In your average seven-day week, there are 168 hours and 10,080 minutes.
Now add into the equation the figure 260,000. That’s the basic cost in dollars, of chartering the newly-built, 133-foot Italian dream machine Contigo for seven days.
If my math serves me right, that works out at $37,142 a day, or $1,547 an hour.
As your privileged boating correspondent, I’ve been tasked with spending the next 24 hours, or 1,440 minutes, aboard Contigo, enjoying a fleeting glimpse at what it’s like to live the life of one of her lucky charter guests. My singular aim; to make every one of those minutes count.
Right now, Contigo is swaying gently at anchor under a Windex-blue sky just off sandy-beached Rose Island, eight miles east of Nassau in the sun-drenched Bahamas. She’s just wrapped-up a lavish photo shoot for her new charter brochure, and my 24-hour stay starts now.
Delivered just last summer, Contigo – it translates to “with me” in Spanish – is hull #16 in Italian shipyard Benetti’s hugely-successful Oasis 40M superyacht series.
Much of that success – total orders and deliveries now total more than 30 – is down to the yacht’s headlining feature, its resort-like beach club at the stern.
Here, huge terraces on each side can power down to create a tanning and lounging space measuring close to 900 square feet. You could land a helicopter back here were it not for the glass-sided Jacuzzi pool and multitude of sunpads and sofas on her lovely teak decks.
Step aboard and Contigo’s crew of eight is waiting patiently to welcome, whisking away my bag to be unpacked, thrusting a frosty libation into my hand, offering a cool towel to mop my brow, and to show me around this sleek superyacht.
My tour guide is AJ Blackmon, CEO and founder of Miami-based Ikonic Yachts who looks after Contigo’s charter schedule. Wearing his broker hat, he helped the yacht’s owner, a 50-something California entrepreneur, acquire the Benetti last October and ship her from the South of France back to Florida. She entered the charter market last December.
Blackmon tells me that much of the yacht’s appeal to charterers is her lavish accommodations for up to 14 in six cabins, her three distinct levels for entertaining and relaxing, and the fresh and breezy interior design by New York-based architects Bonetti/Kozerski. Those and that “oasis” back deck.
Maybe my favorite spot? Contigo’s vast, open flybridge with its circular Jacuzzi tub up front – perfect for star-gazing at night – and the 10-seat table for magical alfresco dining.
The area can also quickly transform into a dance club with its full DJ set-up, interactive disco lights and killer sound system. Having fun is what this yacht is all about.
Contigo’s other headline feature is the owner’s suite on the main deck that spans the yacht’s entire 28-foot beam. It boasts huge windows on each side, his-and-hers work spaces, his-and-hers bathrooms with walk-in closets, and an massive shower that doubles as a searing-hot steam room.
Time to hit the water. Contigo’s small armada of water toys includes a trio of speedy Sea-Doo Spark jet-skis. An hour of strenuous Sea-Dooing has me ravenous for lunch. Chef Rusty has prepared a grilled and oven-baked red snapper seasoned with his famous chipotle rub. Each of the meals aboard proves to be a gastronomic feast cooked to perfection.
Day two is cruise day, so Captain Jean-Damien – JD to everyone – has the anchor raised and we glide serenely back towards Nassau.
Contigo is powered by a pair of 1,400 hp MAN V12 diesels that can give a top speed of 17 knots; at her 14-knot cruise speed there’s hardly a whisper from the engine room. With her 12,000-gallon fuel tanks brimmed, she can cruise for over 4,000 nautical miles.
By the time you read this, Contigo will have been shipped across to the Med for the summer charter season. Come fall she’ll be back in Florida for winter charters in the Bahamas and Caribbean.
Of course, like most superyachts these days, Contigo is for sale with Ikonic Yachts listing her for a cool €26 million, or $29 million. And she’s worth every euro.
After enjoying 1,440 exquisite minutes aboard, I can only imagine the joy of spending an entire week being pampered by the crew of this truly remarkable superyacht. I’d say it was $37,142 for 24 hours well spent.
For more information, go to https://www.ikonicyachts.com/contigo
