Older Yacht Charters | Yachting Magazine

Those types of investments can make an older charter yacht a great deal. Because of her age, Perfect Persuasion’s lowest weekly base rate is €100,000 [approximately $142,500 at press time] for 10 guests — less than half the price charged by some newer yachts in the same size range that offer nearly the same amenities. As longtime charter broker Gaye Joyeux-Bourgeois of Burgess Yachts in Monaco put it while touring Perfect Persuasion in spring 2011, “She really hasn’t changed a lot from the last time I saw her a few years ago, but she’s looking very, very good. Really, really fresh. She’s an outstanding value in her class.”

Charter broker Tom Collins of Burgess Yachts in Miami had a similar reaction after a few days of cruising the Riviera aboard Audacia (below). She’s a 159-foot Feadship that is part of the Fraser Yachts Worldwide charter fleet — and launched nearly 25 years ago, in 1987.

“It was a terrific charter experience,” he says. “The boat is well maintained, the owner is continuing to make upgrades and investments, and the captain and crew are top-notch. We had paparazzi snapping our photos as we pulled into St. Tropez, she looks so impressive, but really she’s an excellent value boat.”

Collins also has clients who want only newer yachts, but some of them — after looking at their budgets and the amenities that many older yachts offer — decide that the newer yachts are not always the best charter values.

“Then they look at older boats with the same features,” says Collins. “If those older boats are well maintained, have a great crew and are within budget, there’s a realization that the age of the boat is actually the least important consideration in having a fantastic yachting holiday.”