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ISSUE 09
Winter 2013
CREATING LONDON’S FINEST HOMES
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INTO THE
DEEP
Words by Lisa Freedman
The arctic explorer Pen Hadow, famed for
trekking solo from Canada to the North Pole,
defined the art of exploration as: ‘going places
and attempting things which haven’t been done
before, discovering new things and learning
from what you’ve found out.’ Now, a generation
of yacht owners is also intent on becoming a
generation of explorers.
Into the deep
Previous page:
Marine Conservation
Expeditions organises epic
adventures with a mission.
OPPOSITE:
Francesca Truter
(Top) Create your own documentary
diving with experienced photographers
and filmmakers; (Below) Henry Cookson
aboard SuRi in the Antarctica.
S
ilicon Valley entrepreneur
and venture capitalist Tom
Perkins is one of the yachting world’s
most celebrated figures, known
for his expertise in developing and
building some of the finest yachts
ever sailed, including the legendary
Maltese Falcon. In 2006, however, at
the Monaco Yacht Show, he came
across a two-man submersible which
revolutionised his outlook. “It’s a true
sub,” he said in a recent interview.
“You can get in at atmospheric
pressure and it stays at atmospheric
pressure at all depths down to 400ft.”
The potential this offered eventually
led Perkins to purchase the explorer
yacht, Dr. No, which he converted to
accommodate a DeepFlight Super
Falcon sub. “It’s an adventure boat.
That’s what I’m really into now.”
Fortunately for other yachting
enthusiasts, there is an increasing
number of opportunities for those
who want to use their yacht as a
launch pad for adventure.
Henry Cookson, owner of
Henry Cookson Adventures
(henrycookson.com), started his
working life in the city, when he
82
‘hardly knew whether penguins lived
north or south’. In 2005, however, he
was persuaded by friends to attempt
the Scott Dunn Polar Challenge
and went on to enter the Guinness
Book of Records kite skiing to the
Antarctic Pole of Inaccessibility.
Since then, he’s given up the 9-5
to create bespoke travel adventures
for those who want to experience a
similar sense of the extreme.
“So many people today say they
want to get off the beaten track, but
then just follow the crowd. We prefer
to find our clients somewhere we
personally feel is special.”
Crowd following certainly plays
little part in the expeditions Cookson
orchestrates. Earlier this year, for
example, he took the 63m motor yacht
SuRi on a cruise to Antarctica. The
yacht had been refitted to include a
Triton 1000/2 two-man submarine.
“As far as I know we were the first
to use a submersible in this area,”
says Cookson. “Not even scientists
had done it before. It felt like
stepping into the abyss. You seem
even closer to the wildlife than when
you’re scuba diving.”
This page:
(Left) Yacht owner Tom Perkins
launches the two-man submarine
aboard Dr. No; (Below left) If
you’ve always wanted to swim with
whales, now’s your chance.
“Clients will say to us at the outset,
‘It’s a once-in-a-lifetime holiday’.
Then, when they return, it’s ‘let’s
come back and do it again’.”
– Henry Cookson
With custom-made clothing
delivered to the door and Zorbs on
board for the kids to play ‘pin-ball
wizard’ on the icebergs, the trip was
certainly not cheap, but, equally, it
was considerably more memorable
than a gentle chug round the Med.
“Clients will say to us at the outset,
‘It’s a once-in-a-lifetime holiday’.
Then, when they return, it’s ‘let’s
come back and do it again.’”
For those looking for a further
challenge, Cookson is now investigating
trips to Australia, to swim with
crocodiles, and East Russia, to examine
the habitat of the albino killer whale.
If getting up close and personal with
scary monsters of the deep is what
inspires you, you couldn’t be better
served than by French photographer
and marine biologist, Rodolphe Holler,
who runs Tahiti Private Expeditions
(tahiti-private-expeditions.com) based
in French Polynesia.
Dive-expert Holler is a big fan of
sharks (“You’re more likely to be killed
by a coconut falling on your head, than
by a shark,” he says hotly) and, though
he originally lived in France, 13 years
ago he decided to make his own
longing for adventure a reality.
“Sitting on the dock in the south of
France I would watch the superyachts
drift by and dream of sharks and
manta rays. Now I get to dive with
them all the time.”
Tahiti Private Expeditions
specialises in providing onboard dive
expertise both in Tahiti – “Tahiti is
our playground,” says Holler – and
throughout the South Pacific.
Superyacht owners looking for
underwater adventure are particularly
fortunate that the ocean remains one
of the world’s last frontiers and Holler’s
network of local contacts alerts him
to remarkable natural events (like a
three-day massing of manta rays),
while the use of submersibles enables
him to guide clients to witness the
everyday extraordinary.
Recently, Holler was Tom Perkins’
guide when he set off to explore the
Northern Tuamotu, one of the most
isolated reaches of the region. Perkins
was particularly interested in seeing
sharks – and he was not disappointed.
On his first dive, he came close to
a shoal of about 200. Later, while
Rodolphe Holler filmed overhead,
Perkins dropped his Super Falcon to
60-80 metres to discover a large chain
of marine caves.
‘They may never have been seen
by man before. It’s remarkable to see
something and know you’re the first.’
Many of those interested in exploring
the ocean are also increasingly
interested in helping to preserve it
and Blue Marine Foundation
(bluemarinefoundation.com) has
launched a ‘virtual yacht club’ to allow
owners to display their enthusiasm.
“Anyone who looks to the ocean
as a source of recreation owes it to
themselves to get involved,” says
song writer Kirsty Bertarelli, one of
the charity’s leading patrons.
83
Go down into the big blue with
filmmaker Ian Kellet, a passionate
believer in participatory conservation.
For those, however, who want to
‘get involved’ in a more active manner,
Marine Conservation Expeditions
(marineconservationexpeditions.com)
allows yachtsmen to participate in a
way normally only experienced by
documentary crews. It organises ‘epic
adventures with a mission.’
The company was set up two years
ago by Ian Kellett, a Montana-based
photographer and filmmaker, who’s
worked on such seminal BBC nature
series as Frozen Planet, Oceans
and Planet Earth (as well as filming
Richard Hammond for Top Gear).
84
Kellett himself is a passionate believer
in participatory conservation.
“Over the decades we’ve seen how
important it is to establish effective
Marine Protected Areas, which are
essential if we want to stop the decline
of marine habitat. These areas are
notoriously difficult to fund and MCE
wants to inspire involvement in the
protection of marine environments
by taking successful and influential
people on filmmaking adventures.”
These adventures typically involve
some of the greatest experts in the
field and Kellett’s roster of talent
includes: Paul Rose, Vice President
of the Royal Geographic Society;
BAFTA and EMMY award-winning
cinematographer, Rick Rosenthal;
and celebrated environmentalist
Alexandra Cousteau, granddaughter
of the great French marine explorer
Jacques-Yves Cousteau.
Kellett and his colleague Rich
Hallam (a PADI Master Scuba
Dive Trainer and RYA Ocean
Yachtmaster) organise customised
trips for four to six clients (designated
‘executive producers’) to work
alongside an elite team of filmmakers,
scientists, and naturalists: “We’re only
looking for a limited and exclusive
group pulling together.”
The USP of these holidays is that
executive producers are allowed to be
involved in the creative process right
from the outset, helping with lighting,
interviewing local dignitaries or taking
the lead with an underwater camera.
To organise an expedition of this
nature typically takes three to nine
months and Kellett and his team begin
the process by suggesting a location
tailored to the traveller’s specific
interests, whether that’s preserving an
endangered coral reef or spotlighting
sustainable tuna fisheries.
American socialpreneur and
investor Scott McDougall was
initially one such client, but has gone
on to become an involved member of
the team. “My trip was as full as one
could possibly imagine, and not just
full, but full with unique, interesting,
and, I like to think, in some way
important activities.”
An expedition, in other words,
which met all of Pen Hadow’s criteria.
Explorer yachts for sale:
Amazon Express:
66.70m / 218’10” / $7,500,000
Ulysses:
59.59m / 195’06” / $36,500,000
Capella C:
59.00m /193’07” / $5,800,000
Tribu:
50.50m / 165’08” / €13,900,000
Atmosphere:
45.39m / 148’11” / €13,995,000
Copasetic:
43.00m / 141’01” / $17,900,000
Alumercia:
37.69m / 123’08” / €9,950,000
Zeepaard:
37.19m / 122’00” / €11,750,000
Wisting:
31.30m / 102’08” / €2,900,000
Voyager:
25.60m / 84’00” / €1,950,000*
*Also available for charter
For more information on any
of these yachts please contact:
sales@fraseryachts.com