Record participation at Yare superyacht networking event
The 14th edition of the Yare (Yachting Aftersales and Refit Experience) event has concluded in Italy, with organisers reporting a record attendance with over 550 participants.
Yare is a networking event for yacht superyacht captains and companies, featuring forums and debates, B2C and networking moments. The three-day event took place in the city of Viareggio, 13-15 March 2024. It is organised by Navigo, the largest European centre for innovation and development for the nautical industry.
“Yare 2024 was a record edition and we are satisfied with the results; a demonstration that the refit business is attractive and that the international approach is rewarding,” says Pietro Angelini, Navigo general manager.
The shipyards district tour kicked off the first day, before a delegation of international captains—composed of more than 120 industry professionals, companies, and professionals in the field, with a particular focus on aftersales and refits—gathered.
Among the participants was a delegation of Italian and international companies and shipyards, mainly from Spain, Germany, France, Holland and Turkey, specialising in both new builds and refits. In addition, attendees gained experience of firms and captains who sail the seas with large sailing and motor vessels and manage crews, refits and navigation around the world.
“Our main reason for participating in Yare is the opportunity that this event generates to immerse ourselves in the global dialogue of yachting,” says Captain Dimitris Kouroumalos, president of the Hellenic Yacht Crew Association (HYCA).
“This event constitutes a fundamental platform for us, not only to discuss the latest news in terms of innovation and sustainability of leisure boating, but also to share the depth of knowledge and experience. Yare is essential for professional growth and networking, and provides our association with an unprecedented opportunity to foster relationships and collaborate on initiatives that push the boundaries of excellence in leisure boating.”
Debate topics included a lively discussion on the environmental impact of yacht fleets, with a panel composed by Alberto Perrone from Lurssen, Simon Brearley from Lateral Naval Architects, Gianni Paladino from Lusben, Giorgio Campini from Tecnopool and Matteo Magherini from RINA.
MARE Debate (an acronym for Mediterranean Areas of Refit Excellence) featured a panel of experts from the world of infrastructure, marinas and navigation regions of the eastern and western Mediterranean, which addressed the topic of market changes and the impact that the new shipping territories and strategies outside the Mediterranean will have on the industry.
The panel comprised Pietro Angelini, director of Navigo, Andrew Muscat from Malta Hotels and Restaurants Association (MHRA) and the Mediterranean Tourism Foundation (MTF), finance expert Zoran Martinovski, and Jerome Cuaz of IGY Marinas.
In the afternoon of the final day, the B2C Meet the Captains sessions took place, generating new possibilities for networking and collaboration with the attending captains.
Over 2,000 meetings were organised in the ‘speed date’ format of the sessions, marking a record for the event.
On the evening of Thursday 14 March, the gala dinner took place at the Pala Todisco. On Friday 15 March, there were four workshops: the Captains’ Brainstorms, plus focus groups on the four themes: people, project, process and planet.
The popular ‘Passerelle Pitch’ invited ten companies present their innovations in three minutes to an audience of captains, with the best innovations voted for by attendees.
The next edition of Yare is already scheduled for 12-14 March 2025.
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