Celebrations at West Nautical
by West Nautical 17 Sep 2024 18:42 BST
CEO Andrey Lomakin © West Nautical
There has been a lot to celebrate at West Nautical in 2024 including our West Nautical group CEO Andrey Lomakin accomplishing his 25-year anniversary in the superyacht industry, two new offices opening in Dubai and Monaco as well as the UK company celebrating its 10-year anniversary.
Andrey started his yachting career in 1998 when he ordered a dayboat from his local Bayliner dealer. After a year had passed, he took the plunge and went to the Czech Republic to a friend, who represented Regal, and bought 10 boats. That was how his story in the yachting business began.
Andrey Lomakin attributes his success in the yachting industry to his experience in the automotive sector. He was a car dealer since 1995 and in 1999 has founded a company for selling boats. In a year he became one of the founders of the Burevestnik Group. In 2013, by which time he had been in the yachting business for 14 years, he acquired the French company West Nautical, which had been operating in Cannes since 1994. He went on to establish West Nautical UK, determined to establish his new business as a personalised brokerage and yacht management services, he put together an experienced team with locations in the Med and across the UK.
In summer 2004, Andrey completed his captain's licence at the RYA in Southampton and in 2006 he ordered a Fairline Squadron 58, which was due for delivery in spring 2007. In May 2007, Andrey arrived in Ipswich to take delivery of the yacht along with his wife and two friends and had a plan to cruise from Ipswich to London, Amsterdam, Germany, Sweden, Finland, St Petersburg and finally arrive in Moscow. The trip however ended up having a few diversions and challenges along the way including a storm in the North Sea causing them to dock in Dunkirk, early morning canal navigations, destroying the entire electrical system in an Amsterdam marina, speeding fines from policeman in Germany and a near collision in thick fog. What an adventure!
The highlight of this trip was arriving on the River Thames in London outside Westminster on a 22-degree sunny day, which was a great way to celebrate the yacht as well as provided some great photo opportunities.
As well as Andrey having his yachting qualifications, he also studied management at Jefferson University in USA and received an MBA in Management in Germany.
One of Lomakin's first big commitments was the commissioning of a yacht with the intention to be involved in the project from the design and construction stage, all the way through to the sale of the vessel to her first owner. Andrey called upon his existing relationship with Dutch shipyard Mulder to build the first 94 Voyager, named Firefly, together with Omega Architects, Vripack and John Vickers of Vickers Studio. "A lot of shipyards rely solely on renderings, but to sell on pictures just isn't going to happen. The idea was simple; to gather the best people from the industry and to build the best boat possible."
Over the years, Lomakin has personally owned a number of Fairline yachts, something that gives him a strong understanding of the fundamentals of yacht ownership. "My own ownership experience has made me appreciate the build quality, sea-keeping performance and cutting-edge yacht technologies that are available," he says.
Andrey was a master candidate in 100m swimming and is still a keen ice hockey player. In his spare time, he rides bikes and has a big family with five children. Andrey now lives in Switzerland but spends his time between Monaco, Cyprus and Dubai and is taking the lead in recruitment for the company's new Monaco office where he will base himself for a lot of the year.
Andrey's favourite charter destinations are The Balearic Islands, Italy, Croatia and Turkey and one day would like to spend a few months travelling the Caribbean or the Indian Ocean.
As the yachting business has changed over the years to put a greater focus on customer relations and professional management, more and more clients are looking for their time on board to be managed appropriately. The group's current strategic goal is to attract the best professionals to their company with a view to providing the highest level of service for their customers. This focus has seen West Nautical expand, with physical offices in the UK, France, Cyprus, Dubai, and remote colleagues in Florida, South Africa and Mallorca, with current company expansion being in Monaco where they are due to open in early 2025. "When it comes to superyacht clients, the business needs to focus more on service and not solely on selling," Lomakin comments. "This means that the high-end yacht services on offer should not end once the yacht is delivered, but continue to offer constant, first-class service".
West Nautical provides a wide range of yachting services from brokerage to charter, yacht owner services including operational and project management. Part of West Nautical's sales division includes an established distribution service in which the company deals with brands such as Bluegame, Sanlorenzo and Sunseeker as their regional dealers. Since the company's inception, West Nautical have worked closely with their partner shipyards and delivered a total of eight metal Sanlorenzo yachts, more than twelve Sanlorenzo GRP yachts, over 30 Sunseekers and three Bluegame yachts, a total of 53 new build projects in 11 years.
West Nautical also have long standing relationships with European shipyards such as Benetti where they currently have one yacht in build and Sanlorenzo where they currently have two metal yachts in build, and in recent years have delivered yachts from Heesen, Cantiere delle Marche, Bering, Mulder, Turquoise, and Amels also. The West Nautical office in Cyprus are also the local distributors for both Chris Craft and Olympic RIBS.
The majority of the yachts over 30 meters by West Nautical then join the company's yacht management division which has gone from strength to strength in the last 10 years as founded by Geoff, and those wishing to charter come into their charter fleet under the direction of experienced professional Tina Collins which currently has 17 CA's ranging from 25 to 55 meters.
CEO Andrey says: "The first new-build we were involved in was with a Sanlorenzo 40 Alloy. When the time came to manage the vessel after delivery, I found myself not able to give my full attention to my biggest client. Managing was done in a very traditional and simple way, and it was then when I started looking for the right partner with the same vision to develop the company for the future. So, when I met with Geoff Moore in 2014, it was after only two hours together that we understood that we are on the same wavelength, and that we can do business together."
Geoff Moore has been Managing Director of West Nautical for a decade. He joined the Merchant Navy and relocated from Kent to South Shields where he eventually qualified as a Class One Master Mariner along with a number of other qualifications alongside an Honours Degree in Marine Operations from Northumbria University. Geoff spent years working at sea on commercial ships including cruise ships, ferries, dredgers and cargo vessels, before an old acquaintance enticed him to try superyachts in 2007, starting his career in the luxury industry where he worked onboard seven different yachts ranging from 50 to 130+ metres.
Geoff stopped working at sea and moved ashore in 2011 when his son was born and due to his knowledge of the maritime industry, he was able to transition easily into a shoreside management role.
Geoff's career has since blossomed, founding West Nautical UK in 2014 and alongside Andrey, has developed it into what it is today; a well-established full-service superyacht company excited to celebrate its 10-year anniversary recently on 8th September 2024.
In July 2024, West Nautical opened their new office in Dubai, a yachting market that has experienced remarkable growth in recent years. The office is located in the prestigious area of Business Bay, which was strategically chosen to strengthen their position as a leading player in the yachting industry. Located in the heart of Dubai's commercial district, the new office offers a prime location for all of the companies' operations. The Business Bay area's dynamic and vibrant environment, modern infrastructure and excellent connectivity make it an ideal hub for conducting business and provides easy access to the city's marina's, yacht clubs and waterfront developments ensuring seamless connections with their clients and partners.
Watch this space for West Nautical's very exciting new offices in Monaco, due to open in early 2025 where they are currently recruiting a European Sales Director to head up operations in this prestigious location.