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Todd Roberts, the president of Marine Group Boat Works, has seen the superyacht-service industry change dramatically over his nearly 20-year career with the California-based yard. It has particularly changed over the past decade, which is the time that has passed since he was one of our first guests on the Megayacht News Radio podcast. AmongContinue Reading
Mehmet Karabeyoglu (pictured, above left) established Turkey-based Turquoise Yachts, then known as Proteksan Turquoise, in 1997. Since that time, about 30 megayachts have emerged under the Proteksan Turquoise and Turquoise Yachts brands, under his watch. Come July, Karabeyoglu is stepping down as CEO. A veteran of the yachting industry, Patrik von Sydow (below) will assumeContinue Reading
Blanche Cook, whose business acumen and personal passion for yacht restoration made her a fixture in the superyacht scene, died following a battle with cancer on March 28. She was 58 years old. A native of Auckland, New Zealand, Blanche founded Yachting Developments shipyard there with her husband, Ian Cook. They did so about threeContinue Reading
To better reach clients throughout North and South America, Lürssen has a new office in Fort Lauderdale. Located at Pier Sixty-Six Hotel & Marina, Lürssen Americas is also assisting the German shipyard in better communicating its capabilities, particularly megayachts from 164 to 246 feet (50 to 75 meters). Heading the office is Timothy Hamilton (above),Continue Reading
Robert Braithwaite, who left school in England at the age of 15 and went on to establish a British boatbuilder that became the world-renowned Sunseeker, has died. While he successfully battled cancer in recent years, he succumbed to Alzheimer’s. He was 75 years old. Braithwaite got his start in the boating industry in the earlyContinue Reading
Michael Koppstein, a longtime captain and U.S. representative for European superyacht builders, most recently Lürssen, died over the weekend, of a heart attack. He was 65 years old. Born in December 1953 in Australia, Koppstein grew up sailing, enjoying the pastime on weekends. While he pursued a higher-education degree in engineering design and construction, heContinue Reading