Yachting History + Photos

I have been in Yachting since 1976 when I first arrived in Antibes looking for a job. I did a bit of daywork and after a couple of weeks got a deckhand position on the 33m Benetti Leocrie which was leaving for a cruise of the Greek islands. The rest of the crew where French or French speaking so I had to learn French fast. after the summer we went to Villefranche drydock for some modifications and maintenance.

in 1977 I was taken on as engineer/deckhand on Blue Finn 2 for the season based in Marina Baie des Anges. We did a few charters, and a couple of trips to Corsica.

In 1978 I was second engineer on Sarina (aka Rosenkavalier / Haida G) owned by Loel Guiness that was then sold to Robert Stigwood and we went on an extended cruise of the Med that summer, ending in us running aground off Albania and then going to Genoa for repairs.

in 1979 I had a year of doing daywork around the port, I had a Austin J4 van that I could sleep in when necessary, and there was enough work to keep me going.

in the summer of 1980 I was engineer/deckhand on the 28 m Feadship Najade, but the owner died in hospital during the season and we were all laid off. I spent the winter dayworking on Caramba

in the summer of 1981 I was engineer on Florin, a 30 m Alallunga with 3 MTU engines; at the time it was the fastest yacht around with a top speed of 32 knots. In the winter I stayed on in Antibes dayworking on Caramba

1982 I joined Solitaire of the Isles (Libra Y) and we quickly had a change of captain and we were then based in Palma. I soon got to know the place, and I was quite happy there for a while. in 1984 at the end of the season, I left Solitaire and stayed in a flat in Juan les Pins for a while until I was offered the job as Captain on Caramba

1985 was my first year as Captain and with my girlfriend we spent the summer based in Nissaki, Corfu returning to Antibes for the winter. Over Christmas there was a fire on board which damaged most of the front end and the engine room, and I came back from my Xmas holidays to a very different work schedule. It was decided that the boat could be re-built using a couple of tradesmen from the UK.

1987 Deneb Star C

1988 Judi of Bute

1991 Serafina, Khalidia, Beaupre, Narasha 2

1992 Centaura

1997 Loyalist

1998 Fei Seen

2001 Albacora, Big Change, Camara C

2004 Ocean Liberty

2005 Osiana

2006 Celine Ashley

2007 Paloma, Gardenia

2009 Printemps