I call Gregg Morton at Northrop and Johnson in San Diego to congratulate him on the sale of his central listing, the classic 38m Feadship motor yacht Orion, and Gregg says that, while it was a complex and protracted transaction, no other brokers were involved.
The Royal Van Lent yard built Orion in 1984 and this superyacht was refitted in 1992 and 1994, with great care being taken to maintain her in an unadulterated fashion, retaining her original features. Her main engines were rebuilt in 2010 and have only 15 hours on them and include a five year/2500 mile ORC Caterpillar service warranty. Additional recent work includes a hull repaint in 2007, superstructure repaint in 2008 and all soft goods replaced in the last three years. With accommodation for eight guests in four cabins, Orion was asking $5.2 million. Finally, Gregg tells me she was sold to a buyer from Canada, one of the few Western nations to have come through the credit crunch relatively unscathed.