Rule the high seas

The overwhelming feeling that engulfs you after going on board the super luxury Italianmade ‘Ferretti 550’ is ‘Wow that’s fantastic’.

The Ferretti 550 and 460 arrived in Mumbai a little under a month ago and are the absolute top-end luxury yachts. Like any other Italian designer brand, the Ferretti yacht is also a prized possession.

Who owns a Ferretti: After Alain Prost, the Italian Formula One racer, the Valentino Group’s owner and the King of Spain, it is industrialist Vinod Mittal, MD of Ispat Group, who is understood to be the owner of the new Ferretti 550.

What’s hot about them: The Ferretti 550 is not a mere boat that one would have seen anchored at the Mumbai harbour among the many others. This 55-footer has two guest cabins, a master cabin, anti-rolling gyro-system designed by Mitsubishi, a sunbathing area, a fridge, a jet ski, apart from a galley.

The Price: This amazing piece of goods comes with a price tag of approximately Rs 15 crore.

How much they cost
Types of boats	Size	Prise range*
Kayaks, Non-motorised Sail Boats	0-12 ft	Rs 10,000 -Rs 30,000
Small Boats	12-35 ft	Rs 1 lakh -Rs 50 lakh
Medium Range	35-60 ft	Rs 1 crore -Rs 15 crore
Large Range	60-100 ft	Rs 5 crore -Rs 30 crore
Luxury (Super Yachts)	100-400 ft	Rs 100 crore (Super Yachts) upwards

Techno Cool: Says Gautama Dutta, director, Marine Solutions, authorised dealer for Ferretti in India: “It can cruise to the Maldives with a journey-break for refuelling.” Ferretti 550 has sophisticated software that allows continuous monitoring. “The software can alert the crew in an emergency even through an SMS if required,” Dutta explains.

The challengers

Other companies, too, are pitching for the Indian market.

They include the US’ Bayliner, UK’s Princess and the Sunseeker, Majestic Yachts and UAE’s Gulf Craft.

Says Aashim Mongia of West Coast Marine: “Boats from Gulf Craft and Majestic Yachts offer good value for money.” The smallest Majestic Yacht could cost $400,000 (Rs 1.6 crore) and the price could go up to $5 million (Rs 20 crore) for the 100 footer.

Luxury yachts are costly because of their seaworthiness. A 133 footer would cost $15 million (Rs 60 crore) and a 118 footer would cost $9 million (Rs 36 crore). Vijay Mallya’s Indian Empress costs approximately Rs 443 crore—but well, super luxury yacht falls in another category all together.

The Yacht buying guide

• Decide what's going to be the utility factor. Is it for private consumption, for corporate dos, for transportation purposes or plain status symbol?
  

  A place to unwind
  
  
  
• Look for various brands available
  
  
• Look for technical specifications and compare the engine and interior space etc
  
  
• Look for the price range and what is your budget
  
  
• Make sure you go to an authorised dealer

The Indian ‘Yacht Club’

Vijay Mallya Chairman, UB Group Owns the 95 m long (311 ft) Indian Empress costing approximately Rs 443 crore. Indian Empress is largely used for his private parties and even shooting the Kingfisher Calendar.

Gautam Singhania CMD, Raymond Group Has India’s first indigenously designed yacht—MY Ashena, a tri-deck luxury yacht. It’s one of the few in the world that is constructed entirely out of wood.

Vinod Mittal MD, Ispat Group Recently acquired the Ferretti 550 (55 footer) luxury yacht. The yacht has two guest cabins and a master cabin.

Riyhad Kundanmal Director, Ocean Crest Marine Owns a 50 footer Sunseeker, which he picked up in London earlier this year. This, he says, is his “work yacht”. He is awaiting another 84 footer (The Sunseeker 80) soon, which, he says, will be his “pleasure yacht”.