St. Maaren’s Port De Plaisance.
If you had choose just one of the 30 or so charter yachts that arrived in the Caribbean in early December for the St. Maarten Charter Yacht Exhibition or one of the 117 attending the annual Antigua Charter Yacht Meeting that the Nicholsons, a local family, started more than 44 years ago, which would you choose? Would it be the stunning 141-foot revamped Phil Rhodes classic Lady Goodgirl or RM Elegant, a new Greek 237-footer with 15 grand staterooms? Or would you opt for a large sailboat like Perini Navi Parsifal III or Twizzle, a 182-foot Feadship that is embarking on an around-the-world voyage? As brokers inspected and the rest of us ooohhed and aaahhed, the shows went on. At St. Maarten, The Sacks Group Yachting Professionals hosted a fashion show and dance revue, complete with cancan “girls” in drag. Antigua’s English and Falmouth harbours were settings for elegant parties. So many yachts, so little time.