Neil Cheston
I wouldn’t share this with my three children, but I learnt more from mucking about on boats than I ever did at school. I started as a deckhand on a Swan 65 at the age of 19, and spend the next 15 years skippering and delivering sailing yachts of all shapes and sizes. I was lucky enough to sail on some of the most famous yachts of the era, and one or two of their owners were reckless enough to put me in command. In those days, the only qualification you needed to go to sea was wanderlust, and we all had plenty of that. Many of my contemporaries are now famous captains on very large yachts indeed, but they can spare me the gravitas – I have photos!
These days I’m grateful for the odd invitation to regattas and to get the occasional adrenaline rush, I take my bike out and admire the coastline from on land, but my real challenge is my job. I take great pleasure in heading up a team of younger, smarter yachting professionals who all share the same ideal – hard work, team spirit and rich reward. After all these years in the business, my dream job in yachting? The Owner’s Best Friend!
DIRECTOR YACHT SALES & CHARTER
