A classic head-turner

On board S/Y Bushido

I know, I know, it’s a bit much, filing from one’s yacht — but, what the hell, it’s not every day that hacks own boats. One thousand, one hundred square metres of sail, 125ft-long overall, steel hulled and very fast downwind, she is my latest pride and joy, now that I’ve been shot down at the Oxford Union, that is. Mind you, I began thinking about building a boat only three years ago. All my other ones were hand-me-downs from my old dad. The reason for building from scratch was that classic sailing boats were on the market but at astronomical prices that not even Russian oligarch-crooks could afford. As I love only classic ones, the deal was on. My friend George Nicholson introduced me to Paolo Scanu, the Italian naval architect, who chose Gek-Lift, a Turkish yard in Bodrum, and although way behind schedule it has delivered not only a true classic, but also a rare thing of beauty.