UFO Info Week-End

The money is held in an escrow account under the control of independent

The money is held in an escrow account under the control of independent trustees until the yacht is finished and delivered.Unfortunately, if you don’t have the readies, it is unlikely that you’ll be able to take out a mortgage to purchase your share. “The majority of lenders will only let you have money on bricks and mortar,” says David Hollingworth at mortgage broker London & Country. The club has no fixed life but will continue until members vote to sell the yacht, which is expected to be in operation for not less than 40 to 50 years.Prospective members will be strictly vetted by the founding members, including Mr Fenton, a former managing director and owner-operator of small luxury cruise ships; Nicholas Edmiston, a super-yacht broker; and Charles Weston Baker, director of the estate agent FPD Savills. If members decide they don’t want to do this because it limits their time on board, they’ll each have to pay £30,000 per annum to cover running costs.Building work on the yacht – which will be 425ft long – will begin only once 180 members have signed up. Marketing has only just begun and no one has yet signed on the dotted line, but Michael Fenton, one of the founding members behind the project, expects the yacht to be ready by June 2006.”I think we should be able to commission the final design around Christmas,” he says.

This is quite an opportunity as it opens yacht ownership up to a wider audience but doesn’t dumb down the end product.”The Whistlejacket Club has a capacity for 225 members but only 210 will be admitted initially. “We have not formally signed anyone up yet but we have seen a lot of interest. A stake in a £72m yacht will get you from A to B and certainly won’t embarrass you in front of your friends. If you are after a second home but just can’t decide where to buy, why not opt for one that allows you to move between locations? And if the thought of a caravan sends shudders down your spine, relax. However, only 66 of them will be able to travel on it at any one time. The club, named after a famous 18th-century racehorse, operates along the lines of a syndicate – a form of ownership common in racing.The founders dismiss the idea that it is offering an upmarket timeshare. “Timeshare is about the ownership of time,” explains the promotional bumf.

“This is about the ownership of a yacht.”In fact, it is about part-ownership, but even so, only the seriously wealthy need apply. Membership for the life of the club costs £375,000 and buys use of a members’ stateroom for two people for a guaranteed 30 nights a year on board the yacht. Members can choose their preferred destination from a long list, including the Mediterranean, the Caribbean, the Baltic and the Indian Ocean.Nights on the yacht are “free”: all food, alcohol, service charges and shore excursions are included. You have to pay for travel to and from the yacht, visas, inoculations and travel insurance, along with premium wines (if you prefer them to the club’s choice) and cigars.If you want to spend more time sailing the seas, you can do so at a cost of £8,000 per couple for 10 nights. A club rate is also charged for friends and family (there are up to eight double guest cabins available). Children under 16 are not allowed on board, except in the school holidays when access is limited to those aged six and over.The yacht’s annual running costs, including the crew’s salaries, fuel, maintenance and insurance, are expected to be around £6m a year. This should be covered by chartering out the yacht for up to 12 weeks a year.