annual Monaco Yacht Show. The brokers of the Golden Odyssey refuse to disclose its price (“that is only available to qualified buyers”).
The slightly smaller Kismet (122m) was on sale recently for €150 million and is advertised at the show for charter at €3 million a week. That does not include fuel, food, drinks, excursions or tips.