Today, 1st March, is Saint David's day, the patron Saint of Wales, and we are delighted to announce some charter promotions for the 60m motor yacht St David

Saint David, was born towards the end of the 5th century, and tradition states that he died on 1st March in the year 588. Famous as a teacher, his foundation at Glyn Rhosin became an important Christian shrine, and the most important center in Wales. As his tearful monks prepared for his death, Saint David uttered these words: "BROTHERS BE YE CONSTANT. THE YOKE WHICH WITH SINGLE MIND YE HAVE TAKEN, BEAR YE TO THE END; AND WHATSOEVER YE HAVE SEEN WITH ME AND HEARD, KEEP AND FULFILL."

St David, the 60m Benetti charter yacht, is considerably more recent that the legend of Saint David! Delivered as Yacht Xanadu in 2008, it was commissioned, by Welsh Owner Sir Stanley Thomas, who engaged globally renowned designers Andrew Winch Design to incorporate some key Welsh touches into the interior design. One feature is on the rotating globe at the bottom of the guest spiral staircase, where a there is an inscription in Welsh saying "DOES DIM FFORDD HAWDD AT YR HYN SYDD WERTH EL GAEL" and "FELY BYDD HAU FELLY BYDDY MEDI", which translated into English means "THERES NO EASY WAY OF ACHIEVING WHAT IS WORTH HAVING" and "AS YOU SOW, SO YOU SHALL REEP".

The globe has a gold painted line marked on it from the Owners home in Wales, to Xanadu, which was the summer capital of the Mongol ruler Kublai Khan's Yuan Chinese empire, which popularised the name Xanadu for Shangdu. "Kubla Khan", or "A Vision in a Dream: A Fragment", is a poem written by Samuel Taylor Coleridge, completed in 1797 and published in 1816 after Lord Byron prompted the author to finally release it.

Finally, in the Master Cabin, the bed head contains a Welsh crest consisting of three white ostrich feathers, similar to those seen in the heraldic badge of the Prince of Wales himself.

The original owner sold the yacht in 2010 to a buyer with no Welsh connections, who renamed the yacht St Ekaterina and subsequently St David. The yacht was since sold again in 2015 with the name unchanged, and so we couldn't resist the opportunity to use this unique Welsh date and connection to launch some summer promotions!

2016 Availability:

• April - available in the Caribbean at a reduced rate of €150,000 p/w plus APA
• Late April - early May - return crossing to the Mediterranean
• May - available for the Monaco Grand Prix long weekend (26th-30th) at €260,000 plus VAT and APA
• June - fully available at €280,000 p/w plus VAT and APA
• July - available till the 7th in Greece
• August - no availability
• September - available after the 10th in South of France / Italy

Summer 2016 Itineraries:

Suggested Monaco Grand Prix intierary

Suggested 7 day Western Mediterranean itinerary

Suggested 7 day Croatia itinerary

Suggested 7 day Greece itinerary

Contact charter@westnautical.com for all enquiries onboard St David, or another yacht of your choice.

by Geoff Moore