Sophia Tutino is the Managing Director of a yacht chartering boutique company that works exclusively with UHNW Families. Having seen a great deal of Family Offices board her yachts over the years, she has become an exclusive supplier to Family Offices across the world and speaks to Agreus today about why she is breaking the mould within the yachting industry.

How did you first enter the world of yachting?

I had never heard of yachts before the summer of 2005. I was working as a stewardess on a yacht as a summer job to help pay for my master’s degree. My friend who lives in Monaco introduced me to the Owner of that yacht and the rest is history. I immediately felt at home, I was making good money for a student, I was seeing places in the Mediterranean that I had never seen before, I tried the most incredible food and wines and looked after very successful and inspiring Owners and Guests onboard the yacht. Yachting was opening a whole new world that I didn’t know existed and I wanted to discover more! I had always been a very curious person who dreamt of travelling the world, seeing the best places and I knew that only Yachting could fulfil these dreams.

After graduating in Fall 2006, I started applying for jobs within brokerage houses and ended up joining OceanStyle by BURGESS as Marketing manager before being promoted to Charter broker and transferred to their Monaco office to Head their charter division not long after.

After over a decade working in the industry, I realised there was a niche in the market that had been left untouched and it is exactly this niche that my company caters for today, a focus on Family Offices.

What do you offer to Family Offices that other groups would never otherwise experience?

It is all about being personable, the yachting industry is highly competitive and we all offer similar services. I pride myself on passion, local knowledge and global connections to deliver outstanding, personally tailored results. We operate with complete transparency and reliability, being entrusted to deliver an outstanding experience beyond finding the perfect yacht. We are continuously trying to break the mould within the yachting industry. We are the only all-female yachting company, owned and run by an all-women team.

What is the most extravagant or perhaps memorable charter you have ever helped to plan for a Family Office?

A client wanted to try something a little different and explore Antarctica, it was clear we needed to create an experience that incorporated both adventure and luxury. We were able to find a yacht that was fully refurbished with windows to view the ocean beneath the vessel. There was also a private submarine to explore the world under the ice, somewhere rarely visited by anyone. This was perhaps the most memorable for everyone involved.

You speak a lot about being more passionate than any other provider. What is it about yachting that you are passionate about?

Yachting is very intimate industry. We are a community, all colleagues and competitors. It is the only industry that I know that has this very strong communitarian feel between its people. I am passionate about the oceans, sailing, travelling and I love being on the water. I also love luxury and the highest standards; I am very detailed oriented and in Yachting each detail counts and everything must be close to perfection. It is an industry I belong to and it feels like home. 

Keeping names confidential of course, it would be good to have a few examples of the strange or perhaps innovative requests you have received from Family Office guests.

One request that I recently had from the Principal of a Family Office was to propose to his girlfriend on a yacht but jumping from a helicopter onto the yacht with flowers, a ring etc. The Owner of the yacht rejected that request for safety reasons.

An innovative request we had last year was to pay for the yacht charter with Crypto currencies. We didn’t have this payment facility before recently so we were unable to proceed with that Family Office which only wanted to pay with Crypto. We contacted them now to work together this Summer as we now do accept crypto currency payments.

You also speak about being an all-women team. Why is this important to you?

The yachting industry is a very male dominated and quite a sexist industry for most part. I have myself seen a lot of discrimination in a lot of companies I worked for in the past where the majority of high positions were taken by men despite their female colleagues being fantastic assets.

90% of yacht charter brokers are female and women tend to be the best at organising yacht charters.

How has the pandemic changed or shaped the yachting industry?

Stricter health and safety measures onboard, better planning, a whole new generation of new money has come in, demand has surpassed supply which of course is a great thing for business.

What trends / changes do you expect to see in 2022?

With the increase in ‘new money’ and clients making the leap into purchasing a yacht, Yards have seen an influx of orders. With around 1,024 yachts in construction or on order, demand is still increasing, and prospective buyers are facing up to 5 years waiting time. The busiest shipyards for this year are Azimut Benetti with 128 projects, followed by, Sanlorenzo, with 117. The shipyards are full and overwhelmed, resulting in many not accepting new orders before the current backlog has been caught up with.

Although a disappointment for potential new buyers, this could be an opportunity for others to book their Yacht Charter holidays. With this delay, and Sophia Tutino Yachting now accepting Cryptocurrency, we will be a good choice for ‘new money’ clients to come and charter a yacht from us. This can also result in them turning to us for Charter Management services when their Yacht is ready if they are wanting to charter them out to offset some of their running costs.