COVID-19 impact on business, future of the charter industry and talk about the Australian base.
How to not make a new friend: walk right past him on the dock, introduce him by the wrong name to others and then bag his favourite boat only to find out that he is actually the agent for said catamaran in Australia.
Well Christophe handled it all like a true gentleman. He told everyone that his name was in-fact not as I suggested and let me know in no uncertain terms that I clearly had a lot less sailing experience than him so I don’t really know what I was talking about.
Fair enough, we are now again on equal ground and had a good laugh about it after.
I was due for one of my owners weeks of sailing and we again chose the Whitsundays in Australia. Being my 3rd visit to this DYC base, I though it was about time to get to know the guy who runs the show for DYC Downunder….
Christophe, born in Brittany France, had boating in his DNA since he was born. His family has been involved in the industry for generations and he grew up on the family owned boatyard.
He soon spread his wings and moved on from sailing little boats for fun to bigger boats for a career to feed his passion of being on the water.
Racing as a bowman and rigger in 3 America’s Cup Campaigns soon brought him to Australia, 13 Sydney to Hobart Races followed over the years with many more Ocean Races and titles. He fell in love with Australia and his Australian wife in the meantime.
In 1995 he joint Vicsail out of Sydney in Australia before starting an 8 year stint as an Agent in the Middle East for the Beneteau and Ferretti Group amongst other brands in Dubai from 2002. This provided the lifestyle job he was looking for. ‘Man has got to eat’ he said.
He then returned to Australia in 2010 to take up his current position as managing director of Dream Yacht Charter and Sales for Australia and NZ, with the GSA for Bali Catamarans thrown in.
DYC bought Queensland Yacht Charter in 2009 and set up base out of Airlie Beach in the Whitsundays Queensland. The business now comprises 32 boats and around 22 staff.
The first question on my and everyone else mind involved in the bareboat industry and DYC in particular would have to be the impact of the Coronavirus on the outlook of the industry.
In his very forward French style, Christophe didn’t mince his words: ‘Look, it’s pretty obvious that the world is going through some major changes and any industry involved in leisure activities and tourism is in for a hard time. I mean, take your industry, the airlines for example. They will have to make some major changes to their operations to survive and move on.
We are no different and we just don’t know how long this crisis will last. It’s unprecedented.
‘Things will get harder for everyone before they get better, but in my view, long term we will be back stronger. DYC has a good and successful business model and there are people and companies out there who have a strong interest in the long-term success of this company.’
On a more personal level, I was wondering what else he felt might be part of the current global crisis:
‘When I grew up as a child in France I have always been taught that if you wanted to buy something, do so when you can afford it. When you have the money. If you didn’t, you’d wait. No credit card, no quick loan. So when times are tough, you didn’t have to stress.
These days, people just don’t have the patience. Everything is on borrowed money, people are impatient. So when the wind blows the wrong way, the house of cards keeps coming down. The world is due for an attitude calibration’.
Time to move away from current affairs, I wanted to know more about DYC’s modus of operandi here in Australia. Most of their yachts here are owned privately and are on a Performance Based Program, versus the “Dream Easy Lease to Purchase” deal I am on.
There are a couple of yachts owned by DYC, which are the ones that are available for owners-week usage by people with similar contracts to mine. I have to admit that I didn’t know there were those types of limitations on the yachts I could choose from for my owners weeks. I can see potential bottle necks arising here, especially on the smaller bases – but so far so good.
It’s my 3rd time chartering out of this base and my 2nd time on ‘Traviata’. This 2014 catamaran, as well as most of the other boats I have seen on the base, is in very good conditions. How do you manage that?
‘Maintenance is the key. We are always in contact with our boat owners about what needs to be fixed or looked at. Any item below $500 we can replace straight away, anything above, we consult the owners. They have to opportunity to purchase their own parts externally keeping costs down.
They also know that a well-maintained yacht has less breakdowns and can spend more time on the water earning money. So most of them are happy to keep their yachts in top shape.
There is also the positive attitude of our clients. Generally, people chartering our yachts here in the Whitsundays appreciate the value of the gear they are commanding. So they look after it with some level of respect. Sure there are mishaps, but it’s not malicious.’
Surely not everyone who charters with you is a clued-up sailor. What about the less experienced guys and gals out there? On my recent trip, I have met people at anchor who hired from a competitor. They have never even sailed before. Let alone hold a license, which I believe isn’t a requirement here in the Whitsundays.
‘We normally ask for a sailing resume before clients start to sail. We have a long pre-departure briefing which is split in two sessions; an extensive boat-brief to make sure the clients are familiar with all aspects of the yacht and an area briefings. We tend to get a pretty good idea of the clients capabilities during these briefings.
We also make a point of taking the yacht out of the harbour for our new clients, show them how to hoist the sails etc. Again, this will give my team a good opportunity to observe and gauge their level of experience.
If needed, we offer a sail guide for coaching them some more for half a day. If that fails, we can insist on them taking a skipper for further training for a couple of days.
Really there are 3 main points we focus on: Engine Controls / Speed, depth and anchoring. Know those and you could motor anywhere and stay safely overnight. Catamarans are usually safer because they have no big long keel underneath, hence less chance of running aground.’
We are here towards the end of the local cyclone season and Easter is approaching. With the Whitsundays being Australia’s only real bareboat crusing ground, when does your base get busy?
‘We are operating all year really but our busiest time is between June to October. During that period Humpback whales and their babies are enjoying our waters. Then of course Easter and Christmas.’
I notice that DYC’s area of operations is limited to an approx 40nm radius from the base. That would make for a very oversee able and controllable base.
‘It does indeed. We are on twice daily radio schedules with all our boats, as are all operators in the Whitsundays. We pass on updated weather conditions and know exactly where people are and what their plans are for the day. If we think the weather is unsuitable or cautions is required, we can pass on those concerns during the mooring and afternoon scheds. Any technical issues can also be discussed at real-time.
If all else fails, we can send our our chase boat and assist within a very quick respond time.’
All yachts have a GPS tracker but we never use it. The schedule provides us all the information we need about the boats position.’
There are new technologies out there that can assist with base to boat communication providing a real-time link to onboard systems, status and clients. The boating business seems slow to catch up in my opinion. How do you feel about the opportunities these systems, like Sailsense for example, can offer to you as an operator or the clients?
‘There is always room for new technology. We are currently installing AIS on all yachts.
However, systems need to be kept simple. Simple to use and simple to maintain. If a system helps us make the experience safer for the clients, i.e. help teach or alert them to certain situations, it would be worth exploring. However, the real-time link you are suggesting is hard to achieve in this area due to a very patchy cellphone network.‘
It was exactly that patchy cellphone reception I enjoyed so much on my trip. Free from it all… until I returned.
At the time of writing, one major Australian airline grounded all its flights, whilst the other cut most of them, leaven people stranded across the country, including myself.
At the same time, Loïc Bonnett, founder of DYC, announced via email a suspension of payments to people in the DYC guaranteed income ownership program for 6 months with an extention to their contract for 6 months in return.
Furthermore, in an interview published in the “Figaro Nautisme” on the 27th March 2020 with Nathalie Moreau, Loïc confirmed that all DYC Bases are now closed with 99.9% of all boats being docked. Forward boat orders have been adjusted in line with predicted capacity requirements.
As for the future, he shared his believes that people will initially favour travel to more local destinations when things return to normal.
Based on that, there is hope that the beautiful Whitsunday Island Group here in Australia might return to its former glory of the early 90’s some time in the future.
In the meantime, I thank Christophe for his time, hospitality and his assistance to finally have the last 0.01% of DYC boats in the dock. Traviata is home.
Stay safe and stay healthy.
