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How Former Deckhand Jess Douglas Became 'The Yacht Artist'

At the age of two, Jessie Douglas set sail on her parents’ 33-foot sailing yacht with her child seat strapped to the mast while they navigated from the UK to Ibiza. This began her lifelong interest in yachts. While her time as crew on board was cut short by unprecedented circumstances, her passion for the industry persists through her work as the Yacht Artist, painting yachts on navigational charts of the areas they cruise — mainly as gifts for yacht owners or captains or the homes of clients. After growing up in Ibiza until she was 13, she returned to the UK to carry out her education in the English schooling system. But she continued to be involved in boating, getting her powerboat and boat captain qualifications. After graduating with a first in design and illustration from the University of Plymouth, Douglas wanted a complete change in direction. She started working on commercial fishing boats and got her STCW95 and completed a superyacht course in 2013. Then she ventured to Antibes in hopes of being a deckhand, which she discovered was a difficult task, but she caught a break when she met M/Y Harle ’s relief Capt. Veronica who gave her daywork and later a month’s work covering for a deckhand during a busy charter season. Thrown in at the deep end, she was given her uniform and walked straight onto the passerelle to greet high-profile guests before they boarded for an all-night party. She crawled into her bunk at 9 a.m. with an alarm set for 1 p.m. to start a washdown — she “was well and truly ‘living the dream’ and loving it!” Douglas then landed a position on the neighboring yacht, M/Y Blade , where she remained for 10 months until the time came in early 2014 for her to leave after her mother developed a chronic illness. She needed to help care for her alongside her elderly father. She kept up with all her qualifications in case her situation changed. “I found myself searching for a new purpose, now finding myself stuck in my hometown in a factory job I hated,” Douglas says. “I’d not drawn or painted anything since leaving university in 2009 and was very much suffering from ‘artist’s block.’” One of the local fishermen brought his new boat into the harbor and she asked if she could paint it. He requested to see the finished painting and ended up purchasing it from her for £200 and suggested she share a photo of it on a fisherman Facebook page asking if anyone else would be interested in a painting. Within a week, Douglas had seven orders. “I had an old yachting contact who asked me to paint their boat — M/Y St David — for the captain’s wedding present,” she says. “Off the back of this painting, I had loads of crew enquiring about costs.” Early on, she suggested a piece be painted on an old chart she had of where the boat was from, which received a great response, and the rest is history. Nearly five years later, she now finds herself with a waiting list of more than six months for paintings, consisting of fishing boats and superyachts. Depending on the vessel’s size, each one takes anywhere from three to seven days. “I’m so very privileged to be in the position I’m in today,” Douglas says. “I hope to continually grow as an artist, and I strive to have my name recognized within the yachting industry.” Based in Lyme Regis, a little seaside fishing town on the South Dorset coast of England, Douglas paints two different sizes onto a standard size chart (large at 42 by 60 cm and extra-large at 60 by 84 cm). Prices vary depending on the yacht, and each painting is a private commission that isn’t posted online without the client’s permission. For more info, visit: www.jessdouglas.co.uk ; @theyachtartist on Instagram.

More from Dockwalk

Jess Douglas

She started out drawing fishing boats in Lyme Regis and has ended up painting superyachts all over the world. The Yacht Artist shares her extraordinary journey.

“My parents had a sailing boat which they took around the Mediterranean, so I grew up on and around the water. Still, I became a yacht artist completely by accident. I went to university in Plymouth and did an illustration degree, which was great, but after my three years there were up, I felt completely lost. I had been surrounded by loads of like-minded, arty people, but all of a sudden I was back to reality, living with my parents in the small, UK seaside town of Lyme Regis. 

I found that I wasn’t inspired to draw anything at all, so I ended up going out to Antibes and walking the docks. I got myself a job on a boat near Monaco and I loved it. I was well on my way to progressing but, one day, I got a phone call and it turned out that I had to fly back home to support my mum who was suffering a lot of mental health issues at the time. It cut the whole journey short and put an end to my ideas of maybe becoming a first mate or a tender driver. I came back and started working as a kitchen porter because there was nothing else around.

Back to the drawing board 

I hadn’t drawn anything since university – it was coming up to ten years – but then one of the local fishermen I knew got a new boat and I suddenly felt that I wanted to paint it. I asked him if he would mind and he agreed, but said he wanted to see how it looked at the end. When I showed it to him, he bought it from me! 

He suggested that I share it on a Facebook group called Fishing News, which I did, and within a couple of days, I had seven orders. Back then, I was painting onto recycled paper, but after about a year of commissions, a client in Canada asked if I could paint his boat onto a nautical chart. I thought it looked quite cool and when I shared the completed painting on socials, it really took off. People wanted to commemorate certain trips they’d done.

Taking the next steps 

After I had established myself painting fishing boats, someone asked why I wasn’t painting superyachts, so I contacted some friends who were still in the industry and offered to paint one for free so I could have it on my portfolio. That’s how I ended up painting St David as my first ever superyacht. The crew gave it to the captain for his birthday and it took off to the point that now most of my work is superyachts. I never thought it would be my full time job. April 2025 is the next slot at the moment – I have a year’s waiting list!

I’ve got one client in the US who’s just ordered his fifth painting from me – he’s got one of every boat he’s captained which I think is really cool. It makes me think I am helping people keep valuable memories through my work.

The artistic process 

I usually work from photos – I’ll ask for a few and then I’ll suggest which angle I think will work best with the nautical chart they’ve chosen. I start with a rough pencil sketch, then I use acrylic paint in marker pens. A lot of people are surprised that I don’t use paint brushes – but with pens, it flows a lot easier; the only downside is that you can’t mix colour. The main bulk of the yacht is done in that way and then the sea spray is done with white acrylic paint. A lot of people say that they can tell it’s my work from the sea which is nice. 

When I started out, it used to take about five days to complete one painting, but now I can do one in about three days. It depends how much detail there is. I do two sizes – either A2 or A1 which is better for the 95m plus boats. 

My favourite painting is probably the one that took the longest. It is a boat called Suri based over in Australia. It had so many toys and slides and jet skis and a helicopter and everything – but I liked the challenge and was so proud of it at the end. 

The next adventure 

Me and my husband bought a sailing boat last year and the plan is to live on it full-time, so I’ll become The Yacht Artist on a boat! We’ll start in Spain but we’re planning to go all over. We don’t have a set plan, we just know we don’t want to be in England! Ideally I’ll be painting in the cockpit, then having a little dip in the sea – that’s my dream anyway! The plan eventually is to do day charters – taking people out snorkelling and giving them some lunch – living that kind of life. 

I live better in the sun, I’ve realised. There are no aches, fewer worries – the sea is turquoise instead of brown and so you can jump in it! We’ve literally sold everything – we once had a flat filled with furniture and all the rest of it, and now we have a handful of clothes and a boat! We can go anywhere we like – it’s very liberating.”

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The yacht artist.

Quick links: Contact Description Send a Message Reviews

Jess Douglas specialises in bespoke commissioned artworks of yachts of all sizes, painted onto Navigational charts. Her knowledge of yachts and attention to detail is phenomenal. These utterly unique paintings are stunning and real keepsakes for anyone involved in Yachting!

To date she has painted over 500 yachts, including the 162 m MY Eclipse! 

Information

Lyme Regis England United Kingdom (UK)

: Jessie Douglas

: [email protected]

: theyachtartist.uk

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Introducing Jess Douglas ‘The Yacht Artist’

• March 1, 2024
• Brands we work with , Business , Marine

Jess Douglas, from Lyme Regis in the beautiful Southwest of England is currently embarking on a unique journey with her husband, residing full-time aboard their sailing boat after liquidating all their possessions. Their next adventure is set to take them southward to the Mediterranean, where they aim to establish a new chapter in their lives aboard.

We pick up with Jess, ahead of her article in the forthcoming issue of Relentless Magazine this spring.

My journey thus far has been a diverse one. Graduating from the University of Plymouth in 2009 with a degree in Illustration, my upbringing was steeped in maritime culture, thanks to my parents’ ownership of a sailing boat, which they navigated around the Mediterranean before my time.

Despite my artistic background, I ventured into the world of commercial fishing, earning my powerboat instructor certification along the way. Subsequently, I pursued a career in super yachting, navigating the challenges of breaking into a predominantly male-dominated industry. Though I faced hurdles, my passion for the sea persisted.

Personal circumstances led me back to the shores of the UK, where I found solace in my artistry once more. In 2016, a chance encounter with a local fisherman sparked a creative resurgence. Painting his new trawler ignited a newfound purpose, leading to a cascade of orders from fellow seafarers eager to immortalise their vessels on canvas.

Eight years on, I am honoured to have been entrusted with the task of immortalising some of the most esteemed Superyachts in the industry. Whether commissioned directly by owners, yacht brokers, or crew seeking bespoke gifts, each piece is a testament to the unique connection between vessel and sea.

My medium of choice? Nautical charts, onto which I delicately paint each masterpiece by hand. Ensuring exclusivity, I never replicate a piece, making each creation one-of-a-kind.

For those intrigued by the prospect of having their vessel captured in this distinctive fashion, I invite you to reach out through my website or Instagram. By sharing a photo of your vessel, I can tailor a quote based on its unique characteristics, ensuring a personalised and cherished piece of maritime artistry.

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theyachtartist/?hl=en

https://theyachtartist.co.uk/

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The Yacht Artist

• Editorial Team
• July 2, 2024

Jess Douglas

In the tranquil coastal town of Lyme Regis, nestled in the idyllic southwest of England, talented artist Jess Douglas, accompanied by her husband, Eddie, live aboard their sailing boat. 

Their bold decision to shed all possessions and embrace a life at sea signals the dawn of a remarkable journey—one that will soon see them charting a course southward toward the sun-kissed shores of the Mediterranean to start a new chapter in their lives. Relentless Magazine chronicles this extraordinary adventure, capturing Jess’s unwavering spirit as she prepares to embark on a new chapter brimming with new opportunities.

Jess’s creative journey traces back to her days studying Illustration at the prestigious University of Plymouth, where she honed her artistic talents and discovered her profound connection to the sea. Raised in a family with a deep affinity for maritime life, her childhood memories are steeped in the romance of her parents’ sailing days across the Mediterranean—a legacy that would shape her destiny in unforeseen ways. Venturing into the realm of commercial fishing, Jess embraced the challenges head-on, earning her stripes as a valued crew member and acquiring her coveted powerboat instructor’s certification. Undeterred by the daunting prospect of breaking into the male-dominated domain of super yachting, she dared to defy convention and carve out her own path amidst the waves.

Despite her initial foray into the yachting world, life’s twists and turns led Jess back to familiar shores, where she found solace in the tranquil rhythms of the sea and the timeless allure of her artistic calling. It was a chance encounter with a local fisherman that reignited her dormant passion, as she seized the opportunity to capture the essence of his newly built trawler on canvas—a pivotal moment that would set her on a trajectory towards newfound success.

With a stroke of foresight, Jess’s artistry found its wings on social media, as word of her talent spread like wildfire, igniting a wave of commissions from clients eager to immortalise their beloved vessels on her unique canvas of choice: nautical charts. From humble beginnings to painting some of the most illustrious Superyachts in the industry, Jess’s journey is a testament to resilience, determination, and unwavering passion.

Each meticulously hand-painted masterpiece serves as a testament to Jess’s craftsmanship and dedication, ensuring that no two artworks are alike—a cherished reminder of the fleeting beauty and timeless allure of life at sea. With a simple yet profound philosophy, she invites clients to embark on a journey of collaboration, where each brushstroke becomes a vessel for storytelling and nostalgia.

As Jess looks towards the horizon, her sails unfurled and her spirit buoyed by the promise of adventure, she remains steadfast in her commitment to delivering unparalleled artistry and bespoke creations that capture the essence of maritime splendour. With every stroke of her brush, she invites fellow adventurers to join her on a voyage of discovery—one where the canvas becomes a portal to a world of endless possibility and boundless imagination.

Instagram: @theyachtartist

Facebook: @jessdouglassart

Website: https://theyachtartist.uk

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That '70s Week: Yacht Rock

Talia Schlanger

Donald Fagen (left) and Walter Becker of Steely Dan. Danny Clinch/Courtesy of the artist hide caption

Donald Fagen (left) and Walter Becker of Steely Dan.

• The Doobie Brothers, "What A Fool Believes"
• Christopher Cross, "Sailing"
• Sade, "Smooth Operator"
• Nielsen/Pearson, "If You Should Sail"
• Ned Doheny, "Get It Up For Love"
• Iron & Wine, "Desert Babbler"
• Young Gun Silver Fox, "You Can Feel It"

What's the best way to become the unchallenged expert on a particular genre of music? Invent it. Enter JD Ryznar, Hunter Stair, David B. Lyons and Steve Huey: coiners of the description "yacht rock," creators of a hilarious web series of the same name and now de facto captains of the genre. Broadly speaking, yacht rock is an ocean of smooth, soft-listening music made in the late '70s and early '80s by artists like Toto, Hall & Oates and Kenny Loggins — music you can sail to. But as David and Talia learn in this conversation with the arbiters of Yacht Rock , the waters are much murkier than that.

For example, according to Ryznar, "There's also a common misconception that just because it's about a boat, or the ocean, or sailing, that it's yacht rock. That is most definitely nyacht true." Thankfully, on their Beyond Yacht Rock podcast, our guests have developed a sound system of logical criteria to define what is "Yacht" and what is "Nyacht." They employ their patented "Yachtzee scale" to examine a song's "Yachtness" based on a number of factors, including its personnel (is there a Doobie Brother in there?), amount of jazz and R&B influence, geographic origin (Southern California is a plus) and lyrical obtuseness.

Listen as Ryznar and Lyons steer us towards the musical marina with a buoyant "Yacht or Nyacht" debate that includes Michael McDonald, Christopher Cross, Sade and the most serious discussion you can have about the proper soundtrack for standing shirtless on a deck wearing boat shoes and a sailor cap. Dive on in --the water's great.

Listen: JD Ryznar's Yacht Rock Primer

Episode playlist.

• Hall & Oates
• Michael McDonald

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Buyer's guide: How to create the ultimate superyacht art collection

Whether you want to commission new art pieces for your superyacht or keep existing works pristine, Claire Wrathall gives you the lowdown

"I don’t believe in art on the high seas,” art dealer and Hollywood producer Arne Glimcher once told me. The founder of Pace Gallery, which deals in works by the likes of Picasso and Rothko, and former owner of the 37-metre Luca Brenta -designed Vitters yacht Ghost , Glimcher loves sailing and art, but believes some passions are best kept separate. “It would have been dangerous to have works of art on board, absolutely irresponsible. I like to be able to have the hatches open and fresh air in the boat.”

Protect your art from salt, humidity and temperature extremes by displaying it in parts of the yacht where the elements can be shut out, however, and there’s no reason superyachts can’t be as safe as galleries. “If you’re inside and you don’t feel too cold or too hot, then the art will be fine too,” says London-based dealer Adrian Sassoon. Just as on land, the main problems are direct sunlight and clumsiness. The former will damage photographs, watercolours and other works on paper, though UV-resistant glass, blinds and judicious placement can mitigate this.

But there are many more robust media. With metalwork or ceramics, says Sassoon, “the work should retain the same strength and depth of colours it would have had when it left the kiln”. As to the risk of knocking something over, small sculptures and objets d’art may actually be safer on a yacht, because in a marine environment they are invariably stuck down with “museum glue” that adheres objects to surfaces to stop them shifting in a swell.

Perhaps it’s not surprising then that remarkable assemblages of art are kept aboard yachts to no detrimental effect. When in 2018 David Hockney’s acrylic-on-canvas Portrait of an Artist (Pool with Two Figures) sold for $90.3 million (£69m), at the time the most a work by a living artist had ever fetched, the fact that it had previously hung among a collection of valuable paintings on Aviva , the 68-metre superyacht belonging to the businessman Joe Lewis, had clearly done it no harm.

Some collectors commission boats to reflect their art. “I actually designed [ Sea Force One ] around my pieces,” the hedge fund manager Raffaele Costa told me of his 53-metre yacht, when she was refitted in 2013. “Art should be an integral part of any design.” Others customise their art to fit their yachts. The Hamburg-based art adviser Tilman Kriesel is a fund of such tales: the Rothko fixed horizontally rather than vertically as the artist intended; or, worse, the Takashi Murakami, likely to have been worth at least seven figures intact, that was cut to size to fit on a wall in a yacht’s beach club.

Too often decisions about the art are taken at the end of the process and not at the beginning, says Sassoon. “An art collection is naturally an accumulation, not the result of a single shopping trip. And variety is really important.” That said, “most commonly it’s the designers who end up choosing the artwork”, says  Selina McCabe, a partner at Winch Design . Buying or “commissioning pieces of art is an exciting part of the process”. Especially works for spaces that have been designed to be multifunctional, in which case “the art needs to be easily movable depending on how the space is used”, and appropriate wall finishes can be specified accordingly.

Others, like Rémi Tessier , designer of Nahlin and Vava II , insist contractually on oversight of the art lest an owner’s taste “ruin [my] reputation among art collectors. I would not work for a person who just put whatever on the wall.”

Mark Berryman , a specialist in contemporary yacht interiors , takes a more pragmatic view. “Personally, I absolutely love abstract art,” he says. “So whenever I’m designing, I always have in mind the art that I would put in there if it was my interior.” But there’s no second-guessing a client’s taste, and it may be that “what they’ve got in mind is something very classical, or a Klimt. It’s a personal taste until you broach the subject, it really is an unknown. We’ve done a couple of refits where the client has asked for landscapes and very representational work, and sometimes that just doesn’t sit well on a boat in the middle of the ocean. It can feel a little jarring.”

He, too, believes it is best to begin with the art. Too often it’s treated as an afterthought and left till the end of the process. “You can still make it work,” he says. “But it becomes much more difficult if you then decide to commission half a dozen pieces.”

When he designed the refit of Indian Empress (now H ), for example, “the client already had a lot of art on board, and it was great, but the interior was really shouting at it. They were completely different styles.” The art was modern and contemporary, much of it Indian. The yacht was very traditional. And the owner knew it wasn’t working. “He said. ‘You decide where it fits best, but I do want to use it all.’”

Berryman also points to the interiors of Mary-Jean II , which were to some extent influenced by its owner’s collection of pop art, notably Warhol. “We’d seen the collection in their houses and in storage, so we knew what they wanted to use and went for something very contemporary,” to showcase it the better.

But existing collections aren’t always suitable for yachts. “Steer clear of works incorporating ivory or coral or other natural materials on the CITES [Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora] endangered list,” warns Sassoon, because they may cause your captain grief as the yacht travels into certain jurisdictions and, worse, risk confiscation. So be wary of Damien Hirst’s butterfly collages and leave the Polly Morgan snakes at home. Works incorporating taxidermy, even seashells, can be a red flag to customs officials.

One way to obviate any such issue is commission the art from scratch, hence companies such as DKT Artworks . Founded by three art-school alumni and employing about 40 highly skilled craftspeople,  it creates and fabricates everything from mosaics to faux-art deco bas-reliefs, contemporary lightbox installations and trompe-l’oeil murals. Its work can be found on yachts such as DAR , Dilbar , Excellence , Here Comes the Sun , Kismet , Luna and Tis .

If you tire of them, you won’t easily  be able to sell them on the secondary market – but DKT Artworks’ carved and relief panels are, says marketing chief Guglielmo Carrozzo, “very popular at the moment, especially for staircases, [which are] one of the few places on a vessel where you can see what’s going on on different decks”. A bas-relief can be a way of bringing everything together, he says. Commissioning a work means it can not only reflect the owners’ taste, but be sized to fill a specific space.

The Czech glass and crystal design company Preciosa is another translator of ideas into fully realised statements of artistry. Take the 11.2-metre chandelier designed by Seattle-based Susan Young, to evoke bubbles rising to the surface, that it made for Aquila when the 85-metre yacht was refitted by Pendennis in 2016. Descending through four storeys through the yacht’s central spiral staircase, it incorporates more than 850 individually blown-glass pieces.

Few materials can conjure the idea of water as effectively as glass, hence the sculptures produced by Lasvit, another long-established Czech company. Its works can be found on superyachts such as the 77-metre Turquoise Go , for which Lasvit’s Katarína Kudějová Fulínová created an installation of 378 hand-blown crystal rods, each containing its own light source, that when illuminated conjure an image of undulating seagrass on the ceiling above. Inspired by nature but abstract in form, it’s a working light fitting, but also, she hopes, a creation that “opens space for our imagination and functions as a window into our subconscious”. And ultimately, isn’t that the purpose of art?

This feature is taken from the October 2020 issue of BOAT International. Get this magazine sent straight to your door, or subscribe and never miss an issue.

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‘V’ Facts: 20 Things You Need To Know About Maroon 5’s Fifth Album

‘hot, cool & vicious’: salt-n-pepa’s platinum debut album, ‘v’ for victory: how maroon 5 stormed it with their fifth album, ‘treat you better’: shawn mendes’ powerful, pining pop hit, the best birthday songs, ‘beast of burden’: the story behind the rolling stones song, the fashion of shania twain: the queen of country pop, fania records reissues ralfi pagan’s self-titled debut, immanuel wilkins preps ‘blues blood,’ releases ‘afterlife residence time’, samara joy announces ‘portrait,’ shares ‘you stepped out of a dream’, maroon 5 celebrate 10 years of ‘v’ with vinyl release and new website, new johnnie taylor collection ‘one step from the blues’ coming soon, alan jackson receives poet’s award at acm honors, rod stewart’s ‘merry christmas, baby’ coming to vinyl for the first time, yacht rock: a boatload of not-so-guilty pleasures.

The idea of yacht rock conjures up a particular lifestyle, but beneath the surface lies a treasure trove of sophisticated hits that continue to resonate.

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Even some of those who signed up to the subgenre subtleties of what became known as yacht rock may consider it to be a time-locked phenomenon. Certainly, its chief protagonists first cast their subtle soft-rock sophistication in the 70s and 80s, but its melodic echoes can still be heard all these decades later.

Perhaps unusually, the phrase itself was coined as a kind of lighthearted castigation of the adult-oriented rock that seemed to exude privileged opulence: of days in expensive recording studios followed by hedonistic trips on private yachts, typically around southern California. The web TV series of the mid-00s that parodied the lifestyle was even named Yacht Rock ; one of the biggest hits of a chief exponent of the sound, Christopher Cross, was, of course, “Sailing.”

The recent resurgence in the long career of another staple, Michael McDonald, is testament to the durability of a style that was, after all, grounded in musicianship and melodicism of the highest order. Nearly 40 years after he and fellow yacht rock principle Kenny Loggins co-wrote and performed the Grammy-winning “This Is It,” the pair were afforded the high praise of a collaboration with acclaimed modern-day jazz-funk bassist Thundercat, on his track “Show You The Way.” Ahead of that, McDonald’s guest appearance with Thundercat at the 2017 Coachella Festival was a viral sensation.

‘Dear Prudence’: The Story Behind The Beatles’ Song

Setting sail

Like other subgenres that grew from an existing style, just as Americana did from country, the starting point of yacht rock is a matter of endless debate. Some hear it in the early 70s soft rock of Bread and hits such as “Guitar Man,” or in Seals & Crofts, the duo of the same period whose 1973 US Top 10 hit “Diamond Girl” and its follow-up, “We May Never Pass This Way (Again)” are pure, classy, elegantly played and harmonised yacht rock.

As the 70s progressed and album rock radio became an ever more powerful medium in the US music business, studio production grew along with the budgets to fund it. High-fidelity citadels such as Sunset Sound and Ocean Way were the industry epitome of the Los Angeles hedonism of the day, and played host to many of the artists we celebrate here. Perhaps it was the combination of financial independence and the sun-kissed surroundings that gave rise to the phenomenon, but this was music that not only sounded opulent – it made you feel somehow more urbane just by listening to it.

California singer-songwriter Stephen Bishop was another of the artists who would retrospectively become part of what we might call the yachting club. Indeed, it’s important to point out that “yacht rock” was not a term that existed at the time the music was being made. Bishop’s acclaimed 1976 debut album, Careless , was a masterclass in well-crafted pop music for those no longer hanging on the words of every chart pin-up. Its tender opening ballad, “On And On,” which peaked just outside the mainstream US Top 10 and reached No.2 on the Easy Listening chart, is a prime example.

Making waves

McDonald, for his part, might be afforded the questionable honor of the Yacht Rock theme tune with his solo hit “Sweet Freedom,” but had earlier been a key part of the unconscious movement as a member of the Doobie Brothers. The double Grammy-winning landmark “What A Fool Believes,” again written by McDonald with Loggins, stands tall in this hall of fame. Similarly, Toto, another band of master studio craftsmen whose critical and commercial stock has risen again in recent times, stood for all the principles of yacht rock with tracks such as “99” and the undying “Africa.”

That 1982 soft-rock calling card came from the Toto IV album, which was, indeed, recorded in part at Sunset Sound and Ocean Way. But Steely Dan , one of the bands to prove that yacht rock could come from other parts of the US where the attendant lifestyle was less practical, made perhaps their biggest contribution to the subgenre after Walter Becker and Donald Fagen moved back to their native East Coast.

After their initial incarnation as a live band, Steely Dan were well established in their peerless cocoon of pristine studio production when they moved back east. That was after recording 1977’s superb Aja , the album that announced their ever-greater exploration of jazz influences. Fans and critics of the band both used the same word about them, perfectionism: some as a compliment, others as an accusation. But 1980’s equally impressive Gaucho was their yacht rock masterpiece.

Ripple effect

In such a subjective phrase, other artists seen by some as yacht rock representatives, such as Daryl Hall & John Oates, Journey, the Eagles, or even Canada’s Gordon Lightfoot, are thought by others to be creatively or geographically inappropriate, or just too mainstream to break out of the overreaching AOR terminology.

But a significant number of other artists, whose names are less quoted today, had their finest hours during the pop landscape of the late 70s and early 80s that we’ve been visiting here. Amy Holland won a Best New Artist Grammy nomination in 1981 helped by “How Do I Survive,” written by McDonald, whose wife she became soon afterwards. Robbie Dupree, a Brooklyn boy by birth, also epitomized the style with his 1980 US hit “Steal Away.” Then, in 1982, America, the band known for their definitive harmonic rock of a decade earlier, mounted a chart return with the suitably melodic “You Can Do Magic.”

The final word goes to Michael McDonald, the unwitting co-founder of the yacht rock sound. When the aforementioned mockumentary series was at the height of its popularity, he was asked if he had ever owned a yacht, and replied (perhaps disappointingly) in the negative. But, he added, “I thought Yacht Rock was hilarious. And uncannily, you know, those things always have a little bit of truth to them.

“It’s kind of like when you get a letter from a stalker who’s never met you. They somehow hit on something, and you have to admit they’re pretty intuitive.”

Listen to the Soft Rock Forever playlist for more yacht rock classics .

October 28, 2019 at 8:42 pm

if you dig this sound, you gotta check out Yachty by Nature the best yacht rock band on the West Coast. They play it all live without the backing tracks (yuck) that some bands do. They just got voted #1 Best Live Cover Band in Orange County and spreading yacht rock all over the country. Dive in!!! #yachtrock https://yachtybynature.com

October 28, 2019 at 8:44 pm

BTW, great article!!!!! Well written and thoughtfully addressed the idea of Nyacht Rock artists to the purists following the genre!

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Who Was on the Sunken Yacht? Tech Mogul Mike Lynch, His Family and Friends.

Mr. Lynch, the former chief executive of the software firm Autonomy, who was acquitted on fraud charges in June, was with friends and family when the yacht went down in a severe storm.

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By Michael J. de la Merced

Michael de la Merced reported on Mike Lynch’s career and legal battles over the course of 13 years across two continents.

A cruise on the Mediterranean Sea aboard a superyacht was supposed to be a celebratory event for the British tech entrepreneur Mike Lynch , who was acquitted in June of fraud charges tied to the sale of his company, Autonomy, to the tech giant Hewlett-Packard.

Instead, it turned into a disaster after the yacht, a 180-foot boat called the Bayesian, sank off the coast of Sicily in a violent storm. Of the 22 people aboard, 15 were rescued and seven others died . Search operations ended on Friday after the final body was recovered from the site of the sunken yacht .

Here’s what we know about the passengers.

Mike Lynch and his family

Mr. Lynch, 59, is a British software entrepreneur who had once been described as his country’s Bill Gates. He founded the software firm Autonomy, which analyzed clients’ unorganized data, and turned it into one of the most prominent British technology companies of its time. He became a widely known corporate leader, who advised David Cameron, the British prime minister at the time, and joined the board of the BBC.

In 2011, Mr. Lynch sold Autonomy to Hewlett-Packard for $11 billion, which was far above its market value, earning him hundreds of millions. But HP investors almost immediately soured on the transaction, and the American tech giant quickly fired its chief executive — and then Mr. Lynch.

HP later accused Mr. Lynch of misleading it about the state of Autonomy’s business, setting off a decade-long legal ordeal for the British executive, who denied the accusations. U.S. prosecutors charged him and other executives with fraud, and Autonomy’s chief financial officer was convicted in 2018.

Despite appeals to the British government, Mr. Lynch was extradited to the United States last year and was confined to a townhouse in San Francisco ahead of his criminal trial, which began in March. Facing the possibility of decades in prison if convicted, Mr. Lynch and another colleague were instead acquitted of all charges.

An official in Palermo, Sicily’s capital, said on Thursday that Mr. Lynch’s body had been recovered. His wife, Angela Bacares, 57, accompanied him on the yacht, and she was rescued on Monday when it sank. She was a consistent presence at his trial in the United States. Records show that she controlled Revtom, the company listed as the owner of the Bayesian.

The body of Hannah Lynch , Mr. Lynch and Ms. Bacares’s 18-year-old daughter, was thought to be recovered on Friday.

The other guests

Jonathan Bloomer, 70, chair of Morgan Stanley’s international arm and the chairman of Hiscox, an insurance provider that trades on the London Stock Exchange, was on the yacht when it sank, along with his wife, Judy Bloomer, 71. Their bodies are thought to be among those recovered, but Italian authorities have not identified them.

Christopher J. Morvillo, 59, a New York-based partner at the international law firm Clifford Chance, was also on the yacht. A former federal prosecutor who comes from a family of prominent lawyers, Mr. Morvillo represented Mr. Lynch during his criminal trial in San Francisco. His wife, Neda, 57, was with him on the yacht. Their bodies are also assumed to be among those recovered.

“We are in shock and deeply saddened by this tragic incident,” a representative of Clifford Chance said in a statement.

Surviving passengers rescued from the yacht include Charlotte Golunski, a partner at Mr. Lynch’s venture firm, Invoke Capital; Ms. Golunski’s husband, James Emslie; and their one-year-old daughter Sophie. Also rescued were Ayla Ronald, a lawyer at Clifford Chance, and her partner, Matthew Fletcher.

The yacht had a crew of 10, and nine were rescued. The body of the chef, Recaldo Thomas, was recovered from the water, the Sicilian Civil Protection Department said.

Elisabetta Povoledo contributed reporting, and Kitty Bennett and Susan Campbell Beachy contributed research.

Michael J. de la Merced has covered global business and finance news for The Times since 2006. More about Michael J. de la Merced

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Atelier4 Is Bringing Art Installations on Luxury Yachts

The launch of art abroad takes clients’ artworks to new waters..

Atelier4 is charting its own course in the fine art storage and shipping sector. This week, the industry veteran announced the launch of their new exclusive service, dubbed Art Aboard , which will specialize in “curating and managing fine art installations aboard luxury yachts”, according to a company statement.

The New York-based company will continue to expand operations in the greater Miami area, as clients’ beloved artworks are sent out to Atelier4’s climate-controlled stage in their Florida warehouse. From there, the pieces will be transported to luxury boats after docking and Art Aboard will look for custom installation solutions to fit each boat’s unique features.

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‘devastated’ mentor spoke with nyc jeweler missing in sunken bayesian yacht days before tragedy: ‘it doesn’t look good’.

The “devastated” mentor of the luxury Manhattan jeweler who vanished when the Bayesian yacht sank off Sicily spoke with her protége days before the tragedy — and admitted she has little hope that the missing passengers will be found alive.

In an exclusive interview with The Post, goldsmith Cecelia Bauer recalled inviting Neda Morvillo to a luncheon with fellow jewelers on Monday, the same day the superyacht capsized off the coast of Palermo.

Morvillo, who has a fine jewelry business in Midtown, and her lawyer husband Christopher Morvillo are among the six people who went missing during the tragedy.

But officials are holding out hope they may be trapped in the ship alive, surviving on air pockets 160 feet below the surface.

“I’m totally shocked,” Bauer said upon learning her former student and Morvillo’s husband were aboard the doomed yacht.

“I’m devastated because I can’t believe she’s one of the missing. It doesn’t look good … I would find it hard to believe that anyone has survived this long.” 

Bauer told The Post she trained the missing jeweler approximately 20 years ago.

A website for Morvillo — who goes professionally as Neda Nassiri — credits Bauer as her mentor.

“She was a student of mine,” Bauer said. “She came to my studio and she studied with me for many, many years, and she was able to go out on her own, and get her own studio and a place to work.

“She became a very close friend. She’s very dear to me. And this news is just absolutely devastating.”

Morvillo declined Bauer’s lunch invitation over the weekend but didn’t offer a reason why.

“She said that she wasn’t going to be able to come,” Bauer explained, adding that she had “no idea” Morvillo had been sailing the Mediterranean Sea on a superyacht. 

Bauer described Morvillo as “very upbeat, very happy,” and “incredibly smart.”

“She was glad to help anybody out that she could,” Bauer said. “She was extremely generous…She was very special.”

Bauer explained that she met Christopher Morvillo only on several occasions, but recognized him as a “really nice fella” who was “very well connected.”

Christopher Morvillo was the couple’s ticket onto the yacht as they were celebrating British tech tycoon Mike Lynch ‘s win in his longstanding fraud trial earlier this summer.

Lynch, the owner of the yacht, and his 18-year-old daughter are also lost at sea.

“It’s all just pretty horrible,” Bauer added. “I don’t even know what to say, it’s so terrible. I can’t imagine what her family [is going through],” the grieving goldsmith said.

Neda and her husband have two daughters, Sabrina and Sophie, who were due to fly out to Italy and spend time on the luxury boat before it sank.

“He was so excited about the trip,” fellow attorney  David Oscar Markus wrote in a blog post after discovering the couple was missing. 

“He couldn’t wait for his daughters to meet up with him and his wife. I am so thankful the girls had not yet arrived when this tragedy struck.”

Christopher Morvillo’s mother has holed up in her Long Island home eagerly awaiting developments, according to neighbors.

“Cathy is distraught, she is holding out hope they are still alive,” a neighbor told DailyMail.com Tuesday.

“It’s heartbreaking. We are waiting with bated breath,’ the person said. ‘It’s a wonderful family and we are all grieving along with them. His mother still has hope that there’s some chance her son and daughter-in-law are alive.”

Italian divers were exploring the sunken Bayesian late Tuesday after using jacks to smash the 1¹/₄-inch-thick glass, according to local reports.

They reached the common areas of the 184-foot luxury vessel, but have not yet made it to the cabins — where one expert theorized the missing passengers might be trapped, but alive.

The search and rescue mission could take hours. Because of the depth, divers can only stay underwater for 12 minutes at a time.

The Bayesian capsized with 22 people — 10 crew members and 12 passengers — after it was suddenly struck by a freak storm around sunrise Monday morning, officials said.

Fifteen people managed to escape before the superyacht went down.

The ship’s Canadian-born chef Thomas Recaldo marks the only confirmed death in the tragedy.

In addition to the Morvillos and Lynch and his daughter, Morgan Stanley International chairman Jonathan Bloomer ad his wife, Judy, are still unaccounted for.

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Mike Lynch's yacht was state-of-the-art and shouldn't have sunk so easily, search-and-rescue expert says

• The tech tycoon Mike Lynch died in a yacht sinking near Palermo, Italy.
• An investigation is underway, with experts questioning how the state-of-the-art yacht sank.
• One expert said the $40 million yacht should have been "unsinkable."

A search-and-rescue expert said the superyacht disaster that killed Mike Lynch was difficult to comprehend — because the vessel never should have sunk.

Lynch, a British tech tycoon, was celebrating his fraud acquittal with friends and family when the 183-foot ship sank during stormy weather near Palermo, Italy.

Of the 22 people on board, six people, including Lynch, have been confirmed dead.

Fifteen people, including Lynch's wife, were rescued. Lynch's 18-year-old daughter remained unaccounted for as of Thursday afternoon local time.

An investigation into the cause of the tragedy is underway.

'Unsinkable'

Matthew Schanck is a maritime search-and-rescue consultant with 14 years of experience. He told Business Insider that his reaction to the sinking was "disbelief."

When the news of the sinking broke, Schanck said he envisioned a far smaller ship — "some sort of 40-foot yacht with a couple on board."

"That wouldn't have been as unusual or extraordinary," he said.

"It was really shocking," he added. "But what's more shocking is the fact that it's a modern, state-of-the-art superyacht, which would have been commercially certified and regulated by the Maritime Coastguard Agency."

Schanck previously told BI there was no indication that the ship breached "any international maritime construction or safety standards."

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The superyacht was worth $40 million, The New York Times reported .

Giovanni Costantino is the CEO of the Italian Sea Group, which built the yacht. Speaking with Sky News, Costantino said the sinking sounded "like an unbelievable story, both technically and as a fact."

"Sailing ships, it is well known, are the safest in the most absolute sense," he said. They tend, he said, to be "unsinkable."

Though the cause of the sinking has not been established, authorities confirmed a strong storm had been in the area.

Witnesses told BBC News they saw a waterspout — an uncommon tornadolike column of wind and water — before the ship went down.

"This tends to have been the accepted theory, that the vessel was hit by a waterspout and the crew didn't see it coming because it was nighttime and dark," Schanck said.

He said that while this scenario made sense, it's not clear how witnesses would have noticed a waterspout if the crew didn't.

Speaking with the Times, Costantino said the ship had the second-tallest aluminum mast in the world, which made it safe and secure.

However, he said that if any of the doors had been open during the storm, it could have taken on water more easily.

Correction: August 22, 2024 — An earlier version of this story misspelled the surname of the search-and-rescue consultant. It's Schanck, not Schank.

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