Just when we thought Peters & May had reached a milestone with the shipment of 45 yachts back to Southampton from the Caribbean last year; 2018 sailings caused even more of a spectacle! Peters & May smashed records with an astonishing 52 yachts joining one of 7 sailings back to Southampton following the 2018 Caribbean Season.
It was the responsibility of Peters & May’s expert loadmasters who worked tirelessly to load yachts and containers first in Fort Lauderdale and then in Antigua ahead of the record breaking shipment. Lifting and lashing 52 yachts of varying shapes and sizes, cargo was loaded above and below decks, ready for the popular mast up sailing to depart. After days of preparation, the MV Kingfisher began her Transatlantic crossing destined for Southampton and Rotterdam just 10 days later! Arriving safe and sound earlier this month, Peters & May look back on another successful sailing from the Caribbean.
As the official logistics partner to Antigua Sailing Week and the ARC Rally ; Peters & May’s Caribbean sailings are always popular, as explained by Simon Judson, Global Operations Director at Peters & May. “Our Caribbean trade routes are going from strength to strength. On this sailing alone, we had 7 Antigua Sailing Week participants on board. About 1/3 of yachts on the MV Kingfisher were new clients, which is great to see. Of course, it’s always nice to see our returning clients and familiar faces”.
Yachts large or small, holiday makers or competitive racers; the team at Peters & May work hard to exceed every client’s expectations. As a popular route, this westbound sailing saw a variety of cargo. With a good mix of shapes and sizes, our loadmasters and technical teams enjoyed the extra exciting challenge, in the planning and execution of the stow plan and the bespoke cradling on a shipment so large! The biggest yacht onboard totalled a length of 25.91 metres, in contrast to smaller RIB’s starting from just 5.50 metres in length.
Following the shipment, Peters & May caught up with Andrew Davis, 2018 ARC participant racing on Hanse 575 (Luna), to get his thoughts around working with Peters & May; “the whole experience was exceptional – I particularly liked the openness and honesty of talking to the team over several months. No games on pricing or pressure selling. A really professional operation from start to finish”. Another client Jonathan Paull, who’s relationship began with Peters & May at ARC 2015 offered his comments on the loading of Island Packet 440; “the collection was impressive in terms of organisation and professionalism. We were very pleased with the care and attention taken by deck staff, seeing how well Seraphina had been secured and protected during the passage”.
For those heading to sunnier climes, Peters & May offered numerous Mediterranean sailings during the Caribbean season. The most recent shipment destined for Mediterranean ports was the MV FAVOURISATION sailing; calling at Palma and Genoa with 28 yachts on board, including 6 Antigua Sailing Week participants. As the Caribbean hurricane season draws in, Peters & May’s final sailing out of the Caribbean set off for Fort Lauderdale last week marking the end of a successful 2018 Caribbean season.
Request a Quote for one of these sailings.
If you want to hear more from Peters & May? Sign up to receive valuable E-news.
