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Summer Essentials

Performance.

Enduring style has long been a hallmark of yachting – and of Smallwood’s Yachtwear. Our philosophy is that uniforms should complement the beauty of yachts, while also enhancing the ease with which crew members provide service. Poised and professional, confident and contemporary, Smallwood’s always stands for innovation, quality, and design… and always stands apart.

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  VMG Clothing

Elegant, high performance crew wear for the superyacht and marine industry.

Explore the new range 

your voyage, our mission

The thirst for cruising to uncharted waters and pushing the boundaries of adventure is without a doubt, the new cool.

We see the strength and the courage of Mother Nature – all we can do is try and harness this power and adjust ourselves to her elements.

Adding organic cotton and recycled polyester to our new range is our way of showing the world that designing technical and stunning crew wear can go hand-in-hand with looking after the planet we live on.

Yachtsman, with passion

Brad Butterworth

pushing the limits

To be on a yacht day in and day out, no matter what’s going on, shows a huge level of patience and perseverance.

We want to provide you with the gear that helps you get the job done.

Begin a ‘tailored’ approach for seasonal longevity of range

Start the design process here

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Ethical Yacht Wear

Sustainable Luxury

Created for crew by crew, organic men’s range, organic women’s range, the solution.

Find Out How Ethical Yacht Wear provides a Solution to the World Plastic Crisis as well as aids in reducing word Poverty – though our brand video.

OUR IMPACT SO FAR...

Of ocean bound plastic bottles before they reach our oceans …

… and we collect more for every item purchased.

Testimonials

Best superyacht service provider.

Winner Of The 2021 Acrew Environmentalist Award

As seen in Megayacht News

As seen in Superyacht Content

As seen in SuperYacht Radio

As seen in ONBOARD Magazine

I love the spirit and values of Ethical Yacht Wear but I also love their designs: classy, comfortable and hard wearing.

Vee Bock Cheif Stewardess M/Y Silver Dream

As seen in Superyacht Life

As seen in DockWalk

It was great to come across ethical yacht wear this year for our charter uniform.

Chief Stewardess My Va bene

Ethical Yacht Wear has provided us with fantastic crew uniform as well as guest giveaways.

Michelle Pugatschew Interior Operations MV Legend

Be part of our exclusive news, product announcements, updates about our plastic clean up, events and giveaways!

Dolphin Wear & Deckers

Discover our products

Formal wear, casual wear, acc essories.

2020 Collection catalogue

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Facing the subject, new catalogue 2020, dwd's spirit.

For over 30 years now, we have listened to our clients, re-inventing ourselves and working with major brands to better suit your needs. We love what we do, and we feel that the personalized, professional contact that we are privileged to have with our clients is the key to our success.

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PREMIUM YACHT CREW WEAR | COMING SOON

the yacht crew uniform you have been dreaming of.

Vela Yacht Wear creates premium yacht crew uniforms for those looking to make a conscious & functional choice in the modern world of yachting.

Our uniforms are all ethically and sustainably sourced as well as being highly functional, durable and aesthetically pleasing. 

After over 20 years of combined experience working on yachts and wearing uncomfortable, unattractive non-functional clothing, the founders of Vela decided to embark o n a mission to create yacht apparel that elevates crew uniform to what it should be and more. 

Not only does Vela focus on creating premium, durable and functional uniforms that looks good, Vela also  focus on crew uniform that does good too.

All Vela uniform is made sustainably and ethically so you know that you are doing your bit to make the yachting world a better place.

Vela will be taking to the seas in 2024.

Sign up below to be the first to see collection previews, launches and more!  Alternatively, you can contact us at: [email protected]

Join the Vela Crew 

Sign up to be the first to know when we go live and our pre-launch updates! 

Sustainable | Ethical | Functional | Luxurious

Our mission is to empower chief stewardesses and yacht crew to be able to make better decisions on crew apparel for asthetics, functionality and sustainability.

© 2023 Vela Yacht Wear |  Privacy Policy

About Nautilus

Nautilus Yachtwear was started by a former charter chief stewardess looking to offer some modern, classic, high quality options to yacht crew & guests. Nautilus prides itself on high quality embroidery & garment embellishments, our embroidery, printing & laser etching is nearly all done in house so we can ensure a quality finish. We aim to provide quick turn around times & low minimum orders.

A Few Words About

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Harvey Spector

Founder - CEO

Jessica Pearson

Rachel Zain

Marketing Head

Lead Developer

Katrina Bennett

Intern Designer

Products & Pricing

The products featured on the website are merely a drop in the ocean of what we have to offer at Nautilus Yachtwear. Get in touch with requests for items you need.

Uniform Consultation

New build? New ownership? Or simply a new look? get in touch & we will help you build a bespoke, cohesive look for your crew from scratch.

Gifts & Giveaways

We really enjoy bringing your ideas to life, we have the classic boat totes & hats & newer options from flip flops to phone cases, compacts to charcuterie boards.

Interior Items

We offer a selection of table & bath linens, we now have a high quality selection of Turkish cotton towels & robes, that are durable & luxurious.

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Elevate Your Yacht crew uniforms with Marina Yacht Wear

Why yacht crew uniforms matter.

Performance Meets Style: Quick-Dry  Yacht Uniforms

From day to day: the versatility of yacht crew uniforms.

Striking the Balance: Aesthetic and Functionality

Personalization for uniqueness, selecting the ideal yacht crew uniforms.

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Superyacht uniforms - launching Spring 2024

"Dressing any crew is tricky territory; a minefield of rapid-fire solutions and contrived uniforms that often lack depth or integrity. It's time for an alternative where crew look and feel confident."

- Wayne Sorensen

Our custom-made service for complete uniforms is now available, offering bespoke styles, colours, and branding for both female and male crew.

Launching in April, our first seasonal capsule collection is set to reimagine the day uniform for female crew with a modular system of interchangeable pieces, featuring striking details and unwavering comfort.

Our programmes will be supported with quick-response, personalization and client warehousing solutions.

Please email to discover more.

Our custom-made service is now available; offering bespoke styles, colours, and branding.

Launching in 2024, our seasonal collections cover men’s and women’s apparel for both guest-on and guest-off rotations with a focus on swimwear and rashguards.

Our collections will be supported with quick-response programmes, personalisation, and client warehousing solutions.

[email protected]

+31 6 43287275

• CREW Design
• CREW Source

CALM by CREW

• EU SHIPPING
• SUSTAINABILITY

Progressive design, conscious thinking, considered processes.

Timeless Classics

Founded in 2010 by Crew a la Mode, the CALM by CREW label is the trusted source for high performance yachting apparel. Well made and durable, the longevity of our designs permits them to not only be comfortable, but eternally hard-working.

A decade of unrivalled experience, our premium and technically efficient products are designed in-house at our London studio. Simple silhouettes, clean lines and shades within a minimalist, meticulously matched colour palette, subtly elevate high performance fabrics to add depth to function.

Core designs for men and women respond to high intensity yachting standards with articles additionally interchangeable and coordinated through recurring fabrics, house colours, trims and fit. Crafted to last with enduring comfort, our collections cover seasonal On and Off Charter apparel.

High Performance

Performance technology is integral to the CALM by CREW label, ensuring our capsule collections not only look great but technically deliver on board and beyond. Using ethically sourced European fabrics, to minimise carbon footprint however possible, we maintain performance standards by ensuring fabrics are enhanced with water and dirt resistant technologies. Crafted to last, our garments possess high colour tolerance, strong seams and are tried- and-tested by luxury yacht crew, with each individual piece a commitment to our customer; trusted apparel, aesthetically delivered.

Considered Craft

Conscious commitment.

Since our launch in 2010 we have vowed as a business to continually evaluate and improve our sustainability and traceability. Our transparent approach allows us to control the journey and life cycle of each individual garment we produce – where fabrics originated, how and where garments are made, regularly reviewing the resources in place. Future focused, we are passionate about delivering performance wear in the most eco- friendly way possible, believing it to be our personal responsibility to protect and maintain our planet. Where this is also important to our clients, we work with them to advise on the best choices for the most eco conscious pieces available to them.

PRESTIGE YACHT WEAR 

Combiné à plus de 30 ans d’expérience en Yachts Uniformes, cette proximité et expertise nous permets de vous assurer un service unique, de production 100% MADE in France, et garantir toute la réactivité, qualité, design et contrôle de coûts nécessaires.

Prestige Yacht Wear

Conçu et fabriqué en France

Une marque unique avec plus de 30 ans d'expérience dans le yachtwear, pour offrir aux Yachts les plus raffinés du monde: Les meilleurs tissus techniques au monde, qui sont à la fois 100% respectueux de l'environnement Une large gamme de produits fonctionnels et extrêmement confortables, au design modernes et uniques. Des possibilités de conception et de réalisation uniques Les possibilités sont multiples, grâce à notre programme de design interne, à nos couleurs vives et à notre gamme de couleurs. Avec nos propres ateliers de production en France,

nous garantissons de toujours tenir nos promesses.

Un projet unique - Des solutions adaptées

Yacht Uniforms

Fashion Design – pour créer des collections uniques et/ou modifier des collections existantes

Recherche & Développement de Tissus et matières (tissus-couleurs spéciales)

Assistance technique, Prototypage, Patronage, Gradation, 

Ajustements sur modèles vivants pour rendre toutes vos collections parfaites.

Production de petites séries, rapidité, proximité.

NOUS CONTACTER

6 Avenue de Verdun, 06600 Antibes

06 12 27 53 88

Merci pour votre envoi !

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SEA DESIGN COLLECTION

Sea Design Laura Wrap Dress

Sea Design Jasmine Dress

Sea Design Custom Ladies Jumpsuit

Sea Design Ashley Dress

For three decades, Sea Design has been the leading supplier of high quality embroidery for the yachting industry and local businesses, providing our services across the Cote d'Azur and beyond.

Equipped with the latest embroidery technology, our machines are capable of high volume quantities without compromising on quality, as well as offering a wide range of colours and styles to create even the most intricate designs.

OUR SERVICE

Sea Design has been supplying customers with industry-leading uniforms for over 30 years, producing an extensive range of personalised clothing, accessories, and branded objects. We've built strong relationships with our international client base because we take the time to understand their requirements, whether it's for a new build project, a redesign to signify new ownership or an ad-hoc refresh.

Sea Design is the obvious choice for your crew uniform and accessory needs. If you're interested in learning more about the services we offer, or if you'd like to discuss your yacht crew uniform requirements, don't hesitate to get in contact with our friendly team of professionals today!

TESTIMONIALS

" I have been using Sea Design for our crew uniform and guest giveaway clothing for a few years now and can happily say that I'll never look back! The team are so helpful and responsive and know exactly what I'm looking for each time. They have always been patient and understanding of any large or last minute requests I've made and always pulled through! I highly recommend them! Thanks so much for everything Christine, Helen and the rest of the Sea Design Team!"

Josi Watson - Chief Stewardess Queen Miri (92m)

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"As a former Chief Stew who used Sea Design on many occasions I decided to reach out again since going land based and opening my own company, Compass Rose Crew, and this time I got to deal with the lovely Thelma. She went above and beyond to help us find what we were looking for and as usual the Sea Design team delivered exactly what we wanted. Thanks again and I look forward to working with you for years to come!"

FROM OUR GOOGLE REVIEWS

"Having worked with a various yacht uniform suppliers this company has by far been the easiest and friendliest company to work with. They were very adaptable and patient with our requests and always replied within 48 hours. I communicated mostly with Farah who was a saviour as we had to order all new uniform mid season. She handled our crazy demands incredibly professionally and was always very helpful. I couldn't recommend this company enough !!"

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THE STORY OF SEA DESIGN

Sea Design was created in 1989 by its founder, Helen MacLeod. 32 years later, Helen continues to remain at the helm of Sea Design. Supported by its experienced team, Sea Design remains one of the leading super yacht uniform providers.

The company strives to find the best quality garments, either through popular brands or their own label. Constantly looking for new and innovative clothing and also suggesting new ways of personalizing them, through their in-house embroidery and printing departments.

Sea Design was created in 1989 by its founder, Helen MacLeod. 34 years later, Helen continues to remain at the helm of Sea Design. Supported by its experienced team, Sea Design remains one of the leading super yacht uniform providers.

CHECK OUT OUR LATEST BLOG POST!

HOW TO CHOOSE YACHT CHEF WEAR?

As a member of the team, responsible for overseeing the entire menu and food prep, the chef represents an integral part of any yacht crew. 

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Regatta Gear: The Leaders in Yachting Gear and Sailing Apparel

Welcome to regatta gear, makers of high-quality sailing and yachting clothing..

Formed over 15 year ago, Regatta Gear has outfitted some of the world’s biggest racing circuits with sailing gear and clothing that keeps up in even the most demanding of situations. With apparel designed especially for both men and women, we have created great fitting pieces made from durable, high-quality materials.

Located right by the water in Newport Beach, we are constantly inspired by the water and the ocean. With a deep understanding of the needs of those constantly in the water, we have created collections of yachting and sailing clothing that is stylish, comfortable, and durable. Regatta Gear also specializes in creating customized team yachting apparel. Our finalized personalized gear will be suited exactly for your team’s functionality, and culture. We have a variety of custom colors, materials, and designs for you to choose from.

Here we only do one thing, and we do it well—the absolute best yachting and clothing gear on the market, with an affordable price point for everyone.  

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‘Yachts at the top’: power, privacy and privilege in the world of Australian superyachts

Superyachts are floating markers of power and luxury, and sales are booming. As Australia hopes to lure more of the vessels and their elite clientele, what do we know about this world?

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Visible from the footpath at the water’s edge, the superyachts berthed at Melbourne City Marina bob gently up and down, their sleek and shiny exteriors reflecting the placid waters below.

For me, and most people on this planet, this is about as close as we are likely to get to a superyacht. In Australia, that’s a pleasurecraft longer than 24 metres. Internationally, the starting length is 30 metres. The City of Melbourne recently spent $1.97m upgrading Victoria Harbour, including its four superyacht berths, to fit vessels up to 67 metres long. But for the tiny portion of the world’s ultra wealthy for whom superyacht size is a matter of concern, 67 metres is fairly moderate. The longest privately owned superyacht in the world is the 180-metre Azzam, reportedly built for the former president of the United Arab Emirates , the late Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan.

Superyachts are markers of power and extravagance. They are floating, transportable six-star hotels, capable of including everything from nail parlours to gyms, helipads and boardrooms, marble bathrooms and priceless art, as well as what the industry calls “toys” – from jet skis worth the equivalent of the average Australian worker’s salary to private submarines worth millions.

In a recent memoir, the longtime Australian seafarer and superyacht captain Brendan O’Shannassy writes: “Until space travel becomes a commercial reality, [superyachts] are the greatest display of wealth on the planet.”

For all their capacity to allow long-distance travel in extreme luxury, though, superyachts aren’t frequent visitors to Australian waters. The local industry has been lobbying to change that, and state and federal governments have made superyacht-friendly moves, hitching millions of dollars in public infrastructure upgrades and tax concessions to claims that these will bring millions in economic benefits to every port in which a vessel makes anchor.

But despite public money going towards establishing and upgrading infrastructure that is only accessible to the very privileged few, there’s been little public scrutiny of this elite industry.

S uperyachts are not super common, although their numbers are growing. Sales company Edmiston recently estimated that the global fleet comprised a total of 5,892 vessels – representing an increase of 44% over the last decade. Most of those yachts are between 30 and 50 metres (4,957); 13% are between 50 and 80 metres (753) and 3% are over 80 metres (182).

There are only about 120 superyachts owned by Australians, concentrated mostly around Sydney Harbour and south-east Queensland. About half of them are charter vessels. It’s likely all of them have, at some point, been through Captain Richard Morris’s hands.

Fresh off the plane from the Dubai Boat Show, Morris tells Guardian Australia that he got his start in the merchant navy at 17, before landing a job as a deckhand two years later on the 86-metre superyacht Nabila, owned by the influential and extravagant Saudi arms dealer, fixer and liaison of presidents and tycoons Adnan Khashoggi. Nabila was Khashoggi’s third yacht and the height of ostentatious luxury when it launched in 1980. Its 100 rooms included Italian hand-carved onyx bathrooms, a patisserie, a movie theatre, a hair salon, a hospital with an operating theatre, and 320 metres of Italian leather upholstery. When Khashoggi’s empire began to decay in the late 80s, he sold Nabila to Donald Trump for $29m – considered a bargain – with the businessman who would later become US president renaming the yacht the Trump Princess .

Morris, meanwhile, left Nabila after a year and began building his own career as a seafarer, becoming a captain at just 27 and a master mariner. He moved ashore in 1999 and was hired by NSW Maritime to build a new superyacht marina in Rozelle Bay.

“That was the beginning of superyachting in Australia,” Morris says. “Prior to that, only a few people here had superyachts, because there was the tall poppy syndrome – high net wealth Australians were reluctant to show their extreme wealth.”

The Sydney Olympics in 2000 changed that, Morris says. The marina development was partly to accommodate the super wealthy who were planning to bring their yachts down for the Games. Morris managed the marina for the next decade, before moving into local superyacht sales and charters.

The Sydney experience is one that the industry is keen to replicate for the forthcoming Brisbane Olympics. The mining magnate Gina Rinehart may have been lampooned by the public in 2021 when she complained that she had nowhere to moor her yacht in Brisbane , but the Queensland Labor government appears to agree it should invest in more superyacht infrastructure. It’s had a multiyear superyacht strategy since 2018, and in May last year it was updated and extended to take the Olympics into account.

Its listed achievements so far include $28m to upgrade the Cairns Marine Precinct, $2.87m for a 160-metre superyacht berth on the Gold Coast, and planning for 80-metre superyacht facilities and additional marinas in new developments on the Spit. Its stated goal is for Queensland to be “world recognised as the major superyacht hub in the Asia-Pacific region”. Economic modelling for industry lobby group Superyacht Australia argues the 2032 Games presents “an unparalleled opportunity to springboard the sector on to the global stage and demonstrate the prosperity the sector can support in Australia”. It hopes Australia will reach 8% of the global market – that’s 533 vessels – in the next three years, which it says will yield hundreds of millions of dollars in direct economic benefits.

Until just prior to the pandemic, superyachts could not come to Australia without the owner paying a hefty tax on the vessel, with the visiting multimillion-dollar vessels treated as though they were being imported permanently into the country. That changed with the passage of the Special Recreational Vessels Act 2019. The act, which relieves the owner of having to pay import duties including GST, was hitched as a rider to various unrelated bills by the Coalition government until it was passed as a standalone just before Christmas in 2019.

The legislation allows foreign vessels to be chartered while in Australian waters, with GST payable only on the charter itself.

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The then member for the Queensland seat of Dawson, George Christensen, claimed it as a pet project. “I have been very, very pushy in getting this legislation to come forward,” Christensen said at the time.

Christensen claimed the bill was “just about ensuring that local communities can get some of the coin that these people drop”. Labor passed the bill with minor amendments.

Since then, six superyachts have applied for a temporary licence, with just four making the trip.

‘It’s your world’

The industry estimates that the local market for superyacht charter or purchase is 1% of the population. It sees it as a subset of the cruise market, which is estimated to capture about 5% of Australians.

It’s hard to ignore the symbolism of that figure, the 1%. Morris’s anecdotes help to illustrate just how that plays out in practice. In 2011, the manager of U2 called him, he recalls, hoping to find a suitable superyacht for the band who were dissatisfied with the crowds at the Park Hyatt. (He was unable to find one that met the band’s specific desires.) That same year, Morris put up the actor Kevin Spacey in the 37-metre Tango during Spacey’s run as Richard III in Sam Mendes’s production that toured Sydney’s Lyric theatre.

“Dinner was at 1am and [Spacey’s] guests would leave at 4am. Then the yacht would move to Rose Bay and he’d sleep till midday, and then come back and do it all again,” Morris says.

“It’s an option for these very high-profile people. They’re anchored in the middle of the harbour. The level of security and discretion that a superyacht provides is much better than any hotel. They can control their world. And that’s the essence of yachting – it’s your world.”

When Covid lockdowns hit, owners of superyachts raced to their vessels, escaping up to the Great Barrier Reef instead of staying at home, Morris says. The associated freedom saw a boom in superyacht sales in 2021 . Since the onset of the war in Ukraine, however, superyachts have also become associated with sanctioned Russian oligarchs. Not without reason: they represented 30% of the global market. Documents recently revealed, for example, that the former Chelsea FC boss Roman Abramovich owned 16 superyachts , a full eight of which were support vessels for the 162.5-metre A$649.5m Eclipse he’d had built in 2010.

Morris says there were Russians who had planned to come to Australia prior to the war – one of whom was going to contract him to manage his yacht. It would have put millions through his business. The sanctions, though, have “put the fear of God through the industry”, he says.

“If I was managing a Russian yacht I would have gotten rid of it. It’s so lucrative, though, that a lot of people didn’t. I’m glad that the Russian client didn’t come. Sure, I missed out on huge revenue, but that’s not the point.”

T he 2032 Olympics aren’t the local industry’s only goal. Another is to bring more vessels to Australia to make use of the shipyards – mainly in Queensland and Western Australia – for maintenance, retrofitting and building. Another still is to increase the number of Australians joining the superyacht workforce.

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On Facebook groups like Superyacht Crew , keen industry up-and-comers post pictures of themselves – snorkelling, in uniform, sipping a glass of wine in a party dress – alongside their formal qualifications and experience. The semi-casual CV comes with added notes about the seafarer’s personality, including whether or not they have tattoos (being tattoo-free appears to be a selling point).

Employment standards, however, can vary. Commercially registered yachts available for charter, which usually have permanent captain and crew despite the rotating guest list, are bound by the Maritime Labour Convention 2006, which lays out minimum standards of employment, including legally enforceable contracts, maximum working hours per week, shore leave and annual leave entitlements, and the right to return to your country of residence for free. Enforcement of those standards is the responsibility of the country under whose flag the ship sails, and yachts chartering out of Australia need to be registered here.

Private yachts are a different story. They are not automatically covered by the Maritime Labour Convention, and employment contracts are often managed by owners’ personal office staff. Non-disclosure agreements are common, and rumours abound that upsetting the wrong people on board can see you unceremoniously dumped at the nearest port.

Superyacht crew in Australia are not covered by any union-based collective bargaining agreements. The Maritime Union of Australia national secretary, Paddy Crumlin, tells Guardian Australia that the MUA doesn’t have a real presence among the superyacht labour force, but alleges exploitation and harassment are rife. Morris vehemently rejects this, saying the working conditions on superyachts are “exceptional”, better than cruising or commercial shipping, higher paid, and far exceeding the minimums set by the Maritime Labour Convention.

Guardian Australia was unable to speak to any junior superyacht crew directly, despite attempts, but a survey of 402 superyacht crew members conducted by the International Seafarers’ Welfare and Assistance Network in 2018 described them as mainly well paid. More than 90% of survey respondents – male and female – said they felt safe on board, though 53% of female crew said they had experienced discrimination, harassment or bullying from owners, other crew or guests, compared with 30% of men, who most commonly experienced it from captains or other senior crew. The level of work-related stress was high, particularly among women.

No matter who ultimately owns them, private yachts are likely to be flying what the industry calls a “flag of convenience”, which can make standards harder to enforce, as the boat can spend very little, if any, time in its country of registration. Flags of convenience are a common maritime business practice, though, including in cruising and freight. And the results can be ironic: a cursory registry search of some high-profile private superyachts reveals, for example, that the mining magnate Andrew Forrest’s 58.2-metre Pangaea Ocean Explorer – which will shortly carry out environmental surveys on the DNA of ocean life, assisted by $3m in federal funding to Forrest’s Minderoo Foundation – sails under the Jamaican flag. Clive Palmer’s 56-metre $40m yacht, despite being patriotically named Australia , is registered in Malta.

Control, chameleons and seasick fish

What is it that draws the ultra rich to yachting?

“Control,” says David Good, the chief executive of industry peak body Superyachts Australia. “You can control the itinerary, who is on board and what food is going to be served. During the pandemic, when you were on board was probably the only time you could fully take control of who was going to be with you and your family. Covid was probably one of the best things that ever happened to boating in general.”

Sam Sorgiovanni concurs. He’s used to catering to the whims of wealth: a sought-after designer based in Western Australia with about 35 years of experience, Sorgiovanni estimates he’s designed at least 20 superyachts. The biggest challenges usually relate to balancing functionality with the budget constraints of the commissioner. But some design requests are more complicated.

For the Nirvana, Sorgiovanni says his company designed two onboard terrariums for chameleons, water dragons, turtles and frogs, and a separate cricket facility to breed the reptiles’ food. The terrarium included curtains to shield the animals from the disco lights of an adjacent salon. On Anastasia and Barbara – owned by the same Russian billionaire as Nirvana – the designers were asked to include fish tanks. Unfortunately, they later discovered, fish kept in a tank on a boat die – from seasickness.

The origin of most of the super wealth that fuels superyacht ownership is natural resources, Sorgiovanni says. But criticism of the industry, he says, echoing Morris, is “tall poppy syndrome”.

“Yachting is the greatest redistribution of wealth around. Although it is for the privileged few, if you take a 100-metre yacht, there’s 50 crew on board, they’re all being paid, they’ve all got families, and wherever that yacht goes, especially if we’re allowing them to come into charter, as soon as it pulls into port … it would be millions generated every time the vessel comes in,” he says.

“It’s a pyramid. We’ve got the yachts at the top, and a pyramid of suppliers underneath it.”

S altwater and air is hard on boats, and superyachts require a lot of money for upkeep, and a lot of maintenance. So when an owner abandons ship, the vessels suddenly become very large and very unwieldy public burdens.

In February, the government of Antigua and Barbuda claimed and put up for auction the 82-metre Alfa Nero, which it said had been abandoned in Falmouth Harbour since early last year. The owner is rumoured to be the Russian oligarch Andrey Guryev; Guryev has denied owning the yacht, according to other reports.

That same month, the 29-metre superyacht Nakoa broke free of its moorings in Honolua Bay in north-west Maui, Hawaii, and drifted before running hard aground in shallow water, peppered by rocks and reef.

The US Coast Guard seized jurisdiction of the yacht after its owner, the charter mogul Jim Jones, informed authorities that he would not organise or pay for the boat’s salvage. Hawaii’s Department of Land and Natural Resources said in a series of statements that Jones would instead receive a bill of at least US$460,000 for the salvage effort, and may face further penalties and possible legal action.

Facing widespread criticism, Jones told Honolulu media that he was “taking responsibility” for the matter. “We’ve been talking to the DLNR to let them know we’re not leaving them with the bill,” Jones said. “We’re not running.”

Timely and safe salvage was important to the local community but also to the environment. The grounding occurred just outside a significant marine conservation zone, and the yacht struck and damaged at least 30 corals and live rocks, its hull leaking diesel into the reef. Footage of the wreck circulated on social media, where commenters raged about the fuel seeping into the pristine water and the damage to the reef.

It took contractors three salvage attempts over nearly two weeks to dislodge the 122-tonne Nakoa. On 5 March, three tugboats managed to drag it back into the water. As they set off to tow the yacht to Honolulu, a pod of humpback whales surfaced and escorted the boats out of the bay, away from the marine sanctuary.

The Nakoa never made it back to dock . Halfway to Honolulu, the yacht began listing heavily. Unable to be dragged any further, it was scuttled in the deep channel between the islands of Maui and Molokai, and left to sink to the ocean floor.

The whales swam on.

• Inequality reporting

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