Nigel Burgess (yachtsman)

Nigel Allan Burgess (1942–1992) was a British single-handed yachtsman, Master Mariner and businessman. He took part in the OSTAR and the Vendée Globe. He founded Nigel Burgess Yacht Brokers, a company which has remained one of the leading yachtbrokers in the world, and was responsible for the sale of Saddam Hussein's yacht in 2008.[1]

Biography

Born in 1942 in Cheam, Surrey he was educated at Homefield Preparatory School and Thames Nautical Training College. He served with the Royal Fleet Auxiliary (RFA) gaining his master's ticket. His first major single handed yacht race was the Observer Single-Handed Trans-Atlantic Race in 1968 in which he sailed his yacht Dogwatch.

On leaving the RFA he established Nigel Burgess Yacht Brokers [2] and moved his home to Monaco.[3]

He subsequently entered the 1988 Carlsberg Single-Handed Trans-Atlantic Race in Dogwatch A coming first in his class.[4]

In 1992 he entered that year's Vendée Globe[5] and was lost at sea three days into the race.[6][7][8][9] His yacht broking firm, later known simply as Burgess Yachts, continued under the management of part-owner Jonathan Beckett.[10]

References

1. "For sale: Saddam Hussein's luxury yacht". USA Today. 16 February 2008. Retrieved 20 May 2010.
2. Burgess Yachts – Luxury Yacht Charter Crewed Yacht Charters Mega Motor Sailing Yachts
3. "Keeping Up Hope for a Missing Sailor". International Herald Tribune. 23 November 1992. Archived from the original on 9 February 2009. Retrieved 2 June 2008.
4. "Untitled". Archived from the original on 8 August 2007. Retrieved 5 August 2007.
5. VENDEE GLOBE 1992 – NIGEL BURGESS
6. YACHT RACING Two Are Dead, but Race Goes On
7. "News Archive". Yachting Australia. The fleet leaves Les Sables d'Olonne on the French north-west coast in early November. This is well into autumn in that part of the world and although the winds can be favourable, the chances are that the first part of the course, to Cape Finisterre across the Bay of Biscay, will be sailed upwind. The chances are also strong that the fleet will encounter gale and storm force headwinds crossing the Bay of Biscay. Three races ago (1992–93) the first few days of the race took a terrible toll on the fleet and Nigel Burgess was lost overboard from his boat.
8. "YACHT RACING; Solo Sailor in Global Race Found Dead Off Spain's Coast". New York Times. 27 November 1992. Retrieved 20 May 2010. Burgess's death came one day after the Coast Guard ended its search for Mike Plant, who disappeared while en route to the start of this race, called the Vendee Globe Challenge... ...Burgess was a close friend of Plant's, and their relationship might have inspired Burgess, an experienced sailor who had crossed the Atlantic three times, to enter the Vendee Globe race.
9. "Nigel Burgess Obituary". The Times. London. 17 December 1992. The rarified milieu of the super-rich that surrounds the harbors of Cannes, Antibes and Monte Carlo was 'the office' for Burgess. There he did business with clients such as Adnan Kashoggi and Donald Trump. Despite the interest of the media in such international figures, Burgess possessed the natural discretion of a Victorian banker
10. Borzykowski, Bryan (2 July 2016). "Inside the life of a yacht broker to the rich and famous". BBC Online. Retrieved 7 July 2024.