Beautiful Boats
I’ve always loved boats ever since my first sailing trip many years ago to the Greek Isles – which coincidentally also really made me fall in love with Greece, one of my favourite places to visit late summer, I have been many times, and every time is a pleasure. As a random aside, Greeks also do far better olive oil, and indeed olives than the Italians, and some of the best seafood also. This was real sailing where you sleep on the boat and have to pull the thingy (no, not your thingy!) to make the sail move. Being on a boat is a beautiful experience, and with the right company an experience of a lifetime. At that particular time a chance encounter lead to an adventurous 5 days skippering a sailing yacht (I was more of a lucky charm/ bikini model/ enthusiastic blowjob giver, than a skipper, but anyway I feel I definitely pulled my weight).
At this particular time I’d never been on a sailboat and I found the experience to be so magical and memorable, sailing to the island of Paxos – one of my favourites – where you can sit on the waterside eating spiny lobster with Greek salad, and there’s nobody banging on and no influencers and Loro Piana loafers. I hiked (okay, walked) to the top of the island – the waters are some of the few in Europe that are as blue and clear as the Caribbean. On my way down I passed a beautiful gated private home, surrounded by orange trees heaving with big, heavy oranges glistening in the sun. I did what any self-respecting Bond Girl would do, scaled the fence in my linen dress, Chanel sunglasses, and strappy sandals, picked an orange (harder than it seems, you have to twist them a lot, also the owner had planted thorns around the base of the trees, presumably to prevent people like me from doing things like this) tucked it into my handbag, and quickly escaped back to the tether boat. It smelled so delicious I decided to rip it open before we had even reached the main boat. I bit into it and to my horror…. a taste more bitter than the most bitter grapefruit filled my mouth. I have never been so disappointed! It was like a modern day fable. Moral of the story: never steal thy neighbours fruit.
Sail boats are like cars with manual gear sticks – we’re supposed to prefer them because… (mumbles something about feeling at one with the machine). But I love a motor yacht to the point where I find their presence close to arousing. I can’t fully explain the feeling to be on one or look at them… These are the most sexy boats. To anchor on some remote little beach, music playing in the background, enjoying nice plate of fruit or lazing on the front deck enjoying a book. You probably know I have a big interest in cars (especially classics) and motor yachts are a similar thing – the speed, the build, and the decadence are irresistible to me.The only exception (sailboats that can rival motor yachts) is this beauty above which I once saw in the Caribbean. The Mondango 3 – a 180ft(!) yacht that’s like a floating Rolls Royce. I couldn’t find a walkthrough video of the Mondango but have attached one of a similar build by the same yard. This boat was built by Alloy Yachts in New Zealand, who build the most absurdly delicious sailing superyachts but sadly went out of business in 2016 (lack of demand). Sailboats built by Alloy Yachts are true works of art – when I saw the Mondango 3 I remember being truly stunned by how beautiful this boat is. I told myself, I will without a doubt experience a boat like this. The thought that human hands built this thing from scratch is almost beyond comprehension, and the fact that this calibre of sailboat will never be built again is so sad. It represents a type of eccentric person of which there are so few left. Realising the builder had decided to shut down made me pause for thought – okay it’s not the extinction of the white horned rhino, or the collapse of the Lehman Brothers, but still, as of today, mankind will never make this type of vehicle ever again. It’s a pity. Boats, like all other areas of life are sadly becoming a uniform, predictable, expression.
Whenever I travel I make a point of having a good look at the marina and enjoy the boats. I’ve posted below one of my favourite motor yachts, the Riva 66 Ribelle. It’s not a totally crazy one, but I think the absolute perfection boat for romance/long trip.Shall we? 😉😘❤️
Kiss!Billie x