JamesList Exclusive: A closer look at the Balkan I

An interesting practice in the luxury world is rebuilding an old classic to the point where recognizing the original is gets difficult. One such item is the Balkan I that is currently listed on JamesList. The yacht began as an effort from classic Italian shipyard Cantieri di Pisa back in the early 1980s and was purchased by the gentleman pictured below.

This sharp-looking man was none other than Todor Zhivkov, at the time the communist leader of the People’s Republic of Bulgaria (a good rule of thumb is to be very suspicious of any state
that use words like “people’s” or “democratic” in its official title). Due to the downfall of the iron curtain in the late 1980s and early 90s, the yacht was seized and kept in storage by the Bulgarian
government until 2007 (Zhivkov himself was convicted of embezzling in 1992 and passed away of pneumonia in 1998) when it was sold to a private company.

The present owner meticulously rebuilt her to become the Balkan I. Nothing was left to chance. Among the changes was a lengthened hull, a whole new paint job, completely overhauled machinery
and new electronics. The listed price is €2,950,000 – mere fragments of the money invested in Balkan I. So, why bother? “We often see sellers who have spent a great deal of money refitting or
maintaining their yachts and then offer the yacht for sale well below their investment.  The market will just not bear a higher asking price, especially in today’s market” says Curtis Stokes, president of
Curtis Stokes & Associates who are brokering the Balkan I. “Even though this seller is asking less than what he has invested in his yacht, this is still lower than the cost of a similar new yacht.  Because of the history of this yacht, the seller had a personal affection for her and was willing to invest a considerable amount in her. His plans have now changed, so this becomes a great opportunity for a new
owner to buy a beautiful, practically new yacht for much less than the cost of a new yacht.”

I wonder what made the owner change his or her mind.The general seller’s discretion that is common during these kinds of transactions prevents us from finding out – not that it really matters. Just seeing a yacht that has something to offer than any other “custom built, unique, extravagant, top-of-the-line” attributes that are usually slapped onto every single luxury boat is a refreshening experience. Driving around in a piece of genuine Cold War memorabilia is certainly something else.

Curtis Stokes runs his brokerage in the mecca of leisure boating, Fort Lauderdale. Starting out in the real estate business at his father’s firm, Curtis’ experience in the field proved valuable when the bottom dropped out of the financial market. “The yacht market has already experienced the same challenges as the real estate market.  Yacht sales have been slower, asking and selling prices have been lower and sellers are considering offers they would not have even entertained previously.  This is now a buyer’s market, so there are some great deals for anyone considering buying a yacht now”. But it’s not all bad. Curtis sees bright things ahead. Much like the real estate market, the sales of chartering of yachts are slowly improving, and 2010 looks like it could approach resembling something like a good year.

So, what are his plans for the future? “I started Curtis Stokes & Associates, Inc. as a boutique yacht sales and charter firm providing personal, professional, discreet and honest assistance to my clients and customers.  I plan to continue that philosophy and not branch out into other services and I especially plan not to grow the size of the firm too large”. Hearing that someone’s plans are to not expand too much is one of those things that we’ve been hearing more and more often recently. Customers seem to value a man-to-man approach rather than The Giant Company way of conducting business. “There are plenty of firms offering everything for yacht management to crew placement alongside their base brokerage services.  I would rather concentrate on what I do best and work with independent firms in the other industry sectors.  I feel my clients and customers will enjoy their yachting experience better in this relationship”.

Tags: balkan I, bulgaria, cantieri di pisa, curtis stokes, todor zhivkov

This entry was posted on Wednesday, December 2nd, 2009 at 3:21 pm and is filed under Marine. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.