It was that time of the year again! A pristine line-up of superyachts, a fleet of gleaming Rolls-Royces, a never-ending flow of champagne, red carpets, dock-side parties and charming industry professionals. It was none other than Boat International’s spectacular Rendezvous in Monaco. For the second consecutive year, Limassol Marina were there as a sponsor alongside our partner Camper & Nicholsons Marinas. The trip promised to be as fun-packed as ever, particularly for me.
Sipping my gold-flake champagne on the terrace of the Hotel de Paris after the ShowBoats Design Awards, an acquaintance introduced me to what I can only describe as the quirkiest version of a dapper man I have come across in my life. Smooth, jovial and witty, I was instantly taken by his charisma and genuinely startled by his tone and humour. It was so familiar. I knew him, surely I did. It felt as if I had known him for years. “Where are you from?” I asked. “London, but originally Cyprus,” he said with a childlike grin peering from under his well-groomed moustache. The standard Cypriot joke, that half way into a conversation you usually discover someone is your relative, or as good as, began to ring true very quickly. Not only did John have roots in Limassol, his aunty Christine Sergides had been my favourite teacher at school and his cousins were old friends and classmates. He was one of us! And he had mastered a segment of the industry most in Cyprus were only just beginning to grasp. John Leonida was our home town boy turned superyacht lawyer. I just had to find out more.
Drawn To The Sea
It was almost inevitable that John would find his way to the sea! His family history had always been connected to boats. Born in South London to Cypriot parents, he experienced Deptford and Surrey Docks before their gentrification when, in the 1960s, they were hardworking shipping and cargo centres. Before London’s docks were closed, his playground was the maritime heartland of London: Greenwich. Discovering new stories of exploration in the halls of the National Maritime Museum or standing on the foredeck of the nineteenth century tea clipper Cutty Sark, John was always fascinated by boats. He also remembers the boating lake in Greenwich Park, where he and his father would launch a battery-powered toy yacht. Who would have guessed that some 30 years later the real thing would be an integral part of John’s life?
Although his family was originally from Kalopanayotis in the Troodos mountains, several of John’s uncles and his godfather settled in Limassol, a place he always considered his coastal home. Many summers were spent there in the 1970s and 1980s, with John watching the cargo ships plying Limassol Harbour. An economist by training, he served with Britain’s Foreign and Commonwealth Office, working on trade development. His move to the legal profession came late, qualifying in 1996. He eventually ‘washed ashore’ at what was then a small specialist marine and insurance firm in the City of London, Clyde & Co. The company went on to develop as a major force, with 45 offices globally and almost 400 partners – of which John became partner number 60 in 2003. He advised on his first superyacht transaction in 1998 – the US$2m sale and purchase of a Sunseeker Predator 80 – and today counsels many of the superyacht world’s leading yacht builders, owners and designers. John is in considerable demand at international symposia and regularly writes for the leading superyacht publications. As much known for his legal skills as his articles and eccentric Twitter feed, signature facial hair and bespoke suits, he can be seen zipping around Monaco on his Brompton folding bike or zooming around London on his “jet ski on wheels”, a much beloved CanAm Spyder.
The Changing World Of Superyachts
When John first became involved with superyachts, it could barely be called an industry. By today’s standards, the yachts were small and relatively cheap. It was a cottage industry populated by enthusiastic amateurs with just a few long term professionals. A 40m yacht was considered huge, a 50m yacht gigantic. At the turn of the 21st century, spending more than US$20m on a maritime plaything was considered outlandishly extravagant. During the last ten years, the global fleet of superyachts over 45m has grown from around 546 to almost 1,000. Annual deliveries of all superyachts have averaged 140 yachts per year over the last five or six years. And the professionals have driven out most of the amateurs. It is accepted wisdom that the global superyacht fleet sits at around 5,000 or 6,000: the pride of around 3000 owners. According to the 2016 Annual Report from Superyacht Intelligence, there are some 40,000 individuals involved in the superyacht industry as well as 6,500 in the supply chain. John’s own practice, which is overwhelmingly shipbuilder based, sees a bright future: “From the contracts that have been signed in the last year or so it’s evident that serious yacht building is up and running. According to a number of sources, for the first time since the crash of 2008, the number of new orders has exceeded the number of new deliveries. A situation we haven’t seen since 2006.”
Cyprus On The Yachting Map
In recent years there has been a small, considered, shift in the cruising destinations of superyacht owners and superyacht charterers. In John’s early years, chartering in Europe was almost exclusively along the Côte d’Azur, cruising through Italian waters, visiting Sardinia and the Balearics. Now, more owners and charterers choose to cruise east of the Côte d’Azur: with the Adriatic, the Aegean and the Mediterranean providing less obvious but sometimes surprising cruising waters. Montenegro, Mykonos and Santorini have proven popular places to stay, but – at the eastern rim of the Mediterranean – John believes Limassol is an attractive and alluring destination. Together with his wife, John passed through Limassol when holidaying in Cyprus a couple of years ago. They were captivated by the ‘village within the town’ that was the Limassol Marina: a venue which, in a very short space of time, had developed as a lively hub of social activity for the city’s residents as well as the visiting “yachties”. It was, says John, as if Limassol Marina had always been there. “The sympathetic Italian influenced architecture reminiscent of the Costa Smeralda, the attention to detail and the warm Mediterranean breeze almost compel you to stay there; but if you choose to sail away for a day, the short day-trips to Akamas Peninsula or Pissouri Bay will make this part of the Mediterranean a favourite.” Cheekily John adds: “If you choose to moor-up and hire a car and drive inland, try my home village of Kalopanayotis up in the Troodos mountains. Where, if you are lucky, you might find me lunching at Casale Panayiotis. And I might invite you to a small cup of the coffee favoured in this part of the Mediterranean – accompanied by a sweet that will have your doctor condemning you for an unhealthy diet.”
The success of any marina depends on its ability to provide shore-side facilities for visiting yachts. Not just repairs and maintenance, but hospitality and a relaxed environment. Limassol can deliver all that in bucket-loads. And as the Marina becomes more and more integrated into the city’s daily economic and cultural life it is sure to become a haven for the superyacht lifestyle to which Cyprus is so well suited!
This article originally appeared in ONBOARD.