Yachtsman and entrepreneur Peter de Savary passes away
Yachtsman and tycoon Peter de Savary has passed away at the age of 78.
de Savary, affectionately known as PdeS, was a keen sailor known for his remarkable life and a career that spanned six decades and four continents.
He first rose to prominence in the 1980s, leading the British challenge for the America’s Cup in 1983, where his contender, Victory 83, was beaten by Australia II in the final heat.
He was also known as a visionary entrepreneur, who at one point owned both the most southern and northern points of the UK; Land’s End and John O’Groats.
He owned at least 30 boats during his lifetime, including the Hollywood yacht Kalizma (formerly home to Richard Burton and Elizabeth Taylor), the Herreshoff-designed sailing yacht Vagrant, the 20-metre Royal Huisman Hush, and a 30-metre river barge called Savvy.
De Savary raced for many years in the Bucket Regatta in Newport, Rhode Island, and St Barts in the Caribbean. He was awarded the trophy “Spirit of the Bucket” in 2010. He was a member of the Royal Thames Yacht Club and the New York Yacht Club.
A cigar-smoking aficionado, de Savary was a buccaneering entrepreneur who succeeded in an eclectic range of businesses and industries.
Having started out with nothing when he was infamously expelled from Charterhouse School at 16, he started an import/export business in Nigeria in the 60s. In the Middle East in the 1970s he collaborated on projects ranging from oil contracts to the creation of a royal camel milking parlour for the King of Saudi Arabia.
His ensuing business interests were equally diverse, from his development of the worldwide St James’ Clubs and The Carnegie Club at Skibo Castle, to shipyards and the regeneration of industrial wasteland in both the US and UK. His oversaw at least 60 hotels, resorts and hospitality projects, including three world-class marinas.
de Savary was the driving force and chairman behind various companies, and was responsible for the success of 13 shipyards during his career. In 1988, he helped establish Pendennis Shipyard in Cornwall, after he acquired a yacht manufacturer and relocated it to Falmouth Docks.
It’s the second piece of sad news for Pendennis, which confirmed the death of its co-founder and managing director, Henk Wiekens, in October.
In recent years, de Savary spent his time developing a portfolio of boutique hotels with his wife Lana, who will continue to remain as chairman.
“Peter was extraordinary, not just as a businessman but as a wonderful mentor, loving husband and devoted father of his five daughters,” says Lana. “He was a remarkable man, and an enormous gap will be left in our lives without him.”
As well as wife Lana, de Savary is survived by five daughters.
A statement posted by the de Savary estate pays homage to one of Britain’s most colourful characters. “He was a man of tremendous vision with boundless energy, enthusiasm and attention to detail, and he inspired tremendous loyalty from all those who worked with him,” it reads. “He was at his happiest smoking a large Cuban cigar, on a vintage sailboat with his trusty chihuahua by his side, and despite all his many achievements and successes, he always maintained the most important thing in life was family.”
The de Savary family has set up an obituary page, where people can pay their respects and share memories.
