Luxury yacht time-share offered

A company is offering well-heeled boat enthusiasts to take part in a nautical time-share operation by selling two-week “slots” in a luxury yacht company. The Daily Telegraph reports that Mantis International has ordered seven 82-foot yachts from a Poole-based boatmaker and is aiming to build up a fleet of 15 vessels. Each of the well-appointed boats will feature sleep 10 people and will feature televisions, Sony Playstations, spa baths, barbecues and computers. A two-week package lasting for five years costs £200,000 plus £150,000 in annual charges – but the company points out that this figure is partially offset by £75,000 of income and the value of the boat at the end of the period. Pointing out that to buy such a boat would cost millions of pounds, Simon Gordon, head of Mantis International, is quoted as saying: “In the first few years of owning a boat, you get a lot of pleasure from it. Then you realise how much work goes in to owning a boat and the amount of time it sits around idle. If you can share the costs of using it with someone else, it makes much more sense.” Report by Tim Gillett, News From Abroad Ltd