Sailing I

Ghosted: In Good Company

WORDS: SAM FORTESCUE | IMAGES: Roddy Grimes-Graeme

A long period in the hands of a very private owner and an even longer spell under a single captain probably has more to do with this than anything occult. With Michael “Hutch” Hutchinson’s hand on the helm for more than 16 years, Ghost quietly criss-crossed the globe, racking up experiences of which most can only dream. Now in the hands of a new owner and captain, she now begins a fresh chapter, and Hutch is at last able to talk about the yacht’s rare attributes.

“I feel very privileged to have been her captain for so long – it’s a testament to the quality of the yacht, but also the two sets of owners that I’ve worked for,” he says. “There’s definitely an emotional tie to the boat and all the effort that’s gone into maintaining her, but especially all the crew that I’ve had the privilege of spending a lot of time with.”

Hutch recalls getting the post back in 2006, when he was asked to cover as captain for three months. “I interviewed with the owners, which I thought was quite interesting for a short-term, temporary role. Then, while I was there, it became very clear that I was going to be in-post for longer than I had planned.”

It was evidently an honour, with Ghost widely recognised as the apex of high-performance cruiser-racers at the time. Green Marine had built the hull in carbon composite – their first collaboration with Dutch yard Vitters, who describe the boat as one of their most challenging projects ever, due in part to the minimalist styling.

The build manager was the experienced Jon Barrett, who was relentless in finding weight savings. “They’d done everything to reduce the number of turns through blocks to reduce weight for winches or equipment,” says Hutch. “The hardware on board is predominantly titanium, and is almost all from the launch.”

Her original owner being in the art world, Ghost’s exterior lines and interior fittings were the object of extraordinary attention. “When they were building the boat, they didn’t squeeze the hull out and push a deckhouse on it to get more space and a perfect dining room. Instead she has a very modern aesthetic and a simple interior which has actually aged incredibly well.”

From the off, Ghost was fast around the cans. In maxi regattas, she could match longer J-Class yachts upwind at around 8-10 knots, but once the sheets were cracked and the asymmetric hoisted, she left them in her wake. “In flat waters, broad reaching in a decent breeze in Sardinia, we’d do 16-17 knots,” says Hutch. “But put her into sea state - our top speed on delivery was 26 knots. When she goes, she goes!”

Ghost has been exceptionally well maintained on Hutch’s watch, with the good fortune of an owner prepared to invest to keep her at her best. Working with Vitters and all the original suppliers, she switched to ECsix carbon rigging in 2009; she’s had new sails, of course; and the deck has been replaced, among a whole range of smaller jobs.

Technology was always a core feature of the boat, aimed at making her easier to handle and faster. There’s a hydraulic trim tab on the back of the keel, for instance, designed to reduce leeway. And she was fitted early on with a remote control for the helm, engine and bow thruster, allowing the crew to manoeuvre from anywhere onboard. “Ultimately, reliability was the issue there,” says Hutch diplomatically.

But most of Ghost’s 220,000 sea miles have been accomplished under sail, and her adventures over the years have taken her to every corner of the planet. Early on, Hutch took her through the Panama Canal to the Galapagos, only to turn around afterwards and sail to the US east coast. “The owners weren’t afraid to send the boat somewhere and bring it back again,” Hutch says. “And I was always keen to sail the miles.

“We’ve cruised the South Pacific on two occasions – French Polynesia, Tonga, Fiji; then with the new owner, we’ve just returned and cruised French Polynesia extensively. It was one of the best trips I’ve done. With the original owners, we did Australia, the Indonesian islands, Thailand, Phuket, Bali, Komodo, Rinca. Seeing Komodo dragons was a highlight, and the diving is incredible.”

But his fondest memory was sailing to the Luiset archipelago in Papua New Guinea to meet the local people. He remembers in particular sailing one of their outriggers, a 30ft canoe propelled by a tarpaulin sail. “There’s already seven men on board to sail this thing. We got hit by a squall, travelling at 25 knots with our tender following us. Ultimately the tender had to stop, but the outrigger just sailed straight over the reef in 2-3 foot of water, travelling at great speed because they couldn’t slow the boat down. When we finally landed the boat, we discovered a three-year-old boy curled up asleep in the bottom.”

New captain David Parker is acutely aware of the boots he has to fill. “Hutch is something of a legend,” he tells me. But Parker has plenty of experience in his own right, with positions on Volvo Ocean Race boats and maxis, and his last command of a 100ft Wally - “a lot of teak and titanium”, in his words.

“I’ve been handed a boat that’s basically a weapon,” he tells me. “We went out with a full main to push it as hard as we could, and were doing 10-11 knots upwind with ease – fully pressed and the boat’s on its side. Thankfully there’s not much inside to break; she’s built to be sailed hard.”

The next step is to get the A5 spinnaker back on board and do some drills with it. “We have to practice kite surfing off the back for the owner,” he says with a huge grin. “We’ll cruise Antigua for a few days as a crew, then we’re heading back to the Med for the summer. After that, it’s the Seychelles and the Indian Ocean, through the Gulf of Aden.”

With plans like this, it surely won’t be long before Ghost has 300,000 sea miles under her keel, and new captain David Parker has seen all five oceans from her deck. Hutch, meanwhile, has accepted a very different challenge - as captain of 63m Athos, one of the most technologically advanced schooners in the world, he must balance the old and the new. Both yachts are globetrotters, so it’s not hard to imagine their paths crossing somewhere on the planet. What a reunion that would be!