Princess Yachts is not a brand that sponsors me or I am directly linked to, but my first decent size motor yacht was a Princess, so it has to be said, I have a soft spot for them. (The hint is in MY brand name)

But there is more to it than having owned one (and for that matter intending to own another in the future). Their values align with mine. Despite being a luxury brand, they have a humble approach to their clients. They believe the clients know more about the boats than they do and thus they as Will expresses in this interview “we have two ears and one mouth and use them proportionally” listening to what their clients need and responding accordingly.

Will and I met for the first time in 2018 when, as a Princess owner visiting the UK, my family and I visited the shipyard – at which they were both generous with their time and open with their tour – allowing us to truly experience where and why these beautiful motoryachts are built. 18,000 Princess Yachts have been built over time and their company is a substantial employer in Plymouth in the UK – with multiple generations working as craftspeople across all of the different build processes – from electrical looms to perfectly finished furniture, from fuel tank building to fibreglass laying, Princess is proud of just how much of their build is done in-house.

Will has been with Princess Yachts 23 years this year, joining just before Southampton Boat Show in 2003. In his first few days he experienced the product first-hand on a delivery run to the show from Plymouth, Cornish Pasty in hand (on the flybridge of course so the crumbs blew away and didn’t upset the stylists at the show) - what a way to start!

In this interview we discuss how his boating life started, how stabilisation has changed how people go boating, the new products Princess are bringing out to cater to those client needs they have been listening to, and their return to building Superyachts – their last 40m was delivered some 7 years ago – so this is not new to them – it’s returning to a space they know meeting the demands of a market demanding bigger boats but also a client base that they don’t want to lose to another brand simply because they don’t have a boat big enough.

I hope you enjoy my chat with Will – aboard a beautiful Princess flybridge at Cannes Yachting Festival.

Let me know what you think in a review please!

UPDATE: Excitingly our new office base and Podcast Studio is coming together in the Marine Precinct in Coomera on the Gold Coast – looking forward to sharing more with you in the near future! Nicky x

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For more information on Princess Yachts go to:

https://www.princessyachts.com/

I am finishing off 2025 with a very important guest who leads an incredibly inspirational project that is dear to my heart in my continuous goal to have more women join me in the boating industry and boating generally.

Victoria Low and I met in 2023 at the ICOMIA Congress in La Rochelle. I interviewed her then but she's since changed to lead an incredibly important project she was actually part of the creation of 10 years ago.

A meeting after a sailing event which illustrated that the guys were being given opportunities for employment but women were not....inspired some incredible women to create a group which had an aspiration to "Create a group to change the world".

The Magenta Project has this on it's website:

Mission & Objectives

Sailing is a unique sport—a test of skill, endurance, and the interplay

between humans, technology, and nature. It is one of few professional

sports where men and women compete together. Yet, despite this,

only 5% of professional sailors are women, and a mere 3%

represented across the entire marine industry.

Across the marine industry, from the intense environment onboard

race boats to the practical settings of boatyards and the wider marine

industry, women navigate a complex landscape of challenges that

mirror those of the corporate boardroom.

These hurdles extend beyond simple discrimination, encompassing

limited access to opportunities, support, difficulties in obtaining

certifications, and the pervasive impact of systemic bias.

Recognising these inequities, The Magenta Project, an

award-winning global charity, is dedicated to building a

sustainable network and implementing impactful programmes.

Our mission is simple: to ensure greater equity and inclusion

for women in the sport and the wider marine industry,

by working to dismantle the barriers that hinder their full

participation and advancement.

You can see more about them here:

https://themagentaproject.org/

Big thanks to Sunseeker International and Sunseeker London group

for hosting us on their beautiful Sunseeker 74 at Southampton Boat Show.

https://www.sunseekerlondon.com/

https://www.southamptonboatshow.com/

Fairline Yachts has had its tumultuous times – has it reached safe hands now?

The boating industry is going through a transition period for the next 10 years or so, in my view. Those who created the manufacturing businesses, marinas and small enterprises are entering their retirement phase and, as a result, someone has to take over — or sadly, sometimes they simply shut down.

Often the skill set isn’t available in adequate numbers to pass it on, or the generational handover is not there, or simply not interested. In some cases, investment funds or private equity have recognised this shift and are entering a market that is entirely new to them.

It’s a unique industry. With funny words, unusual problems, and a solid requirement for reinvestment. What some of these businesses have historically lacked, however, is strong financial management skills, clear growth strategies and financial backing (banks have, for some unknown reason, always been extremely cautious with LVRs in this sector).

And so we get to my next podcast interviewee.

Starting in the banking industry before most of us would normally leave school, Paul Taylor brings a wealth of financial experience and strength as the new owner of Fairline Yachts, alongside his partner Robin Southwell OBE. Paul also had a period invested in marinas, with the second-largest European marina at Vilamoura in Portugal.

It was a delight to interview Paul on the back of a Fairline Targa 50 at the Southampton Boat Show. Having someone with a brain like his to delve into brings insight, intriguing ideas and genuine hope that Fairline is now in steady hands.

I hope you enjoy it.

🎙️ Listen to the episode: 👉 The Boat Princess Podcast: https://theboatprincess.com/podcast

🚤 Learn more about Fairline: 👉 https://www.fairline.com⚓ Southampton Boat Show: 👉 https://www.southamptonboatshow.com

#TheBoatPrincess #FairlineYachts #BoatingIndustry #Leadership #MarineBusiness #SouthamptonBoatShow #Yachting #Podcast