Cape Town aims to get its name on the superyacht map

When a superyacht berths at Cape Town, it always gets a lot of attention. To whom does it belong, how much is it worth, what is it like inside? The press and social media buzz with speculation while onlookers flock to for a closer look at these multi-million-dollar symbols of wealth and luxury.

Cape Town wants to attract even more superyachts, with plans to make significant investments in new infrastructure and create a new superyacht route that goes via the Mother City. Veda Pretorius heads up Superyacht Cape Town, working with stakeholders such as the V&A Waterfront and city authorities.

“The V&A Waterfront is already a mixed-use precinct, with everything from a visitor’s perspective that a superyacht owner or crew member needs,” she said. “It’s got all the shops — high-end luxury and basic amenities — but the infrastructure hasn’t been upgraded to a superyacht level in the past 20 years. Now there’s a big drive from the V&A Waterfront to invest in dedicated superyacht infrastructure and create more of a hub.”

That hub will be at the former site of Premier Fishing, near the heliport and where a new luxury hotel is already under construction and due to be completed towards the end of 2025. Also expected to be completed around the same time are the major upgrades to The Table Bay Hotel. The V&A Waterfront is investing over R1-billion in renovating the well-known hotel, which will become the InterContinental Table Bay Cape Town while remaining under Sun International’s management.

“For almost 30 years we have been the proud owner and operator of The Table Bay Hotel,” says Sun International CEO, Anthony Leeming. “We have successfully positioned the hotel as one of the most iconic, award-winning hotels in Cape Town, [hosting] dignitaries, heads of state, celebrities, and families who have returned year after year because they love the experience.”

The hotel, like the rest of the Waterfront, is also planning to attract superyacht owners but, in order to do so, Cape Town needs to become part of a superyacht route. Such dedicated routes exist in other parts of the world, including the Mediterranean, Caribbean, and Indian Ocean, but the Western Cape is often overlooked.

Pretorius says the plan is to launch the Superyacht Cape Town hub in October 2025 at the inaugural African Boating Conference, which takes place at the V&A Waterfront.

The conference will have a number of different topics, including how to grow boating in South Africa and a review of test cases that have worked abroad and can be implemented locally. It will also look at skills development, marine tourism, marina investment and development, and, of course, superyachts, including creating that vital superyacht route.

“The route aims to make it as easy as possible for superyachts to visit, just as they have done in Australia and New Zealand, where they’ve linked all the Pacific Islands,” says Pretorius. “They have a dedicated marketing campaign that we plan to replicate and launch in October at the conference. It will be the big kick-off for the dedicated route and we will also bring in some superyacht guests for the event.”

Currently, many superyacht owners visit the Seychelles or Mauritius, but Cape Town is not seen as a viable next destination owing to the distance. The idea is to create stopover points at ports such as Mossel Bay, which are now investing to create such points. Namibia is also working to become a stopover for those heading into or out of the Western Cape, with Cape Town acting as a major superyacht hub.

“Superyacht owners and the charter industry have moved away from traditional spaces and traditional expectations,” says Pretorius. “There are more families spending time on yachts and more adventure lovers, and Cape Town is going to be marketing itself as a unique destination — along with the rest of South Africa — to a specific type of client.”

A number of superyachts have visited the Cape recently, including the 107m Mar, built by Benetti, and the 160m Blue, a Lurssen vessel.

In addition, the new hub hopes to attract explorer or expedition yachts, and the 75m Abeking & Rasmussen Cloudbreak expedition yacht was seen moored alongside the Table Bay Hotel in 2024. This type of vessel is well suited to the Cape waters and is engineered to take its owners on adventures to locations such as Antarctica or far-flung islands.

Round-the-world-sailing superyachts could also choose to stop at Cape Town and, with the Southern Wind shipyard in the city, many are already seen regularly at the Waterfront undergoing sea trials. One of the advantages of a permanent superyacht route is just such access to facilities for repairs, upgrades, and general maintenance. Cape Town has a wealth of expertise and, whether it’s minor or major work, plenty of companies have made a name for themselves both locally and internationally.

All this means we could well be seeing more of these opulent superyachts in Cape Town in the near future. Along with the spectacle they provide, they could boost both the local boating economy and tourism — and that’s something super too.