As the average yacht grows in length, the industry grows with it. The latest to enter the highly lucrative megayacht market is Lucid Marine. Now known as the Lucid Yacht Group, the firm has added a dedicated megayacht division to its already existing Cruising and Performance Departments. In addition, the company has teamed with Jack Sarin to launch The Sarin Custom Series, the first yacht line to bear the distinguished naval architect's name.

"Our megayacht division begins with Jack Sarin," says Barin Cardenas, Lucid Marine founder. "His prolific career as a naval architect has produced some of the world's most successful designs for industry giants like Westport and Crescent. He's part of a different breed, the one that prefers to use a pencil instead of a mouse. I asked Jack what he wanted to be remembered for and the Sarin Custom Series was born."

The innovative Series will encompass full and semi-displacement yachts, MCA and ICE classes, and long-range vessels with a choice of steel, aluminum, or combination designs. The line will kick off with a semi-displaning, all-aluminum construction, 158ft tri-level yacht (pictured below).

"We are in the initial concept stages of the designs for the Sarin Signature Series," says Sarin, "beginning with a semi-planing, aluminum construction, 158ft tri-level yacht and a 181ft tri-level long range, steel/aluminum full-displacement motor yacht. We hope to be ready for tank testing at the end of August. The other principals involved, Megayacht Division Director Jeff Ferguson and Rusty Preston, are two well-known individuals with many years of experience in the megayacht field. Their 25+ years of experience brings a wealth of knowledge and insight to the team and their input is invaluable to the design effort."

The goal of each yacht in the Series as seen by Sarin, is a successful building venture for the participants - client, builder, dealer, and design team - combining aesthetically pleasing profiles and arrangements that are timeless with superior performance and luxurious functionally that can be produced at a reasonable cost and time.

Sometimes, however, a gently nudge is needed to get things moving and that's what happened to Barin Cardenas. He has been defining his vision for a megayacht division for nearly a year and had reached an interesting checkpoint when he had lunch with Rusty Preston of Westport fame. Cross it and he would be in the megayacht business, or stop there and put it on hold for another year or two.

"Rusty asked me, 'Do you love what you do? Do you really love the industry" Cardenas explains. "Because if you do.' Rusty said, 'and you respect it and those in it, you eventually end up in the big leagues (megayachts) where you can invest just as much time into select clients and offer a service that maximizes your best. And if that's where you will end up, why delay it?" After contemplating Preston's sage words, Cardenas and Lucid Marine crossed that invisible line. On the brokerage side of the new Megayacht Division, Lucid provides owners with experience in every facet of the megayacht industry, whether they are building a new boat or finding the right existing one.

"Wouldn't you want to be represented by someone that has been on both ends of the transaction?" concludes Cardenas. "Someone that understand the contracts, designs, equipment, crew and best of all, can negotiate intelligently? Everyone claims that customer satisfaction is their number one goal. Ours actually is. It takes dedicated effort to consistently deliver brand prestige, fine ship building, astute floor plan arrangements, on-time deliveries and a 'let's get to it before it becomes an issue' attitude." A laudable mantra for the newly christened Lucid Yacht Group - SL