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• Yachting Monthly
• Digital edition

Yacht deliveries: How to get your yacht from A to B

• August 15, 2023

If you need help getting your boat from A to B after a purchase or for a cruise, a delivery crew might be the solution, says Ben Lowings

Perhaps your treasured yacht is in the wrong place at the wrong time? Does it need to be somewhere else, soon? Don’t have the time, crew, or experience to remedy this yourself? Well, it might be time to look into yacht deliveries.

While it sounds simple, handing over your pride and joy to another skipper you’ve never met before can be a daunting prospect, so I’ve collated some advice on what the process would look like. We’re talking about sailing your vessel from one port to another here, as opposed to loading it on a larger vessel, for which a range of choices are available.

This article concentrates on hiring a crew to sail your yacht to its destination. While it is possible to hire private individuals (more on that later) we’ve spoken in depth to three popular UK companies you’d be likely to come across in your search.

The largest is Wirral-based Professional Yacht Deliveries Ltd. PYD – set up in 1995 – which completes 180 deliveries a year. ‘We deliver most yachts around the UK, Northern Europe and the Mediterranean,’ PYD’s snazzy website declares. Another option – also with slick homepage, social media presence and international reach but with European focus: Halcyon Yacht Delivery Ltd, established in 2010, based in Falmouth. A smaller outfit is Merseyside-based Wright Marine Ltd. They’re doing good business in the wake of the pandemic.

Other operators are out there. Amsterdam-based Sevenstar Yacht Transport’s a popular choice for transporting your yacht by ship.

Some boats and passages will need particular experience from a crew

Choosing a yacht delivery company and skipper

In general, it’ll be the company that selects a skipper, so you need to pick the company you most feel happy with. They’ll forward you, the owner, the candidate skipper’s sailing CV. Naturally, you’ll be given the right of refusal. Peter Kloezeman, PYD’s operations director, says they have 40 skippers on the books who are ‘some of the most qualified in the industry. All are RYA Yachtmaster Offshore as a minimum. Our most experienced skippers have over 400,000 miles logged.’

With PYD, your delivery crew will be allocated based on whether they have experience of your proposed trip and experience sailing your make, model and size of yacht. ‘For a transatlantic [crossing] we’d allocate a skipper with extensive ocean experience,’ says Kloezeman. ‘The skipper will usually have completed the crossing several times.’ For her owners, a yacht is often a member of the family. Handing her over can be disconcerting. It’s something the industry is keenly cognisant of.

Peter Green, managing director of Halcyon Yacht Delivery acknowledges this. ‘Having your yacht delivered and entrusting it to another skipper is clearly a big decision. It’s crucial you find a delivery company or skipper that’ll care for her as you would.’ As an owner you’ll not be alone if, when departing the marina, you waggle your loved one’s anchor and whisper a few words of endearment. But it’s best to leave the delivery crew to do their work. ‘Owners must trust the company to look after the yacht as if it were their own,’ says Kloezeman.

It’s no different with Wright Marine. Simon Pendlebury, managing director, explains: ‘We look at the vessel’s particulars. Is it a classic? Pre-1900s? Does it have any quirks?’ The job’s offered out to skippers felt best suited to the role.’

As an owner you could expect a call from Wright with the particulars of the skipper and their past work. You would then be contacted by the Wright Marine skipper, who will introduce themselves.

Ben Ainslie’s yacht Rita, being delivered by PYD

Solo skipper setups

But what about selecting a skipper and contacting them directly oneself? ‘It can be the cheapest option,’ says Halcyon’s Peter Green, but ‘it’s not without risk.’ A solo skipper-for-hire, he argues, won’t have backup. A shore support team is preferable, he says. ‘If the [freelancer] has to cancel the job you could be left in the lurch.’ Green recalls one yacht left in Spain.

A panicked owner had engaged a solo skipper to bring the boat from Greece to the UK. ‘For personal reasons we assume, he decided to end the journey early and tied the yacht up in a random marina in Spain. The owner was sent an email with the address of the marina and little else. We stepped in quickly and sent a team out to finish the delivery.’

You need to check crew references. ‘Always check testimonials,’ Green says. The firms’ dedicated staff have a CV bank. The list is curated. New applicants are reviewed. Resumes of sailing experience will have been updated before they are sent on to you for information. Qualifications will have to have been recorded accurately and kept valid, and RYA course certificates do expire.

The gig economy we’ve become used to is relevant here. Hiring a freelancer is akin to paying a courier or a driver for a ‘ride-sharing’ service. One unnamed ‘lone wolf’ worked UK deliveries around Caribbean seasons. He took a boat from Plymouth to the Solent, where he picked up another yacht and brought her back. ‘Two deliveries in 24 hours.’ An adventurous seadog’s boast. Fun to sail with maybe, but there’s a risk they’re a bounty hunter with less of a plan about safety.

You’ll need to make sure paperwork, navigation and safety equipment is all in order, or ask the skipper to provide them

How to prepare your boat

You’ll be sent an extensive pre-delivery checklist. Should you plump for Halcyon, you’re likely to get a verified checklist which will also be received by the skipper who then checks this upon arriving at the boat. As an owner, you’ll need to be clear about where you’ll be if you’re not planning to be on or next to your yacht at the agreed handover time.

You’ll be expected to have settled bills at the departure berth. The same goes for bookings and customs arrangements made at the destination – although Halcyon, as with the other companies, will be able to provide as much assistance towards this as appropriate. ‘The process at PYD is the same,’ Peter Kloezeman affirms. Should you be engaging PYD, your checklist will be the starting point for PYD to ‘build an overall picture of how prepared the yacht is, depending on the intended passage.’

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Prep for an ocean crossing differs from a Channel hop. ‘PYD can supply certain equipment if it is missing from the yacht such as EPIRBs, satellite phones and communications, and jackstays,’ explains Kloezeman. ‘Ideally you – as the owner – will arrange for the yacht to be fully equipped for the intended delivery passage.’

You’ll need to have checked – or organised someone to do so in lieu of the owner, particularly if you’re getting a new purchase delivered – the engine, generators, electrical and charging systems, and batteries. Kloezeman says they ought to have been well maintained and checked before the crew arrives. You will need to have cleaned the sails, hull and propellers. ‘If there’s an issue with the yacht when the crew arrive – such as the batteries are dead or the hull is covered with growth – this will incur delays whilst these issues are dealt with, which increases the overall costs to the client.’ If you’ve engaged Halcyon, their rules echo PYD’s. ‘Check systems work and are serviced,’ says Peter Green. ‘If it’s a new yacht to you then have a survey. It’s also best to have an engine serviced.’

If you’re buying a second hand boat, get a full survey done before the delivery

Yacht deliveries insurance cover

In the UK you are legally bound to insure the vessel for the duration of the delivery for the waters to be traversed, in the appropriate coding. The skipper provides for themselves and the crew. Skipper Liability Insurance covers damage to third parties while the delivery captain is in charge. Check your skipper has it.

Prices for this product have shot up since Brexit. For UK work, it’s obtainable from Pantaenius (through its German arm). Delivery companies will check these documents and take the owner through the policy wording. Peter Kloezeman explains: ‘Liability insurance will cover the yacht for skipper/crew negligence only. The yacht needs to have its own hull policy.’

Experienced crews can help with complexities and paperwork, such as when navigating the Panama Canal

Hull insurance is standard practice. It’s rare indeed for a yacht to put to sea without some sort of insurance policy. Peter Green explains: ‘Owners should be able to lodge an appropriate claim with a reputable insurance company if something doesn’t go to plan. If something does go wrong, then you should be able to make a claim with your insurers. All reputable skippers will have liability insurance. Make sure that your insurance coverage is suitable for the trip. Inform them that a delivery company or skipper will be taking charge.’

Simon Pendlebury puts it most succinctly. ‘Unfortunately, there is no insurance product on the market which would effectively allow the same asset to be insured twice (once for owner, once for the delivery skipper).’ Mr Pendlebury confirms all Wright Marine skippers have their own Skipper Liability insurance. ‘We ask all owners to ensure the skipper is also noted on their policy.’

A good skipper will go over the boat thoroughly

Taking responsibility

The skipper must know if the vessel’s seaworthy, how much fuel, water and battery there is, and any technical issues, or temporary fixes. There’ll be phone conversations, notes taken, and usually the company, the skipper and the owner create a WhatsApp group to exchange photos. These could be anything from the thousand bits-and-bobs on a yacht. But they often feature the log impeller, notes on the chart table, and the whereabouts of the keys.

‘The collection of keys’ is top of Simon Pendlebury’s catalogue of items for your pre-delivery checklist. Alongside the delivery company documents is your vessel paperwork – registration papers, liferaft certificates, etc.

If your vessel’s been sold to you, for instance, through a brokerage, then the broker’s name and contact details must be supplied. A contract is drawn up, specifying when payments are required plus any extra advance payments such as for fuel. This, notes Pendlebury, is common when delivering diesel-thirsty motor vessels.

You’ll need to ensure passports and papers are in order. C1331 UK immigration forms and forms for departure clearing ports are vital for EU trips. Brexit has complicated things too. A skipper with good local language skills (and EU citizenship) is, if not worth their weight in gold, at least a great saving of your time.

Skippers will have their own comprehensive lists to work through

If you have contacts made through reciprocal membership of foreign yacht clubs, for instance, they’re helpful to delivery skippers trying to source items or surmount red tape. Individual skippers’ resourcefulness comes into its own here, which Kloezeman recognises. ‘[PYD’s] skippers have a good understanding of the processes involved and are well versed in presenting and obtaining the correct paperwork when required, particularly where VAT is concerned. At PYD we also have links with several other yacht management companies who can advise further on VAT and vessel, import and export from the EU.’

Of course, the circumstances vary with vessel and voyage. For his part, Pendlebury promises Wright Marine will work with you to assist in ‘ensuring all Customs arrangements are completed on time and according to countries’ rules. A lot of owners find this as valuable as the delivery itself.’

Paperwork is irksome but necessary, for as Kloezeman notes, it sometimes isn’t practical for you to be physically present for the handover. ‘We’re happy for clients to speak to the skippers on the phone whilst they’re on board if they need to discuss anything.’ PYD’s office takes over liaison between you and the skipper once the delivery has started. ‘We will keep them updated on the delivery progress. We have a GPS tracker that we send on our deliveries.’ You can expect to receive a link that updates daily.

Proper navigation kit on board will help the skipper do their job properly

Safety kit and spares

Your safety gear must be compliant with SOLAS V, insists Halcyon’s Peter Green. This includes an in-date liferaft, in-date flares, fire extinguishers, a first aid kit, man overboard recovery equipment, radar reflector and jackstays. ‘We always do engine checks before we leave anywhere,’ affirms Halcyon regular Mark Treacher (a prominent social media skipper with excellent YouTube videos).

If you’ve bought a second-hand yacht, everything should have been taken off the vessel after the point of sale. This underlines the necessity for delivery crews to keep tools. You will probably have tools of your own, but it might not be practicable to get them to the boat. The crew might have, for example, their own spare impeller (complete with service kit), not to mention suitable pliers for prising out defunct blades.

You can expect help if required from PYD, Wright Marine and Halcyon. Peter Green says, ‘We encourage our clients to send a full inventory list.’ Green also advises you to ‘make sure there is sufficient domestic equipment’ such as cooking pans, plates and cups.

This applies to vessels with these items in the existing inventory. In the situation where a yacht has been acquired recently from a broker, these items may be missing, in which case the skipper would normally purchase them and invoice you. The skipper could equally bring their own reserve stock and take it off the boat afterwards. Most delivery crews will only need a bare minimum of galley equipment to minimise on washing up. It follows that the skipper would not be buying a walnut chopping board and pricey Damascus steel cooking knife and then invoicing you for them!

Navigation will be carried out by highly experienced crew

You needn’t worry about your pristine upholstery either. Crews for these three delivery firms supply their own sleeping bags. Halcyon advises using double sheets to protect soft furnishings. Peter Green’s crews are warned to be watchful for harness clips scratching saloon fittings.

Kloezeman specifies that PYD crews ‘spend at least 24 hours checking all the systems and preparing the boat for passage, even for short deliveries.’ A good chunk of this time might well be given over to a job shown on PYD’s website: enthusiastically bubble-wrapping everything in the saloon. ‘All vulnerable areas of woodwork and upholstery below decks are encased in protective cladding,’

PYD’s ops director explains, ‘to avoid any inadvertent damage while at sea in rough conditions. It’s a long and time-consuming process but very worthwhile to ensure that the joinery stays well protected during the delivery passage. Similarly, mast spreaders are normally wrapped and taped to avoid making alloy rub marks on the main sail that can frequently occur when sailing downwind for extended periods.’

Working as delivery crew is a great way to build experience and sea miles

Become a delivery crew

On the flip side of the coin, it’s relatively easy to become a member of a yacht delivery crew, and this is a great way to build sea miles, gain experience, and sail with some highly qualified skippers.

Most yacht delivery companies will insist on delivery skippers being commercially endorsed RYA Yachtmaster Ocean or above. Unsurprisingly, many will also be RYA Yachtmaster Instructors. If you want to be a skipper, you’ll need to be highly qualified. If you want to crew, however, it’s a great way to learn, as well as sail on passages and to destinations you may otherwise never get to visit.

First mates will be qualified skippers, though requirements for qualifications vary. Crew need to be able to competently stand a solo watch at night. This means you’ll generally have an RYA Day Skipper certificate.

Yacht delivery agencies will ask for a fee to join their list and will want to see a sailing CV. You will then be notified of opportunities as and when they come up. You may also receive discounts on further training as well as equipment.

A delivery boat will be actively sailed, but shouldn’t be pushed too hard

Will my boat be safe?

You’ll find that communication before, during and after the trip is paramount. WhatsApp, a text, a request to the destination marina over VHF radio to relay all is well to you via phone, even a check call relayed by the Coastguard – all of these may be used.

PYD claims its quotations are ‘calculated conservatively’ to give an estimated passage time. The Wirral-based market leader says allowance for weather delays and boat prep is built in. ‘Skippers will sail as much as possible but will not push the yacht unnecessarily. A delivery passage is not a race.’

PYD’s rivals in Falmouth and St. Helens would absolutely agree. ‘On arrival at the destination,’ Kloezeman says, ‘the crew will usually spend around 24 hours completing the final wash and clean down before departing.’

If bad weather is encountered, crews will sail conservatively and not push too hard

Problems and damage

As an owner, you’d be advised not to worry unduly. Things do go wrong, but severe damage is extremely rare, and loss almost unheard of. Peter Green admits the element of risk can ‘never be fully eliminated’. A delivery company worth its salt will be striving to keep that quantity as close to zero as possible. ‘With any sailing journey,’ says Green, ‘there is of course some risk.’

Halcyon, PYD and Wright Marine skippers must report to you at the delivery’s conclusion on the condition of general maintenance items, any general wear and tear, any recommendations or improvements or any damage caused during the passage by the crew.

You can expect to be told straight away of incidents resulting in damage. Green points to Halcyon’s engineer support service, whereby crew can phone for help diagnosing and making repairs. ‘One of the most common problems we see is dirty fuel,’ he says. ‘If you’ve bought a yacht that hasn’t been used for a while, the risk of diesel bug increases. It’s often something that won’t come to light until the fuel tank’s been shaken around a bit at sea.’

A lot of Wright’s deliveries involve vessels which have recently changed hands. ‘As such,’ Pendlebury says, delicately, ‘defects may not be known.’ On one trip from Southampton to Newcastle upon Tyne, diesel bug clogged the injectors and the engine gave in just past Chichester. The boat was brought alongside under sail to Haslar marina. ‘The vessel required a complete polishing of its fuel and an overhaul of injector assembly but was able to resume the delivery a week later.’

Deliveries continue overnight. You will get tracking updates about the boat’s whereabouts

Avoiding problems

Making your expectations clear and having your consents in writing beforehand is key when resolving issues arising from company procedures and insurance. ‘Any pre-existing damage is photographed,’ assures Pendlebury. ‘This is then chatted through with the owner, or photos are sent to them prior to departure. This helps to prevent any misunderstandings later down the line.’

Similarly – and Kloezeman and Green would undoubtedly agree – ‘If skippers feel conditions don’t permit safe passage, they’ll seek shelter. The easiest way to avoid misunderstandings is to carefully read the contract and ask questions.’ Delivery firms emphasise that the crew’s only task is moving a vessel from A to B in seamanlike fashion. ‘Owners are welcome to join a delivery,’ says Kloezeman, ‘although the delivery crew will routinely sail 24 hours a day with only brief stops as necessary for fuel, provisions or to avoid severe weather.’

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• Superyachts

LIONHEART Yacht – Enchanting $150M Superyacht

LIONHEART yacht is a 90-metre (295 ft) motor yacht built by Benetti in Italy. She was delivered in July of 2016 to the current owner who recently sold his brands Topshop and Selfridges, gaining him a net worth of US $2.4 billion.

LIONHEART features a sleek and modern design with space for up to 12 guests and 30 crew members. Her home berth lies in Monaco, which is where Green and his family spend most of their time.

LIONHEART yacht interior

The LIONHEART yacht features a lot of intricate details in its design that make her stand out from other comparable vessels on the market.

The interior of this yacht had exceptionally high-quality materials used in her construction, which gives her an elegant look and feel throughout all the different spaces on board. 

The design house Green & Mingarelli is responsible for the luxurious interior design of LIONHEART.

The LIONHEART yacht can welcome 12 guests in her six cabins as well as a crew of 30 members of staff. 

The interior of the yacht features a beach club, a beauty salon as well as expansive health and wellness facilities that include a spa, a hairdressing salon, a gym with a personal trainer, and a massage room with a masseur available at all hours.

The different floors of the yacht are connected by an elevator, and of course, the yacht has several pools, two of which are located on the upper decks. 

A grand staircase is situated in the center of the yacht, which gives the vessel the likeness of a luxury hotel. The interior is furnished with exclusive furniture with dark wood and cream upholstery.

The yacht features several sizable chandeliers and other extravagant lighting fixtures. Everything about the interior of LIONHEART is lavish and luxurious, flaunting the US $150 Million price tag that this incredible vessel bears.

Specifications

The LIONHEART yacht is 90 meters (296 ft) long with a beam of 14.4 meters (47.3 ft) and a draft of 7.5 meters (24.9 ft). She was built by Benetti Yachts in Livorno, Italy, and launched in 2016.

At the time, LIONHEART was Benetti’s flagship and the largest yacht they had ever produced, overtaking NABILA (later TRUMP PRINCESS owned by Donald Trump).

Her gross tonnage lies at 2,990 GT, reaching cruising speeds of 15 knots and maximum speeds of 16 knots.

She is definitely not the fastest yacht in her size category, but her caterpillar engines are reliable and robust.

LIONHEART has an immense aluminum superstructure, and her hull was constructed from premium steel. Her traditional teak decks nicely contrast her white exterior.

The LIONHEART yacht is values at US $150 million and has annual running costs of US $10-$15 Million. She is not currently available for charter or for sale, although Green’s other yachts are.

The exterior of the LIONHEART yacht was designed by Stefano Natucci, who was also responsible for LIONESS V, Green’s previous yacht by Benetti.

Natucci has designed a total of 45 yachts, the LIONHEART yacht being the largest of his past projects.

The yacht is fitted with a sophisticated stabilizer system that ensures a comfortable experience for guests when at anchor or underway. She has a total of four decks featuring generous outdoor spaces. 

The front of the bow has room for a small helipad where aircraft can land to pick up or drop off guests.

The top deck has an outdoor bar and jacuzzi, and behind the flybridge, there is a large pool.

All decks have luxurious outdoor seating with cream upholstery which is also the color of the crew uniforms aboard the LIONHEART yacht. 

At the aft, the yacht has a sizable beach club and extendable swimming platform where water toys can be launched.

She also has several smaller, shaded decks with ample space for dining or parties. On both her port and starboard sides, Lionheart has small balcony decks which are attached to two of the suites.

Toys and equipment

The LIONHEART yacht carries several tenders, although her most memorable is a VanDutch 55 named Lioncub.

This tender has a black and white photograph of a lion painted on its side, making it stand out from traditional tenders and attracting yacht spotters.

LIONHEART also has a Pascoe Limousine, a Pascoe Beachlande, and a Pascoe Outboard Shuttle giving her passengers a wide selection of transportation options for shore leave or excursions.

Although exact details aren’t known, the yacht carries a large number of water toys, including jet skis and water bobs.

With a large swimming platform at the back of the vessel and an attached beach club with a lounge area, a luxury that might be desired is available to her guests.

Additional information

Construction for LIONHEART began in 2012 after the owner Green commissioned his third yacht from Benetti .

The two previous vessels were also named LIONHEART but have since been renamed LUMIERE and LIONESS V. 

LUMIERE was built in 1999 and has a length of 49.9 meters (164 ft). Green sold her when he obtained LIONHEART V in 2006, and she is now available for charter.

LIONESS V has a length of 63.5 meters (208 ft) and was replaced by LIONHEART in 2016, 10 years after her launch. 

Interestingly all three vessels can welcome the same number of guests, and only their amenities and length changed over the years.

LIONESS V is still owned by the Green family, more specifically Tina Green. This yacht is available for charter.

Do you have anything to add to this listing?

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A closer look at the superyacht Lionheart offers insight into the lavish life of billionaire Philip Green. From its opulently designed outdoor spaces to its hot tubs, helipad, and roster of celebrities, this $150 million motor yacht is truly a head-turner.

Who is billionaire Philip Green?

Green is the color of money, and for a man with Green in his name, there can only be an abundance of wealth. He boasts a net worth of $1.2 billion and runs the British retail empire Arcadia Group with his wife, Cristina Green. The company was behind well-known fashion brands like Topshop, Top Man, and Dorothy Perkins but went bankrupt in 2020. The 72-year-old college dropout started his first business at age 21, importing jeans from Asia with a $30,000 loan from his family. Of course, he turned it all around and became a billionaire who is based at a London hotel during the week and spends time at home with his family during weekends in Monaco. The tycoon also owns a £20 million Gulfstream G550 private jet and two other superyachts in addition to a fancy Monopoly set gifted by his wife featuring his own acquisitions. Talk about being filthy rich!

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Will Jeff Bezos be getting married on his Koru superyacht? His fiance, Lauren Sanchez, was spotted wearing a dainty ‘Mrs. B’ necklace while out with the Amazon founder. The $500 million vessel has already left Florida and could be scouting for an apt location in the Caribbean.

Yachting World

• Digital Edition

Orca attacks: Rudder losses and damage as incidents escalate

• Helen Fretter
• September 2, 2021

As orca attacks and incidents continue along the Atlantic coast Helen Fretter speaks to Dr Ruth Esteban who is investigating the behaviour

The first signs that something odd was taking place came in July 2020. After the strangest start to a summer any of us can remember, just as Europe began to open up to sailing once again, there were reports from Gibraltar and the Spanish Atlantic coast apparently of orca attacks on yachts.

One of the earliest incidents involved a Hallberg-Rassy 36, which was being sailed to southern Spain by a delivery crew from Halcyon Yachts . “Our crew had just set off from A Coruña and were a couple of miles offshore when the crew suddenly felt the wheel being ripped out of their hands,” Peter Green of Halcyon Yachts explained.

The yacht was later taken under tow, but the impacts from the orcas continued, snapping the tow rope. When the yacht was lifted ashore there were clear bite marks on the hull and the rudder was split in two.

Although such incidents sound almost unbelievable, a clear pattern soon began to emerge. Spanish naval yacht, Mirfak , lost part of its rudder after an apparent orca attack where it appeared they bit at the stern of the yacht – which the crew captured on video. Within six months, there had been around 40 such incidents reported.

The incidents are being mapped by area

This summer, the situation escalated. Dr Ruth Esteban, a marine scientist who has spent six years observing the Spanish orca population and is now investigating the orcas’ behaviour with the Atlantic Orca Working Group, says that from June to mid-July 2021 alone there were 53 reported incidents.

Martin Evans was on board another Hallberg-Rassy, a 49 called Kismet , also being delivered by a Halcyon Yachts crew. The crew were some 50 miles west of Gibraltar when they encountered a large group of orcas in June this year.

“I was quite aware of the orca interactions beforehand but I thought we kind of got through the worst area of it by the time we had ours.

“There are two little pots of shallow water around Cadiz heading towards Tarifa. I was on my watch and the boat was on autopilot. I turned around to see the steering of the boat flying left, right, left, right, crashing on its binnacle. I turned the pilot to manual, and then either side of me there were orcas everywhere.”

Martin Evans estimates that there were around a dozen or more whales around their yacht, ranging from small juveniles to full size adults. “There was constant whale activity, port and starboard side. Wherever we looked there was one coming in.”

“I think we were hit on the rudder 100 or 200 times. It was consistent. They were around for a solid hour. We put sails down as per the guidance, and eventually they did go away.

“But they were gone for 20 minutes, then they came back. We could see them breaking the surface in the distance and making a beeline straight for the rudder. They were very focussed in their task.”

David Smith was delivering a new Lagoon 45 when he encountered orcas hitting the rudders

At one point Evans could see an orca with a chunk of the rudder’s foam in its mouth. After another 40 minutes, the orcas finally swam away.

What nobody knows is why the orcas started behaving this way, or why the apparent orca attacks are becoming more frequent. Theories abound – some have suggested that a member of the family group was injured by a boat and the whales are seeking revenge.

Dr Esteban does not join the speculation. “We didn’t know at the beginning and we still don’t know now why it is happening. And I don’t know if we will ever know.”

Orca attacks: ringleaders

Esteban says they have identified the whales they believe are involved. “At the moment it is two groups that belong to two different families. But it’s not the whole family that is interacting.

“In one group it’s only juveniles and in the other one is mainly juveniles and even calves. There is also an adult with them, that can be seen close to the boat.”

Some have observed that the whales appear to be ‘belly up’ in the videos, suggesting that they are playing, rather than being aggressive. “That is not really proof,” says Esteban. “When they are belly-up it is more like they are being curious because it means that they are checking something with their heads in that direction. So they are intentionally looking for something.”

Having studied the local orca population for many years, Esteban knows their usual behaviour patterns. There are believed to be around 60 whales, their territory extending some 900 miles from the mouth of the Mediterranean , up the coast of Portugal, and into Biscay , where they hug the northern coast of Spain, often following tuna shoals.

“Normally in spring time close to Barbate, near the entrance to the [Gibraltar] Straits, there are shallow waters and that is where we see the whales hunting tuna. What they do is chase the tuna for about 30 minutes until the tuna are exhausted, and this is when the whales can catch them,” she explains.

Orcas hitting the rudders hitting the rudders of a Lagoon 45

“Then in summer time we normally see them just in the middle of the Strait of Gibraltar, interacting with the fishing fleet.

“Bluefin tuna fishing has been happening there for quite a long time, on long lines with hooks, and what they do is pull along the line until they have it close to the surface, then when the tuna gets close to the surface the killer whales come to the surface and take it.”

The fishing fleet is made up of larger vessels from Spain, and smaller ones from Morocco. “Sometimes when we were counting the number of boats around the animals there were hundreds, so they are used to being surrounded by boats and manoeuvring among them, but never touching the boats, until last year,” explains Esteban.

Sustained attack

Most concerning is the fact that the whales’ interactions with vessels appear to be not only more frequent, but also more sustained and involving a widening range of vessels.

“Last year it was mostly small sailing vessels, but this year they are going for larger sailing vessels and even catamarans, destroying both rudders. They also have been reported to go for fishing vessels and small RIBs, in southern Portugal, where the whale watching boats are mainly RIBs.

“They do go for them, but because there is no rudder, they just push the propellers and even push from the bottom of the boat. But it is kind of worrying because it looks like their behaviour is evolving.”

Orcas completely destroyed this Jeanneau Voyage 1120’s rudder, causing €23,000 worth of damage

More positively, when I spoke to Esteban at the end of July, there had been no reported incidents for two weeks. “The last interaction that we have reported is from 14 July in the Strait, but people have been reporting sightings of animals in Portugal and even in Galicia, so it looks like they are already moving.”

[Edit: Since this article was published, the interactions resumed with reported incidents throughout August and early September, see www.orcaiberica.org/last-interactions  for latest updates and maps of encounters. New navigation limits have also been imposed from 8-22 September]

Esteban and the Atlantic Orca Working Group ask any sailors who encounter the orcas to notify them to help them track the whales’ movement . They also request sailors send any photos or video footage of incidents to help identify which whales are involved – each orca has a uniquely shaped pale grey patch behind their dorsal fin, akin to a ‘fingerprint’, which can be used to identify the whales from the surface.

Otherwise the official advice is to stop the yacht, take down the sails and turn off the autopilot as well as the engine. Sailors are advised not to hold onto the helm, as it can suddenly spin out of control as the whales collide with the steering gear. You are also advised not to shout at or attempt to touch the whales, or get close to them at the edge of the boat, but to discreetly record them.

Alerting the authorities

David Smith was a delivery skipper of a brand new Lagoon 45 which was attacked. He advises yachts transiting the area to think carefully about their route, and their onboard communications in case they encounter orcas.

Orcas are toothed whales (known as odontocetes) but are also the largest member of the dolphin family

“My biggest concern was that they’d damage the rudder stock – and taking to the liferaft didn’t seem like an option. I’ve never been so glad to have a satellite phone on board, so I was able to phone Falmouth Coastguard and say, ‘This isn’t a Mayday or even a Pan Pan, but it could get serious very quickly’. They contacted the Portuguese Coastguard who were alert to the fact there could be a problem.

“We were 25 miles offshore – normally around the Portuguese coast you tend to stick a bit out to sea, to get away from the lobster pots and fishing boats. Between the traffic separation zone and the shore there’s quite a nice corridor, but it’s quite a lonely place. I couldn’t see anything on AIS and we were out of VHF range for the Coastguard, and I was just thinking ‘What on earth do we do?’”

Smith has also bought a satellite communication device so he can send a text or email to a key contact if he needs to raise the alarm while sailing the area again in future.

“I’m bringing a boat back from southern Portugal to Plymouth, and I’ve decided to hug the shore. Ordinarily we’d be well out to sea, but until this stops I want to play it safe,” Smith adds.

Some skippers have opted to simply avoid the area. Martin Evans, who has a small yacht of his own in Greece, intends to skip the Strait entirely by a combination of sailing through France’s canals and road trailing back to the UK.

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Shipyard Stories: Peter Lürssen on the Past, Present and Future of Lürssen

Written By: Rachel Ingram

“Once in a while we should allow ourselves, against our better knowledge, to do something really crazy,” says Peter Lürssen, CEO of German boatbuilder Lürssen. “If you do something crazy, it actually may work, and if it doesn’t, it will inspire others to push the limits.”

Since 1875, Lürssen has been one of the marine industry’s leading innovators. Manufacturer of the world’s first motorboat, as well as some of the most iconic superyachts in history – Azzam, Limitless and Dilbar to name a few, Lürssen is now run by fourth generation family members who are continuing the legacy set by their great grandparents.

Lürssen was founded in 1875 by Friedrich Lürßen, a 24-year-old German boatbuilder who got into the industry through his father Lüder Lürssen, who also ran a boatbuilding workshop. Friedrich began by building lightweight racing rowboats for Bremen oarsmen which quickly became known for their beautifully design, originality and quality. In 1886, he built the world’s first motorboat, the 6m REMS, for manufacturer Gottlieb Daimler – the company would go on to craft a number of record-breaking champion race boats.

In 1925, when Lürssen celebrated its 50 th anniversary, the company had already built 10,000 boats and the second generation of Lürssens joined the business. They went on to pioneer another series of record-setting yachts, including the world’s fastest commuter yacht and the world’s longest motor yacht at the time, the 36m AAR IV. In the 1940s, the third generation took the helm and began to build larger and larger yachts, including the 55m yacht Pegasus II and the 71m Carinthia VI, designed by legendary British yacht designer Jon Bannenberg.

Lürssen was founded in 1875 by Friedrich Lürßen

With the fourth generation came a shift in focus to two types of boats: military vessels and megayachts. A number of icons came out of the growing shipyard, including the 97m Limitless (1997); the 180.65 Azzam (2013) the longest yacht in the world, the 156m Dilbar (2016), then the largest yacht in the world by gross tonnage. More recent deliveries, including AHPO, Nord and Moon Sand, are equally pioneering.

The business is currently being managed by Friedrich and Peter Lürssen, who hold the respective roles of Managing Director and CEO. One of their missions is to balance the company’s heritage while driving future innovation. “ For last 25 years, we have created a large number of yachts and experienced great success,” says Peter Lürssen, who joined the company in 1987. “It is a constant battle because to consistently innovate, you need to stay hungry, and if you experience fairly good times, people tend to get less hungry. We have a client who built multiple ships with us who once said: ‘from success comes arrogance, from arrogance comes failure.’ I think success can create complacency, so we try to keep people hungry by allowing the young people to experiment, dream and come up with really crazy ideas.”

A major part of the company’s pioneering commitment is its new Innovation Laboratory, which will be finalised early 2022. Since 2005, Lürssen has been involved in research projects aimed at using fuel cells on ships in order to advance sustainable shipbuilding, and the laboratory has been set up to simulate and test the integration and operation of a Marine Hybrid Fuel Cell System on board a yacht powered by methanol.

While other shipyards have been discussing hydrogen and electric powered yachts, Peter is convinced that methanol in the future. “Hydrogen is hard to produce and store in big quantities, so I don’t necessarily see it as a solution for the long term,” he says. “We have been talking to people who are researching extremely efficient batteries. There are people that say eventually you will have the same energy content in one cubic metre of battery as you have today in diesel fuel . If that's the case, it's great, but you have to completely re-think the way you fuel your boat, and in a green way. You’re not going to be able to park your boat next to a power pack, plug it in and wait half a year till it’s fuelled. So, I think a realistic technology to substantially reduce the footprint today is methanol. At Lürssen, we prefer finding solutions with a practical application and so far, the methanol fuel cell offers a lot of practical use.”

Lürssen is currently building its first yacht with fuel cell technology for one of its particularly pioneering clients. The emission-free fuel cells generate electrical energy based on hydrogen reformed from green methanol. It’s a huge step towards Peter’s goal of having an emission-free Lürssen yacht, the boat will be able to anchor emission-free for 15 days or cruise 1000 miles at slow speed. “My great grandfather built the world’s first motorboat in 1886, my dream is to be the first to build a yacht without a combustion engine,” Peter says. “While we hope to see some intermediate steps in the next few years, my goal is that by 2025, we have sold a yacht that only has fuel cell technology.”

Another showcase of the modern-day Lürssen’s commitment to sustainability is ALICE, an innovative, climate-neutral yacht concept which “shows what a Lürssen yacht could look like in the future.” The design of the yacht, which would be powered by emission-free fuel cells, is peppered with ecological features that create a unique ecosystem on board, including parks and ponds on the yacht’s deck and living walls in the interior.

“We want to do something that allows sustainable cruising in the ocean,” Peter says. “Yachts have come a long way but there is further to go. I think when I look back in five or 10 years and I have contributed to a substantial reduction in footprint and made yachting cleaner and more eco-friendly, that's enough for me to be a happy man looking back.”

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Who is Peter Green, the businessman behind Trudeau's luxury trip to Jamaica?

Green's ties to the Trudeau family date back to the 1970s

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Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s office clarified that his latest, 10-day trip to a luxury Jamaican villa that rents for $9,360 a night, came “at no cost.”

The privately owned villa is part of Prospect Estate, a resort that belongs to the family of Peter Green. Green is a businessman with ties to the Trudeau family dating back to the 1970s.

Here’s what we know about Green and his relationship with Trudeau:

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Who is Peter Green?

Green, a property investor and hotel magnate, was born in Manchester, England. He was the husband of Mary-Jean Mitchell Green, who inherited the Prospect Estate from her father, Sir Harold Mitchell. Peter and Mary-Jean married in 1975. Green and Pierre Trudeau became friends around that time.

The elder Trudeau “was godfather to one of their kids, their father was godfather to one of my brothers. This is 50 years of friendship,” Trudeau explained in the House of Commons following a trip to the resort last year.

Mary-Jean, who died of breast cancer in 1990 at age 38, bequeathed the ownership of Prospect Estate to Green.

As the National Post previously reported , Green’s sons, Alexander and Andrew, sponsored a scholarship, dedicated to their late mother Mary-Jean, on behalf of the Trudeau Foundation in 2021. Green has also previously donated to the Trudeau Foundation.

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Trudeau says he ceased involvement with the organization set up in memory of his father after becoming Liberal leader in 2013.

What do we know about the estate?

Prospect Estate and Villas is located near Ocho Rios in Jamaica. Mitchell, who owned one of the largest fortunes at the time, bought the estate in the 1930s, according to CBC .

Staying at the five-villa estate currently costs anywhere from US$700 to $7,000, according to the villa’s website. Past guests to the resort include such famous names as Sir Winston Churchill, Charlie Chaplain and Henry Kissinger.

Trudeau, his children and ex-wife stayed at a secluded, 5,000-square-foot, six-bedroom “fortified residence” dating back to the 17th-century for nine days. The total cost of the Trudeaus’ nine-night stay would equal roughly $84,000, the Post calculated.

The Trudeau villa was equipped with a piano and a ping pong table and was staffed by a butler, cook and gardener, the resort’s website says.

The prime minister’s family trip to the Prospect Estate in 2022 cost taxpayers at least $162,000, according to documents tabled in the House of Commons. Most of the cost went to accommodating and paying for RCMP officers, who provide security.

How else are the Trudeau and Green family connected?

The Greens and Pierre Trudeau have taken trips to Jamaica, Bermuda, Zermatt, Switzerland, and Canada, CBC has reported. The Trudeaus have hosted the Greens at 24 Sussex Drive, and the prime minister’s cottage in Harrington Lake, it added.

Pierre Trudeau spoke at Mary-Jean Green’s funeral. Alexander Green also gave a reading at Pierre Trudeau’s funeral in 2000.

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Peter the Great and his boat that launched the Russian fleet

On the shore of Pleshcheyevo Lake, midway between Moscow and Yaroslavl on the Volga River, sits the estate of Veskovo. In 1911, the Russian photographer Sergei Prokudin-Gorsky made the journey to the estate to photograph a small boat (botik) called “Fortuna”. This seemingly modest object is a national shrine associated with the young tsar Peter I, his personal boat from a flotilla built during 1689-92 on Pleshcheyevo Lake. My photographs were taken over a century later, in 2014 and 2019.

Veskovo. Monument to Peter the Great. View toward Pleshcheyevo Lake. June 7, 2019

The estate lies some 2 miles south of the town of Pereslavl-Zalessky, long patronized by Russia’s rulers. It was established in 1152 by Yuri Dolgoruky, prince of the large territory of Rostov-Suzdal and founder of Moscow. Settlers from the territory of Kievan Rus had moved to the area since the turn of the 12th century, The town’s name is thought to derive from the town of Pereyaslavl, near Kiev, with the addition of “Zalessky” (“beyond the forests”) to signify that the settlement lay within a forest zone.

Veskovo. Monument to Peter the Great. View toward Pleshcheyevo Lake. Summer 1911

Yury Dolgoruky spent most of his life in a quest for the princely throne in Kiev, and he died in 1157, within a year after achieving that goal. The major monument to his rule in Pereslavl-Zalessky is the Cathedral of the Transfiguration of the Savior. Begun in 1152 and completed by his son Andrey Bogolubsky in 1157, the cathedral is one of the earliest cut stone churches in Russia.

Veskovo. Triumphal Arch (entrance to estate). June 7, 2019

Pereslavl-Zalessky had several monastic institutions that reflected the town’s role as a center of early missionary activity at a time when much of the surrounding territory had only nominally accepted Christianity. The number of monasteries was also due to the town’s position on a major pilgrimage route used not only by humble believers but also by the grand princes of Muscovy.

The beginning of the Russian fleet

For a brief period in the late 17th century, Pereslavl played an important role in national affairs. In the early spring of 1688, the 15-year-old Peter I was occupied in Moscow with the training of his Western-inspired army regiments when he caught site of a small English boat — the “St. Nicholas” — in a shed with objects that belonged to his great uncle, Nikita Ivanovich Romanov.  

Veskovo. Boat House. View from monument to Peter the Great. On either side: anchors from boats in the Pleshscheyevo flotilla. August 22, 2013

Seized by a desire to master the maritime arts, Peter had the boat refitted by a Dutch ship master, Karsten Brant. He began sailing on Moscow’s Yauza River and on the pond at Izmailovo, an ancient Romanov estate rebuilt by his father, Tsar Alexey Mikhailovich (1629-76). (This boat, called “the grandfather of the Russian navy,” is now housed in a special building at the Peter and Paul Fortress in St. Petersburg.)

Peter’s youthful ambitions demanded a larger aquatic space for maneuvers, and he soon learned of the smooth expanse of Pleshcheyevo Lake. In order to travel to the lake, Peter needed to gain the approval of his mother, Natalya Kirillovna Narshkina (1651-94), Tsar Alexey’s second wife and subsequently widow. In his Naval Manual of 1720, Peter the Great remembered the way he gained maternal approval: he explained the journey as a pilgrimage to the great Trinity-St. Sergius Monastery, located on the route to the lake.

The boat Fortuna, "father of the Russian fleet". View from stern. Summer 1911

On first viewing Pleshcheyevo Lake in July 1688, Peter recognized it as an ideal place to begin the quest to create a Russian fleet. Returning to Moscow, he received the approval of his still-skeptical mother to build a small flotilla on the lake. Work soon began on Western-style boats under the supervision of Karsten Brant at a boatyard established on the small Trubezh River, which empties into the lake near the center of Pereslavl-Zalessky.

However, in the summer of 1689 Peter’s attention was seized by the dramatic events of a looming dynastic crisis. Since the late 1670s and 80s his mother, Natalya Naryshkina, and the Naryshkins in general found themselves in constrained circumstances because of court intrigues. Attempts by Naryshkin supporters to have Peter proclaimed tsar were thwarted, and some members of the family were killed in 1682.

The boat Fortuna. View from stern with rudder. June 7, 2019

A compromise was arranged in which Peter served as co-tsar with his half brother Ivan V, while effective power was held by a regent, Sophia, Peter’s half-sister. Their incipient conflict came to a head in August 1689, when each maneuvered to overthrow the other.

Peter prevailed, and by September, Sophia had been confined to Moscow’s Novodevichy Convent. Although Ivan nominally remained co-tsar until his death in 1696, real power lay with Peter and his mother Natalya Naryshkina.

Building the fleet

Following his consolidation of power in the fall of 1691, Peter left state governance to his mother and turned full efforts to construction of the Pleshcheyevo flotilla. Work was also completed on a complex of buildings at Gremiach Hill (site of the Veskovo estate) that included Peter’s log residence, the “poteshny dvorets.”

By May 1692, at least two frigates had been completed, including the 30-cannon “Mars.” They were supplemented with dozens of smaller vessels, some of which had been hauled from Moscow over the winter.

Monument to Peter the Great. View from park, with text of Peter's order (ukaz) to preserve the Pleshscheyevo flotilla. Summer 1911

Although by no means the largest boat in the flotilla, “Fortuna” was considered the most important and by the late 18th century was even called “the father of the Russian fleet.” The Dutch-type oak vessel (called “shlyupka” in Russian),  24 feet in length could accommodate five pairs of oars and had a reinforced block for a mast and sails in the middle. It was steered by a rudder.

Monument to Peter the Great. View from park, with text of Peter's order (ukaz) to preserve the Pleshscheyevo flotilla. June 7, 2019

“Fortuna” may well have been built by Peter himself with the help of Brant. The physically strong young tsar was not averse to manual labor, and he later worked at a Dutch shipyard in 1697 as part of his “Grand Embassy” to Holland and England in 1697-98.

It is generally thought that Peter tried his hand at directing flotilla maneuvers from “Fortuna.” These exercises concluded on Aug. 1, 1692 with a mass display of the flotilla with cannon fire. Peter’s steadfast Butyrsky Infantry Regiment from Moscow also participated in the demonstration.

Veskovo. White Palace. Summer 1911

Thereafter, Peter’s ambitions inevitably turned to the open sea, and in 1693 he moved naval operations to broader vistas on the White Sea at the port of Arkhangelsk. Nonetheless, the Pleshcheyevo period remained firmly Peter’s mind as an essential part of his legacy.       

Preserving history

During a trip through Pereslavl-Zalessky in February 1722 at the beginning of his campaign against Persia (1722-23) Peter noticed the rapid decay of his Pleshcheyevo enterprise and commanded that it be preserved. The Pleshcheyevo flotilla was taken out of water and placed on blocks, and the Gremyach Hill site was conserved as state property.

White Palace. Main facade. August 22, 2013

Still, little was done to prevent the effects of decay on the wooden buildings and boats. The culmination of the destruction was a fire that swept through Pereslavl in 1783 and destroyed all remaining vessels that had been stored near the boatyard on the Trubezh River. The aptly-named “Fortuna” survived by virtue of its storage at the Gremyach Hill site near Veskovo.

Pleshscheyevo Lake. View from Veskovo toward Pereslavl-Zalessky & St. Nicholas Convent. Summer 1911

In 1802 Ivan Dolgorukov, the new governor of Vladimir Province, discovered “Fortuna” and proposed that the local nobility create a brick structure at Veskovo to house the boat for posterity. The dedication of the small structure in 1803 - the centenary of Peter’s founding of St. Petersburg—is considered Russia’s earliest regional history museum.

Pleshscheyevo Lake. View from Veskovo toward Monastery of St. Nicetas. June 7, 2019

In August 1850 this shrine was visited by Grand Dukes Nicholas and Michael, sons of Nicholas I, who laid the foundation stone for a monument to Peter the Great overlooking Pleshcheyevo Lake. Designed by the Moscow architect Peter Campioni, the obelisk of red Finnish granite was dedicated in August 1852, Bronze letters on one façade display Peter’s 1722 instruction to preserve the flotilla. A triumphal arch was also erected in August 1852 at the estate entrance.

"Fortuna." View from prow. June 7, 2019

The culminating component of the Veskovo museum ensemble was the White Palace, built in 1853 with donations from local nobility and merchantry. Originally used as a social center, the building now houses major museum displays.

Through all of the upheavals of the 20th century the museum ensemble at Veskovo, so carefully photographed by Prokudin-Gorsky, has remained intact as a memorial to one of the defining events in Russia’s development.

In the early 20th century the Russian photographer Sergei Prokudin-Gorsky devised a complex process for color photography. Between 1903 and 1916 he traveled through the Russian Empire and took over 2,000 photographs with the process, which involved three exposures on a glass plate. In August 1918, he left Russia and ultimately resettled in France with a large part of his collection of glass negatives. After his death in Paris in 1944, his heirs sold the collection to the Library of Congress. In the early 21st century the Library digitized the Prokudin-Gorsky Collection and made it freely available to the global public. Several Russian websites now have versions of the collection. In 1986 the architectural historian and photographer William Brumfield organized the first exhibit of Prokudin-Gorsky photographs at the Library of Congress. Over a period of work in Russia beginning in 1970, Brumfield has photographed most of the sites visited by Prokudin-Gorsky. This series of articles juxtaposes Prokudin-Gorsky’s views of architectural monuments with photographs taken by Brumfield decades later.

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Former BHS owner Philip Green slammed for £100m super-yacht purchase as thousands face redundancy

Former BHS boss Sir Philip Green has been criticised for buying his third super yacht as his old company plunged into administration, with 11,000 people facing job and pension losses.

BHS is now on the verge of bankruptcy, going into administration on 25 April amid hopes a buyer can be found for the British chain, which owner Arcadia Group sold last year to the Retail Acquisitions for £1, having bought it in 2000 for £200m ($292m).

The chairman of Arcadia Group, Green, is now facing questions as to how his firm handled BHS' financial affairs, with its two pension schemes now carrying a combined deficit of £571m "buyout" costs, despite them being in the black when Green purchased the chain.

Although Green, who paid an undisclosed amount for the yacht, Lionheart, has offered to fork out £80m of his own money towards the pension fund, employees fear this is nowhere near enough to plug the hole – which will be lower than the buyout cost, but by no means as low as Green's £80m offer.

His additional 300ft yacht purchase, which he is expected to keep near his Monte Carlo home, has angered his critics, some of whom have called for him to lose his knighthood over the financial difficulties of the 88-year-old chain.

Labour MP and member of the Treasury select committee John Mann stated that Green should pay back £400m in dividends he received from the store, telling the BBC : "Sir Philip Green and his family have made millions out of BHS and its hardworking staff. He took over a company with a healthy pension pot, yet when he sold BHS a black hole had appeared in its fund.

"There is a very simple and honourable solution to this crisis: repay the dividends, live up to the name he has chosen for his new yacht, Lionheart, or lose his knighthood."

Green has not made any comment on the purchase of his new super yacht, but it is understood the vessel, which is the size of a football pitch, boasts a pool, Jacuzzis and room to sleep 12 guests – with Forbes estimating the average cost of a smaller 100ft yacht at around $275m.

Trading losses had been reported by BHS for the past seven years, totalling £415m over the period, and is now in a perilous position, although business minister Anna Soubry reassured workers and shoppers the 164 stores will stay open for the time being, with no plans for immediate redundancies.

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