Boat International — January 2018

OWNERS’ CLUB

Illustration – David Hopkins

P

ut the Okavango Delta on your bucket

list immediately. It’s a massive delta

in Botswana that doesn’t really flow

anywhere. It’s very strange, but the wildlife

is just spectacular.

Marie and I have just got back from eight

days there camping – and I mean really

camping. Obviously we had

a cook and a guide, but apart

from that it was tents and no

toilets. We were living rough.

I went swimming in one of

the little rivers there and the

guide assured me there were

no crocodiles, but I was still

on high alert because every

corner you turn in this place you see some wild

animal – buffalo, hippos, elephants or lions.

You feel totally cut off when you’re there.

The only thing I can equate it to is being in

the middle of the Pacific Ocean. I remember

the sensation of being days away from land on

our circumnavigation, and it was the same in

Okavango. I didn’t use a phone for the whole

time. At night we’d sit round the campfire and

if you had to go to the loo, you’d shine your

torch into the distance and often see lots of

glowing eyes staring back at you.

The scariest moment was one day when I

was sitting down having lunch and this baboon

comes out of nowhere, snatches all the food off

the table in front of me and disappears before I

could even move. My god, it was exciting.

So Ngoni is on the cover this month. It belongs

to an old friend of mine. I remember the first

time I met him. We had arranged to meet for

lunch to discuss investing in my Formula

One team. I didn’t know what to expect at all.

Anyway, he barrels in and throws his Ferrari

keys at me and says: “You can use them, man.

I’m not going to need it for two years. I’ve just

lost my licence.” And that was the first thing

he ever said to me.

There’s been a run-in with a baboon in Botswana and a sailing epiphany

with Ngoni’s owner. There’s never a dull moment if you’re Eddie Jordan

Lippy from the Liffey

I didn’t take him up on the offer – I couldn’t

be seen driving a Ferrari. We became good

friends after that and I spent a lot of time

cruising on the original Ngoni. He was the one

who convinced me to get back into sailing.

He said to me one day: “Eddie, you’re never

going to find real joy until you actually start

sailingagain.”Andyouknow

what?Hewasright.

Heusedtolendmehisplanes

occasionally.Iremembermy

firsttimeonaprivatejet–itwas

bloody terrifying. We’d been at

agrandprixinJapanandIhad

togetbackquickly.SoBernie

EcclestoneofferedmearidewithGerhard

Bergerinhisplane.Buttherewasnofoodon

boardbecauseBernierefusedtopayforittobe

cleaned, so we survived on crisps and nuts.

Anyway, we had to land in the middle of

Siberia – in the pitch black of night – to refuel

and it was the most frightening landing ever. It

was beyond freezing and as the plane came in

to land at this military airstrip the wing kept

dipping dangerously close to the ground before

we eventually touched down. I’ve had some

scarymomentsbutthatwastheworst.

IusedtoownaHawkerjet,whileTom

Walkinshaw had a Challenger and Frank

Williams a Falcon. Flavio Briatore used to

changehisjetseveryweek!Weallusedtorace

eachotherhometoKidlingtoninOxford.But

whilethejetisusefulforbusinessitnevergave

methesamejoyandsatisfactionasmyboat.I’d

always rather be on the water than in the air.B

Eddie Jordan’s fee for this column has been

donated to charity

I was sitting having

lunch and this

baboon comes out

of nowhere and

snatches all the

food off the table

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