Yacht Broker John DeCaro
John's life-long love of all things nautical naturally led him to pursue
a career in large yacht brokerage.
Born in Cleveland, Ohio, John moved to Jamaica temporarily when he was 4. Here his father introduced him to sailing and all things to do with the water. "He gave me a love for the sea that grew with me. The first boat I sailed on was a 38' wood sloop out of the Kingston Yacht Club."
Earning a 500-Ton US Coast Guard Masters License, John has spent 18 years enjoying a life around the ocean, logging over 80,000 nautical miles of experience. John has sailed on every ocean in the world. "To be a competent captain, you have to have total knowledge of the yacht. The first job I earned money for in yachting was cleaning the bottom of a 90' schooner in St. Thomas harbor. I worked my way up from there and have worked in every position on a boat including chef and engineer." For many years John ran his own business delivering yachts, managing projects and working in systems integration in AutoCAD prior to his brokerage career, which has kept him hopping the globe for the past 14 years.
Over the past twelve years John has invested his personal time and money to inspect shipyards around the world including well known European yards. He has also actively searched for, and inspected lesser known yacht and commercial yards around the world that either have a history of building yachts or the right qualifications and capabilities to make the transition.
Mr. DeCaro has also identified yards in the U.S. that offer excellent quality, and with the current exchange rate, an exceptional value in U.S. Dollars. He says, "As with other yards I am working with in South America, Europe and the U.S., one of the key elements I look for is a high degree of personal pride in the product the shipyard turns out, whether it be commercial vessels or yachts. I also look for the willingness of the yard's employees from the managing director to the fellow who fairs the hull to work with a team of professionals to improve their product and create a vessel of high standards and execution and to deliver an excellent value for the investment.
"One of the keys to building a great vessel is putting the right team together and assisting them to coordinate all facets of the project. I work directly with the designers and owners on all of the projects, bringing into play my years as a captain and as a broker working in the new construction and brokerage market. Often something that looks great to a designer and/or owner who has done mostly coast cruising is not practical in a real world environment. I try to bring these things to the surface or help refine aspects of the design in regard to making sure we are taking into consideration not only the owners needs, the operational needs of the crew, but also guarding his investment by considering the resale aspects of the vessel in the future."
"Working with designers, owners and shipyards to create the best path to follow and encouraging them all to bring out their best traits and ideas is part of the job, but is also very satisfying and a lot of fun."
"Some of my most enjoyable sales have been new construction projects, which allow me to use my experience as a project manager, design consultant and Cad work for the benefit of my clients. Interestingly, whether it is an existing yacht or a new build, the benefits to the client are very similar. One of the more pleasurable re-sale deals was selling the 90' motorsailer that I ran as Captain for 4 years to a client who loves the boat as much as I do."
Mr. DeCaro has spent 15 years as a Senior Yacht Broker with two of the yachting industry's most respected brokerage houses, and is the CEO of All Ocean Yachts, an explorer and expedition yacht specialist firm focusing on designs, new builds, brokerage and charter.
John pours tremendous energy into his job, but on the side he still loves sailing, spear fishing and enjoying great restaurants and vintage red wine on his travels.
Email John
Phone: 954-760-9123
