Captain Duncan Hipkin fires the cannon
Old Naval Traditions Kept Alive at Sundown
Tinfoil, gunpowder and ingenuity goes into making the charge for a bronze cannon that is fired every night aboard the superyacht Tenacious as the sun goes down.
Each day Craig Rehaume the engineer aboard the sailing yacht makes a fresh charge that is loaded into the cannon mounted onto the leeward side of the yacht.
Then as the sun slowly sets below the horizon Captain Duncan Hipkin lights the fuse and deckhand Will Morris stands by to lower the ensign as the cannon lets out its mighty roar.
That’s the signal for stewardess Kristen Rust to serve her Mojitos or indeed any other cocktail a charter guest would care to order.
It is a Navy tradition that continues aboard Tenacious brought about by the owners passion for all things that go bang and as one who has been on the receiving end of the Mojito I think it is a very good tradition indeed.
All this on top a stonking sail to windward up the Francis Drake Passage in the BVI which started in Deadmans bay off Peter Island and finished in Long Bay off Virgin Gorda. On the way Tenacious stopped at the Baths, a really scenic, if somewhat touristy spot. There we had a splendid lunch before sailing onto Virgin Gorda where we went diving again just as night fell.
Dinner on deck was lobster washed down with fine Sancerre. There is no doubt that chartering aboard Tenacious through Fraser Yachts is a very classy act and sailing in the British Virgin Islands the perfect location in which to sample it.
Read all about our adventures in a future edition of SuperYacht World magazine.