http://www.boatinternational.com | May 2018QUICKFIRE
Bob and
Amy BookSPEED OR STYLE?
BothCHEF OR CHAUFFEUR?
Definitely bothFAVOURITE WATCH?
Rolex Yacht-MasterFAVOURITE CAR?
PorscheFIRSTTHINGYOUPACK?
PassportYOUR IDEA OF LUXURY?
ABlueLabelwithaCohibaRobusto
2014 Limited EditionFIRST BOATING MEMORY?
RidingtheStatenIslandFerry,just
beingonthewaterandseeingtheNew
YorkCityskylinefromthewater!
bold artwork, much collected on their travels.
In Portofino they bought pieces from
a local artist, who they invited over for breakfast
the next day. “He said no one had ever invited him
on board before,” Book says. “And now I’m trying
to arrange an exhibition for him in the States.”
Meeting new people, whether it’s the couple
on the yacht next door in La Spezia or locals in
the Med or Bahamas, is what keeps the Books
interested. They prefer this over “seeing and
being seen”. “Our favourite places might be
places that not everyone likes,” says Amy. “Capri
is beautiful, but it was not what we wanted.
Because we were there in the summer, it was like
Times Square on New Year’s Eve. We like places
where we can walk around, where we can really
talk to people. We’ve made so many friends
because of the boat.”
During their six weeks in the Med, the Books
particularly fell for Italy, and among their
favourite spots were Elba and Forte dei Marmi.
The latter is the home of their good friend Andrea
Bocelli, who helped the couple find a new captain,
and one of their favourite restaurants, Santa
Monica, is nearby in Viareggio.
Though the Books value the friendships
they’ve made, the yachting life is also filled with
a healthy dose of competition. They own a Viking
62 sportfisher and are about to take delivery of a
Viking 72. The Vikings, namedBook Ends Team
Hookers, are put to work in fishing tournaments
along the US East Coast and in the Bahamas.
Book says fishing itself is boring – it’s thetournament atmosphere and meeting people
from all walks of life that he enjoys. “I love the
competition,” he says. “I have a great team who
all want to win. There’s an old expression, ‘show
me a good loser and I’ll show you a loser’. So the
fishing is always competitive, and it’s a lot of fun.”
Book heads to Bahamas-based tournaments with
a fleet –Book Endsserving as the mothership
while the Viking and his Scout 42 head out to the
fishing grounds.
Bob and Amy plan to spend even more time
on board this summer. Book relishes the fact that
he can work from his onboard oice. “Nobody
knows where I am! We could have a board
meeting and they just assume I’m in the oice –
no one knows I’m really in Italy.”
It’s not all been unalloyed good times, but
the Books are experienced enough to know that
peaks always follow troughs. “So many times
I’ve said I’m getting out, it’s just not worth it;
it’s so much stress, it’s so expensive and so
many things can go wrong – and they usually do
in boating,” Book says. “But then you have a
summer like we had, six weeks cruising all over
the Med and discovering places. You know if
you leave it, you wouldn’t be sitting here, you’d
be sitting on a couch somewhere watching a
football game.”
Amy adds: “And we would never have gone to
some of these places without the boat. Even if
people do go by land, there’s no comparison to
seeing these places from the water and having
your home with you.”BThe Books fell for
Forte dei Marmi –
the home of their
good friend
Andrea Bocelli
The Books’ crew
joined them on
their two-year
shopping trip
around Europe’s
top shipyards.
Left: the Books’
other boat,
aViking62
sportfisher127