Buying a boat share: A flybridge gives extra space for entertaining and a place for grumpy teenagers to retreat to’

When Duncan and Sophie Fergusson set out to buy their first motor yacht, neither could have predicted where it would lead them…

Two years ago we started looking for our first motor yacht. Little did we know then how long that journey would take and how difficult the decisions would be, but given the money involved, we wanted to take our time, do the research and make the right choices.

Although this would be our first big motor yacht, we are not new to boating as we already have a fabulous Ribeye 811, which we originally berthed in Lymington and then moved to Salcombe, where we also have a holiday house.

Having decided to buy a proper cruising yacht, our first step was to visit a number of different boat shows to get a clearer idea of exactly what was out there, including the Southampton Boat Show, The British Motor Yacht Show and the Palma Boat Show. Who knew there were so many yachts to choose from and so many important decisions to be made?

The first thing we had to consider was where to base the boat. We love the Solent and the West County but with the unpredictable British summer, we wanted to base our new boat somewhere different and reliably warm, like the Mediterranean.

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We have been visiting Mallorca on and off for more than 12 years now, staying near Puerto Portals and Palma and chartering day boats from time to time. We love the island and basing our new boat there would give us the opportunity to explore all the other Balearic islands as well. We decided this was the best place to start our yachting journey.

Sportscruiser or Flybridge?

The second decision was to choose between a sports-style yacht or a flybridge and work out what drives people to choose one over the other. We always try to buy British if we can and we also really liked the design and quality of the Princess, Sunseeker and Fairline range of boats, so this is where we started.

One of the first ones we seriously considered was the Princess V55 and this still remains one of our favourite yachts.

The large connected open space between the saloon and cockpit make it really sociable and perfect for entertaining. With great proportions and the added advantage of a tender garage with sunbeds over it, it makes a very compelling package.

We were, however, a little wary of only having an inside helm to drive from. But having not yet had any hands-on helming experience of a flybridge to qualify
this concern, we weren’t sure how important it was.

All the manufacturers we dealt with were really helpful and surprisingly unbiased. I imagine they must be used to educating first-time buyers like ourselves and the time it can take to make a decision.

We learnt that families with young children often opt for the single-deck sportscruiser so they can keep an eye on their children. Then again, a flybridge gives extra space for entertaining and a place for grumpy teenagers to retreat to. Another plus in the Med is the superior visibility you get thanks to the extra height and lack of obstructions on an open flybridge.

Given that we have four children in their early 20s and one in their late teens, and hoped to invite other family and friends to join us on our travels, we decided a flybridge was the way to go. With that decision settled, we could now move onto choosing the make and model.

Princess, Sunseeker or Fairline?

We looked at both the Princess F55 and Sunseeker Manhattan 55. Both were really excellent and hard to choose between the two. In the end the Sunseeker won us over. With its large flybridge, multiple fridges (including a separate wine fridge), beach club set-up and crew cabin all beautifully executed in a stylish
and relatively compact package, the Manhattan really stood out as the boat most suited to our requirements.

We thought we were there at last and were close to placing an order for the Sunseeker but then we saw the new Fairline Squadron 58. Three foot seemed more like three metres.

The space was incredible, the flybridge was huge as was the master cabin with a king bed instead of a queen, large saloon and impressive crew cabin. And of course it had those magical folding balconies and bar stools. It was so easy to imagine how well this would all work in Mallorca.

We were now torn between the Manhattan 55 and the much larger and more costly Squadron 58. If that weren’t enough, we also found ourselves tempted by a second-hand Princess S62 and Sunseeker Manhattan 68.

We needed to make a decision and hang our hat on an option, otherwise we would miss out on the 2026 season. Ultimately, we decided a 55ft yacht would be too small for the size of our family and wider friend group.

We knew from our RIBs that when you actually count how many weeks a year you use them (always a bad idea in boating), it’s a surprisingly small number. With busy work commitments, even if we were going to Mallorca one week a month during the higher season, that’s a lot of money sitting there unused for the rest of the
time, even before you calculate the running costs.

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What about a Boat Share?

No matter how hard we tried to make it work out, unless or until I either went part time or retired we couldn’t use the yacht enough for the numbers to make sense, especially when splitting our free time between our homes in the Cotswolds, Salcombe and Mallorca. We also didn’t want to be in the position where we felt obliged to go to the yacht to justify the cost instead of exploring other countries with the limited spare time we had.

I guess if we didn’t have a place in Salcombe, our thinking could well have been different. It was at this point we started to explore the idea of buying into a yacht sharing programme. Princess Yacht Quarters and The Yacht Share Network both had suitable options in Mallorca and both came highly recommended.

The basic premise is that you buy shares in a yacht to give you the number of weeks a year you can spend on it, according to your personal circumstances. The running costs are then apportioned between you and the other owners.

Not only does this reduce both the capital outlay and the running costs but it often enables you to buy into a larger yacht. In our case we were choosing between a Princess Y72 moored in Palma with Princess Yacht Quarters, a Pearl 72 moored in Antibes or a Pearl 72 in Puerto Portals with The Yacht Share Network. The deal included a full time captain, stewardess and a management team who handle the running of the yacht so you don’t have to worry about it.

You liaise with the captain and management company as needed but in reality you turn up and the yacht is ready to go and fully provisioned with your preferred food and drink. You don’t have to do a thing.

You can be more engaged and hands-on if you want to; if you have a day skipper licence you can drive the yacht too, but the captain must always be present to protect the other owners’ interests.

It was a difficult decision to choose between Princess Yacht Quarters and The Yacht Share Network, particularly because we had built up such a good relationship with our contact at Princess.

However, the Yacht Share Network team was equally professional, spending a significant amount of time explaining how it all worked, answering all our questions and meeting us on board the Pearl 72 at Puerto Portals to go through the whole process. We also had the opportunity to meet the captain and stewardess, as well as their day-to-day management team who were based in Mallorca.

We really wanted to be based in Puerto Portals and ultimately, this is what we based our decision on. We have now bought shares via the Yacht Share Network in the Pearl 72 in Portals.

We are confident this was the right decision for our circumstances, at least until I retire or go part time. Sharing the purchase price of the yacht and the running costs feels like better value and lower risk than buying an entire yacht ourselves and it enables us to enjoy all the benefits of a bigger yacht
with a full time captain and stewardess with less hassle and more quality holiday time.

The Pearl 72 also really surprised us with how good it looks and how well designed it is.

You have two huge master cabins with more storage space than you need, a double VIP and a twin cabin, sleeping eight plus two crew. The Kelly Hoppen interior has a smart modern vibe to it and is a lovely place to be when you want to move inside. It’s also practical and spacious – even with two crew on board you never feel you need your own space.

The vast flybridge is broken up into different areas with a bar, dining table, sunbeds, and second small dinette next to the helm. It’s also one of the few flybridge boats with a large garage that holds a Williams 345 as well as a jet ski and two Seabobs.

Happy Ever After?

So what is it really like to own a share of a yacht like this with a full time captain and stewardess? Initially, we weren’t sure how comfortable we would be being looked after by a professional crew but the reality is so much easier and more enjoyable than we expected.

When getting up in the morning, we can have our own time and space, or wander up to the cockpit where the stewardess will have already laid out a lovely breakfast for us. We’ll often have breakfast while the captain heads out of port to our chosen destination for a spot swimming or playing with the toys.

For lunch, the stewardess will either prepare another delicious meal or we might choose to head to a beach club instead, in which case the captain will ferry us there and back in the tender so I can enjoy a glass or two of rosé without having to worry about driving the boat.

After lunch, we’ll head off to another spot to relax and swim while the children buzz around having the time of their lives on the Seabobs. As the afternoon lazily meanders on we’ll head to our evening destination, sitting on the bow enjoying some tunes in the setting sun, watching the coastline of Mallorca scroll by while our glasses are topped up a bit too frequently!

When life is as good as this, why would you do it any other way?

Contact details: www.yachtshare.com

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