From Charter Guest to Owner: The Story of LADY SARAH

On 15 July, the 40.8m Benetti Oasis 40M LADY SARAH was handed over to her Owner at Benetti. For Monaco-based Fraser broker Jan-Jaap Minnema, the delivery marked the end of a journey that began not with a purchase enquiry, but with a charter.

The Owner first came to Fraser as a charter guest, introduced through charter broker Frances Edgeworth in the Monaco office. Season by season, the relationship grew, and so did the questions. Where to cruise next summer gradually became what it would take to have a yacht of their own.

Minnema believes that chartering is the best possible starting point for a future Owner. Every week on board teaches a lesson no brochure can: which layouts get used, how much volume is really needed, what a good crew feels like, which cruising grounds keep calling you back. By the time a charter guest is ready to buy, those seasons on the water mean the search starts from knowledge rather than guesswork, and the realities of running a yacht hold no surprises.

For this Owner, the answer was the Benetti Oasis 40M.

The project was sold by Jan-Jaap Minnema, who represented the Owner from the search for the right yacht through the build to delivery.

A delivery is never the work of one person

“It takes an Owner with a clear vision, a shipyard committed to excellence, a designer who understands how to make a yacht personal, and project teams working closely together from build to handover,” says Minnema.

Early in the project, Minnema introduced the Owner to interior designer Leonardo Santi. From the first phone call through to delivery, Santi developed a series of bespoke interventions that made the interior genuinely personal while respecting the shipyard's production process. It is a distinction that matters more than most buyers realise: a designer who fights the yard costs an Owner time and money, while one who understands how the yard works delivers a custom feel without disturbing the schedule.

“Our ambition was to create a yacht that felt entirely bespoke while respecting Benetti's production process and delivery schedule. Through close collaboration with the Owner, Fraser and the shipyard, we demonstrated that thoughtful design, complete transparency and careful planning can transform a production yacht into a truly personal home on the water,” says Leonardo Santi, founder of Leonardo Santi Design.

The same held true at the shipyard, where Minnema worked alongside Nabil El Jammal, Benetti's Middle East Area Manager, throughout the build. “When questions come up during a build, and they always do, they get resolved between people who trust each other,” Minnema says. “That is the broker's real role. Connecting client, designer and shipyard, and keeping the project moving.”

LADY SARAH

With exterior design by RWD and a bespoke interior by Leonardo Santi, LADY SARAH features five staterooms for 10 guests, including a main deck master suite. Her defining feature is the signature Oasis Deck, opening directly onto the water with a pool, fold-out balconies and a beach club.

The Oasis 40M has become one of the most successful series Benetti has ever built, with more than two dozen delivered worldwide, and LADY SARAH among the newest of them. At 385 gross tonnes she carries remarkable volume for her length, and the Oasis Deck concept has proven so popular that Benetti has extended it across an entire family of yachts, from the Oasis 34M to the B.Now 50M and beyond, with the Oasis 42M evolution unveiled at Cannes in 2025. LADY SARAH belongs to the series that started it all.

Her Owner will enjoy a first season of private cruising, after which LADY SARAH will join the Fraser charter fleet next year. The story that began with a charter comes full circle: from charter guest to Owner, from sale to a build supported by new build project management, through delivery, and now into crew and full yacht management with Fraser.

“My thanks go to the Owner for the trust placed in me throughout this journey,” says Minnema. “To Frances Edgeworth, whose introduction during a charter experience is where it all began. And to Nabil El Jammal, Leonardo Santi, and the project teams at Benetti and Fraser who helped bring her to life. Wishing her Owner, Captain and Crew many unforgettable journeys ahead.”

New Build Guidance

LADY SARAH shows what a well-run new build looks like, and it rarely happens by accident. Jan-Jaap supports new build projects end to end: yard selection, contract negotiation, specification, build supervision and delivery support, keeping client, designer and shipyard aligned from the first conversation to handover.

His shipyard relationships span decades — Feadship, Heesen, Benetti, Bilgin, Hakvoort, Amels (Damen Yachting), Sanlorenzo and others — which keeps communication efficient and candid when decisions need to be made quickly during a build.

Timelines vary by size, complexity and shipyard availability — a 40-metre steel yacht might take two to three years from contract to delivery. Considering a new build at Benetti or another leading yard? Explore Jan-Jaap's new build services or get in touch to talk through a project.

About Benetti

Benetti is the oldest Italian shipyard specialising in luxury yachts, founded in Viareggio in 1873 by Lorenzo Benetti. Today, as part of the Azimut|Benetti Group, the yard builds yachts from 24 metres to giga yacht scale across its facilities in Viareggio and Livorno, combining traditional Italian craftsmanship with modern engineering. The Oasis 40M is among the most successful models in Benetti's recent history, and LADY SARAH stands as proof of how personal a production yacht can become.