20 replies to this topic

[Dennis David]

Help!

I need some anecdotes surrounding yachts and attending the Monaco GP ... no not some of your Aunt Bea but anything involving the glitterati. There must be at least some on James Hunt and crew or Gerhard Berger. Normally I would consult my own resources but being stuck in Vancouver I am at a disadvantage.

[Ray Bell]

It's interesting... Geoff Sykes told me that when I went there (1981) I would be amazed by the opulance and wealth about the place...

"Nothing in Australia like that!" he said.

So I went, and I was looking about the harbour during practice day and clinging to the thorny vines on the marble cliffs over on the western side of the place, not a bad vantage spot if a trifle uncomfortable, and I found myself in company with another Australian.

He was from Castle Hill, a suburb of Sydney, but had moved to Europe to fulfil his dream of being the skipper of some rich bod's yacht. He had charge of a yacht owned by 'a German industrialist' that was moored at Menton, IIRC. But he had nothing to do that day and was enjoying the GP preparations.

Discussing the yachts, he pointed to one called Non Stop that was the most obvious one in the harbour. "It's nothing special," he said. "There's not much here this year at all, really. But it's got a helipad, satellite navigation and so on. But it's not built for deep water, only good in the Mediterranean."

So the conversation swung to other things, about the yachts that could have been there etc. But it's all probably not what you want, just something to ramble on about and maybe give some insight for later on.

1981 was a bad year for yachts and Alan Jones, a very good year for Gilles Villeneuve at Monaco...

[uffen]

I remember seeing the Non Stop that year. I also remember thinking that the harbour didn't look as full as in the photos. What I remember mostly, though, was Gilles winning.

[Ray Bell]

And the crowd went wild!

[David Birchall]

Originally posted by Dennis David
Help!

I Normally I would consult my own resources but being stuck in Vancouver I am at a disadvantage.

"Stuck in Vancouver"!!
You could contact TEJ, Magee, Gerr or others-I am sure they would be happy to meet you. Of course, if you have a day off you could slip over to Galiano Island and I could entertain you for a day-are you any good at construction?
David B

[Dennis David]

I'm terrible at construction!

But seriously I need some annecdotes. The info about Non Stop and Gilles actually helps more than you know and will take care of my closing paragraph!

What of Hunt? What of Burger? of Hill?

[dolomite]

Wasn't there one year at Monaco (1997?) where the ITV F1 crew installed themselves on a yacht in the harbour to present their TV coverage, only to be battered all weekend by unseasonably stormy weather that made them all seasick? Every year since then Jim Rosenthal has stayed firmly on dry land...

[David Birchall]

Originally posted by Dennis David
I'm terrible at construction!

But seriously I need some annecdotes. The info about Non Stop and Gilles actually helps more than you know and will take care of my closing paragraph!

What of Hunt? What of Burger? of Hill?

You might pick up some thing from Duncan Hamilton's autobiography "Touch Wood". He had a magnificent yacht he kept at Monaco and on pages 162-163 tells a few anecdotes.

Can you fry eggs?

[David Birchall]

Dennis, It just occured to me that you might not be aware of Wilkinson's Automobilia at Broadway and Ontario Street in Vancouver. One of the finest automotive book/model shops in N.America. They have a wonderful selection of books and old magazines and are very helpfull. Ask for Ted Wilkinson.

[Richard Jenkins]

the best I could find was that of Hesketh's extravagance. They arrived by yacht for their first race (they being the four H's - Hesketh, Horsley, Hunt & Harvey P) & quoting GrandPrix.com

"The money-wasting reached absurd levels at Monaco where Hesketh used to send his helicopter to nearby Nice to bring back the morning papers and croissants for the guests on his yacht."

The only other thing is the sound of the yacht sirens when Panis won in 1996, a rare occassion they made themselves heard, as opposed to seen.

:

[D-Type]

All I can find

From Mon Ami, Mate
In April 1958 Peter and Louise Collins bought the 20 ton 43 foot yacht Mipooka which could sleep five in comfort. They promptly sailed her to Monte Carlo. On the Sunday before the Grand Prix, Louise cooked a meal for 15 guests. Phil Hill stayed with them for the race week. After that things quietened down and Mipooka became their home between races. After Peter’s tragic death Louise sold the yacht.

From Gerald Donaldson’s biography of James Hunt
In 1973 the grand prix establishment couldn’t make head or tail of the extrovert Hesketh team. They chartered the 162 foot Southern Breeze , one of the biggest yachts in the harbour, as the team headquarters for the week. Lord Hesketh, Bubbles Horsley, and the rest of the team made a party of the race meeting while the mechanics and James Hunt got on with the serious business of racing. the young James hunt got the team’s private March up to 6th place before retiring with an engine failure.
For 1974 they chartered the massive Nefertiti for entertaining and the slightly smaller Henry Morgan for the Hesketh ’workers’ James Hunt, designer Harvey Postlethwaite and team manager Bubbles Horsley.

Then in more recent times we have had Eddie Jordan’s 62 foot Snapper S which had the distinction of being longer than Tom Walkinshaw’s boat.

[Ray Bell]

Vancouver?

Isn't that where former TNFer Mike Tippett lives? I'm sure it is... and I'm certain he'd like to hear from you... specially if you say I reminded you to call him. Shouldn't be too hard to find in the phone book.

Went under the name 404KF2 on here...

[Magee]

Maybe Dennis is stuck in Vancouver, Washington!

[uffen]

I may have some photos of the 1981 yachts if that is any help. I could scan some and send them to you when I get back from vacation (end of March).

[Andrew Fellowes]

I am told Roy Salvadori got removed from Bernie’s boat one year.

Cause: no free tickets.
Result: Roy left the boat yelling obscenities at Bernie.

[Magee]

Post Script: Just heard on the news that Vancouver, BC was named third best city in the world after Geneva and Zurich.

[Dennis David]

Have you ever lived or stayed for any length of time in Geneva or Zurich? I rest my case.

David,

I just sent you a private message.

[sandy]

Not much of an anecdote but I was strolling along past the yachts tied up at Monaco, in 1985, with my family and came to a truly magnificent yacht. We stopped to admire it. At the gangplank were several individuals lounging up against the railings and I casually wandered up to them and asked who owned the yacht. Their heads slowly turned and I found myself looking into very cold and hard eyes. They looked me over for awhile, noted the family standing there and eventually, one said quietly in a flat voice "A party from New York". I thanked them and moved on rather briskly, not looking back.

[David Birchall]

Well if we are into general anecdotes: In Vancouver a couple of years ago a friend had a group of us invited onto the most spectacular sailboat I have ever been on: Twin hydraulic rams to raise the boom, a spinnaker "The size of 3 football fields" I was assured. When I asked the skipper who owned the boat he said "Can you keep a secret?" Of course I said yes. "So can I!" was his response.

[Neri Moreira]

Here is mine

About five years ago, during holidays, I was parking my Volvo 460 (with a portuguese plate number) near the harbour.

While I was doing it , my wife sudenly said (a lilte angry) "Hey, why is this guy starring at us, must we give him a coin or what?"
I looked and saw a, very bad dressed, guy starring at us and said to my wife "but, but, he is Gerhard Berger "

After that, I went to see if I could guess what was his Yatch, and found one with an Austrian and a Portuguese flag, and Berger was there with some other people.

Later I learnt that his wife is Portuguese, so I guess that he was schoked, thinking that perhaps some relatives of his wife were about to show for a free lunch :-)

I lost that oportunity ;-)

All the best
Neri

[Dennis David]

Thanks to everybody for their help. My "Yahcts" article is in the can!