Boat International – April 2018

http://www.boatinternational.com | April 2018

PHOTOGRAPHY: GETTY IMAGES; COURTESY OF MR PORTER

QUICKFIRE

Lang Walker

SPEED OR STYLE?

Both

CHEF OR CHAUFFEUR?

Chef

FIRST THING YOU PACK?

My swimming trunks

FAVOURITE WATCH?

My IWC

FAVOURITE BEACH?

This one

FIRST BOATING MEMORY?

My first VJ sinking because I didn’t

know that it had bungs in the back

and it filled up with water

FAVOURITE CAR?

Bentley, either the Continental

or I have got the Bentayga.

I have never looked at the engine

but it goes really fast

management pools. “I decided that
is something maybe I can do at some
point but I want to keep it as a family
destination and something that
is unique, not part of a big chain.
Some days I still think to myself
‘why?’, but it is just a challenge whether I can
actually do it,” he says.
Kokomo Private Island is not the only time
that Walker has mixed business with pleasure.
His boundless energy means that no holiday is
complete without a project. “Many years ago
I was in Aspen with the family and I pulled
a muscle and couldn’t ski,” he explains. “So I went
on a search for real estate from one end of the
valley to the other. Eventually I found a golf
course owner who was in financial distress. It was
a place called Buttermilk. So I bought all of his
real estate assets and spent the next 15 years
developing those out. That was in my spare time,
so I had something to do when I was on holiday.
We sold the last of those houses last Christmas
for US$25 million. It was quite interesting.”
While Walker is certainly not on vacation
mode on his island – constantly on his golf cart
checking up on every detail of the property or

answering his James Bond themed phone ring –

it is clearly done with pleasure. His and his wife’s

presence on Kokomo creates a relaxed

atmosphere. The pair spend roughly three

months a year there and will happily join guests

for dinner or for snorkelling trips to the reef.

Family remains at the heart of the island and

that is why this project means so much to him.

“The three kids and the eight grandkids are

always descending on the place. The grandkids

never want to leave,” he says. “Before we

opened my granddaughter asked

‘Grandpa, are we going to let other

people stay on our island?’. She

wasn’t sure to begin with but she is

OK with it now as there are lots of

other kids her age, so it’s fun.”

It appears that this Kokomo has

finally done enough to satiate

Walker’s love of a challenge. “Sue asked me

recently ‘Are you done with houses in Aspen? Are

you done with yachts? Are we

nearly done with the island?’ And

my answer was ‘yes’ to all of those

questions. It’s not the end as I have

got to deliver a lot of the things

we have on professionally but

it’s certainly the end of hobby

projects. This one will keep me

busy for a long time.”

Sitting in Walker’s island oice

it is easy to see why – it is a pretty

spectacular Kokomo to complete

the set.B

kokomoislandfiji.com

Walker in racing mode, right. Even

a family holiday in Aspen, below,

led to a business opportunity

OWNERS’ CLUB

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