There are those who would say that single ownership of a yacht is a recipe for losing money, unless you are super rich of course. The word on the street is that the wise guys would part-buy into a boat and therefore share the cost of management, crew, maintenance, and service with your ownership partners. Especially if the boat is going to lie dormant for a large part of the year. Timeshare ownership is a common proposition for property and aircraft, but perhaps not so much for boats.

Well, the luxury Twinpalms Hotel Phuket has teamed up with Simpson Marine to offer part ownership of a luxury 23 metre, eight-berth yacht (plus two staff berths) called M/Y Olympia. What they have done is split the cost of ownership into 10 equal parts and are now selling them off. At the time of writing there were only three shares available for purchase. Kongkuan (Lin) Prachakrich, manager of Phuket Yacht Charter for Twinpalms Hotel, said, �Twinpalms runs the charter under a different name, Olympia Holding (Phuket) Co., Ltd., and they guarantee to have the boat ready to go at a moment�s notice on days when the boat is available. Owners may pre-book their annual fixed boat-use entitlement up to four months in advance. Eighty five days per annum remain open, of which the necessary number of days will be used for regular maintenance. The remaining open days will then be available for private charter, or as shareholder�s standby days. Any profits made from this charter will be removed from the maintenance fee for the following year.�

A neat package you might say. This is a new venture for Twinpalms but everyday bread-and-butter for Simpson Marine. The company was first established by Mike Simpson in Hong Kong in 1984 to provide full service brokerage services for the local yachting community.

Rico Stapel of Simpson Marine explained, �Today Simpson Marine provides a wide range of yacht services throughout Asia and is the exclusive dealer for many of the world�s leading yacht brands in the region, including Azimut, Beneteau, Benetti, Lagoon, Sea Ray and Wauquiez.� The company also provide international yacht brokerage and chartering services, as well as award winning after sales service and yacht management.

�We do just about everything there is to do with yachts,� he continues. �We can find you a boat to suit your pocket, arrange a crew, insurance, and then get you the right price if you decide to sell. A veritable one-stop yacht shop.

�We are very excited about our involvement with Twinpalms on this project,� he continues. �Not only is M/Y Olympia unique in that she was wholly constructed in Taiwan to European standards for about a third of the normal cost for such a luxurious vessel, but also being witness to and part of the fractional ownership scheme, which we think will be very successful here.�

Take it from me: M/Y Olympia is certainly luxurious. Streamlined and sleek, she�s 23m of glossy fibreglass, stainless steel, smoked glass and teak. With a maximum speed of 23kt, she will get you comfortably and quickly anywhere you want to go in pure luxury. She looks and feels thoroughly aerodynamic and is a well-balanced and buoyant cross between an arrowhead and a white Ferrari. She has two powerful engines, a sizeable desalination plant and twin anchors. A futuristic looking concave smoked-glass sliding door offers you access to the fully controllable air-conditioned split-level cabin, which is spaciously furnished in white and soft browns.

A 46-inch TV remotely rises from the side on command, and satellite stations can be viewed in comfort on robust and soft sofas. The upper level contains a fully functioning kitchen with induction hob, refrigerator and ice maker. A microwave is placed strategically at the right height, and there is also seating for six at a small dinner table.

The main pilot station contains all the most modern navigation and cruising aids as you would expect. There is even joystick control for a small propeller under the bow to assist in easy mooring. There is also another duplicate pilot station on the upper deck for al fresco navigation.

The bedrooms are thoughtfully furnished and fully equipped. The master bedroom sports a double bed, a 32-inch flat screen TV, a spacious en-suite bathroom, and also owns a built-in wardrobe. The VIP bedroom is similar in size and efficiently fitted with all necessities, including a 20-inch flat screen TV and en-suite bathroom. There is also a twin bedroom and a smaller room fitted with bunk beds, which would be ideal for children.
Thoughtfully fitted throughout, there is even a hydraulic platform for swimming and the storage of the Williams Jet tender. The tender has an in-built engine with the capacity for six passengers, a top speed of 43kt and is eminently suitable for water sports. They even thought of underwater spotlights, presumably for fish spotting at night or easier boat identification if you are returning from a night dive.

The feel of the boat is spacious, sumptuous and indulgent; just the sort of thing for a few days cruising around Phang Nga Bay or a simple a trip out to Phi Phi and back. Whatever you choose to do on this boat, you�ll definitely be pampered. The crew lives on-board, and they know everything there is to know about the boat. You can just relax, sip on your cocktail and let the subtle breeze caress your hair.

M/Y OLYMPIA
A 23m superyacht offered for fractional ownership by Twinpalms Resort and Simpson Marine, which has many other fractional ownership and charters available.
CHARTER SERVICES
For inquiries about M/Y Olympia:
Kongkuan Prachakrich (Lin)
lin@olympia-cruises.com.
For other fractional ownership and superyacht charters:
Simpson Marine
Phuket Boat Lagoon, 22/22A Moo 2, Thepkasattri Road, Kohkaew. 076-239-768.