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Joined: 01/05/2008
Posts: 40
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Our next issue (June) focuses on marinas and moorings and I'm curious...what is the most expensive place you've ever tied up? And how about the costs of moorings? I hear that they're charging for moorings in more places in the Med now.
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Joined: 21/01/2009
Posts: 36
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That's a good question. Only the charter brokers and yacht agents can answer you. I have a 35 meter by 8 meter berth available for rent during high season in the western med. At present charter brokers are bidding against each other to gain control of this berth for the summer season. The charter agents are chasing me with brown envelopes containing 10 grand for my personal use, if I choose them as the lucky ones.. The present bidding is 5 euro per square meter. 35X8 equals 1400 euro per night. Charter brokers don't rent slips to their clients out of charity, so I would imagine that they are reselling the berth for say 8 euro per square meter per night..... figure 35meter x 8 meter equals 2240 euro per night, plus electric and water and tax.
At present a 35 meter berth, if you can find one, is quoted locally by the agents at 230,000 euro for a 4 month summer rental. Maybe more. Off season berth rental drops down to nothing. Again, you must ask your charter broker, they are the ones driving the rates and double dipping their loyal customers. Remember to leave a good tip.. Dont believe me, again ask your favorite charter broker or read this, the local newspaper. http://www.diariodeibiza.es/secciones/noticia.jsp?pRef=2008061500_2_252509__Pitises-i-Balears-Amarristas-Ibiza-Nueva-emprenden-judicial-contra-Semar-Puertos
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Joined: 21/01/2009
Posts: 36
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Oh by the way, if you bid 250,000 euro, Id be willing to give you the berth for a full 6 months. Ive got some sailing to do. Contact me.
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This is rather shocking Monback, I had no idea the charter brokers would be leasing space and then subletting it back to their own clients, very clever but can this be ethical? I guess one could argue that they were leasing the space up front as a service to their clients, so that the yachts they book have space, but with a commodity in such high demand, the temptation to price gouge is too great for them.
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Joined: 21/01/2009
Posts: 36
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The way a berth works in many places is like this. You, a private investor purchase the berth. The berth next to me is for sale at 1.4 million euro for a ten year lease. You never outright own a berth, only long term lease.
. Once you acquire the berth you can either park your yacht in it or if your just an investor, you will probably give it to the marina office to manage. A marina charges a fixed published fee for rental.
As you walk down to the marina office with your new berth title you will have to run the gauntlet of Yacht brokers and charter agents who offer to pay cash upfront for sole access to your berth. You take their money, then the Broker controls access to the berth. This broker then contacts another party called an agent. The agent advertises and rents the berth to you. The transaction goes.. Private berth owner, Broker, Agent before the berth gets to your yacht. You will never know which Charter broker, yacht Broker controls the berth, they remain hidden because you as the customer deal directly with the agent. In the marina that Im presently located, the official slips managed by the marina office are fully booked up for the next 5 years. You cannot come. But the marina is not full ? Plenty of empty space but you must know the phone number of the agent. If you dont have the phone number to contact this agent, then you must contact another agent to contact the agent who knows the Broker who sublet the berth from the owner. This Broker, agent mafia charges whatever the market will tolerate. They know well that Your charter guests have no choice but blow 2500 euro a night to check out the nightlife in town during high season.
Its the way the world turns. Many new marinas are now prohibiting the practice of subletting slips, all berths stay in the hands of the Marina management. This can only be good news. One of the reasons the purchase price of the berth got so inflated was because of this triangular mafia
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Interesting stuff Monback, damn that's expensive. Is it just a European thing?
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Try getting a slip in Nantucket during high season if your boat doesn't have a reputation for being a "good tipper."
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I am running a 92' M/Y. My boss is cheap. I have been able to find monthly dockage for as little as $1300/m in most places if you pay in advance, from New England to the Caribbean. Even IGY is starting to give great deals, everything has become negotiable, even dockage with the way the economy is. I think places have gotten way too greedy over the past ten years. Marinas started raising prices and then charging fees for services that used to be a courtesy. There has been little improvment to the facilities to justify these costs, in fact Hurricane hole is falling apart with no maintenance being done but just because Atlantis owns it they think they can get four times the dockage fees. The tipping has gotten out of control as well. All huge tips do is set a president that not all yacht owners can afford. Large tips have become expected by marina staff and dock masters instead of earned. The most I have ever paid per night is $2500 in MV for a 100' yacht. Ouch!
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Joined: 29/03/2009
Posts: 5
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What sort of amounts or percentage or fees are we talking, in regards to tipping the marina staff?
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I don't leave tips at marinas. They already charge enough. Tips are reserved for commercial or public ports were the harbormaster must put up with a bit of fuss to squeeze us in. Generally 10 percent. Sometimes the port fees are so low that 20 dollars is far greater than 10 percent of the nightly charge. A 20 does the trick. I never go higher. The people that contaminated the scene are the big motoryachts who started to mindlessly throw money around. Not much you can do about it other than avoid those ports.
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