Onboard 1930s motor yacht Over the Rainbow

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Welcome to Yacht Charter Market, the weekly newsletter dedicated to the world of yacht charter.

In today’s newsletter:

• Top story: Charter onboard the historic 1930s motor yacht Over the Rainbow

• Top charter updates: 10% off when chartering Alalya, experience Greenland onboard Athos, step onboard Richard Burton and Elizabeth Taylor’s superyacht Kalizma, visit the Maldives with Alfa, explore the French Riviera onboard Air

• YachtEye: Simplify your trip planning

• Charter photo: @materialnelson gets a spectacular show of nature in Alaska

TOP STORY

Charter onboard the historic 1930s motor yacht Over the Rainbow

With signs of the second world war still visible on this historic yacht, Over the Rainbow is one of the oldest charter yachts on the market today. With more than 11 owners and six name changes throughout her 95-year history, she is the ideal yacht for those who love history, culture and a unique charter experience.

Chartering through history

Staying onboard Over the Rainbow is more than chartering the Mediterranean for a week; it’s a journey through time. With a beautifully preserved Honduras mahogany interior and teak exterior, this 1930s yacht still has much of her original beauty. Even the walls hold scars of the many games of dart played while cruising from the United Kingdom to the Mediterranean and all the way down to Tanzania.

She hasn’t always been available for charter. During the second world war, Over the Rainbow, then named Janetha IV, was owned by the British government and joined the Royal Navy. Later on she belonged to the Hellenic Mining Company before making its way into the hands of Belgian artist Jean Michel Folon in the early 2000s, who named her Over the Rainbow.

Folon, upon meeting the yacht, became so enchanted he just had to have her. It was under his care that Over the Rainbow underwent very necessary extensive refits. Lasting from 2002 to 2004, Over the Rainbow returned to sea, her 1930s exterior beautifully preserved. The magic that this yacht holds hasn’t gone unnoticed. Even a superstar as big as Madonna has stepped onboard, featuring Over the Rainbow in her movie W.E. (2011).

Cruising the Mediterranean: from France to Turkey

Originally launched in 1930 by Dickie & Sons, anyone who steps onboard Over the Rainbow will notice she still has the same glow 95 years on. Guests who charter her will enjoy a trip back in time, while enjoying her modern amenities added during her refit in 2019, including Starlink, air conditioning and stabilisers.

Her warm and spacious interior welcomes eleven guests across four versatile staterooms, including a full-beam master suite. Her intricately restored wood panelling, together with her soft furnishings create a cosy feel onboard, with many nooks to retreat to, ideal for sunbathing, enjoying a good book, or sipping a cup of coffee. Or you can take a nap while the creaking original wooden flooring lulls you to sleep.

At Over the Rainbow’s helm is Captain Tim Cooter, who’s been with the yacht for a little less than a decade. He lives onboard, with his two co-captains, dachshunds Duke and Sandy. While they don’t get to charter along with guests, the four-footed captains do join Captain Tim when exploring new coves, bays and beaches throughout the Mediterranean. Over the Rainbow’s owner has specifically tasked the captain with finding new chartering routes, ensuring each guest experience is unique. Chartering Over the Rainbow means no route is the same, making each journey onboard unique.

When chartering, Captain Tim is joined by a crew of five. From March to December the team charters the Mediterranean, stretching from France and Monaco to Turkey and Greece. Along the way, there are plenty of stops and moments to jump in the azure blue waters. The water toy collection is extensive, ranging from jetskis and electric surfboards to fishing equipment and an inflatable trampoline. Recently, Captain Tim even taught a 72-year-old guest how to wakeboard.

Captaining Over the Rainbow

What is most striking about Captain Tim, besides his wakeboard-teaching skills, is his love for Over the Rainbow. A ship with such charisma and history can only be captained by someone passionate and respectful of her history. Just like the superyacht, Tim’s own history captaining Over the Rainbow has been quite a journey. From the South Coast of England, handling lobsters and crabs and running his own boat-delivery business, to spending a few seasons as first mate in the Mediterranean: all have prepared him to be at the helm of Over the Rainbow.

After ten years at sea, Captain Tim thought he was ready for a land-based job. Back in England, Cooter felt like a fish out of water and, once again, went in search of a yacht with personality; not another season treading through the Mediterranean.

At the time, Over the Rainbow was looking for a new captain, keeping her owner busy, filtering through 250 applications. Tim Cooter stood out. Yet it wasn’t just because of his extensive resume; Cooter added a personal letter explaining why he was the right guy to captain Over the Rainbow. Two days later he got the call; nearly ten years later he still has the role.

Chartering onboard a yacht as iconic as Over the Rainbow allows guests to be enriched by her history while enjoying a leisure charter vacation spent exploring the Mediterranean. Discover more or book your holiday onboard with TJB Super Yachts.

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CHARTER UPDATES

🛟 10% discount when cruising Alalya in the Ionian Sea this autumn

🏝️ Explore Greenland onboard the 64-metre sailing yacht Athos

❤️ Charter onboard Richard Burton & Elizabeth Taylor’s historical yacht, Kalizma

🌟 Charter across the Maldives in October onboard Alfa

🇫🇷 Explore the French Riviera onboard 81-metre Air

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