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The Robinson Crusoe story is every yachtsman’s dream, mine included. To wake up floating by a deserted beach,

then swim ashore to plant the first footsteps there. There’s privacy too. In today’s wired world, you can still set sail and go untracked and, for its many A-list adherents, unpapped.

Such serene scenes are something that no hotel can rival. Not that yachts need cost the Earth. I’ve had as much fun on a US$1,100-a-week sailboat in Turkey with my wife and a fridge full of lobster for company as I did on Athena, the 90m leviathan built for Netscape boss Jim Clark. The latter charters for $450,000 per week.

All sailors have the capacity to explore new realms. Most have the will, for solitude, exclusivity, or a desire to escape our ever-crowded coasts – so if we look to the future, where can we sail away from it all?

Setting

If we look forward to 2025, where will the world’s next yachting hotspot be? Five sailing experts make their predictions: from Asia to the Americas.BY TRISTAN RUTHERFORD

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exploration. “Don’t laugh, because Montenegro wasn’t on anybody’s radar 10 years ago – and now it’s the Med’s hottest superyacht destination.”

For Fortabat, Turkey’s biggest obstacle is its current lack of recognition as a serious sailing destination. “The sailing scene used to be Turks-only, with a few celebrities like Bill Gates discreetly enjoying the coast.” However, he sees future growth as all-organic. “Once you’ve sailed in Turkey or chartered a gullet, all your friends see your Facebook update – and they want to join your crew next year.”

Turkey’s combination of isolated peninsulas like Datça, coastal ruins like Kaunos and fishing villages like Kalkan

make it look like the French Riviera 50 years ago.

You only have to Google ‘Angra dos Reis’ to be amazed.

South of Rio, it’s a jungle- meets-islands archipelago where

yachts bob above their own shadow on the sandy seabed.

pools and rooftop restaurants are what other Mediterranean nations should have built – but shied away from the cost.” Furthermore, Fortabat’s wealthy clientele demand increasing amounts of privacy and originality. “Anyone can sail in St Tropez,” he says. “But Turkey’s combination of isolated peninsulas like Datça, coastal ruins like Kaunos and fishing villages like Kalkan make it look like the French Riviera 50 years ago.”

The luxury exploration vessels and sailing yachts that Fortabat specialises in (his award-winning conversions and builds include 71m former fisheries vessel Enigma XK and 32m catamaran Allures) would make light work of his 2025 vision. “Jason and the Argonauts sailed through the Bosphorus to the Black Sea towns of Asmara and Sinop.” He also believes that Turkey’s sandy shores near Trabzon, the chic resorts of Georgia, and the reedy wetlands of Romania and Ukraine are ripe for

THE YACHT DESIGNERALEXANDRE FORTABAT, MANAGING DIRECTOR OF FORTABAT YACHT DESIGN 2025 Sailing Hotspot: Turkey “My design work takes me to the US, Seychelles, the Arabian Gulf and China,” says Monaco-based yacht designer Alexandre Fortabat. “And nowhere is trying harder to become the yachting centre of 2025 than Turkey.” The country boasts 383 Blue Flag beaches. That’s 10 percent of the world’s total. It has 20,000km of coastline along the Mediterranean, Aegean and Black Seas. And it has just announced plans to create another 25,000 yacht moorings, including 10 new marinas in Istanbul alone.

“Turkey’s newest marinas, like Kaş Marina near Antalya and Palmarina near Bodrum, are among the best in the world,” claims Fortabat. “The combination of palm trees, private

1 Sailors make ready to explore new, uncharted realms.2 Angra dos Reis has magnificent crystal-clear waters, dozens of beaches and a number of islands, located in the southern part of Rio de Janeiro.3 A deck set for an elegant lunch. 4 A more traditional bow of a yacht at anchor in calm water.

5 The steering column of a high- end yacht. 6 A luxury catamaran in the Mediterranean.7 The secluded sandy bay at the mouth of Ölüdeniz, on on the turquoise coast of southwestern Turkey.

THE LUXURY TRAVEL DIRECTOREMILY LEWIS, DIRECTOR OF LUXURY LIFESTYLE AGENCY PRCO 2025 Sailing Hotspot: BrazilWho knew that Brazil’s coastline cascaded from the Caribbean by Guyana to the Atlantic near Uruguay? Or that its 8,000km shore switches from rainforest to surf, from navigable rivers to coconut groves? That’s about to change. The 2016 Olympic spotlight is about to shine on Brazil’s coastline, from which it may never look back.

“Where the rainforest meets the sea in a curve of empty sand, Brazil is a

wildly lush place to explore,” says luxury PR director Emily Lewis. “When my staff visit our properties, like the Villas de Trancoso or Pousada Porto Imperial in Paraty, I honestly fear they won’t come home.” As Lewis explains, there are 365 islands littering the coast, yet yachtsmen are still a novelty. “You can sail from Full Moon parties in Morro de São Paulo to tranquil chic in Trancoso with only fishermen for company”.

Two sailing routes stick out for Lewis. “You only have to Google ‘Angra dos Reis’ to be amazed.” South of Rio, it’s a jungle-meets-islands archipelago where yachts bob above their own shadow on the sandy seabed. “You can also sail for 1,500km up the Amazon, and the backwaters are said to beguile.”

Any issues? “Charter operations,” says Lewis. “You need everything from bareboat (empty sailboats that hire by the week) to luxury yacht charter to create a sailing scene strong enough to tempt sailors down from Antigua and the British Virgin Islands”. Security is also a defining factor that could hinder Brazil’s success as a 2025 yachting hotspot.

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“And right now ‘the new Croatia’ – my favourite sailing destination – is Montenegro.”

This Adriatic nation now attracts sailing’s super-rich with world-class

marinas and a protected coast.

THE SAILING SPOKESMANSTUART CARRUTHERS, CRUISING MANAGER AT THE ROYAL YACHT ASSOCIATION 2025 Sailing Hotspot: Abu Dhabi“When you look closely at Abu Dhabi, its status as a yachting hotspot has been a long time coming,” explains RYA Manager Stuart Carruthers. Superyachts line up at Yas Marina to watch the FORMULA 1 ETIHAD AIRWAYS ABU DHABI GRAND PRIX each November. Winters are warm and summers are breezy.

“The Volvo Ocean Race called in this January,” says Carruthers. “This proves that Abu Dhabi has become a world-class sailing destination.” Until 2019, all 10 Olympic sailing events will be contested at the yearly ISAF Sailing World Cup, which is hosted in Abu Dhabi directly after the Grand Prix. Last year, the sight of kiteboarders whipping along the Corniche was a particular highlight. “The Emirate also has its own RYA sailing school, which is key for training the next generation of yachtsmen.” The only difference is that the Abu Dhabi Sailing & Yacht Club races Arabian dhows as well as catamarans and dinghies.

What’s it like to cruise? “There is culture and heritage as well as

THE SUPERYACHT BROKERTOVE JOHNSON, CHARTER BROKER AT FRASER YACHTS 2025 Sailing Hotspot: Philippines “When a charter guest calls for a Robinson Crusoe experience, this is where we send them,” says luxury yacht charter specialist Tove Johnson. Each Philippine island is an ethereal patchwork of rainforest, cliffs, arcing sands and emerald bays. And there are more than 7,000 to explore.

“Describe paradise, and you get the Philippines,” says Johnson. “White sand beaches, coconut palms, snorkelling, wildlife and a shoreline little altered in centuries.” El Nido is an archipelago rich in dolphins and dugongs, where the sea is a swimming pool. Palawan Island is the sun-drenched poster boy of Philippine tourism. And you won’t get bored, as it has over 1,500 tiny islands just offshore.

bling and glitter,” says Carruthers. Abu Dhabi boasts a 400km coastline and 200 islands. These include yachting favourite Sir Bani Yas – an 18km-long wildlife reserve swarming with oryx, gazelle, dolphins and turtles. The snorkelling is immense, and there’s a brand-new boutique marina tacked on too.

“My last sailing trip there was great,” says the RYA manager. “But adding smaller yacht charter operations would help Abu Dhabi become a sailing hub of tomorrow.” Carruthers claims that a good yachting holiday is not about sailing hundreds of miles. Rather it’s the ability to “simply untie a yacht and explore a destination like Abu Dhabi with secluded bays, fantastic seafood and a famously hospitable welcome.”

The surrounding area is also ripe for exploration. Sailing is on the increase in Oman, whose cruising grounds stretch from the fjord-like Musandam Peninsula to the 100km-long Masirah Island in the south. The uncharted coastline of Iran beckons to the east. It boasts more UNESCO World Cultural Sites than either Greece or the USA. Sure, it’s not an obvious sailing destination, but neither were current favourites Montenegro and Thailand a decade ago.

“There are still also many barely explored areas of the Philippines,” says Johnson. “The more adventurous Fraser Yachts clients, who spend anywhere between EUR100,000 and EUR1m for a week’s sailing, prefer these otherworldly reaches.” These include the Tubbataha Reefs, a vast UNESCO World Heritage Site where 500 species of fish swim at surface level. “And the wreck-diving island of Coron,” where scores of WWII Japanese warships lie in crystal-clear shallows.

Any issues? “Sure, some areas lack infrastructure, but that also makes it special.” Unless that changes, it leaves the Philippines open only to experienced yachtsmen, those on local antique cruisers, and the ultra-wealthy. “And you will definitely have to sail with someone who knows the area well as this paradise is barely charted.”

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new St Barths’,” explains Waring. “And right now ‘the new Croatia’ – my favourite sailing destination – is Montenegro.” This Adriatic nation now attracts sailing’s super-rich with world-class marinas and a protected coast.

And the new Montenegro? “Just move your finger south on the map,” says Waring. “Albania boasts nearly 500km of barely explored coastline until you reach the Greek Islands.” The nation’s cultural highlights include the beautiful Roman city of Butrint, which has its own island archipelago. Sailors should anchor at Gjipe Beach. This perfect triangle of white sand is

lapped by the turquoise Ionian Sea. Dhërmi Beach is 5km of empty shore. It’s a devil to reach by car but a cinch to access by boat.

Waring is clear on what puts a place on the map. “Some of the 11 destinations covered by Seasonal Cities – like Istanbul and Shanghai – honed their ‘brand’ over the last 10 years.” For Albania’s beaches to start appearing in Condé Nast Traveller will take another decade of positive PR, he claims. “But when photogenic A-listers start sailing south from Croatia and Montenegro, the whole world will take note.”

The Volvo Ocean Race (the world’s toughest round-the-

world yacht competition) called in this January...

This proves that Abu Dhabi has become a world class

sailing destination.

THE TRAVEL EDITORMARCUS WARING, FOUNDER AND EDITOR OF SEASONAL CITIES 2025 Sailing Hotspot: Albania “In luxury travel it’s de rigueur to look for the next hidden corner,” says Marcus Waring, founder of the Seasonal Cities app. “It’s even more common in yachting, as you have the sail or engine power to find the next hidden cove yourself.”

With 15 years in the travel business, Waring has witnessed every so-called next big thing. “This is an industry where Santorini becomes ‘the new St Tropez’ and Barbuda becomes ‘the

8 Quay with yachts, surrounded by skyscrapers in Abu Dhabi.9 The yacht Abu Dhabi sails into Table Bay, to win the first leg of the Volvo Ocean Race. 10 View of Coron, Busuanga island, Palawan province, Philippines.11 The sun sets over a yacht bow.12 Jal Bay beach of the Ionian Sea, southern Albania.IM

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