Yacht owners customize their vessels and even their tenders… so why not their helicopters?

For the past three years, Antigua has hosted The Superyacht Cup race in mid-December. While there's typically been a strong turnout, after speaking with the owners and crew of a few megayachts, the organizers decided to move the race to the end of January.

Why mess with success? Chances are the change will actually spur more success. Not all yachts that plan to spend the winter season in the Caribbean arrive in the islands in early to mid-December. Some wait until closer to Christmas, so the new dates, which are January 27 to 30, will give them plenty of time to enjoy their holidays and/or host charter guests before gearing up for the regatta.

"We are confident that in moving the dates to the end of January, we will enable more yachts to take part," says Patrick Whetter, The Superyacht Cup event director. "It is a friendly, fun, and informal regatta, enjoying trade-wind racing and the best of Caribbean hospitality." Even with the later timing, he adds, it won't conflict with the St. Barths Bucket, which takes place at the end of March.

There have been a handful of blog posts and traditional media reports this week about the anti-invasion of privacy methods that Eclipse, the world’s largest privately owned yacht, employ. Between the fact that Eclipse is so incredibly large – she measures anywhere from 509 to more than 550 feet, depending on who you believe – and she’s said to be owned by Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich, it’s no wonder that the rumor mill has been in overdrive. But the reports about a laser system to be used to thwart paparazzi just take the cake for me.

There have been a handful of blog posts and traditional media reports this week about the anti-invasion of privacy methods that Eclipse, the world’s largest privately owned yacht, employ. Between the fact that Eclipse is so incredibly large – she measures anywhere from 509 to more than 550 feet, depending on who you believe – and she’s said to be owned by Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich, it’s no wonder that the rumor mill has been in overdrive. But the reports about a laser system to be used to thwart paparazzi just take the cake for me.

Even with the global slowdown in megayacht commissioning, there’s still a need for properly trained crew. In this latest installment of Megayacht News Radio, I speak with Kristen Cavallini-Soothill, the founder of the American Yacht Institute (AYI). AYI trains yacht crew in everything from silver service to the importance of teamwork: the skills necessary to perform their jobs to the best of their abilities.

If September marks back to school for the kids, then for us adults in the yacht business, it’s back to the boat shows. This week is a big one for the megayacht market: the Monaco Yacht Show.

I’m flying out today for Monaco, so watch this space during the week for stories straight from the show. In the meantime, enjoy these scenes from last year's show.

Move over, multihulls; there’s a new speedster in town.