Arnold v Halcyon Yachts Ltd - [2022] EWHC 2858 (Admlty), King's Bench Division, Admiralty Court (Mr Admiralty Registrar Davison) - 18 November 2022

Contract for delivery of yacht - Voyage not completed - Damage suffered by yacht - Whether curtailing voyage was the fault of the delivery company - Pre-existing defects - Supply of Goods and Services Act 1982 - Bailment

The claimant, Mr Arnold, a private individual resident in the USA, agreed to purchase the yacht Vlaroda, a Bavaria-Nautitech Open 46. She was a new-build, sloop-rigged catamaran categorised by her manufacturer as a Category A Yacht and, according to the owner's manual, "designed for winds that may exceed wind force 8 (Beaufort scale) and significant wave height of 4 m and above". The purchase was negotiated through a US broker, Mr Tarjan of Aeroyacht Ltd.