Motor Boat & Yachting - July 2018

UKNEWS

Sunseeker design chief

hangs up his pencil

John Braithwaite, who launched

Sunseeker alongside his brother

Robert and ran the design office,

has retired. Timed to coincide with

his 70th birthday celebrations in May,

it will be the culmination of 53 years

with the business, making John the

firm’s longest-serving executive.

John began his career in 1964

at Friars Cliff Marine, which became

Poole Powerboats in 1969 when it

moved into Poole and subsequently

Sunseeker International in 1985.

While his brother Robert managed

the running of the business, John

turned his considerable talents to

design, and was instrumental in the

development of models like the iconic

Superhawk, the Predator 108 and

more recently the Manhattan 52,

Sunseeker’s fastest-selling model.

John Braithwaite

retires at 70

Drone defence system launched

Last Squadron 78 leaves factory

Big boat swansong for Fairline’s Oundle facility

New technology claims to prevent drones approaching boats

After 15 years in production, the

last Squadron 78 has left Fairline’s

factory at Oundle. Its completion

marks the end not just of this model

but also of large boat production at

Oundle. Its replacement will be built

at Fairline’s Southampton facility.

Destined for the Mediterranean

and fitted with twin Caterpillar C

engines, the final boat is finished in

an unusual Light Ivory gelcoat,

unique in Fairline’s history.

The Squadron 78 is one of

Fairline’s most successful and

long-lived flybridge models ever

built, with 115 being produced.

MBY reader John Wolf told us,

“The Squadron 78 was one of the

very best 80ft flybridge boats on the

market, so good that when the time

came for me to replace mine,

I bought another one.”

Russell Currie, managing director

at Fairline Yachts, commented, “The

Squadron 78 has had an amazing

production run and has certainly

paved the way for the next

generation of models. We look

forward to sharing the details of our

new flagship boat in the near future.”

Rotherham-based Ship Solutions

company Martek Marine says it has

invented a device able to rid the skies

around your boat of intrusive drones.

Citing defence against everything

from terrorist use of drones to

incidents where paparazzi have used

drones in an attempt to get intimate

images of guests on board, the

company’s D-Fence superyacht

drone detection and defeat system

claims to stop a drone in its tracks.

£110 million

THE MONTH

IN NUMBERS

Funding for Ben Ainslie Racing’s

America’s Cup challenge. The

sponsorship came from INEOS,

owned by Jim Ratcliffe.

377ft

7.5%

The size of the superyacht that

the UK court has demanded

Farkhad Akhmedov gives

his ex wife as part of Britain’s

largest ever divorce settlement.

The rise in revenue for Group

Beneteau’s Boat Division for

the fi rst half of the year,

reaching a total of €378m.

The system detects and identifies

commercial drones within a 20km+

range, providing GPS positioning of

both drone and pilot together with

the drone’s speed and heading. Once

a drone threat has been established,

the system enables a 500m+

electronic ‘exclusion zone’ to be

created around the yacht. Should the

drone approach this exclusion zone,

its control/video signal is blocked,

initiating its fail-safe mode, forcing

it to land or return to its operator.

Tempting as it sounds, potential

users are advised to investigate

regulations of the aviation authority

in the relevant country before

operating such a system – many

take a very dim view of interfering

with aircraft in flight, even drones.

The last of the Squadron

78s leaves the Fairline

factory in Oundle

Martek Marine says

its system will force

intruding drones to

land or return to base

Braithwaite ran

the design offi ce

for 53 years