Our Voyage buying a 580

Why did we choose Privilege.

We were first introduced to the Privilege brand at the Cannes Yacht Festival where we visited a number of stands and toured various yachts.

There are lighter (faster) but not as luxurious yachts and there are heavier (slower) more luxurious yachts. Our goal was to find a happy compromise that gave good sailing performance with good luxury standards.

The elements that made us focus on Privilege Yachts was CEO Gilles’ willingness to customise their product to meet our needs and it being easy to sail without the need for crew.

During the month of September the boatyard proposed a number of modifications to their standard design to change the Owners Cabin and introduce a VIP cabin as well as give a galley in what would have been he starboard forward cabin which adjoins the crew cabin.

Smaller refinements to the anchor and bridal arrangement were proposed as well as the introduction of a large storage locker for sails and fenders. Refinements continued and in October when the Bay of Biscay was somewhat enraged it was decided to conduct sea trials. The 580 performed well, at 32 toms she was able to cruise comfortably at 11 knots in 22knots of apparent wind and a sea swell of 2 metres.

With remaining refinements to both the build specification and price the negotiations concluded with Gilles) in December with the price, start and delivery date being finalised during the week of Christmas.

Due to a heavy work schedule for 2023 in the first week of January we popped over to the boat yard at Les Sables d'Olonne (the home of the Vendée Globe) to select colours, fabrics and woods for the interior from a very extensive standard range. We toured the factory and were pleasantly surprised by the collegial and professional working environment within their many buildings at the factory. We also witness the launch of hull number 4 from the 580 yacht range and toured a smaller but spacious 510 yacht.

Les Sables d'Olonne (the home of the Vendée Globe)

Privileges’ excellent staff, designers (Mark and Frank) and Customer Service representatives (Charles, Carolyn) made some extra suggestions and some minor additions were included such as the introduction of two fridge/freezers and a coffee machine to the saloon and a lightening conductor installed from the top of the mast directly to 15feet (5 metres) below the hull as it was felt the standard lightening protection would not be adequate to protect the yacht and its equipment in the unfortunate event of a lightening strike.

We are still looking into whether we should incorporate electric or hybrid engines into the yacht and welcome input from any reader as to their suitability.

Every week since we have received a photographic report of the yachts building progress.

The sea water below

Drive testing the boat in the waters

A range of options were presented and we elected to follow the “standard” path

We conducted sea trials at from their boatyard, Before signing the deal we were able to customise the yacht to meet our specific requirements.

They offer a bespoke customisation service where there is a high degree of options available.