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15 Years of Worth Avenue Yachts

Worth Avenue Yachts

Celebrating 15 Years of Worth Avenue Yachts

In 2011, Worth Avenue Yachts was founded with a clear vision: create a yachting firm built on trust, relationships, market knowledge, and a client-first approach. Fifteen years later, that vision continues to guide every conversation, every listing, every charter, every build project, and every relationship the company represents.

Founded by Michael Mahan and Brian Tansey, Worth Avenue Yachts was created with the belief that success in yachting comes from more than simply representing yachts. It comes from understanding people. It comes from listening carefully, communicating clearly, and building long-term relationships that extend well beyond a single transaction.

Over the past 15 years, Worth Avenue Yachts has grown into a respected global firm with a strong presence across the American market and beyond. With offices in key yachting destinations and a team that spans sales, charter, charter management, marketing, new builds, and client service, the company has continued to evolve while staying grounded in the same principles that shaped its beginning.

The yachts have grown. The markets have changed. The tools, platforms, and client expectations have advanced. But the core philosophy remains the same: represent clients with integrity, communicate openly, collaborate intelligently, and make the process as informed, enjoyable, and successful as possible.

Built on Trust, Relationships, and Open Communication

Yachting is a relationship-driven industry. The strongest results often come from trust built over years, sometimes decades. For Worth Avenue Yachts, those relationships include clients, captains, crew, shipyards, designers, charter managers, brokers, and fellow firms across the industry.

A major part of the company’s philosophy is open communication with co-brokerage firms and the wider brokerage community. Worth Avenue Yachts encourages trusted brokers at other firms to market its central agency listings to their own networks. This collaborative approach gives clients’ yachts greater visibility and allows the right buyer or charter client to be reached faster.

In an industry where discretion is important, visibility still matters. When a yacht is actively for sale or available for charter, hiding that opportunity from qualified brokers and serious clients does not serve the owner. Gatekeeping listings, limiting exposure, or quietly sitting on inventory can work against the very people a brokerage is meant to represent.

Worth Avenue Yachts believes the American market is strong in part because it embraces open sharing, competition, and collaboration. A well-marketed yacht should be seen by the right people, through the right channels, with accurate information and professional representation. That mindset helps create momentum, shorten timelines, and keep yachting calendars full.

A Company That Has Grown With Its Clients

The growth of Worth Avenue Yachts has been shaped by the needs of its clients. Some come to the company ready to sell. Others are searching for their first yacht, moving into a larger vessel, exploring charter before ownership, or building something entirely new.

As the company has expanded, so have its services. Worth Avenue Yachts now supports clients through every major stage of the yachting lifestyle, from buying and selling to chartering, managing, and building.

The goal is not to push clients into one path. The goal is to understand where they are, what they want, and what makes sense for their lifestyle, family, business use, and long-term plans.

Listing Your Yacht for Sale

Listing your yacht for sale requires more than placing it online and waiting for inquiries. A successful sales strategy starts with positioning.

Worth Avenue Yachts works with owners to evaluate market conditions, comparable sales, pricing strategy, photography, video, digital exposure, print materials, email campaigns, boat show opportunities, broker outreach, and direct client targeting.

The process is designed to create informed visibility. That means presenting the yacht professionally, distributing the information strategically, and keeping the owner updated throughout the process.

Strong marketing matters, but so does accuracy. Buyers and brokers need clear specifications, current photography, thoughtful descriptions, and prompt communication. A listing should be easy to understand, easy to share, and easy to act on.

For Worth Avenue Yachts, selling faster is not about overpromising. It is about doing the work: pricing realistically, marketing consistently, communicating with the brokerage community, and making sure the yacht is positioned in front of the right audience.

Finding the Perfect Yacht for You

Buying a yacht is personal. It is also technical, financial, emotional, and often complex. The right yacht depends on how a client plans to use it, where they want to cruise, how many guests they host, whether they prefer speed or range, whether they need charter potential, and how much operational support they want after closing.

Worth Avenue Yachts helps clients move through that process with clarity. The team looks beyond what is currently available online and helps clients evaluate each opportunity with a practical eye.

The perfect yacht is not always the largest yacht, the newest yacht, or the one with the most dramatic photos. It is the yacht that fits the client’s life.

That may mean a family-friendly motor yacht for summers in New England, a proven charter platform in the Caribbean, a long-range explorer, a West Coast cruising yacht, or a new build project designed from the keel up.

The role of the broker is to guide, advise, negotiate, and protect the client’s interests from the first search through closing and beyond.

Curate Your Ideal Charter Vacation

Try Before You Buy

Charter is one of the best ways to experience the yachting lifestyle before making a purchase. It allows clients to understand what they love, what they need, and what type of yacht best fits their lifestyle.

For some, charter is the destination. For others, it is the first step toward ownership.

Worth Avenue Yachts curates charter vacations around the client, not just the yacht. The process considers destination, dates, guest preferences, onboard style, food and beverage, water toys, itinerary, crew personality, and overall experience.

A family traveling through The Bahamas may need something completely different from a couple exploring the Mediterranean or a group planning a milestone celebration in New England.

Charter also gives future buyers a chance to experience different yacht sizes, layouts, crew structures, amenities, and cruising styles. It is one thing to view a yacht at a boat show. It is another to spend a week onboard and understand how the spaces actually feel.

For clients considering ownership, charter can be the most enjoyable research trip they will ever take.

Managing Your Yacht for Charter

For yacht owners, charter management can help offset operating costs, increase yacht activity, and keep a vessel visible in the marketplace. But successful charter management requires strategy, coordination, and consistency.

Worth Avenue Yachts works with owners, captains, crew, and charter brokers to help position yachts effectively within the charter market. This includes photography, rate strategy, availability management, marketing materials, destination planning, broker communication, and support throughout the booking process.

A strong charter program is built on more than availability. It depends on reputation, responsiveness, crew experience, guest satisfaction, and accurate communication.

The goal is to create the right opportunities for the owner while protecting the yacht, respecting the crew, and delivering a high-quality guest experience.

In charter, relationships matter just as much as they do in sales. Brokers need confidence in the yacht. Guests need confidence in the experience. Owners need confidence in the management process.

Luxury New Builds | Build Your Next Yacht

For clients ready to build, Worth Avenue Yachts provides guidance through one of the most exciting and detailed processes in yachting.

A new build requires vision, planning, patience, and the right team. From shipyard selection and design conversations to specifications, timelines, resale considerations, owner representation, and long-term use, each decision matters.

Worth Avenue Yachts helps clients think through how they want to live onboard, where they want to cruise, what level of customization they need, and how to balance personal preferences with future marketability.

Building a yacht should be inspiring, but it should also be grounded in experience. The best projects are the result of open communication between the owner, broker, shipyard, designer, captain, and technical team.

Whether a client is considering a semi-custom platform or a fully custom project, the goal is to build a yacht that feels personal, performs well, and supports the owner’s lifestyle for years to come.

A Team That Works Hard and Enjoys the Ride

One of the defining qualities of Worth Avenue Yachts is its team culture. The company takes the work seriously, but it also believes yachting should be enjoyable.

This is an industry built around extraordinary places, memorable experiences, and people who love being on the water. That spirit is part of the company’s identity.

Behind every listing launch, charter booking, boat show, closing, event, and client trip is a team working through details, deadlines, logistics, and communication. The work can be demanding, but it is also rewarding.

The fun matters because it keeps the company connected to what yachting is really about. Time with family and friends. New destinations. Milestone celebrations. Quiet mornings at anchor. Long days underway. The feeling of stepping aboard and knowing you are exactly where you want to be.

Worth Avenue Yachts has grown because its team understands both sides of the business: the professional responsibility and the personal joy.

Looking Ahead

Fifteen years is a meaningful milestone, but it is not a finish line.

For Michael Mahan, Brian Tansey, and the entire Worth Avenue Yachts team, the next chapter is about continuing to grow with purpose. That means strengthening relationships, expanding services, investing in better tools, supporting clients more effectively, and continuing to represent yachts with the professionalism and energy the market expects.

The company’s success has always come from people: the clients who place their trust in the team, the brokers who collaborate across firms, the captains and crew who deliver incredible experiences, and the Worth Avenue Yachts team members who bring the work to life every day.

Since 2011, Worth Avenue Yachts has been proud to help clients buy, sell, charter, manage, and build yachts around the world.

Fifteen years later, the mission remains the same: deliver trusted guidance, meaningful relationships, and exceptional yachting experiences … one client, one yacht, and one voyage at a time.

Get in Touch

Have a question or need more information? Our team is here to help. Whether you’re interested in buying, selling, chartering, or just want to learn more about our services, we’d love to hear from you. Fill out the form below and a member of our team will get back to you shortly.

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