IGY Trident: Pioneering a New Wave Superyachting Community

Following an exciting and entertaining launch on board MY Gene Chaser in Miami, The IGY Trident Collective is striking an ambient chord with the globe’s most elite band of superyacht owners.

With founding memberships limited to just 30, IGY’s CEO Tom Mukamal revealed that a number of owners are already exploring the opportunities the programme will offer, having experienced an initial taster against the glamorous backdrop of the inaugural Miami F1 Grand Prix.

“We had great feedback on launch night,” says Mukamal. “We had in excess 20 superyacht owners there alongside other VIP guests and people now want to learn more about the specifics of the benefits, the guaranteed slip access, available savings and how the programme will work for each individual superyacht, so we are having some good conversations.”

A unique proposition

The IGY Trident Collective is the first global group of superyacht owners benefiting from enhanced and simplified superyacht ownership through specialized, next generation benefits. Best-in-class partners have been appointed across dockage, fuel bunkering, proprietary hull insurance, healthcare, crew service training, yacht management and agency services while offering exclusive access to prestigious events including Cannes Film Festival, Art Basel and the Formula 1 Grand Prix.

“For a Collective member who is going to Cannes Film Festival, for example, we will curate a whole package and deliver to the owner or charterer,” explains Mukamal. “They could choose from four prime slips near the Palais des Festivals, with a number of premiere tickets and invitations to the festival’s most desirable private parties, and the same will be true for various other world class global events.”

Equally, some memberships may be allocated to leading ship builders or other stakeholders who are keen to reassure new owners or favoured clients anxious to secure the best global berths for their boats.

Gili Wojnowich, IGY’s Regional Director of Operations in the US and Bahamas (pictured left), spent many months researching the most valuable membership aspects to superyacht owners. “My primary role throughout the evolution of Trident has been curating the benefits and unique access opportunities that IGY itself is providing via its vast network of marinas,” he explains.

“I’ve analysed a large amount of historical data collected over the last 15 years to help us fine tune and promote some of the key attributes of the Trident program that our clients desire and truly value. This process has also included in-person interviews with dozens of industry leaders and captains to ensure that ultimately what we are trying to accomplish is always centred around having a positive impact on the experiences of a superyacht owner and his or her crew.”

IGY’s unique market position

There has been an untapped demand for some time for a program of this kind to provide high level exclusive offerings to the world’s leading superyacht owners but Wojnowich says it hasn’t been possible to establish this until now.

“The notion has likely been in the ether of many superyacht owners and only a company like IGY, with marina assets in the most desirable locations and tremendous partners at its side, can envision a membership program like Trident, having the means and drive to actually execute on it.

“IGY believes that in order for the superyacht industry to remain afloat, it is critically important that the experiential elements that drive today’s superyacht owners are protected, simplified and celebrated. Historically, the ecosystem that has existed to fulfil the complex needs of operating a superyacht has been a largely fragmented one that quite often leads to unnecessary and unintended consequences for the yacht’s beneficiaries including its captain and crew.

“Trident sets out to vastly change the way superyacht owners and their crew spend their time and resources in a way that restores the primary focus on the actual enjoyment of yachting.”

Mukamal agrees that IGY’s extensive property portfolio of 23 world class marinas in 13 countries across the US, Caribbean, Europe and Latin America places the company in a unique position to pioneer and champion this initiative.

“We have the real estate to do it and a high degree of confidence that those locations are going to grow into sought-after destinations,” he adds. “We have a good line of sight that we will be in five other locations that our superyacht owners will also want to go to.

“We have one owner across the entire IGY network and that makes it easier for us to do. Other superyacht asset owners are either regionalised or all in America and are not yet in a position to do this. Our goal is to make it even more compelling through other bids we have ongoing in the South of France, the Balearics and beyond.

“A consistent theme in this has been service to the owner. Part of the overall construction was if you combine what we have to offer with other things, how much time can we give back to the captain to look after the owner? We can make their job easier and make everyone happier.

“We’ve learned a lot in the past from co-marketing with other industry companies on how to be supportive – and part of this was about how do we extend that and make a more structured offering? It brought us to picking our handful of partners to start this unique and exclusive new platform. Our view is, if you’re not changing things, you shouldn’t be around.”

Partners in excellence 

Along with a roster of high-level partners including Navium, Forbes Travel Guide, World Fuel Services, BWA Yachting, Fairport Yacht Support and VIGILINT’s Global MedAssist Program in partnership with Cleveland Clinic, IGY is collaborating with NYC-based marketing strategists and brand experience specialists Axcess Worldwide to create and curate the highest level of international social and sporting event access. Over the last 20 years Axcess has worked with many of the world’s most iconic and prestigious luxury and lifestyle brands on a global basis.

Adds Mukamal: “We found Axcess through some titans in the hotel world and it’s a partnership that is going places. They delivered a fantastic launch event in Miami for us and this is just the beginning.”

Much more than an exclusive club

Creating an elite membership community is a remit Brett (pictured left) and his team are familiar with following more than two decades in business. “We have many years of experience developing these types of communities — we’ve done it in private aviation, high-end residential real estate, fractional home programs, private banking, automotive and other industries. We understand what these people want, their passions, how they like to travel and the experiences that interest them.”

IGY’s significant intel and research suggests that the IGY Trident Collective will appeal to a specific breed of owner for whom superyacht ownership represents much more than merely a status symbol or signifier of wealth.

Gili says: “What we have learned through many years in this industry and by speaking to countless individuals is to consider each superyacht as its own unique story. While there are many commonalities in what constitutes a superyacht, there are undoubtedly many different ways that a yacht is utilised and, of course, many different types of yacht owners.

“In developing Trident’s core set of benefits, we attempted to establish an array of services and attributes that would be appealing to the individual who truly enjoys travelling with their yacht. Operating a yacht is a high-cost endeavour, whether it’s mothballed in a yard or out cruising the deep oceans. IGY Trident sets out to simplify the yachting experience by collating best-in-class partners and products with the distinct ability to offer reliable and reasonable services throughout a yacht’s journey on a global scale.

“Aside from the operational touch points of Trident, we expect that members will find immense value in the community network aspect that only this type of exclusive program can provide.

“Since its inception in 2005, IGY has worked tirelessly towards assembling world-class marina facilities in the most desirable locations, cultivating the very best services and instituting amazing teams of managers, concierge representatives and dock staff across the network.

“For these reasons, and thanks to our valued Trident partners who share this same vision, the IGY Trident Collective is in the best possible position to revolutionise and advance the way superyacht owners of today and tomorrow can enjoy the many wonderful experiences that one can only realise on board!”