Haute Yachts: DeLUXE San Diego to Attract Yacht Owners

If you’re in the mood for more than just California dreamin’, mark April 14 to 16 on your calendar. That’s when a new luxury lifestyle event called DeLUXE San Diego will be held, showcasing a variety of yachts, among other high-end products, and including several exclusive experiences.

The goal of the show is to promote the Southern California city as a go-to destination for both yachting enthusiasts as well as luxury lifestyle connoisseurs. DeLUXE San Diego is being hosted at the Fifth Avenue Marina and San Diego Convention Center’s Bay Front Park and Fifth Avenue Landing. In the heart of downtown San Diego, the locations are also in proximity to major downtown hotels.

On the yacht front, DeLUXE San Diego will feature 100-foot-plus yachts, both power and sail. While the final tally of exhibitors is not yet available, Tim McGrane, president of Events International Co., the owner and promoter of the event, explains, “We feel good that we will be able to secure a lineup of 15 yachts over 100 foot, together with a selection of classic tenders and day boats.” He adds that the top yacht builders and charter brokers are negotiating spaces.

Even with the emphasis on yachts, DeLUXE San Diego is far larger in scope. As McGrane puts it, “This is not a yacht show, or a car or other category show, but an ‘experience event’ that we are looking to bring together guests to introduce and expose them to a number of luxury categories. Yachts by their very nature will have the dominant presence and are certainly the main focus, but target attendees are people that may not have considered chartering before, or for those UHNWI on the West Coast who would not consider going to a ‘show.’”

Among the other luxury exhibitors and products: top-name automobiles, private-aviation firms, jewelers and watchmakers, and fashion from both domestic and international leaders. These, as well as the yachts, will be available for one-on-one visits, some invitation-only, over the course of the event.

Doug Sharp, president of yacht-design firm Sharp Designs, is among the yachting-industry representatives who believes the focus is far better this way than simply on the yachts. In fact, he among a handful of people who envisioned “a luxury-lifestyle event catering to the level of clientele known to exist in the Western States and capable of understanding and appreciating an event intended to showcase San Diego resources in the large-yacht and accompanying lifestyle arena.” He says that when he and others met McGrane, he knew they were on the right track. “Tim was enthusiastic and has taken the idea, built upon it, and refined it to a level that I think is a real winner for the event, for the region, and for the large yacht business,” Sharp says. “It is our belief in the development of the luxury event in San Diego that the clientele will be welcomed in an intimate, friendly, and familiar atmosphere to the resources available in the large-yacht industry, and thus it will be an easier decision for them to invest in the lifestyle and our products and services.”