WEE BRITANNIA

It’s a common conundrum for professional sportsmen and women of all persuasions: what do you do for fun when your greatest pleasure is your work? You might assume that most professional yacht crews would run for the hills as soon as the season’s over, but that’s not necessarily the case. Take Mungo Watson and his partner Stella Marina, who have owned and run the 60ft (18m) Eda Frandsen since 2020 and before that worked on a string of classics, including Adix, Hallowe’en, Cambria and Partridge. They have back-to-back bookings taking guests on cruises around Cornwall and Scotland from April to October, yet when they get home from months at sea their favourite method of relaxation is a busman’s holiday: sailing and looking after Mungo’s family boat, the exquisite 28ft (8.5m) sloop Elrhuna, which now lives on the Fal estuary.

“Elrhuna is Mungo’s non-work happy place,” says Stella. “She is his first and one true love. She gets so much attention.”

Certainly Mungo looks at home on the boat that has been associated with his family for more than 60 years and which he himself has sailed his entire life. The professional yacht skipper exudes a familiar ease, as he leans back into the aft cockpit coamings (perfectly rounded to the shape of his back), always on the leeward side (as all serious sailors seem to do), his hand tucked lightly under the tiller, palm up with just his thumb hooked over it, gently guiding the boat across the Carrick Roads. For is far too well-mannered to have weather helm and, after 36 years of sailing together, there is