Yacht Yearnings
by Chris Becicka
Many of us in the Midwest will never set
our landlubbing feet on the kind of yacht
James Bond might be power boating.
However, there are alternatives to purchasing
that will enable most to experience
the ultimate in leisure boating.
As with most other high-dollar items, yachts run the gamut of prices, from a 405-foot beauty for $251 million— all the way down to a 91-footer for a mere $9 million. And there are cheaper, smaller yachts as well. You don’t have to purchase a yacht; instead consider purchasing a timeshare. With a timeshare, you could own a fully crewed luxury motor yacht for only $430,000, instead of the usual $4.3 million. Through what is known as “fractional ownership,” this program works by dividing the yacht into 10 units of 10% of the original purchase price, with each unit giving the owner four weeks of cruising time aboard the yacht every year, complete with crew and personal chef.
If you prefer to simply vacation on a yacht without purchasing a timeshare, there are other options. Some owners of big yachts lease them out to help defray their extensive costs. In addition, there are yacht charters on boats that are specifically reserved as rentals, such as the Alstom Marine Kogo, a 235-foot vessel which was voted “Best of the Best” in The Robb Report’s annual survey. At a cost of about $600,000 per week (plus expenses) it could accommodate you and 11 of your closest friends or family.
There are a dozen or so nearby private courses in Kansas: Brookridge, Hallbrook, Indian Hills, Lake Quivira, Leawood South, Meadowbrook, Metcalf Ridge, Milburn, Mission Hills, Nicklaus Golf Club at Lions- Gate, Shadow Glen Golf Club at Cedar Creek, and Wolf Creek. These courses, the newer ones in particular, may also have homes “attached,” many arranged in clusters of similar value.
In Missouri, you can enjoy the lifestyle at Blue Springs, Hillcrest, Lakewood Oaks, Loch Lloyd, The National Golf Club, The Club at Stone Canyon in Independence (opening this spring), and Staley Farms Golf Club. There are more, of course, including Tiffany Greens Golf Club, a semi-private club in Missouri, and two semi-private clubs in Kansas: Deer Creek and Dub’s Dread.
There are also less expensive yacht vacation options,
comparable in price to “first class” ski or resort vacations,
beginning at two or three hundred dollars per
person per day and up. Yacht Vacations & Charters
is a magazine devoted entirely to this topic, in addition
to many offerings on the web that will arrange your entire
vacation.
Two Parkville men, Bill Dunbar and Joe Tasler, provide such services through their company, Yacht Charter Team. Bill says that about 75% of their business comes from the Midwest, and that they cater to people who want “all inclusive” and unusual vacations. These include exotic locales like the Great Blue Hole off the coast of Belize with fabulous scuba diving, or learning-to-sail vacations. For the less adventurous, they offer a Caribbean cruise that includes a posh resort stay with divine meals provided by a famous chef. Their popular “adventure cruises” provide once-in-a-lifetime experiences—but often, he says, people come back for more.
Jane Zieha and Jim Bell, owners of the Blue Bird Bistro, went this year on two yacht cruises. Jim’s love of sailing stems from his Navy days and now they both love it. One cruise, sailing in the Aegean Sea off the coast of Turkey, was the ultimate in luxury. The other, a bit more adventuresome but still comfortable, was designed to teach the skills of being alone on the ocean on a 50-foot catamaran for a week. “The amount of planning is incredible,” said Jane, noting that her food background was immensely useful as she planned meals for eight and their oversight captain, Bill Dunbar. The four couples are eager to put their newly acquired expertise to work for themselves next time.
With about 30,000 annual yacht charters in the
U.S. alone, charter yacht vacations are certainly one
way to combine the best of all possible worlds—
land, sea and luxury. 