Beyond the Mediterranean – Paradise Found

A recent LinkedIn post championed the idea of the Asia Pacific and Australian superyacht groups working together to collaborate on making the whole region attractive and joined up. It made me smile and wonder why this hasn’t happened before, when, in my experience, this has always been part of the rhetoric, as there is absolutely no point in leaving the Med and heading East just to enjoy Thailand or hop into Singapore. 

I made a comment and posed the question why anyone in a superyacht would not want to keep going and explore everything the whole region has to offer. In addition, I suggested that there needs to be a map that shows the Asia Pacific territory in direct comparison with the milk run, the Med and Caribbean, to give its scale, context and opportunity. I remember many years ago when speaking at one of the ASMEX Conferences calling the Asia Pacific “The Coconut Milk Run”, as I am sure that once you’ve cruised from Thailand to Tahiti, why would you ever go back to the Med?

Within a few hours of the post, I asked our team to create a comparative illustration that showed the square miles of each cruising ground in order to demonstrate the scale and potential the whole region has, in comparison with the current ‘milk run’.

The above visual chart is purely for reference and not to be used for ‘navigation’, but even discounting Vietnam, Hong Kong, Japan and New Zealand, you can immediately understand what a brilliant adventure programme would deliver to the right superyacht or mini-fleet. 

The numbers just don’t add up – we hear from some sources that explorer yachts are on the rise, yet this is one of the most exciting frontiers for discovery and escape. However, many of the rugged new builds tend to stick to what they know. Having looked at the crowded bars, restaurants, anchorages and marinas across the overheated Med this year, I often wonder whether owners truly understand what is out there. With the right crew and support teams, you can get lost, metaphorically and mentally, in paradise.