Chris Cargen - Repeat Fountaine Pajot Yacht Owner with Atlantic Cruising Yachts

Hear from Chris Cargen about his yacht ownership journey with Atlantic Cruising Yachts. Chris has owned his Fountaine Pajot Saona 47 for 3 years now and has a contract for a Fountaine Pajot New 51. Thank you for choosing ACY, Chris! Oh, I've always wanted a boat. I have been around sailing for years, but I didn't actually learn to sail the boat until I was 70 years old, and actually waited until I had my boat delivered before I took sailing lessons here in Annapolis. There's nothing better than getting on a sailboat, even if it's not moving, just to get around water. Hey, I live in Nashville, Tennessee. We don't have an ocean close, so when I get to the boat, it's exciting to me. I particularly like the fact that Atlantic Cruising Yacht had arranged for charter opportunities in many different locations. And so, that was a big motivating factor. And the fact that they're the biggest dealer for a Fountaine Pajot was a huge reason why I felt that, that was a great group to purchase my yacht from. I have a three-cabin FP 47. And the more time I spend on it, the more space I'd like. I've had times where I wish I could have more people on board. Certainly, the more cabins you have make it a more charterable boat. I mean, the sweet spot in my view is not my boat, because my boat is really built more for an owner, although I've chartered it quite a bit. In fact, they've chartered it like crazy all summer, even though it's a three-cabin boat. But I just wanted a bigger boat, a slightly bigger boat. And a lot of the way that 51 lays out is similar to the boat I already have. I mean, it's got some nice new features to it, but it's not dramatically different. And it's only a couple feet wider and a few feet longer. And it's five cabins instead of three. And of course, that particular New 51 has several different cabin options. So in my case, I elected to have the Maestro owner cabin on one side, and then five other cabins. But you can have as many as six in identical cabins on that boat if you want. Ken Krasko is, of course, the person who heads that up for Atlantic Cruising Yachts. And Ken was great and very patient with all that. And of course, your salesperson is there as well, and Kris Vereen. I mean, anybody that you deal with can give you an answer, and you don't have to wait for one long. They're very responsive to any question you have. I always to wanted to own my own boat. And I got to an age where I said, "It's now or never. I better either do it or not do it." And that really was the motivation. And I remember I came to the boat show, I think in 2017 and saw the first Saona 47. It was hull number four on the same dock and loved it. And so I ordered it. And then I had it sailed across instead of freighted across. Quite frankly, I prefer that because now I know my boat's checked out. If something's going to fail, it's going to fail during that first sail. And I didn't want it failing on me. I know that some people freighter them over. And there are advantages to that, but that was not my preference, so. I'm Chris Cargen. I purchased a Fountaine Pajot Saona 47 from Atlantic Cruising Yachts and I love the boat. I've had it for three years. And I have put a deposit up for a new Fountaine Pajot 51 Catamaran.