Vantage Yacht Club Commissions Yacht Build for Fractional Ownership Program in Chicago
December 16, 2011Vantage Yacht Club, the premier fractional club offering shared yacht ownership and creator of the Yacht Card, announced an addition to their fractional fleet today with the order of a new 2012 Sunseeker Portofino 48 from Great Lakes Sunseeker dealer Jefferson Beach Yacht Sales.
“We are excited to introduce our members to one of the most sought after yachts in the world,” said Jason De Palma, President of Vantage Yacht Club, “Vantage has charted a course to deliver the best-of-the-best and the Portofino 48 is positioned at the pinnacle of its class.”
To be christened “Game Changer,” the Portofino 48 is being offered in the Vantage Yacht Shares program and features a rich deep blue hull, fifty-three feet in overall length, joystick controlled Volvo IPS pod drives, retractable carbon fiber hardtop, lifting swim platform, teak cockpit with extended seating configuration, high-gloss cherry wood cabin and a full-beam owner’s suite with vast windows on both port and starboard sides. Including virtually every available factory option, her cost to construct and transport from the Sunseeker factory in England is nearly $1.4 million.
Sunseeker is known to hand build a limited number of yachts each year. With only thirty-five Portofino 48 models scheduled for production in 2012 and a full order book, “Game Changer” will be a rare and distinctive complement to the yachting community in Chicago.
Although her official launch ceremony will take place on the Chicago River in May 2012, “Game Changer” will be completed and placed in British waters March 2012. Vantage Yacht Club Members will have the opportunity to join their group on a journey through London for a tour of the Sunseeker factory in Poole, England. “As the most tenured Sunseeker dealer in the States, I have been to the factory hundreds of times,” said Greg Krueger, President of Jefferson Beach Yacht Sales, “it is truly a remarkable experience that Vantage Members will cherish for a lifetime.” Vantage Members who make the voyage will meet naval architects, executives and personally witness how these marvels of design and technology are dreamed and constructed. In addition, the four Members who secure a Portofino 48 fractional position will have the opportunity to visually inspect and sea trial their new sport cruiser on the English Channel.
Vantage Yacht Club and the Yacht Shares program will be showcased at the Progressive Chicago Boat Show at McCormick Place on January 12 – 16 and at the Progressive Strictly Sail Show at Navy Pier on January 26 – 29. Vantage is raffling complimentary passes to the boat shows to those who “Like” Vantage Yacht Club on Facebook. To enter, visit: http://www.facebook.com/VantageYachtClub, follow their page and participate.
