In late April, we were in Mallorca for the Palma International Boat Show. Not a sales week; no stand, nothing pitched. The time was devoted to meetings with existing clients and new contacts, with topics of conversation following themes of market moves, new initiatives and technologies, and, indeed, a warm reception for The First Owner's Reference (more on which below).

A 33-metre sailing yacht under our management has just completed a successful Caribbean and early Mediterranean season, with both trans-Atlantic shipping legs handled in-house; the same arrangement is available to our other clients with our established shipping partners. Yacht management at this scale is, in practice, the work of holding together the technical reading, schedule, crew, regulatory paperwork, and the owner's expectations, all in support of the Captain. Plates spinning at all times.

Planned-maintenance provisioning work continued across yachts under our care through the same period, including a remote install of a database on a 43-metre motor yacht in Tahiti. Crucial for a single structured record of maintenance, spares, and class survey cycles that does not leave with the crew.

Our Safety Management work has been extended this quarter to cover full ISM compliance for commercial yachts under 3,000 gross tonnes. For owners operating commercially, we now run the full process: drafting the policies, training the crew, and seeing through the audits. Regulatory compliance and operational management go hand in hand, and an established safety culture grows. Fewer surprises and a safe and professional working environment.

In Poland, a new sailing yacht is in build for a private owner. We are engaged on the owner's side, with one of us on the ground at the yard. A repower is also underway aboard a yacht in Vilanova, Spain, under our technical direction.

Two working partnerships have settled into our regular practice this quarter, both extending our solutions for clients. OrcaMet, led by meteorologist Steve Carver, covers weather routing for our project and managed yachts: race, ocean crossing, delivery, performance debrief. Diverse Performance Systems handles hydraulic and PLC integration, the systems behind deck machinery on a modern yacht. Foreland also continues to support Falmouth Marine School's Foundation degree in Superyacht Engineering, with tutorials this spring on hydraulics, navcoms, electrics, and life onboard. Having contributed to the early course material, we pass on knowledge to the next generation of Chief Engineers in their lectures, as they step into an exciting and dynamic career.

Our website forelandmarine.com, marketing material and social media channels were rebranded in the same period by Faro Creative Design, with great feedback. Keep an eye on LinkedIn and Instagram for the latest news from HQ.

Technical Support is a new standing on-call arrangement for yachts of 24 metres and over. The difference between a problem solved in a morning and one that lingers for weeks is usually one phone call: knowing who to ask, and having that person already familiar with the yacht.

The arrangement covers an annual planned-maintenance audit onboard, engineer hours on call, and parts sourcing at cost. At higher levels of engagement we add hand-carried parts worldwide at short notice, pre-passage audits, and an assigned lead engineer. Full detail at forelandmarine.com/technical-support.

Alongside the commercial work; a soon-to-be-published independent buyer's guide. The First Owner's Reference is an annual editorial for first-time superyacht buyers, published by Foreland Marine. Kept structurally separate from any commercial engagement and declared as such. The site is now live at firstownersreference.com. The first print edition is scheduled for Q4 2026.

The editorial position is the load-bearing thing. Much of the yachting trade press and glossy magazines are printed by the brokerages, this is not a criticism, simply the mechanics of industry. TFOR, comparatively, carries no advertising, sponsored content, or paid placement, giving the reader a full and unencumbered view of all aspects of yacht acquisition and ownership. The argument across the nine lead essays is that the structure of the superyacht industry places most of the firms around a first acquisition on the other side of the table from the owner, and the right response is to engage those on your side early on.

It is the kind of publication the trade press is structurally less able to publish. That is why it exists.

The First Owner's Reference is still being written and contributed to, ahead of print publication. We invite all of our clients and partners to read the web version and pass on their comments to editors@firstownersreference.com.

What follows, briefly. The Polish new build continues. Technical Support enters its first full quarter. Editorial work on The First Owner's Reference continues with industry contributors ahead of the Q4 print edition. Our sister venture, Foreland Shipyard Group, continues Phase One of the yacht refit facility development program in the UK and Bay of Gibraltar, with the Tipner West site bid in Portsmouth as the UK leg, which goes to public tender later this year. Were it to be accepted, the 30,000m² site would materially reduce the cost of refitting a non-EU yacht in the United Kingdom and provide great strategic advantage to owners and family offices. More on that when there is something settled to report.

Refit remains a strong part of our work, though there is always scope for more. We would like to hear from any of our network exploring refit options this winter; surveys, repowers and large maintenance projects are what we do. On time, and on budget. None too large, or small.

Yacht Management is further developed with pending applications to Malta and Cayman Islands shipping authorities in pursuit of Documents of Compliance. These are essential to the operation of commercial yachts, and reflect our commitment to continued development for clients. The process runs to twelve months with significant auditing; we will keep readers updated in future editions.

And, aside from all of that, we are still seafarers at heart. We have a busy summer programme of professional and amateur yacht racing in the Solent and Mediterranean to look forward to. Can't spend all day in the office…

Replies to this letter come to both of us. We read every one.