I sometimes think that the ideas we all have about the "romance" of leisure travel date back to the days when travel wasn't quite so widespread, when it was the exclusive province of the elite. Say, the late 19th or early 20th century. When we're suffused with this nostalgia, we don't think very often of the fact that we would most likely not be elites ourselves, and even if we were, we'd have far less time lord it over everyone since life expectancy was just shy of 50 -- because in all romantic fantasies, the heroes are always wealthy, beautiful and very lucky.

While I'm not sure it's worth trading a few decades of life expectancy for it, it still seems a real shame that it's no longer possible to book first class passage on those amazing ocean vessels that could take you almost anywhere worth going. The era, the experience and the lifestyle is vividly described in a lavishly illustrated new book, First Class: Legendary Ocean Liner Voyages Around the World, published by Vendome Press. It's a book that makes a terrific holiday gift for anyone who loves boats, cruises, history, and it comes in a slipcase meant to resemble a steamer trunk.

Author Gérard Piouffre provides the historical context needed to understand the era of the ocean liner, which stretches from the time steam ships took over from boats that travel under sail and ends in the late 1950s, when air travel surpassed travel by water. The construction of these ships would take a workforce of 10,000 to 15,000, in order to create settings that were almost embarrassingly ostentatious, meant to resemble floating palaces or châteaus. That, of course, was in first class, but second class wasn't too terrible -- less luxurious, but still including "immense drawing rooms, libraries, smoking rooms," write Piouffre. It was meant to resemble an "impressively appointed country house." (Of third class, he says, the look was more dormitory.)

Beyond interior décor, First Class paints a picture of life aboard ship, reproducing menus, activities schedules and impromptu amusements. (On the long and boring trip from San Francisco to Hawaii, a game was organized in which two passengers were blindfolded and armed with rubber truncheons. Liability laws sure have changed.)

The book is organized into the old sea routes -- there's the transatlantic and transpacific crossings, the Mediterranean and the Suez Canal, the South Atlantic and the Caribbean, Routes of Ice and Gold (Alaska, and Iceland/Norway) for instance. Between the photos, drawings, ephemera and quotes from everyone from ordinary passengers to luminaries like Mark Twain, you feel like you're following right along in a great ship's wake. The most hypnotic chapter to me was the one that dealt with the route that went through the Suez Canal to the Far East, starting perhaps in Marseille, and calling on Alexandria, Mumbai, Calcutta, Rangoon, Hanoi, Hong Kong, Shanghai and ultimately Yokohama, Japan. Really, I can't think of a voyage, in any time, that sounds more romantic than that.

The newest price cut in the yacht world is Azimut's spicy 101-foot Paprika. The yacht was built last year and has three cabins. The customized version of the Azimut 103S model has had a variety of changes and upgrades customized for the owner who took possession but then rather quickly had to sell. It includes a below deck media room so that you can watch a movie without being disturbed by on-deck noise. Paprika zips along at a cruising speed of 30 knots. The yacht was originally listed at 8.1 million euros but is now listed at 6.75 million euros.

[via Boat International]

More bad news for Hatteras Yachts. I wrote about the company's worker layoffs earlier this year. Now the North Carolina boat builder announced an extended six-week furlough over the summer. The company once employed 1,400 workers and now employs around 300 and Bill Naumann, Hatteras Yachts chairman, told the New Bern Sun Journal that for around 90 of those employees it will be"an indefinite furlough." Naumann who came out of retirement last fall to steer the company again, says this is the worst thing he's seen from an economic standpoint. Boat sales have continued to fall and Genmar, the industry's second largest U.S. manufacturer, declared bankruptcy on Monday. Hatteras, which makes sport fishing and motor yachts between 50 and 100 feet long has been in business since 1959.

Australia's biggest luxury boat builder, Riviera, has gone into voluntary receivership. The company operates a boat building facility at Coomera on the Gold Coast in Queensland and exports to more than 30 countries around the world. But like many other yacht builders Riviera has had trouble selling its yachts in the economic downturn. The company fired employees and closed its production line for three weeks recently but is still in crisis. The company may be put up for sale or may go through a restructuring process. Riviera employs 550 people and workers are still at their jobs. Riviera is planning to exhibit in the Sanctuary Cove International Boat Show on the Gold Coast from May 21 to 24.

In Florida, yacht abandonment and repossessions are on the rise but wealthy boat owners may soon get a bit of tax relief. The Miami Herald reports that state legislators are considering a tax break on boats and planes. A bill currently moving through the Florida legislature called the Aviation and Maritime Full Employment Act would cap the sales tax on boats and planes at $25,000.

It is hoped that the bill would stimulate the economy by creating jobs. Currently many rich people avoid the sales tax by buying their expensive planes and yachts elsewhere and storing them in other states or registering them in the Cayman Islands and other places. These actions cost the state not just tax revenue but it makes it less likely that the owner will buy other related services in Florida. The Herald quotes Republican Representative Tom Grady who says: "Someone might want to beat up the rich. I don't. Anybody with capital to invest in the state of Florida, where jobs can be created, I want them here. I want their money here."

Others are saying the tax break is outrageous especially at a time when the state is contemplating raising the price of licenses and other fees that would affect a broader swath of the population. The cap could cost the the state $8.1 million annually and local government could lose $1.1 million. No number for the potential economic gain from the new bill has been forecast.

The old saying goes that a boat is a hole in the ocean into which one pours money. The cost of repair, upkeep, mooring and storage can strain even the biggest budgets. The NY Times reports that a lot of people are getting sick of the expense of maintaining their boats and that many are being abandoned. In this market it can be difficult, if not impossible to sell a boat so instead desperate owners will remove the identifying information and then leave the boat in a harbor or beach them at low tide.

According to the article, officials in coastal states are worried that the continuing economic pressure will only aggravate this problem. Abandoned boats are a risk for other boats navigating the waters and can be an environmental hazard, leaking fuel and other toxins into the water.

As you might imagine, Florida is one of the places that is hardest hit. The state which boasts ample boating opportunities on its many inland waterways and long coastlines, is one of the states that has seen the most foreclosed homes. Boat repossessions have spiked in the state as people default on their payments. Last summer's spike in gas prices began a trend in people using their boats less and less and then the deepening of the economic crisis further damaged the pleasure boating industry.

Yachts are just the latest things to be abandoned. The process of turning in the keys to a home that can no longer be afforded is already so common it has its own nickname, jingle mail. What's next? Will another gas price increase lead to SUVs being left to gather dust in parking lots?

[Thanks, Caolon!]

When it comes to luxury it seems bigger is always better (with the exception of gadgets and technology, of course) but when it comes to boating Caillou is embracing a new philosophy: that small is good.

Inspired by sailboat designs from the 1800s and combining it with methods of today, Caillou strives to take the best of both old-fashioned boat building and modern technology to come up with a unique set of small boats that all have ease of use and convenience at heart. There are 3 different models available (Okume, Teak, and Glass) plus a small selection of used boats for sale on their website.

Are gas prices for another declining market? BYM News reveals the report from the National Marine Manufacturers Association (NMMA) that says registrations for new powerboats fell 3 percent in the third quarter of 2007 and 7 percent year-to-date through September. A total of 352,418 new powerboats were registered in the U.S. for the rolling 12-month period through the third quarter of the year. The Providence Journal reports that Thom Dammrich, president and CEO of the NMMA, speaking on National Public Radio Monday said that boat sales nationwide may have fallen more than 10 percent last year. The areas of the marine market that grew included ski/wakeboard boats and personal watercraft and the no-gas-required kayaks and canoes. The NMMA has found that more and more people are getting interested in boating, which could bode well for the industry once economic tensions ease.

Now here's a yacht that will catch an eye or two, plus blow your hair back and give you a thrill. Not to oversimplify things, but it's basically a yacht with a kite instead of a sail. The kite principle takes advantage of the greater and more consistent wind speeds found at higher altitudes, raising the boat to planing speeds and making sailing in the shallows and littorals a realistic option.

And on top of everything else the Kitano Kite Sailing Yacht is environmentally-friendly, so us "greenies" can indulge our love of the water guilt free.


Via Gizmodo

A handcrafted mahogany runabout boat is a classic beauty that never goes out of style. Carlson Boats is a company in Michigan that is creating a new version that has the same visual appeal as the older yachts but with updated design for a sleeker ride. The 25-foot yachts will hit speeds over 50 mph and has hand-polished mahogany,, raw teak decks, and hand sewn leather. The boats seat seven and remind me of the Riva yachts for pure gorgeousness. The first CB25s will be rolled out in 2008 but can be reserved now.

The luxury catamaran market just become more interesting. Nahema is a new French company headquartered in Marseille which builds cruising catamarans over 100 feet. The first catamaran, a new build for a client, will be 110 feet and will have four suites. It will have a carbon daggerboard and a rotating mast for the large sail. The yacht features contemporary interiors designed by Franck Darnet that show off a larger interior space that is open and light (more interior schematics can be found on the Luxury Catamarans blog.. Nahema will show off their designs at the Monaco Yacht Show and the Fort Lauderdale Yacht Show.

March isn't the best time to go boating in Maine but Sabre Yachts recently launched their Sabre 52 Salon Express, the largest motoryacht in the company's history in Portland, Maine on March 16. . The Sabre 52 has a classic trawler styling with an elevated helm deck that has twin Stidd helm chairs. The salon has a retractable sunroof to let in air and sunlight. It has an oversized U-shaped lounge around a cherry dining table. Other amenities of this small cruiser include a retractable LCD television, built-in wine cooler and icemaker, concealed bar area and exceptional recessed lighting. The galley includes a drawer refrigerators, a dishwasher, washer, dryer and a coffeemaker with a dedicated waterline. The yacht has an MSRP of $1,275,000.

[via BYM News]

The first launch from Heesen yachts in 2007 was yacht number 13350, Galactica. Galactica, a 164-foot semi displacement vessel is the second yacht built for the same owner. The yacht has an aluminum hull and superstructure and can hit a cruising speed of 24 knots. The interior was designed by Omega Architects and has a contemporary design in semi-gloss lacquered pear wood combined high gloss lacquered burl woods with off-white ceilings. The bathrooms have marble details. The lower deck has two VIP double guest rooms and two twin guest rooms all with en-suite bathrooms. There are also four cabins for accommodation of two crew each. The main deck includes a full width owner's stateroom, full width owner's bathroom, walk-in wardrobe, study, galley, pantry, and day head. There is also a central entrance lobby, atrium, salon and dining. The wheelhouse deck is home to the wheelhouse, captain's cabin, VIP guest room with en-suite bathroom, day head and a sky lounge.

Nordia, a Dutch company famed for their bespoke sailing yachts is the latest company to announce a semi-custom line of motoryachts. The aluminum power boats will be officially announced at the Moscow International Boat & Yacht show on April 12, 2007. The yachts will be designed and built in the Van Dam shipyard in Holland. The new range includes 72, 85 and 98 foot semi-displacement hull designs. There will be two main styles, the LX which is a luxury cruiser and the GT, a Gran Turismo with a sportier style. All interiors will be custom designed for the purchaser.

Ever since Hurricane Katrina, I've had a special concern for Trinity Yachts, which was based in New Orleans and then moved to Gulfport, Mississippi. Well, no need to worry, Trinity has been creating some amazing yachts. The latest is the 161 ft. tri-deck motoryacht Imagine. The yacht has a sleek look with vertical oval windows on the port and starboard sides. She has a cruising speed of 22 knots. Imagine can hold ten guests in five staterooms with en suite baths, two with king size berths and two with twin berths. There is also a full beam owners' suite with walk-in his/her closets and an ensuite master bathroom that includes a whirlpool tub and an Art Nouveau stained glass wall. There is also a formal dining area as well as outdoor dining space on the deck. On the sundeck there is a Jacuzzi, bar and sunpads. Imagine also has an 18 foot swim pad, large enough for you to dine with your toes in the water or park jet skis. There are also three crew cabins, engineer's quarters and a captain's stateroom. The bright white Imagine is currently spending time in the Caribbean delighting her new owners.

[via Synfo.com]