Sailing Yacht Patea Makes a Big Splash for Mediterranean Yacht Charter

Every spring in Genoa, Italy, about a hundred of the world’s finest crewed charter yachts line up along the docks for a prestigious, industry-only boat show. The public is not even allowed into the marinas; only pre-invited charter brokers and press can get behind the gates by showing badges with color photographs for identity verification. The competition among the yachts is stiff, with some of them booking charters at a million dollars a week. Each yacht is striving to become a standout of the season in the Mediterranean, even within such an impressive overall field. It is thus with some fanfare that I am able to announce that one standout yacht at the 2013 MYBA Charter Show was among the smallest yachts there. She’s a 95-foot Alia called Patea, a yacht that was absolutely dwarfed by the 200-foot-plus megayachts in attendance, and a yacht that had brokers from New York to New Zealand offering rave reviews up and down the docks.

Patea is a Warwick design that was delivered from the Turkish shipyard in August 2012. Not only did Patea earn high praise for her construction and décor, but her crew made her the only yacht to win not one, but two awards in the culinary competition at the 2013 show. Chef Clare Marriage took second place in Patea’s size range for food, while stewardess Nadia Kolesnyk got first prize for best table setting.
“People may have a negative connotation about Turkish-built yachts, but this yard is using suppliers that are well known, for equipment that can be easily serviced and maintained,” Capt. Gordon Young told me during an onboard tour, focusing his comments on the yacht and being entirely humble about his award-winning crew. “The boat is good, and it’s reliable, and we’re happy with it.”
Charter guests, I think, will also be happy with Patea. She is a modern design with hydraulic, well, everything, which means no lines cluttering the deck. All of her sails and rigging are controlled by a push-button panel that is a smaller version of the one I saw aboard the 289-foot Perini Navi Maltese Falcon a few years ago. Patea also has smart design elements like foldaway cleats that leave the deck flat and smooth. I’ve broken several bones on heeled-over sailing yachts, and I don’t think it would even be possible to do so aboard Patea, because the designers eliminated the typical obstructions that find charter guests’ pinkie toes.
Inside Patea’s dark blue hull is a pretty, light, and airy interior with contemporary flair. The flooring is American oak, while the walls are American walnut with wenge trim and marbled brown leather accents. As charter boats go, Patea has an interior that should appeal to a great number of personal tastes.
Several of the interior guest spaces contain smart convertible elements, including cocktail tables that can switch to coffee tables or a large dining table. One of the three guest cabins has twin-size beds that can convert into a double. And the media cabin forward on Patea converts into a double-bed cabin complete with its own full head.
“We wouldn’t put adults in here, but teens and kids are fine,” Young says. “It’s just another example of how we are built to be flexible, no matter what the guests need.”
What a great attitude—yet another thing that you can add to the list of what made Patea such a standout in the Mediterranean’s biggest yacht-charter show of the year.
Patea is expected to be based in Bodrum, Turkey, with a lowest weekly base rate of €39,000 for six to eight guests (depending on whether you use that convertible media room as a cabin). There’s no word yet on where Patea will be during the winter months, but more information is available through her management company, Galeo Yachting.