Sporting or a Lifestyle, you decide

Yachting for pleasure was formerly the province of the wealthy due to expense and the manpower required (because the boats were big), but today has become the pastime of many worldwide. King Charles II is mentioned as enjoying the sport in the diaries of Samuel Pepys. In Britain, the sport of yachting became widely popular in the late Victorian (1837-1901) period. Queen Victoria and her family maintained a fleet of sail- and steam-yachts at her residence on the Isle of Wight. The town of Cowes on the island is still seen by many as the world home of yachting, hosting the famous Cowes Week sailing festival in the summer. Like most other yachting festivals, this consists mainly of organised yacht racing by both dedicated racing yachts and a series of 'class' events catering for the wide variety of non-dedicated yachts.

Through the years, the word "yacht" came to designate a wider range of vessels, almost always in private use (i.e., not used for commercial carriage of cargo or passengers), propelled by sail, power, or both, and used for pleasure cruising or racing. Often, powered yachts are referred to as motor yachts, to differentiate them from yachts with sail propulsion.

In modern use, the term yacht applies to two rather different classes of sea vessels, sailing yachts and power yachts. Traditionally, yachts were differentiated from working ships mainly by purpose—yachts were swift and comfortable conveyances of the wealthy and powerful. It was not until the ascendancy of the steamboat and other types of powerboat that sailing vessels came to be seen as luxury items. Modern use of the term applies to nearly all sailing vessels, other than sailing dinghies, that are used for yacht racing or for pleasure cruising.

Motor yachts, on the other hand, retain more of the original sense of power and luxury. Much larger and generally far more expensive than the average sailing yacht, the motor yacht contains sufficient living space for at least several days at sea. Lengths generally start at 36-40 feet (11-12 m) and go up to well over a hundred feet (30 m). Mega yachts, luxury yachts such as the ones owned by Larry Ellison, Paul Allen and other billionaires, can reach over 525 feet (160 m).

Today, more and more people are realizing the advantages to a yachting lifestyle full time, choosing to live aboard their vessels and see what they can of the world waters.