Tru Vu Sailing Systems

Archive for May, 2010

Byline: NICK CRAVEN

SHE has enjoyed generous hospitality at his French Riviera villa and on his [pounds sterling]35million yacht and handsome schooner.

Now the friendship between Princess Diana and controversial Harrods owner Mohamed Al Fayed appears to be growing even deeper.

The Princess used one of the cash-for-questions tycoon’s helicopters as she returned home after a night away from her Kensington Palace home West London.

The ‘Air Harrods’ flight is usually chartered by VIP guests on shopping and pleasure trips, but on Sunday morning it was reserved for Diana as it dropped her off outside the palace. A chauffeured BMW was waiting to take her on the short drive through the gates.

It is not known who paid the bill for the Sikorsky S-76, its fuel and crew, but the flight will be interpreted as another sign of how close Diana has grown to Mr Al Fayed’s family.

Only the day before, Prince Harry was treated to a trip to Harrods’ toy department, as well as lunch in the Knightsbridge store.

Earlier this month, Diana and her sons enjoyed a ten-day holiday at Mr Al Fayed’s St Tropez villa. Diana explained then that she had been invited by his wife Heini.

Mr Al Fayed had been one of her late father’s ‘oldest friends’, she added.

Kensington Palace refused to comment on the flight, but Diana’s links with Mr Al Fayed were criticised by Harold Brooks Baker, publisher of Burke’s Peerage.

‘I think she’s one of the most marvellous people in the world, but the point is that she is associating herself with someone whose position is not settled,’ he said. ‘There are lots of aspects of Mr Al Fayed’s life which will have to be thoroughly looked into if he’s to have a British passport.

‘It’s not wise for someone as clearly linked to the Royal Family to be involved with him until the government sorts the matter out. Not since Wallis Simpson has there been anyone who has played with danger as much.’ Meanwhile, Diana has been offered a very public olive branch by her former sister-in-law, the Duchess of York, after their well-documented split.

‘Nothing can stop me loving her with all my heart,’ Sarah writes in her latest syndicated column for the New York Times.

The two have been at odds for several months, since the Duchess revealed in her autobiography that she caught verrucas from Diana’s shoes and praised Prince Charles as an ‘extraordinary person’.

Now Sarah has tried to make amends.

She says that during her ‘isolation’ in Buckingham Palace she saw few friends, but adds: ‘One exception was Diana with whom I shared an outsider’s bond.

‘Together we chafed at the conventions that confined us.

Together we laughed and cried.’ She adds: ‘Though our circumstances have changed, my door will always be open to Diana.’

Byline: NIGEL DEMPSTER

INFORMING Cowes folk that he had given up sailing after more than half a century – because he did not want to become an ancient mariner – Prince Philip has been presented with a coin which, for the first time, has the controversial Royal Yacht Britannia on it.

But, ironically, it is an Isle of Wight Euro – a coin minted for the island’s council and costing [pounds sterling]4. Last year the council was taken to court by the Treasury for producing its own currency, an Ecu, and more than 8,500 were sold before the Treasury stepped in to ban it.

This time, the council has received the Government’s blessing for its Euro, which is not legal currency, and Cowes regular, King Harald of Norway, has also been presented with a coin.

Let’s hope he does not lose it like his [pounds sterling]150,000 yacht, Jameson I, which went down after foundering on rocks off Gurnard Ledge four years ago.

Byline: JESSICA DAVIES

LAST Tuesday, while the Queen and

her husband took tea with 4,000 other couples who were celebrating 50 years of marriage, her former daughter-in-law disported herself on a yacht in St Tropez.

Diana, Princess of Wales, told the Press that they were in for a `big surprise’ and then – in a move guaranteed to grab further headlines – retracted her announcement.

Across the Pond the Queen’s other ex-in-law was also courting controversy with the news of yet another money-making venture: the Duchess of York is to appear in an American TV advertisement for Weight Watchers.

Meanwhile, closer to home, the Prince of Wales busied himself with a sumptuous birthday party for his mistress. In summary, a normal week for the crazy House of Windsor with the Queen – as usual – emerging as a beacon of stability, good sense and moral fortitude amid so much marital mayhem.

It is customary not to criticise the Queen. But perhaps it is time to do so.

For if her family is a `Firm’ (and that is how they describe themselves), then she is the chief executive and the buck has to stop with her.

The reality is that she has presided over a massive collapse of confidence in the institution of which she is the head.

Paradoxically, that collapse has come about entirely as a result of her family’s failure in marriage, that other great institution the Queen celebrated so publicly on Tuesday. Can she be blamed for her children’s emotional incontinence?

Up to a point, yes. Like the typical Nineties career mother, the Queen carries all the guilt of a parent who has never spent enough time with her children.

That guilt has meant that she has always indulged them and made excuses for their weaknesses.

It means, I’m sure, that she has never had the strength to slap them down for behaving badly. As her biographer, Ben Pimlott – quoting a courtier – wrote: `She has always been reluctant to stop her children doing anything.’

She has also always been reluctant to examine too closely the messier parts of their lives. To put it brutally, she simply does not want to know.

This explains why – as her troubled son finds himself caught between his role as future King and his love for Camilla Parker Bowles – the Queen will not get involved.

She alone understands the burden of duty he carries, and her advice would be invaluable. But it is absolutely not forthcoming. She will not speak on the subject, and frankly that is just not good enough.

The Queen, in many respects, has a narrow vision of life. What she understands is order and duty. That may be why she has succeeded as a wife.

It is certainly why she succeeds as sovereign.

What she fears more than anything – and this may have its roots in the Abdication Crisis 61 years ago – is emotional turbulence. Which is why, as a mother, she has not done so well.

NICK Faldo lost his temper (yet again) the other day.

The cause was a sharp-eyed snapper who spotted that Faldo’s girlfriend, Brenna Cepelak, had a ring on her wedding finger, and promptly took a photograph.

`You’re here to take pictures of golf and nothing else. I’ll get you thrown out,’ Faldo threatened nastily.

Ms Cepelak, for whom Faldo left his second wife, must be quite saintly to put up with this imperious, sour character – not least because her life now consists of trailing around golf courses pretending to look interested.

Of course, Faldo could always ask his lover to make herself scarce, thus ensuring that photographers concentrate on his swing rather than his fling.

But that would be far too obvious, wouldn’t it?

IN a gushing interview Anneka Rice, who is five months pregnant, trilled: `I’m very lucky to have two men rooting for me.’

The two are her estranged husband, Nick Allott, and the father of her unborn child, Tom Gutteridge, whom she sees casually once a week.

As neither will be around for night-time nappy changes after the baby is born, they are clearly doing their rooting from a safe distance.

Lucky, Anneka? You could have fooled me.

MOST

divorced couples with grown-up children only have to put on false displays of unity at family weddings.

But for poor Gale Booth, cuddling up publicly with her ex-husband has become something of a recurring nightmare.

Tony Booth wanted nothing to do with Gale when their two daughters, Cherie and Lyndsey, were children. He disappeared on an extended drinking holiday and went on to father five more daughters by three other women.

It was Gale who worked in a fish and chip shop and then at Littlewoods to pay for the girls’ upbringing, and it is to her credit – and hers alone – that they have both done so well. Does this shame Tony Booth? Not a bit.

There he was last week playing the loving, involved father as his eldest daughter received an honorary degree. Gale, a generous-spirited woman, was grinning gamely on Cherie’s other side.

Is it my imagination, or was she not also gritting her teeth?

Lottery winners, robbery losers

GLENN WATTS is the

Lottery’s latest millionaire.

He also has a criminal record, having taken part in a bungled armed robbery five years ago. He was the getaway driver when two of his friends threatened a 63-year-old village postmistress with a knife.

Byline: JIM WILSON and JASON ALLARDYCE

A MILLIONAIRE director of Celtic Football Club has been dragged into a political corruption controversy after revealing he made huge payments to companies involving the children of the former Irish prime minister Charles Haughey.

Dermot Desmond, 47, a financier, who is a major shareholder in the Glasgow club, is now expected to give evidence at special hearings in Dublin after revealing that companies linked to Mr Haughey’s children received loans, investments and gifts totalling almost $500,000.

Mr Desmond, who also admitted helping fund the refurbishment of the disgraced politician’s family yacht, denied giving Mr Haughey money during his several terms as taoiseach or buying political favours and state contracts.

Some of his involvement with Mr Haughey’s family, however, does relate to the period when Mr Haughey was prime minister, between 1979 and 1992.

His evidence will be heard before the Moriarty Tribunal which was set up to investigate alleged payments to politicians after hearings in Ireland last year were told of a $1.2 million bribe paid to Mr Haughey, the former leader of Fianna Fail, by the businessman Ben Dunne.

The terms of the inquiry will consider the level of financial assistance and investment given to the companies connected to Mr Haughey’s family.

Mr Desmond, who invested $4 million in the Celtic share issue and has a personal fortune estimated at $100 million, is expected to be a key witness at the tribunal and says he is willing to co-operate fully.

But the tribunal and his appearance could be delayed by up to a year if Mr Haughey succeeds in blocking the tribunal and getting the terms of reference changed in a High Court action on Thursday.

The former taoiseach claims the hearings are unconstitutional as he has been unfairly singled out for investigation and that he was not allowed to contest legal orders infringing his privacy.

The proceedings come after weeks of investigation, amid renewed claims of a $38 million slush fund in the Cayman Islands receiving payments from a number of Irish businessmen with the money going to senior politicians in return for the “inside track” on state contracts. There is no suggestion that Mr Desmond was among the businessmen.

Mr Desmond firmly denies any wrongdoing. “I did not make any payments to or provide financial support to Charles Haughey while he was in public office or prior to 1994,” he said.

But he revealed how he gave money to Mr Haughey’s children and channelled hundreds of thousands of pounds since 1987 into companies involving them.

The businessman, who owns a 10 per cent stake in Celtic and is known as the Kaiser in the Irish business world, invested $17,500 in a horse breeding partnership operated by Mr Haughey’s daughter, Eimear Mulhern, in 1987.

Three years later he arranged loans worth $75,546 in consultation with Mr Haughey’s son, Conor, to refurbish the boat Celtic Mist of which Conor was the skipper and owner together with the other three Haughey children. Mr Desmond says these loans have now been settled.

To date he has also invested a total of $275,000 in Feltrim Mining of which Conor was a founding director. Mr Desmond has since sold shares to the value of $744,000 and retains shares currently valued at $112,000, realising a profit of more than $500,000.

Mr Desmond also admits that a company he chairs, IIU, made a commercial advance of $100,000 to Celtic Helicopters to cover flying hours for executives. Ciaran Haughey, another of the Haughey children, is a director and shareholder in the aircraft company.

The financier revealed he contributed up to $2,000 to Mr Haughey’s son, Sean, who is a member of the Irish parliament, in relation to funding his election expenses.

He says he gave no other gifts or payments “except for wedding and Christmas presents which in aggregate do not exceed $15,000″.

Mr Desmond was at the centre of a controversial property deal in 1990 involving the purchase of a disused bakery in Dublin by the state-owned Telecom Eireann for an inflated price of $9.4 million.

John Glackin, the solicitor who investigated the sale for the government, concluded that Mr Desmond, who has denied being the main financial beneficiary of the deal, bought the bakery for $6.3 million and sold it for a huge profit just two months later.

Irish political opponents of Fianna Fail, the party which Mr Haughey led, are making little of Mr Desmond’s involvement in the affair.

A Fine Gael spokesman said: “We are not suggesting he did anything wrong. He is an extremely generous businessman who gives away a lot of money. But he is likely to find his public relations will become a problem because of his involvement in the tribunal.

“There have been suggestions that certain businessmen, though I am not suggesting Dermot Desmond did this, were funnelling money to Haughey through accounts with his family.”

A spokesman for Celtic Football Club refused to comment on the matter. But a source said Mr Desmond’s position at the club was unaffected.

Byline: ..KEYW:

THE search for a new home for Britannia was started back in 1994 when the Conservative Government announced the yacht would be scrapped.

Initially, the plan was to replace her with a new $60 million Royal Yacht, Britannia II.

But in September last year, the Government announced Britannia would not be refitted or replaced – because her $12 million a year running costs were too high.

Cities all over Britain prepared bids for the yacht after the Government’s controversial announcement.

Historic

Calls for Britannia to be scrapped were overruled – and now the race is down to a head-to-head between Edinburgh and Manchester.

Glasgow, where the ship was built, was seen as an early front-runner, alongside Portsmouth, the yacht’s home for its 44-year lifespan. But both historic choices were ruled out late last year .

Glasgow is thought to have scored badly because it wanted to put Britannia in a dry dock .

A decision from the Ministry of Defence is expected before the end of February.

Byline: KEITH WATERHOUSE

THE rich are different from us – they get more holidays. And most of them free to boot. The Queen of all our Hearts’ little breaks are coming up to hot dinners level – three of them this month alone.

Met off a Harrods jet by a convoy of Onassis Foundation limousines, whisked to a Greek shipping magnate’s yacht which in turn whisks her off to a remote private island, she must surely be in need of another hol by the time she gets back. It is all go. (The further the better, so far as some of us are concerned.) Meanwhile the Clintons are in hot water for accepting a three-week freebie vacation at a Martha’s Vineyard farmhouse owned by a wealthy property developer who is seeking government approval for a controversial hotel project.

And meanwhile again, tony@numberten.uk‘s recent host in Tuscany, Geoffrey Robinson, faces mischievous Opposition questioning for paying his peasant labour in olives, which has led one MP to ask: ‘What is the minimum wage in olives?’ It is a different world from when Old Labour was last in office and the Prime Minister took his summer relaxation in a modest bungalow in the Scilly Isles. A far cry, too, from the corner travel agent’s – I don’t know where Fergie is spending her next hols, but I doubt if she will be fishing out her Amex card at the reception desk of a Holiday Inn. (The diary of her last jaunt to Tony’s Tuscany was so toe-curlingly awful that many took it for a parody.) There is a downside, of course. If you fly Harrods Gulf Stream, you don’t get air miles. But I wonder when Princess Di last saw a hotel bill.

If, indeed, she has ever seen one, for in the class from which the Fairytale One was elevated (belted earls and below), you do not stay in hotels but in one another’s houses.

I never envy those less unfortunate than myself their baubles, but I must say it sounds rather a doddle to be so rich that you never have to pay for anything.

But how, come to think of it, does one go about arranging a buckshee holiday? There must be some etiquette involved. Does one ring up and say: ‘How are you, darling, long time no see, and by the way, does your island happen to be free for most of August?’ Or do you wait to be invited? ‘Pity to leave the place empty while we’re borrowing the Sultan’s yacht.

Why don’t we ask Margaret if she’d like to do a spot of island-sitting?’ I have never myself ever borrowed so much as a rowing boat for the holidays. In fact, living as I once did on the seafront at Brighton, I was more borrowed against than borrowing. It is amazing how many friends you have when you own a roomy seaside flat. Or a yacht or two. Or a villa or two. Or an island or two.

Taking one thing with another, and throwing in the appalling Dodi Fayed for good measure, this has been an astonishingly ostentatious summer. As Improved New Labour announces an initiative for the underclass, the rich have never seemed richer. The idea that if you’ve got it you don’t flaunt it seems to have gone by the board in this shining new era of some being more equal than others.

Fervent royalists and closet republicans alike stand bemused at the antics of Di and her Dodi, whether in tandem or as solo items. Whoever is writing the script for this soap opera must be gratified at having done the most harm to a royal household since the invention of Marie Antoinette.

I would say that the Queen of Hearts was fiddling while Rome burns, but someone would have to lend her the fiddle first.

IT IS not often you hear a semantic discussion in an English pub, but I tuned in to one the other lunchtime when a man walked in and ordered orange juice and a lemonade.

The barmaid poured them into the same glass. Whereupon the man said: ‘No, I want them in separate glasses.’ Whereupon the barmaid said: ‘You asked for orange juice and lemonade.’ ‘No, I didn’t. I asked for orange juice and a lemonade. Meaning they’re separate items.’ ‘Not necessarily. If you’d asked for a lemonade and orange juice you’d have still got them in the same glass.’

‘Yes, because I should have asked for a lemonade and an orange juice.’ ‘Then why didn’t you ask for an orange juice and a lemonade?’ ‘You have a point there – perhaps I should have done.’ Victorious, the barmaid gave her customer a winning smile. ‘Or you could have just asked for orange juice and lemonade in separate glasses.’

Hitting the coffee tables of exclusive private homes around the world this month is the beautiful 2008 OCEAN Independence Charter Portfolio. To celebrate this auspicious arrival, the champagne has been flowing at exclusive launch events in both Zürich and Palma.

(PRWEB) March 16, 2008 — Hitting the coffee tables of exclusive private homes around the world this month is the beautiful 2008 OCEAN Independence Charter Portfolio. Following on from the evocative style of 2007's collection, this year the book features even more stunning photography, with a selection of dreamy charter yachts and dazzling destinations. To celebrate this auspicious arrival, the champagne has been flowing at exclusive launch events in both Zürich and Palma.

More than 100 guests attended OCEAN Independence Zürich's second annual Charter Portfolio Launch held on Tuesday 26th February in the "Widder Saal", the grand reception room of the highly renowned Widder Hotel in the heart of Zürich. Guests were treated to an evening of interesting presentations, beginning with an introduction to OCEAN Independence (OCI) by CEO Peter Hürzeler and continuing with presentations from founder and President of Wally, Dottore Luca Bassani, then Arecon Independent Asset Managers and Electronic Bodyguards.

After the presentations guests mingled with Lisa Cavicchioli and other representatives from the OCI Zürich and Uster offices, as well as with the evening's presenters and co hosts. These included private aviation company Air Independence and luxury linen company Marquise de Laborde. All guests departed with a copy of the Portfolio and a lovely linen gift from Marquise De Laborde, along with brochures from Wally, Air Independence and Electronic Bodyguards.

On 6th March 2008, over 150 guests attended the newly refitted OCEAN Independence office in Palma de Mallorca for their 2008 OCI Charter Portfolio launch. The evening began with a champagne reception at the OCI office in Marina Club de Mar and continued in the Marsalada Lounge Bar next door. Partnered for the evening with Larkside Marine Services, the guest list included Owners, Clients, Captains and many other representatives from the super yacht industry, many of whom flew in especially for the event. The feedback has been so positive that plans are already underway for an even bigger party in 2009.

To request an OCEAN Independence Charter Portfolio, email portfolio @ ocyachts.com.

Author: ALISON CRADDOCK

Engel & Völkers is one of the world's leading service companies specializing in the sale and leasehold of premium residential property, commercial real estate and yachts. The company currently operates in 25 countries on four continents with over 350 high-class property shops. The first California-based shop in the Engel & Völkers brand design will open this coming spring Fifteen more shop openings are planned by the end of 2009 including Santa Monica, Beverly Hills, West Hollywood, Malibu, San Diego, Newport Beach and Santa Barbara Now is an excellent opportunity to acquire U.S. property in prime locations at relatively low prices We are forecasting a continued consolidation trend over 2009, with moderate price rises once again though from 2010 onwards and foreign investors are already taking advantage of this market climate in increasing numbers

Los Angeles, CA (PRWEB) December 3, 2008 — Engel & Völkers, one of the world's leading service companies for the brokerage of prestige residential property, commercial real estate and yachts, has expanded its License Partner system in the United States into the California. Franchise licenses are now available and managed through the new West Coat Head Office in Beverly Hills, Los Angeles.

Engel & Völkers

"The first California-based shop in the Engel & Völkers brand design will open this coming spring," says Mathias Bode, the CEO & President of Engel & Völkers California. "Fifteen more shop openings are planned by the end of 2009 including Santa Monica, Beverly Hills, West Hollywood, Malibu, San Diego, Newport Beach and Santa Barbara," he said.

Engel & Völkers already has over 350 real estate shops in 25 countries across the world and is the pioneer in 'real estate shop franchises.' The company started testing their unique real estate shop concept in the U.S. as far back in 2006 and has since then refined their model to meet local conditions. Currently 14 Engel & Völkers shops have already opened for business in New York, the Hamptons and Florida.

According to Bode, the expansion into the Californian market is aimed at enabling clients to capitalize on its service expertise and comprehensive market knowledge when investing in this highly attractive residential property market. "Now is an excellent opportunity to acquire U.S. property in prime locations at relatively low prices," he said.

"We are forecasting a continued consolidation trend over 2009, with moderate price rises once again though from 2010 onwards and foreign investors are already taking advantage of this market climate in increasing numbers," according to Bode. Nine percent of all homebuyers purchasing real estate in California this year are non-U.S. residents and with Engel & Völkers being one of the few truly international real estate companies in the world, together with their very strong European base, the company is destined from strong growth in California.

For more information visit Engel & Völkers California.

Author: Mathias Bode

Durnan has led Canadian operations, which are being consolidated with U.S. operations as part of this appointment

Annapolis, MD (PRWEB) October 28, 2008 — Zodiac of North America, Inc., the world's leading manufacturer of inflatable boats and rigid-hull inflatable boats (RIBs), has promoted Gary Durnan from his role as Director of Canadian Operations to Vice President of the Recreational division for North America.

"I'm looking forward to our new consolidated operations that unites U.S. and Canada operations under a single roof. It will help us be more responsive to our dealers and customers on both sides of the border," Durnan commented. "We've got great product coming from the R&D labs, RIB sales are up for the second year in a row, and our inflatable products are better than ever, so this is sizing up to be a dynamic year."

Durnan explained that Zodiac's Recreational Division will return to its roots and re-establish a specific yacht-oriented division and will continue to position their RIBs as fuel-efficient alternatives to traditional center console runabouts, as seen on www.SaveFuelKeepBoating.com. Durnan attributes the fuel advantage, as revealed in independent performance tests, to RIBs being inherently lighter in weight.

Meet Gary Durnan at the Ft. Lauderdale International Boat show, October 30-Nov 3, Bahia Mar Yachting Center/Hall of Fame Marina, Booth No. 1057, between 1 and 3 pm on Friday, October 31, 2008.

About Zodiac of North America, Inc.
Zodiac of North America Inc. is the wholly-owned subsidiary of Zodiac Marine and Pool, a Carlyle Group portfolio company. Zodiac is the inventor and world-leading manufacturer of inflatable boats and RIBs, with headquarters in Stevensville, MD, a U.S. factory in Summerville, SC, and service offices in San Diego, CA, South Bend, IN, Portland, OR, and Van Buren, AR. Zodiac is the only manufacturer to offer a training academy, service certification for dealers, a global network of service centers, and a robust North American network of dealers. Zodiac is CE and NMMA certified.

Author: Dan Dougherty

CGI Finance, the North American subsidiary of the Société Générale Group, have been partners with TUI Marine since October 2008. The companies are proud to announce that the two years working together have shown how this relationship has brought them success in their respective industries by having the common goal to satisfy their clients through providing the best quality service.

Baltimore, MD (PRWEB) May 3, 2010 — TUI Marine, headquartered in Clearwater FL, is part of the TUI Travel PLC, the world’s leading international leisure travel group. TUI Marine operates over 1200 yachts in 40 destinations worldwide under the Moorings and Sunsail brands, plus 1000 canal boats in Europe under LeBoat brand.

“Our partnership with CGI Finance originated in France with CGI Group over 15 years ago. CGI Finance is now a strategic partner for TUI Marine, for retail and corporate finance, on a worldwide basis” stated Lex Raas, CEO of TUI Marine.

Both Companies are confident in maintaining the cap to build a strong and sustainable relationship that will not only enhance their images but more importantly will allow them to explore new opportunities CGI Finance is the North American Subsidiary of the CGI Group and is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Société Générale, one of the largest banks in the world with 163,000 employees in 82 countries.

CGI Finance provides its lending services to the buyers of all TUI Marine new charter boat purchases. The advantage of our expanding global relationship is that it offers a diversified portfolio.

Herve Bonnet, Global Director of Boat Financing Activity for the CGI Group said: “Both Companies are confident in maintaining the cap to build a strong and sustainable relationship that will not only enhance their images but more importantly will allow them to explore new opportunities.”

About CGI Finance:
CGI Finance is the North American Subsidiary of the CGI Group, a financial establishment founded in 1951, and is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Société Générale. Société Générale is a leading worldwide bank with 163,000 employees in 82 countries. The North American headquarters is located at 1407 Fleet Street, 2nd Floor Baltimore Maryland 21231 USA. www.cgi-finance.com

About TUI Marine:
TUI Marine, headquartered in Clearwater FL, is part of the TUI Travel PLC, the world leading international leisure travel group. TUI Marine operates over 1200 yachts in 40 destination worldwide under the Moorings and Sunsail brands, plus 1000 canal boats in Europe under LeBoat brand. www.tuimarine.com

Author: Anna Casani