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PRESS TALKSRESS TALKS

You are in the middle of nature, it’s beautiful and private,
and you have all your belongings with you. And you go
to places you would not be able to get to any other way
[than by water]. It’s priceless.”

The couple splits their time between Israel, London and
Athens (where the yacht is currently based), but they’ve
also lived in Hong Kong and New York. Liran grew up in
Israel, the son of an Israeli media mogul, and Maya hails
from Canada. The two met while she attended university
in Tel Aviv as part of an entrepreneurship program. Soon
after getting married, they became partners in business
as well, starting a successful television channel aimed at
providing educational shows for babies and toddlers.
Aptly named BabyTV, the channel provided 24/7, adver-
tisement-free programming for kids up to age four. At
the time of its inception, in the early 2000s, there was
nothing like it. “We wanted to make high-quality content
that would introduce colors, shapes and nursery rhymes.”

They moved from Israel to London to set up the busi-
ness, which was initially launched in the UK and Europe
in 2005. The groundbreaking idea proved to be a success
and was soon snapped up by News Corporation’s Fox In-
ternational in a partnership deal that helped BabyTV go
international, appearing on screens in 100 countries and
400 affiliate platforms in more than a dozen languages.
Years later, shortly after the couple purchased MyStar
in November 2017, BabyTV was sold to Disney. “MyStar
brought us good luck,” says Maya of the boat. “Liran was
doing the deals to finalise the sale right after we started
out on our trip.” He bought the boat for Maya’s 40th
birthday present, telling her he wanted to sail off with her
into the sunset.

At first, they had debated between power and sail. They
liked the luxury of a motor yacht but the far-reaching
range of a sailing boat – and then broker Roy Klajman
of the Sea-Alliance Group helped them define the char-
acteristics of a yacht capable of doing such a worldwide
journey. MyStar was the perfect match. “When we found
MyStar, she was a combination of both. As soon as we
saw her for the first time in Saint-Tropez, we fell in love
instantly,” says Maya. “You walk in and it’s all light with
360-degree panoramic views from the wraparound sa-
loon windows. You have a view of everything in front of
you and it draws you.

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