Contender for Innovation of the Year 2008
THOSE IMAGES of powerboats carving through the water, bikini-clad girls fore and aft, are classic wish-I-was-there tropical island stuff.
The dream, though, is not so remote these days, thanks to fractional boat ownership.
Time-share with resort property is considered to be an acceptable way of paying for regular holidays. So why not time-share for boats?
At the helm of this idea on Phuket is Guy Cummins, a 17-year veteran of the island and its boating business, and manager of the Royal Phuket Marina Cruising Club.
It's at the club's HQ, Royal Phuket Marina, that the dream can come true. All you have to do is provide your own bikini-clad passengers.
''The idea has worked well in Sydney for 10 years and it's attracting lots of interest here, too,'' Mr Cummins told Phuketwan.
''It's walk on, walk off. You book four months in advance. You arrive, and everything is ready. You sail off, maybe to the Similans for a few days. Anywhere you like.
''At the end of your holiday, you pick up your bags and walk off. That's it. No provisioning, maintence, any of that stuff. It's as easy as it gets with boating.''
The Phuket club has been operating since September 2007 and results are encouraging.
Hundreds of people have taken to the idea in Australia and so far, there are three groups on the island who have either joined up or are looking for a suitable boat to buy.
And what boats they are. The Sunseeker Portofino 72, for instance, packs up to 3500 horsepower and can skim along at 38 knots.
Bikini girls would barely be shaken or stirred, and perhaps not even moved by the $3.6 million price tag. Maybe one of them owns the boat.
''More and more big cruisers are coming to Phuket all the time,'' Mr Cummins says.
''Buying a 27-day share of one means you can enjoy three nine-day holidays each year.''
Fractional owners so far have come from France, Britain, Hong Kong and Singapore. There's a couple who live on Phuket and another couple from Bangkok.
They are, as Mr Cummins says, ''high nett-worth individuals'' who have come to realise the advantages of the club.
They also tend to be people who have a second or third property on the island, and have owned boats or sailed a lot.
''Economically it makes sense in that you have equity and you get a return if and when the boat is sold,'' Mr Cummins says.
An annual fee of $9000 covers two crews each consisting of a captain and an engineer, plus maintenance, berthing fees, insurance and all the other ''hole in the water'' stuff that makes boating less enjoyable.
''Europeans are used to larger boats,'' Mr Cummins says. ''Off Phuket it's all ocean sailing and these boats are capable of going out in any weather.''
Studies apparently show that the average boat in a marina in the US only gets used 18 days a year. That's a fairly compelling statistic in favour of fractional ownership.
At times when the boat is not being used by owners, it can be chartered out to defray costs.
Where two owners wish to use the boat at the same time, negotiations take place that can eventually be settled if necessary by ballot.
A body corporate style of structure keeps everything on an even keel.
There's also a global boating vessel exchange network that means you don't have to take the boat with you if, say, you fancy having some fun in the Pacific for a change.
The idea has also been working successfully with private aircraft.
For more about Royal Phuket Marina Cruising Club contact Guy Cummins +66 (0) 7636 0850 E: guyc@royalphuketmarina.com www.royalphuketmarina.com
THOSE IMAGES of powerboats carving through the water, bikini-clad girls fore and aft, are classic wish-I-was-there tropical island stuff.
The dream, though, is not so remote these days, thanks to fractional boat ownership.
Time-share with resort property is considered to be an acceptable way of paying for regular holidays. So why not time-share for boats?
At the helm of this idea on Phuket is Guy Cummins, a 17-year veteran of the island and its boating business, and manager of the Royal Phuket Marina Cruising Club.
It's at the club's HQ, Royal Phuket Marina, that the dream can come true. All you have to do is provide your own bikini-clad passengers.
''The idea has worked well in Sydney for 10 years and it's attracting lots of interest here, too,'' Mr Cummins told Phuketwan.
''It's walk on, walk off. You book four months in advance. You arrive, and everything is ready. You sail off, maybe to the Similans for a few days. Anywhere you like.
''At the end of your holiday, you pick up your bags and walk off. That's it. No provisioning, maintence, any of that stuff. It's as easy as it gets with boating.''
The Phuket club has been operating since September 2007 and results are encouraging.
Hundreds of people have taken to the idea in Australia and so far, there are three groups on the island who have either joined up or are looking for a suitable boat to buy.
And what boats they are. The Sunseeker Portofino 72, for instance, packs up to 3500 horsepower and can skim along at 38 knots.
Bikini girls would barely be shaken or stirred, and perhaps not even moved by the $3.6 million price tag. Maybe one of them owns the boat.
''More and more big cruisers are coming to Phuket all the time,'' Mr Cummins says.
''Buying a 27-day share of one means you can enjoy three nine-day holidays each year.''
Fractional owners so far have come from France, Britain, Hong Kong and Singapore. There's a couple who live on Phuket and another couple from Bangkok.
They are, as Mr Cummins says, ''high nett-worth individuals'' who have come to realise the advantages of the club.
They also tend to be people who have a second or third property on the island, and have owned boats or sailed a lot.
''Economically it makes sense in that you have equity and you get a return if and when the boat is sold,'' Mr Cummins says.
An annual fee of $9000 covers two crews each consisting of a captain and an engineer, plus maintenance, berthing fees, insurance and all the other ''hole in the water'' stuff that makes boating less enjoyable.
''Europeans are used to larger boats,'' Mr Cummins says. ''Off Phuket it's all ocean sailing and these boats are capable of going out in any weather.''
Studies apparently show that the average boat in a marina in the US only gets used 18 days a year. That's a fairly compelling statistic in favour of fractional ownership.
At times when the boat is not being used by owners, it can be chartered out to defray costs.
Where two owners wish to use the boat at the same time, negotiations take place that can eventually be settled if necessary by ballot.
A body corporate style of structure keeps everything on an even keel.
There's also a global boating vessel exchange network that means you don't have to take the boat with you if, say, you fancy having some fun in the Pacific for a change.
The idea has also been working successfully with private aircraft.
For more about Royal Phuket Marina Cruising Club contact Guy Cummins +66 (0) 7636 0850 E: guyc@royalphuketmarina.com www.royalphuketmarina.com
