1:54 AM Tue 19 Jul 2011 GMT
The clock is ticking, the countdown has begun and in just two months time the Principality of Monaco will once again welcome the superyacht cognoscenti to the greatest superyacht show the world has ever known, the 21st Monaco Yacht Show, 21 to 24 September 2011.
More visitors and more yachts! That is the hope for this years show! 28,000 visitors walked the docks in the September sunshine last year and numbers this year are expected to top 30,000. Over 88% of all available exhibition space has already been booked. What is more, five new superyacht berths have been made available to the show organisers by the Principality boosting the number of yachts that can attend this prestigious event considered by many in the industry to be the worlds most important superyacht show.
The new berths and their attendant booths will be on the eastern edge of what was the Jet?e Nord but from now on following a name change, will be known as; Quai de l'Hirondelle.
Following on from the success of the MYS in 2010, superyacht builders announced a slew of new contractssigned with good demand for every size of yachts. Enquires for yachts of 80 metres and above has been high and buyers last year used exhibits at the show as an industry showcase in which they shopped.
Demand for superyachts is recovering, but capacity is still ahead of contracts meaning that shipyards and suppliers are eager to display their finest examples of their work. Exhibits at this years show will demonstrate their desire to outdo each other in quality and value.
'Cautiously Optimistic', the phrase used time and time again throughout the course of recent years may still be a truism. Yet the Monaco Yacht Show with its crowded docks and off lying anchorages filled with the world's finest superyachts is set yet again to turn the spotlight onto these most glamorous yachts.
Backing the MYS yet again is Ulysse Nardin who in 2011 will mark their third consecutive year as the shows Official Sponsor.
As before show organisers have pledged a continuing support for the Monaco Association against the Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy, a locally based charity with organisers again donating 50% of all entrance ticket sales. Last year the Association received a donation of ? 51,500.
This year, the MYS again plays host to the Only Watch charity auction event that benefits the same charity. Swiss watch manufacturers and their partners will again support what is the fourth edition of the bi-annual auction that will take place on September 22nd.
The show also continues its previously pledged support for Wood Forever a programme backed by His Serene Highness Prince Albert II and one dedicated to fighting world deforestation. Last year a donation of ? 37,000 was made by the show organisers during the Prince's visit to the Show. The money will be used to better educate those involved in the yachting, that only wood certified as originating from sustainably-managed forests should be used in construction if deforestation is to be halted.
On Show
The superyachts from 25 to 90 metres are the true stars of the show. This year the lineup includes Imagine a spectacular 64 metre built in Holland and amongst the tenders on show; the Mugler Spire a tiny 9.5 metre superboat capable of over 90 knots. Among the yachts for sale there is Big Fish one of the most dramatically designed discovery yachts that has, since her launch last yearalready explored the globe and visited Antarctica. Packed to the gunwales so that she resembles a floating art gallery the new 39 metre Snowbird is a stunning example of how different owners use their superyachts.
If it is the majesty of large sailing yachts that has what it takes to get your blood running try the award winning 50 metre Zefira the most magnificent of fast cruising yachts that is the largest Dubois design to date without a flybridge. She won Sailing Yacht of the Year at the World Superyacht Awards earlier this year.
Adrenaline junkies will love Shooting Star a superfast 38 metre superyacht from the drawing boards of one of yachting design's own superstar; Espen Oieno who like the builders of the boat, hails from Denmark. Imagine a high volume yacht with a graceful, soft-riding hull, gull-wing mast arch, sleek sheerline and wide windows was delivered in March making this is the first of the semi production Limited Edition 212 series ever to be seen at a yacht show.
Another new yacht and once again one that has chosen Monaco at which to make her world debut is Galileo, the latest exciting design from Vitruvius Yachts to built at the Picchiotti Perini yard in Italy and launched this year. Designed for remote
Arctic and Antarctic exploration she truly a blue-water, global explorer yacht and with her good looks will turn heads wherever she goes.
More information at:
www.monacoyachtshow.com
by MYS
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Casey, TAS
