From the 24th – 27th April Barcelona, Spain hosted the 29th MYBA Charter Show, a trade-only event attended by all levels of the professional yachting industry with continuing improvements in safety and services at the core of the conference.

CharterWorld Senior Brokers Nicolas Benazeth, Martha Lukasik, Josh Burdett, Reia Stannard, Trina Howes and Amanda Brilliante attending the MYBA Yacht Show

The show is perhaps the most important event on any professional charter broker’s agenda, offering valuable opportunity to meet fellow industry colleagues, discuss business opportunities and new trends and most importantly provides a possibility to view the latest charter yachts on the market, assessing various aspects as well as meeting the crew on board.

CharterWorld’s Charter Director, Reia Stannard and senior brokers Nick Benazeth, Josh Burdett, Amanda Brillante, Martha Lukasik and Trina Howes attended the four-day event and had the opportunity to board some of the most popular Mediterranean charter yachts and experience life on board, savour the mouthwatering dishes prepared by talented Chefs and served by the crew in order to demonstrate their ability and level of service future charter clients will receive during their vacation.

“We saw some yachts at the show that are normally in the Balearics so it was a good chance to inspect vessels we would not normally see in Genoa, such as DIANE and MENORCA (a superb newly-refitted classic with Edmiston that was probably my favourite boat this year).”

Superyachts in attendance at Port Vell, Barcelona, for the MYBA Yacht Show

Previously hosted by Genoa, Barcelona is the new home for the MYBA Show until 2020. The change of location has brought a new set of benefits and challenges, as Josh Burdett commented on the event:

“The layout of the OneOcean Port Vell lends itself really well to the show, allowing a lot of yachts to be shown along one continuous dock and ending the need to be ferried from one side to the other as it was in Genoa. I think from a yacht owner and Broker perspective, everything ran smoothly and was well organised.

“Although poor weather and the travelling distance for some superyachts in the Eastern Mediterranean does mean there were a few no shows – and it may prevent some yachts from attending in future – overall the quality was very high and there was a particularly strong showing of the bigger yachts at the upper end of the fleet.”

Of the largest and most popular yachts currently for charter in the Mediterranean, the event showcased superyachts JOY, ICON, NERO, INDIAN EMPRESS and TALISMAN MAITON.

Sundeck spa pool aboard luxury yacht TALISMAN MAITON at the MYBA Yacht Show 2017. Photo credit CharterWorld

“We saw some yachts at the show that are normally in the Balearics so it was a good chance to inspect vessels we would not normally see in Genoa, such as DIANE and MENORCA (a superb newly-refitted classic with Edmiston that was probably my favourite boat this year),” Josh Burdett adds further.

Amanda Brilliante sampled the cuisine on board M/Y INDIAN EMPRESS and M/Y CD TWO and commented on the variety of cuisine on each:

“There was an amazing Indian buffet lunch aboard INDIAN EMPRESS: It was a very very cold rainy day on the 26th of April and lunch was set indoors in main dining room. There must have been an assortment of at least 25 dishes both hot and cold. Approximately 20 guests attended, so quite a warm, congenial atmosphere and an amazing spread of items to choose from.

“Also an excellent lunch the next day on luxury yacht CD TWO – a most innovative Chef Lorenzo created excellent fish dishes, but also a bit of molecular gastronomy going on as well which added a bit of flash to things. The palate cleanser was a fun treat (electric sorbet – it really felt electric on the tongue and lips!) as well as the ice cream cigars which were served under glass with real cigar smoke.”

Motor yacht ELENI at the MYBA Yacht Show. Photo credit CharterWorld

During the MYBA charter show the chefs of each vessel competed in two different competitions: the best cocktail as ‘Art in a Glass’, the MYBA Superyacht Chefs’ Competition and the table-scaping competition with the theme: ‘Spring in Barcelona’. Kate Barnett of motor yacht CHEETAH MOON won the first event, impressing the judges with her stylised presentation and creativity with ingredients. The full results for the other competitions are as follows:

2017 MYBA Superyacht Chefs’ Competition results:

Yachts 56 and over

• 1st place – Dean Conbeer (ICON)
• 2nd place – Lee Easdon (NERO)
• 3rd place – Simon Phillips (DOUBLE DOWN)

Yachts from 40 to 54m

• 1st place – Mikeldi Corcuera (MQ2)
• 2nd place – James Perry (NASSIMA)
• 3rd place – Spiro Pavlic (PRIDE)

Yachts up to 39m

• 1st place – Jean Mathee (TWILIGHT)
• 2nd place – Daniel Wilbor (TAKARA)
• 3rd place – Mark Rostant (CHEETAH MOON)

‘Spring in Barcelona’ Tablescaping results:

Yachts 56 and over

• 1st place – Aly Merill & Cairine Whyte (DOUBLE DOWN)
• 2nd place – Daniel Wellman (SILVER ANGEL)
• Special mention: The Stewardesses of luxury yacht NERO for their table setting

Yachts from 40 to 54m

• 1st place – Malcolm Bowers (TALISMAN MAITON)
• 2nd place – Megan Rutty (MIRAGE)

Yachts up to 39m

• 1st place – Holly Eccleson (CHEETAH MOON)
• 2nd place – Christine Snyder (TWILIGHT)

The attending yachts will be available for charter in the Mediterranean throughout the summer months. For more information on individual availability and on board facilities, contact CharterWorld.