YACHT SHOW TIPS with✦YACHTLLYWOOD

HOW TO BEHAVE YOURSELF AT THE CANNES YACHTING FESTIVAL

Cannes Yachting Festival is not just about the yachts. It is also a week of introductions, invitations, familiar faces, crowded pontoons, last-minute plans and conversations that somehow continue long after the show closes. Everyone is busy, everyone is meeting someone, and everyone is trying to make the most of the few days when so much of the industry is in one place. Which is exactly why a little etiquette still matters.

Don’t ask for a yacht tour just because you can

There is nothing wrong with wanting to see a yacht. That is, after all, why everyone is there. But there is a difference between genuine interest and simply collecting access. If you ask for a tour, know why you want to see the yacht, respect the time of the broker, captain, crew or representative showing it to you, and remember that during a show, every appointment counts. Being onboard is not the point. Being interested is.

Don’t turn every introduction into a sales pitch

Someone introduces you to a new person and, within thirty seconds, you are explaining your company, your services, your latest project and why you should definitely have a meeting next week. Sometimes a conversation can simply be a conversation. Yachting is a small industry, and people tend to remember personality, manners and genuine curiosity long before they remember the perfectly rehearsed pitch. There is plenty of time for business once there is actually a reason to do business.

If someone is rushing somewhere, let them go

You know the look. Phone in one hand, badge swinging, already half turned towards the pontoon while apologising that they are late. This is not the moment to begin a fifteen-minute story. Say hello, exchange a few words and let them go. There will always be another meeting, another launch and another person waiting somewhere five minutes away.

Don’t pretend you know someone if you don’t

Cannes has a funny way of making everybody feel connected to everybody. Perhaps you follow each other, perhaps you have exchanged emails, perhaps you were introduced once in Monaco three years ago. That does not mean you need to behave like old friends. A simple, confident introduction is perfectly elegant and much less awkward than watching someone search your face while trying to remember where they supposedly know you from.

Respect the person who brought you into the room

This one should be obvious, but somehow it is not always. If someone introduces you, invites you onboard, brings you to an event or includes you in a conversation, do not suddenly forget they exist when someone seemingly more important appears. Yachting is built on introductions and relationships, and people notice how you treat the person who opened the door for you.

Don’t monopolise people

Ten good minutes can be a great conversation. Forty minutes can become captivity. At a yacht show, almost everyone has somewhere else to be, so read the room. If other people are waiting to speak to someone, if they keep looking at their phone, or if the conversation has naturally reached its end, let it end. You do not need to extract maximum value from every encounter. Sometimes leaving at the right moment is part of making a good impression.

Be discreet

Not every yacht needs to be filmed, not every dinner needs to become a Story, and not every conversation needs to be repeated later. Not every person who happens to be standing next to you wants to appear on your social media either. Access is part of this industry, but discretion is too, and knowing when not to take out your phone can say quite a lot about you.

If you are invited, behave like you were invited

An invitation is not an entitlement. Be gracious, say thank you, and respect the hosts, the yacht, the crew, the timing and the people around you. If someone has made room for you, act like you appreciate it. This applies equally to a private cocktail, a yacht visit or simply a seat at a table. Good manners are not particularly complicated.

Don’t spend the entire show looking over someone’s shoulder

You are talking to someone, but your eyes are continuously moving around the room to see who else has just arrived. There are few things more obvious. If you are in a conversation, be in the conversation. The next person will still be there in five minutes, and if they are not, perhaps that is fine too.

Actually be interested

Be interested in the yacht, in the person, in the story. Ask a question because you want to know the answer, not because you are waiting for your turn to speak. Look at the project someone is showing you and listen when they explain what they have been working on. Behind every yacht, company, design or launch there are people who have usually spent months, if not years, bringing it to life. People can tell the difference between curiosity and calculation, and in an industry built almost entirely around relationships, that difference matters.

Cannes will always be busy. There will always be another invitation, another launch, another introduction and another reason to cross the show at speed. But perhaps the simplest rule is also the best one: be interested, be gracious, and remember that everyone else is having a very busy week too.

Jenk Oz is the founder and CEO of Thred Media, based in London. He spoke at the Superyacht Design Festival 2026.