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In nearly a decade of
covering megayachts, I’ve walked into my fair share of builders’
displays at boat shows. Many times there’s been a good deal of activity
going on, with handfuls of interested buyers making appointments to see
the yachts in the water or waiting to board them. But over the past few
years, I’ve noticed something different at the Hargrave Custom Yachts
display: couples standing behind the reception desk, trading cruising
stories with one another, and individuals scattered about in chairs, chatting
with show-goers who’ve just stepped off the docks.
Now, you might assume
that these people were all Hargrave staff members or maybe temps hired
to help out in the booth. But the truth is, they’re all Hargrave
and Monte Fino owners (Hargrave’s Fort Lauderdale-based office also
distributes Monte Finos) who wanted to share their experiences with other
potential buyers, whether or not their yacht was on display—or even
delivered yet, in some cases.
Why do they do it? In
conversations I’ve had with some of these owners, they’ve
all mentioned how Mike Joyce, president of Hargrave, and his staff actively
solicit their input not just for the yachts they’ve commissioned
but also for ones Hargrave intends to develop in the future. Several of
these owners were also repeat customers, largely crediting the Hargrave
team’s desire to give them what they wanted.
Oscar Menzano is a prime
example of a repeat customer. He bought his first boat, a 60-footer, from
Joyce 14 years ago, and in the past eight years, this native of Mexico
has purchased the first 65-foot Monte Fino and the first 55-foot Monte
Fino, and recently took delivery of the new 94-foot model in the Hargrave
Capri series, which he christened Carissima. I met Menzano about
two years ago and was immediately struck by his delightful personality
and zest for life. He certainly has a zest for the cruising lifestyle
in particular—he and his family lived aboard their first boat seven
to eight months at a time and traveled the Caribbean, East Coast, and
much of Europe over several years. More recently, the Menzanos took the
94 to the Bahamas and are about to take her south from Florida through
the Panama Canal and then up the West Coast to Vancouver, remaining there
all summer. And that’s just for starters: The fall will see Carissima
and company head to Australia and New Zealand.
It’s fitting that
Menzano has these plans, as he’s just one of the many owners who
told Joyce and his staff that they wanted Hargrave to combine the volume
and style of a megayacht with a vessel that emphasized family cruising
and good space for crew.
One of the most noticeable
ways this is achieved aboard Carissima is through the use of intricate
inlays and unexpected details in the decor. In many rooms, interior designer
Shelley Higgins and the Menzanos selected woodwork with ornamental grain
patterns covered with a healthy dose of high-gloss varnish. Menzano is
so delighted with the result that he says it wasn’t just made with
care, “It was made with love.”
Individual rooms received
personal attention as well. In the saloon, for example, there’s
a striking woven-wood pattern on the buffet-like room divider. While oftentimes
you’ll see a simple column at the base of a staircase, when it comes
to the floating staircase on the 94 (opposite the dining area), there’s
an art niche instead. Even the aft-deck dining table has intricate inlays
at each end.
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Carissima continued > Page 1, 2,
3, 4, 5
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