The Inspiring Story of Our Youngest Ever Yacht Owner

June 28, 2016 3 min

At 24 years old, Jeff Monuszko became the youngest person to own a Moorings yacht when he acquired the 42.3 monohull “Luff Out Loud” in 2015. Now, he wants to inspire a new generation of sailors to take the helm and discover the thrill of this timeless tradition.

First of all, congratulations. You’re a record breaker, our youngest owner! How does that feel?

I think what excites me more about the situation is not so much being a record breaker, but bringing some youthful awareness to the idea of yacht chartering.

I want to show my generation that a Moorings sailing vacation really is the experience of a lifetime; that it can be an affordable reality for each and every one of us; and that you don’t have to settle for the ordinary, on vacation or life in general.

Naturally, some people are going pick this up and go “how in the world did he do that at just 24 years old?”

Well the short answer would be hard work, but as they say, “do something you love and you’ll never work a day in your life.” To this day, I love what I do. My former dream job is now my day job, and my passionate motivation is how I “did it.”

Most importantly, none of this would have been possible without some financial assistance from my parents in conjunction with smart decisions on my part and a little bit of luck.

When did you first take an interest in sailing?

My parents used to own a small monohull. As I understand it, the first time I was put on that sailboat I was in a diaper and apparently cried miserably the entire time. They decided that they would sell the boat and try again in a few years.

A few years and a sister later, my parents tried again, this time with The Moorings in the Bahamas. We instantly fell in love with sailing vacations, absolutely loved them, and took them all the way up until I left the nest. I wouldn’t say sailing actually became a real hobby until just a few years ago. I was on a business trip with a coworker in Maui. We went out for a snorkeling excursion on a catamaran and caught some awesome wind. Our skippers were true professionals, helping us reach speeds up to 15 knots. Afterward, I realized I had to do that again. Naturally, The Moorings was my first choice.

So what happened after you got home from Maui?

I discovered The Moorings’ relationship with Offshore Sailing School and signed up for their Fast Track to Bareboat Cruising course. I was so surprised how much I still remembered. It was just like riding a bike! I skippered my first charter on a Moorings 37.2 in the BVI a few weeks later. The experience was even better than I remembered it as a child.

Tell us more about that charter experience…

The chart briefing combined with the skills I learned at Offshore Sailing School and the level of excellence I expected from The Moorings ensured that our trip went off without a hitch! By the second morning, I had a full-blown first mate. She wanted to do all the “work.” We had a blast and made memories to last a lifetime. I just assumed the trip would be as good as any Moorings vacation I had ever been on, and it was!

When did the idea of owning a yacht start to take shape? What ultimately inspired you to go for it?

After a handful of charters as an adult, the idea started growing in the back of my head, “Man, it’d be cool to own one of these one day,” but it seemed huge for someone my age.

Still, I was curious, so I reached out to The Moorings Yacht Ownership team to crunch the numbers. At the rate I was chartering, I actually could’ve saved money by owning a Moorings 4800 for a couple of those years. What inspired me to “pull the trigger” was the personalized level of service and care I received from The Moorings team. You just can’t beat being greeted by name by warm-hearted people that genuinely want to make sure you have the time of your life out there on the water.

https://youtube.com/watch?v=rC5N-yEPKFU