Camper & Nicholsons Creole

Creole is arguably one of the most beautiful and unluckiest yachts in the world. In 1926, a wealthy American named Alec Cochran decided to build the most beautiful sailboat in the world. Suffering from tuberculosis, he knew it would be his last yacht. He asked his old friend Fred Hughes to christen her, but! His friend was indeed too old and could not break the champagne bottle in three tries - then everyone started talking about how this vessel would bring bad luck.

Almost immediately, the owner became frightened by the height of the masts - and ordered them lowered several times. As a result, the yacht ceased to resemble a sailing vessel even in appearance and became very slow and of little maneuverability. Cochrane became disillusioned with her and decided to sell her: the sailboat was too heavy and did not respond well to the wind. Cochrane abandoned her and picked her up for sale.

The yacht went from there, was a minesweeper during World War II, lost all her armament, changed owners again, bringing them misfortune, until she fell into the hands of the famous fashion designer Maurizio Gucci. He went to great lengths to restore the yacht to her original condition, but on completion of the restoration he was murdered on the orders of his own wife.

Today the yacht is in the hands of his two young sisters. She rarely goes to sea, so each voyage becomes a sort of mini-sensation for lovers of sail and classic yacht lines.