Private-label shipyard Delphia is hot on the heels of Beneteau, Jeanneau and Bavaria MAKKUM (NL) - More and more Frisian yacht rental companies are buying Delphia sailing and motor yachts. Jachthaven en -makelaardij Lemmer Binnen, which already rents out Stout sloops, has added a Delphia Escape 1050 to its fleet. Delphia importer Tornado Yachting in Makkum is increasing its fleet with an eighth boat, a seaworthy motor yacht, a Delphia Escape Soley. Yachtcharter Sneek in Sneek and De Hoek Watersport in Langweer have been chartering Delphia Escape motor yachts for some time.
Anno 2015, Delphia builds more than 2,000 fibreglass-reinforced polyester sailing and motor yachts a year according to Western European standards on behalf of the biggest brands, including very exclusive ones. The once great Frisian sailing yacht builders - with the exception of makers of exclusive custom-built sailing yachts like KM Yachtbuilders in Makkum and Breehorn in Woudsend - no longer have anything to say in the sailing world. By contrast, builders of steel and aluminium motor yachts in the price range up to one and a half million euros, such as Jetten Yachting and Aquanaut Yachting Holland in Sneek, and super yacht specialists like Koninklijke De Vries Scheepsbouw (Feadship) in Makkum, actually strengthened their position to all corners of the earth. "Boats" worth 50 million euros also come from Friesland. Real estate magnate Donald Trump, candidate for the presidency of the United States of America in 2016, is a customer of Friesland as the owner of half a cruise ship as a private yacht.
Jurre Jan Muurling starts renting Delphia Escape motor yachts in Makkum on the IJsselmeer.It was the Sneker and later Makkum sailing yacht specialist Charles Laponder, 20 years ago the founder of Tornado Yachting on water sports business park 't Ges in Sneek, who interested the Polish yard in doing more business in holiday country Friesland. After all, the Frisian yacht building industry was not responding to new trends in recreational sailing, and thus space was created for innovative and hard-working Poles who have at least as rich a maritime history as the Dutch.
"We acquired the 8-seater Delphia Escape 1080 in CE category B at the special request of ex-sailors," explains director Jurre Jan Muurling of steadily growing Tornado Yachting. "People who know the great advantages of water sports town Makkum. Our charter base has a direct connection to the IJsselmeer, an increasingly popular waterway, also for motorboat fans. From Makkum, you can make a stunning round of the Zuiderzee, a golden circle, with, for example, historic Enkhuizen as a top destination. UNESCO World Heritage Site Waddenzee is also right on our doorstep. With our yachts you can very well dry land, a unique experience. We organise a group dryfall weekend every year, in 2016 in May. Anyone with a suitable yacht can take part."
Makkum not only has a connection to the sea, but also a perfect inland connection to the Frisian lakes and the Frisian Eleven Cities. Muurling, just back from a demonstration of the new Delphia 46 DS with centre cockpit in Gdansk where the Delphia shipyard has been located since 1990: "The fact that you can also enter from our harbour straight away is very pleasant for beginners. They can practice sailing on calm and very safe waters. In addition, sailing inside the dike is more fun for families with children and lovers of cultural heritage and other attractions. On the Elfsteden and Frisian Lakes routes, you get one sight after another before your eyes. Because our yachts are licence-free, anyone can go out with them if they indicate they have mastered the boat based on experience or a half-day or full-day sailing lesson, which you can also book with us."
"We are entering a whole new market with Delphia motor yacht rental: affordable, highly accessible recreation on the water. Although our new Escape is very luxurious, it is not expensive. Not in purchase - ready to sail from €111,000 - and already available for rent from €995 per week," said the Makkumer water sports entrepreneur whose roots are in Sneek.
Buying a Delphia and then renting it out to Boat Charter Holland members like Tornado Yachting in Makkum, De Hoek Watersport in Dijken near Langweer and Yachtcharter Sneek in Sneek is arguably much more lucrative for private investors than parking surpluses at the bank. Muurling is developing a new Charter Investment programme for buyers of a Delphia motor or sailing yacht who want to make limited use of it themselves and draw considerably more return from the invested capital than is the case with savings.
Copyright Tornado Yachting
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