Displaying items by tag: Paul Adamson

21st March 2018

Former Dun Laoghaire Sailing School Instructor Leads New Oyster Yachts Team

Paul Adamson – new role in British luxury yacht builder Oyster Yachts

A former Dun Laoghaire Harbour based Sailing School instructor will lead a new Oyster Yachts management team following the purchase of the luxury boat builder after it went under in February, according to British media reports.

YBW.com reports here, that Richard Hadida has purchased Oyster Yachts and all of its subsidiaries and has brought the owner of one–time Dun Laoghaire Harbour–based sailing school, Sailing West, Paul Adamson on board.

Adamson and his wife Audrey sailed around the world from 2012 to 2014 working professionally for ex Formula One Team Boss, Dubliner Eddie Jordan and prior to that ran the Sailing West Sailing School based at Dun Laoghaire's ferry terminal.

More recently, Adamson has been working as a 'motivational speaker', details as per his website here.

As Afloat.ie reported at the time, the British luxury yacht builder stopped production in February with the loss of some 380 employees at its UK sites at Southampton and Wroxham in Norfolk after the Dutch private equity firm, HTP Investments, announced it would no longer continue to financially support the company.

Hadida is now forming a management team, led by Oyster skipper Adamson, who captained Eddie Jordan's Oyster 885, LUSH in the Oyster World Rally in 2014.

Adamson was also a regular competitor on the Dublin Bay SB20 Sportsboat circuit.

Hadida, who regularly sails on LUSH, told Yachting Monthly he has used his own personal fortune to buy Oyster and all of its subsidiaries, including Oyster Palma and Oyster Newport in the USA.

"Every part of the business, including brokerage and chartering, I plan to bring back to life,' he noted. 'I am not looking to flip it, there is no exit planning, I am in it for the long run, it will be a lifetime business."

His first priority will be on the 26 customers whose Oysters were in build when the company closed its doors.

"We are hoping to start employing people as of tomorrow. At the moment, we have boats in every stage of build from the mould to almost complete and we need to get people on these boats and building them fast. I want to get those yard doors open and start building boats again," stressed Hadida.

Adamson, who will act as 'Chief Transformation Officer', added that the 26 customers with Oysters in build will get exactly what they ordered.

Published in Dun Laoghaire Harbour News

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Eddie Jordan's New 155–foot Sunseeker Super Yacht Nears Completion

#sunseeker – Is this the biggest boat owned by an Irishman? Sunseeker's largest ever yacht for Irish Formula One mogul Eddie Jordan has been revealed this weekend at Poole Quay in Dorset, the Bournemouth Echo reports.

The 155–foot yacht, reported to be worth £32 million, was painstakingly moved out of the shed by Sunseeker staff on Saturday and took more than an hour to move the short distance into the yard.

Eddie Jordan has been enjoying a lot of time on the ocean waves of late. Afloat previously reported (this time last year) on the start of Jordan's Round the World Rally. He was joined on that voyage by Dun Laoghaire sailing school instructor Paul Adamson on the Oyster 885, Lush, for the first ever Oyster World Rally.

Meanwhile in Poole, Stewart McIntyre, Managing Director at Sunseeker, whose Irish agents are MGM Boats in Dun Laoghaire, said yesterday: "This is an extremely exciting time for Sunseeker as we inch ever closer to the completion of the 155 Yacht.

"This is the biggest project we have ever undertaken and since the announcement of its build it has been the talk of the industry.

"We are incredibly proud of what we have created and look forward to showcasing it to the world."

The impressive accommodation can cater for 12 guests and 10 crew, and has an on board nightclub, a panoramic viewing area, a dining area, bar and its own garage for jet skis.

The largest luxury boat ever built by the company had to be moved using a radio controlled multiple wheeled unit from its build shed onto the quay at Poole for the final fitting out.

An extra radar mount was needed to complete the boat but it was far too tall for the current shed so the boat will have to spend at least one or two more weeks on the harbourside before it can be finally launched into the water.

About the Golden Globe Race

The Golden Globe Race is the original round the world yacht race. In 1968, while man was preparing to take his first steps on the moon, a mild mannered and modest young man was setting out on his own record breaking voyage of discovery. Off shore yacht racing changed forever with adventurers and sailors, inspired by Sir Robin Knox-Johnston, following in his pioneering wake. Nine men started the first solo non-stop sailing race around the World. Only one finished. History was made. Navigating with a sextant, paper charts and an accurate and reliable time piece, Sir Robin navigated around the world. In 2018, to celebrate 50 years since that first record breaking achievement, the Golden Globe Race was resurrected. It instantly caught the attention of the worlds media as well as adventures, captivated by the spirit and opportunity. The original race is back.

The Golden Globe Race: Stepping back to the golden age of solo sailing

Like the original Sunday Times event back in 1968/9, the 2018 Golden Globe Race was very simple. Depart Les Sables d'Olonne, France on July 1st 2018 and sail solo, non-stop around the world, via the five Great Capes and return to Les Sables d'Olonne. Entrants are limited to use the same type of yachts and equipment that were available to Robin Knox-Johnston in that first race. That means sailing without modern technology or benefit of satellite-based navigation aids.

Competitors must sail in production boats between 32ft and 36ft overall (9.75 10.97m) designed prior to 1988 and having a full-length keel with rudder attached to their trailing edge. These yachts will be heavily built, strong and steady, similar in concept to Robin's 32ft vessel Suhaili.

In contrast to the current professional world of elite ocean racing, this edition travels back to a time known as the 'Golden Age' of solo sailing. Suhaili was a slow and steady 32ft double-ended ketch based on a William Atkins ERIC design. She is heavily built of teak and carried no computers, GPS, satellite phone nor water-maker, and Robin completed the challenge without the aid of modern-day shore-based weather routing advice. He had only a wind-up chronometer and a barograph to face the world alone, and caught rainwater to survive, but was at one with the ocean, able to contemplate and absorb all that this epic voyage had to offer.

This anniversary edition of the Golden Globe Race is a celebration of the original event, the winner, his boat and that significant world-first achievement. Competitors in this race will be sailing simple boats using basic equipment to guarantee a satisfying and personal experience. The challenge is pure and very raw, placing the adventure ahead of winning at all costs. It is for 'those who dare', just as it was for Knox-Johnston.

They will be navigating with sextant on paper charts, without electronic instruments or autopilots. They will hand-write their logs and determine the weather for themselves.

Only occasionally will they talk to loved ones and the outside world when long-range high frequency and ham radios allow.

It is now possible to race a monohull solo around the world in under 80 days, but sailors entered in this race will spend around 300 days at sea, challenging themselves and each other. The 2018 Golden Globe Race was a fitting tribute to the first edition and it's winner, Sir Robin Knox-Johnston.

Background on Don McIntyre (61) Race Founder

Don is an inveterate sailor and recognised as one of Australia s greatest explorers. Passionate about all forms of adventure and inspiring others, his desire is to recreate the Golden Age of solo sailing. Don finished 2nd in class in the 1990-91 BOC Challenge solo around the world yacht race. In 2010, he led the 4-man Talisker Bounty Boat challenge to re-enact the Mutiny on the Bounty voyage from Tonga to West Timor, in a simil