Sidebar | How about a yacht of your own?

Europa Yachts, the Philippine dealer of five of Europe’s finest boat builders, has been synonymous with luxury boats since it entered the country in 2012. They carry five brands including Azimut, an Italian brand founded in 1969 that is considered the world’s leading luxury yacht builder. It offers more than 25 models divided in four ranges covering various concepts of fly-bridge and sport yachts.

Meanwhile, Beneteau from France is one the best-known yacht builders, offering boat models such as the Swift Trawler for those who want to cruise locally or over long distances.

Also from Beneteau is Monte Carlo, a brand known for carrying premium range motor yachts which marries the best of Italian design with French technology.

Another French boat brand, Construction Navale Bordeaux (CNB), meanwhile, is best known for its highly customizable sailboats.

But what is by far the most popular brand in the country is Lagoon with its catamarans, boats with two parallel hulls of the same size. Lagoon is also a part of the Beneteau Group.

“It has the features Filipino clients are asking for the most, which is space and stability because for a lot of newcomers, it’s their first boat, so it’s less intimidating unlike other boats which tend to move a lot more. It’s also easier and more affordable to maintain,” said Thomas Cachera, managing director of Europa Yachts, in an interview with High Life.

And it really is popular as just last year, the company managed to sell the first Lagoon Seventy7—a 77-foot long catamaran—considered the largest and up to now, the only catamaran of this size in the world.

What comes in this 77-foot long boat, you ask? Well, just about everything found in a comfortable home: full air-conditioning, five cabins with big beds and en suite bathrooms. It also comes in three levels so one can entertain on top of the boat.

“The majority [of our customers] are very successful Filipino businessmen. But the good part is we’re getting younger clients now,” Mr Cachera explained.

“The latest boat we delivered two months ago, the client is 30 years old. It’s not an extremely luxurious boat, it’s a sailboat [which] I would qualify as much more affordable than the others which we sell here. But it’s a good sign that the clients are getting younger.”

What makes a person want to buy a boat anyway?

“For entertainment, most likely. For escape and for a new type of holiday as well but it depends on the type of boat—some prefer sailboats so they can race,” he said. “It’s also for accomplishment because they probably have a lot of cars and houses. It’s the next step basically.”