More than a few custom superyacht buyers—or, more accurately, people who’ve dreamed of becoming custom superyacht buyers—have sat on the docks overlooking a beautiful harbor, sipping a favorite drink at sunset, recounting the horrors of a nightmare scenario they experienced while trying to make their dream come true.
Such stories always begin with great promise. The people thought they knew what they were buying into when they chose a sales broker, an exterior designer, a naval architect, an interior designer and other key players for their custom-yacht team. They thought this group of individuals could turn their concept into a real-world vessel made of steel and aluminum.
They thought they had established a right-size budget that would include all the necessary parts and equipment to get the job done. They thought they understood who all the subcontractors would be as the project moved along toward completion.
They thought the timeline for the yacht’s construction was clear. They thought they would have their custom vessel in time to go cruising with family and friends for the summer season, making memories to last a lifetime.
They thought, well, a lot of things that ultimately turned out to be fantasies.
In reality, they ended up having to pay for endless change orders at the shipyard, with each correction seeming to fix one problem while creating a whole slew of others. They ended up having to pay for redesigns on the plans, which looked good at first, but later were revealed to be woefully inadequate. In some cases, they had to figure out what to do after the entire shipyard went out of business, leaving their half-built dream boat to languish in a shed, gathering dust.
Dreams are wonderful things—don’t let anybody tell you differently—but dreams realized are what most of us actually aspire to achieve. The more customized the dream is, the more important it is to have smart, experienced people all around us to help bring that dream to fruition.
This is true whether our dream is about building the perfect yacht, building the perfect financial plan or building the perfect portfolio to protect our families for generations to come. Our vision defines the parameters. The winning formula to achieve that vision comes from smart planning and smart people acting in smart ways throughout the process.
Whittier Trust built its business on being able to give clients anything they need as their own desires change, and as the world changes all around them. The company’s focus is on helping generation after generation of a family achieve their goals, regardless of how complex those goals might be.
From their roots as a single-family office in 1935 for the Whittier Family, and now as a multifamily office for a broader client base, Whittier Trust has a singular, refined focus on the business of wealth management. The company’s breadth of services includes everything from investment advice to managing family office needs, family trusts, philanthropy, real estate and more. Whittier organizes the right team of advisers from the start, matching their skills with the client’s needs and dreams. No matter what areas of expertise a client requires at any given time, and no matter how those needs change over time, Whittier maintains a ratio of just 25 clients for every adviser on the team—a level of personalized service that is unmatched anywhere else.
This level of service is similar to what the owners of successful custom yachts experience (yes, the yachts that actually make their way to the water on time and on budget). Few feelings can rival that of standing on the bow of a custom-built superyacht as it enters a picturesque spot such as Gustavia Harbor on St. Barths or Portofino in Italy. All eyes ashore are immediately on the vessel—not just because it’s a creation of immense beauty, but also because onlookers in these places understand everything that goes into making a custom yacht a reality. It starts with a vision, and it requires careful execution. Without them both, the custom yacht would not exist.
In that way, custom yachts are a lot like a well-lived, well-managed, high-net-worth life: The client’s definition of wealth is the vision, and experts such as the team at Whittier Trust work to execute that vision.
If your fully customized dream includes sitting on the docks overlooking a beautiful harbor, sipping a favorite drink while recounting the story of a life well-lived, then the team at Whittier Trust can make it happen—including on board a yacht that’s built just the way you want it.
For more information about Whittier Trust, visit whittiertrust.com.
