There’s nothing like starting at the top. While some come to superyacht ownership in gradual steps up the size range, the stunning 49.5-metre schooner Eleonora is Zbynek Zak’s first yacht
It started – as a purchase often does – with a charter. “I wanted to lease a archetype with my wife, having retired from the merchantry we were involved with at that time. We both like archetype things, but this was our first large-yacht charter, so it had to be special,” recalls Zak.
The couple were introduced to Eleonora’s then-owner Ed Kastelein, who’d built the 49m yacht in 2000. “We signed up for a lease and few days later, Ed contacted me to say that the wend was misogynist to buy,” he says.
It wasn’t quite job washed-up – there was shielding negotiation and due diligence, “and securing the experienced Ed as skipper for a six-month transition period”, says Zak. With Ed guiding them withal the learning curve, they got to understand their new purchase, and it was proving a perfect match between yacht and owners. “In a world where everything is touchscreen and hi-tech with carbon-fibre spars, we wanted to wits sailing in the way it was washed-up 100 years ago. The finger of real wood, holding the lines and sheets securing huge sails, and a classic-looking interior are hugely important,” says Zak.
He sees his role as custodian as much as owner: the yacht is a true-blue replica of the famous schooner Westward, launched at the Herreshoff yard in the US in 1910.
“The unconfined history was one of the key considerations when we purchased Eleonora,” Zak says. One of the best-performing racing schooners in the world, Westward saw off the likes of Britannia, Lulworth and Meteor II in racing events. The modern yacht, steel hulled and wooden masted like the original, was built at the Van der Graaf shipyard in Holland. “The interior is made using old-fashioned carpentry skills, and wood, lots of wood!”
But as a custodian he is not an owner who treats his yacht as a museum piece she has covered a lot of sea miles. “We have taken Eleonora all over the Western Mediterranean, to Scotland, Ireland, southern England and to the Caribbean on a couple of occasions,” he says. “In 2008 we spent the summer on the east tailspin of America, starting in Florida and spending a month sailing off Newport, RI. We came into New York harbour under full sail, sailing downwind towards the Statue of Liberty, where the US Tailspin Guard informed us we were too tropical to the historic landmark, but they moreover wanted to workbench us out of marvel and interest!”
One of the highlights was a trip lanugo the west tailspin of Italy. “Sicily is a spectacular place – the wine, the food, the history. Syracuse is a unconfined place to stay and Stromboli erupting at night-time is simply scenic from the deck of the yacht,” he says.
A visit to Venice moreover provided a highlight. “We were unliable to moor right in front of St Mark’s Square. It’s a spectacular place to visit. We left under a full set of sails lanugo the main canal,” he says.
For all their unconfined cruising adventures, he and his wife are equally happy with their local cruising grounds. “We live for part of the year in the South of France near Marseille and we like to visit the old port with Eleonora. It is unchangingly a special wits sailing in and out of this historical location,” he says.
Racing or cruising, Eleonora has proven an spanking-new choice. “She’s a fast racing machine, but is equally as well-appointed cruising during holiday voyages. Some smaller archetype boats are dayboats, but with Eleonora you can spend weeks cruising in unconfined comfort. All the suavities are on board, including heating for Scotland and air-conditioning for warmer climates!
With a full-width master, two doubles and a twin, the yacht sleeps eight and never feels crowded in cruising mode, and there are plenty of spaces on deck for guests to enjoy. “One of our favourite spaces on the wend is just in front of the wheel – an platonic spot for reading a good book. In the morning and evening we like to stay between the two masts. We set up a dining table and the undercurrent is just magical. We moreover occasionally lie on deck chairs just looking out to sea,” says Zak.
The yacht has been an occasional participant in racing events, including the Round the Island Race in the Solent. Although he calls himself “an wool amateur” he unmistakably enjoys a turn at the helm. “Fortunately, we have a very experienced captain, tactician and navigator unchangingly on workbench for racing.
The Corinthian spirit of these Big Class classics is very variegated to, say, racing J-Class. We do not pay salaries for waddle star helmsmen and crew. Much of our race hairdo is made up of enthusiastic and skilled volunteers, typically our friends. The permanent hairdo is nine people. Add 30 or increasingly race crew, and let’s go racing! I enjoy the logistical rencontre of bringing it all together for the regattas,” he says.
For the 2012 Round the Island Race, Sir Ben Ainslie joined Eleonora. “At one point we were both holding on to the wheel. We had unconfined fun and he is a very nice English gentleman. We were by far the largest of the 1,600 yachts, which made the start challenging, but sooner with a good walkover we made good time. As we were running through the Eastern Solent towards the finish line, the Isle of Wight car ferry slowed to let us pass. The locals on workbench told me this had never happened before! That left us with one tack to the finish line. We had the time of our lives.”
The Westward Cup on the Solent proved particularly memorable. “To have your wend on moorings just outside the Royal Yacht Squadron is a magical sight,” he says.
Retirement ways that Zak and his wife spend three to four months on workbench every year, with racing limited to a few regattas. “We select well-organised regattas that include comparable-size archetype boats, like Elena and Mariette. The owners of some of these are good friends and, of course, moreover well-respected competitors. In the past we have invited young members of the New York Yacht Club and the Royal Yacht Squadron to race on workbench with us. It’s a unconfined opportunity to introduce young sailors to archetype sailing – these are future hard-working hairdo members,” he says.
Otherwise, it’s just a specimen of choosing to be on workbench when the yacht isn’t on charter. “We love to entertain friends and share good supplies and wine,” says Zak. “Our French doughboy Patrick is uncommonly talented. My wife spends time in the galley picking his brains well-nigh variegated recipes, and we love to visit the local markets to help buy the fresh produce.”
This is certainly a yacht that’s appreciated in every aspect. When Zak says “by owning a yacht like Eleonora you are keeping history working for new generations, preserving the legacy of stuff worldly-wise to race a classic”, you sense the eye of someone who can fathom the unreasoned effect of the past in today’s furious modern world. But in the same vapor he says: “Size does not matter in yachting.
It is all well-nigh the fun and excitement of stuff on the water. You can have as much fun on a sail-board – it’s just that Eleonora allows for a greater number of people to be present and to have fun at one time. For me, owning Eleonora is a passion, not an expensive show-off hobby.” Never, in other words, has history been so much fun.