Transporting a performance racing yacht around the world for a racing programme is no mean feat. Logistics, VAT, import & export procedures, loading, unloading – the list continues. Many racing yachts take on a world wide programme year on year, travelling to all corners of the globe to compete in the most challenging races and regattas, hopefully lifting a few trophies during the course of it! From small dinghies, to 100+ft mono and multi hulls, getting a yacht to the right place on time is easier said than done.
Craig Stanbury heads up the Peters & May specialist Racing Logistics team based in the UK head office, and is responsible for making sure that each and every yacht being shipped to or from events or to new owners is looked after with the upmost care and attention. Craig and his team in the UK are supported by the Peters & May global network of offices and agents that span all seven continents. He commented: “Shipping a high-performance racing yacht is very different from shipping a commercial vessel or a motor yacht. For one, they’re all built differently. Every yacht that comes through the hypothetical doors at Peters & May is individually assessed by our expert team who have extensive knowledge in order to establish the best way for it to be shipped. It’s then down to our logistics team to find the best route, time and way to get the yacht to where it needs to go.”
The international racing programme can also mean tight deadlines between shipments. The team at Peters & May will work through all the shipping options, whether that be on a part-charter or liner service to find the best solution depending on the clients requirements. For example, when shipping between one of the legs of the 52 super series, Peters & May were able to charter a entire vessel in order to transport six TP52’s in one go, not only ensuring all entrants were at the race on time, but also saving wear and tear on the yachts, and taking away the need to remove the keel and mast for transport.
Peters & May have recently had the pleasure of looking after the logistics for the yacht of the moment, Super Maxi Comanche, during her inaugural season on the regatta circuit. She is being shipped around the world using a specialist cradle built by the Comanche team which allows the keel to stay on during shipment, giving the team precious time to concentrate on fine tuning her with minimal preparation post shipping, allowing more time to train before each race. As well as being a large yacht, Comanche also has an incredibly long mast (47m) – a shipping challenge in itself! The main issue was negotiating the shipping lines to accept such unusual cargo, the Peters & May team had months of planning with port authorities, vessel planners and stevedores. By the end of the first six months of Comanche’s racing life she will have travelled 20,000 nautical miles between races in the capable hands of Peters & May.
To find out more about our racing logistics click here.
