ON BOARD WITH Andy Scott
There can’t be many yacht owners that put an offer in on a boat hoping it will be rejected, but that’s exactly how British businessman Andy Scott – whose portfolio of companies turns over around $54 million each year – came to buy his 105ft sloop Elton. Since he already owned the 69ft classic Sangermani Telstar, he wasn’t particularly interested in having a second boat. Besides, he thought her owner, who’d “fallen out of love with it,” wanted too high a price for the yacht, which was delivered in 1992.
Scott put in a “very cheeky” offer having looked at Elton for no more than 15 minutes, “prayed they’d say no,” and soon dismissed the whole idea. “Then the broker came back and said, ‘The owner has reluctantly said yes,’” Scott says, “and I thought, ‘bugger’,” he laughs.
He describes her as “more than tired”; hadn’t been used for four years and needed modernizing throughout – from upholstery and furnishings through to more general maintenance. Not that she wasn’t a beautiful boat. Designed by Tripp Design’s new crew and a fresh new look, she’s already booking charters for Italy, the Caribbean, and potentially Miami and Cuba.
