On 12 March, in Tuscany, Navigo, a gathering of partners, sponsors and regional government supporters hosted the 15th edition of YARE Networking. This unique event is a great concept that generates revenue from the above that facilitates the invitation of approximately 100 captains to be flown in and hosted for three days in the heart of the Italian superyacht sector.

The event is a perfect mix of shipyard tours from La Spezia to Viareggio, great social hospitality in perhaps the best gourmet hub of superyachting, a couple of intelligent speed networking sessions, where every partner and sponsor is able to have structured one-to-ones with the captain VIPs, and a series of workshops. In the middle of all this, The Superyacht Group, in partnership with Navigo, hosted some strategic discussions with the YARE and MARE Forums.

The YARE Forum was a leadership debate with a spectrum of senior management from the refit and new-build sector, with business leaders from Lürssen, the Yacht Factory, Adriatic42, Cantiere Rossini, Tankoa Yachts, Rossinavi and Lusben all on stage together. The topic at hand was the importance of collaboration, and while it may not be a new topic in the refit sector, it seems that it’s still not happening at the level we need.

Essentially, collaboration is the art of working together to achieve a better result, and it was clear from our debate and from those in the audience that there’s still a long way to go. It still amazes me when I hear the leaders or captains saying we need better information, better bid packages, more drawings and access to the new-build yard’s archive. If only a refit was planned at the time of design when the yacht is first conceived and created.

Just imagine, as we all discussed, if the build team looked ahead at survey cycles and traditional refit periods and planned for these timelines. Just imagine if the yacht was built and delivered with as-built drawings and the information that the captain, crew and refit team need one, three, five or 10 years from delivery.

How can we still be delivering a €10 million-plus asset without a full inventory of replacements, spares, surface area maps, supplier details, parts numbers and lifting points or access hatches? The time has come for the new-build yard, the project team, the captain and crew and the refit market, alongside all the suppliers and subcontractors, to work together, so that planning and bidding and delivering a collaborative refit project is logical and seamless. After all, we all know that the refit market is perhaps our biggest growth sector for the future, and we need to make sure we don’t waste time or money.

The MARE Forum, in a similar format, was focused on the Mediterranean and the current status and future of the migratory and marina infrastructure from Gibraltar to Suez, with business leaders from Navigo in Italy, Balearic Marine Cluster in Spain, Riviera Yachting Network in France and the Mediterranean Tourism Foundation in Malta, supported by the head of the Marina Group at ICOMIA.

Again, we discussed the “Value of Collaboration” but more to explore how the landscape may change in the future, with new regulations, bigger yachts, emerging cruising grounds and overall congestion and over-tourism. We explored the arrival of NEOM and the Red Sea Assets, which may shape our cruising future, where yachts that typically spend much of their time in the Mediterranean will now have an alternative cruising ground on their doorstep, just through the Suez Canal.

The big topic of capacity has raised its head, where some yachts are starting to find it more difficult to get the right berth or a quiet anchorage, which, if unmanaged, may lead to further migration or an exodus. If we don’t plan now or share our experience but let regions invest millions in new marinas or destinations, all with the intention of attracting high-spending superyachts, it’s easy to see how the market will become diluted and some marinas will end up being ghost towns.

A marina needs all of the social and political elements to align. The regional governments need to appreciate the opportunity, the local population has to appreciate the economic value and the activists need to be better educated about our impact and sustainability credentials.

The captains in the room were all quite vocal about the need for marinas to understand the changing scale and scope of today’s superyachts – more complex, more waste management, more crew and different energy and fuel requirements. If marinas aren’t investing now and working with shipyards and captains to make sure their berths are optimal with all of the logistics and operations being managed effectively by well-trained teams, these floating ’cash cows’ may start to migrate to other more sophisticated marinas.

The worst-case scenario for the future is that owners and their guests start to get frustrated with over-tourism, crowded bays and restrictions on where they can anchor. The end result is either migration or asset disposal, as there are plenty of other places to cruise around the world and plenty of other things to do with several million euros.

In closing, the YARE Networking Event, now in its 15th year, is one of those events that brings together a passionate group of players who enjoy the hospitality, the location and the community. With their spectrum of knowledge, experience and expertise, there is a huge opportunity to educate and develop our industry so it’s fit for the future. Navigo has a big role to play, and with their new international strategy, it’s clear that they want to play a bigger role in the wider Mediterranean landscape and also become a thought leader and educator with emerging destinations like Egypt and South Africa, as two current partners they are working closely with. Perhaps Navigo is our industry’s collaborative catalyst.

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