G: Is it the town you now live in or where you were born? DG: I like to say I was born in Edinburgh, brought up in Grangemouth, and grew up in Glasgow when I went to university to study Naval Architecture and met my lovely Natalie in second year. My exam results were not the best, but I learned a lot. G: Is it near the sea? DG: Yes – we have sandy beaches so long as you don’t go too far out when it either gets rocky or muddy. From the house we can see our boat on its mooring to our right, or in winter we can look to our left and see it on the hard on the pier at Capernaum. G: Where did your passion for sailing come from? DG: I come from a family of golfers, cyclists and motor sports enthusiasts. One grandfather was an architect and the other an engineer which seems a useful genetic background. My mother did once sail with Ronnie McGrowther, the famous boatbuilder from Kilcreggan on the Clyde. They won the race because she had »lovely blue eyes«. My own introduction came from reading »Swallows and Amazons« at the age of twelve, from which point I was pretty much hooked on the romance and adventure of sailing. G: What would you describe as your present occupation? DG: I am a naval architect, designer of all things that float. I have designed sailing yachts, motor yachts, superyachts and floating hot tubs and everything in between. My main work is commercial design, for example I am currently working on a small car ferry with electric propulsion. I do have two passions, classic beautiful yachts, and electric propulsion. G: Where did your connection to classic boats come from? DG: Classic yachts in the 1990s was a cheap way to get a large boat, and I had a beautiful Capt O. M. Watts designed 8-ton cutter, built at Everson & Sons in Woodbridge in 1936. My ambitions to sail to Norway were cut short with the arrival of my young family. A naval architect with a passion for classic yachts combined with a passion for high speed electric craft is an odd combination. But Scottish born and bred architect and entrepreneur David Gray, not to be confused with the singer of the same name, is exactly that. As a naval architect he has an enviable track record in the development of cutting-edge technology in CFD models and hydrofoil simulations. Among others he designed the speed-record breaking electric tender Bolt 18. Since 2017 he has been working on developing high performance electric luxury boats. At the same time, he is deeply passionate about classic yachts and in 2007 he acquired A. Mylne & Co. With this he catalogued and once more made available the complete archive of striking designs for restorations or replica building. The 12-Metre Jenetta and other famous yachts such as Blue Peter, Thendara and Naema are all Mylne designs. A few years ago, he published his labour of love in the form of the ultimate book on naval architect Alfred Mylne. Once and for all establishing this much underrated designer among the other greats of Scotland: Fife and Watson. Goose: What would you qualify as »my town« at the moment? David Gray: My town is the village of Limekilns on the north shore of the river Forth about three miles upstream from the famous Forth Rail Bridge. G: What is special about your town? DG: The village is mentioned in Robert Louis Stevenson’s book »Kidnapped« and has an interesting history entwined with the start of the industrial revolution. The ancient piers and harbours which used to bring coal and lime to sailing cargo ships on wooden railways now serve the members of the local yacht club well. The tides and shallow muddy riverbanks lend themselves to bilge keel yachts, and there is a thriving yacht club here with an active racing scene (when the tide is up). Fotos: unsplash, ZVG David Gray GOOSE 12: Jörg Woltmann, Berlin GOOSE 13: Sabrina Monteleone, Monaco GOOSE 14: Bruno Trouble, Venice GOOSE 15: Carlo Emilio Croce, Genoa GOOSE 16: King Harald of Norway GOOSE 17: Jesper Bank, Apenrade GOOSE 18: Karl Peter Ebner, Puerto Montt GOOSE 19: Charles von Bourbon, Saint-Tropez GOOSE 20: Robin Knox-Johnston, Portsmouth GOOSE 21: Oliver Berking, Flensburg GOOSE 22: Pál Sarkozy, Paris GOOSE 23: David Martirano, Valletta GOOSE 24: German Frers, Buenos Aires GOOSE 25: Leonardo Ferragamo, Florenz GOOSE 26: Olivier Decamps, Hong Kong GOOSE 27: Boris Herrmann, Monaco GOOSE 28: Nikolaus Gelpke, Hamburg GOOSE 29: Agostino Randazzo, Palermo GOOSE 30: Paul Cayard, San Francisco GOOSE 31: Pelle Petterson, Göteborg GOOSE 32: Bill Tripp, Connecticut GOOSE 33: Rahmi M. Koç, Istanbul GOOSE 34: Marco Tronchetti Provera, Portofino GOOSE 35: Brandt Faatz, Seattle GOOSE 36: Riccardo Bonadeo, Porto Cervo GOOSE 37: Doug Leen, Petersburg GOOSE 38: Captain Joakim Håkans, Turku GOOSE 39: Francesco de Angelis, Naples GOOSE 40: Annika Barbarigos, Athen-Piräus GOOSE 41: Kenneth Beken, Cowes GOOSE 42: Sean Langman, Sydney GOOSE 43: Mitja Gialuz, Trieste GOOSE 44: Joost Schokkenbroek, Hong Kong GOOSE 45: Roberto Olivieri, San Vincenzo GOOSE 46: Hannes Jaenicke, Utting am Ammersee GOOSE 47: Lorenzo Mariotti, Rom GOOSE 48: Marian Heyerdahl, Oslo GOOSE 49: Jonathan Greenwood, Wicklow GOOSE 50: Daniel Forster, Jamestown GOOSE 51: Butch Dalrymple-Smith, La Ciotat GOOSE 52: Christian Scherrer, St. Moritz GOOSE 53: Hans Eliasson, Stockholm GOOSE 54: Ken Freivokh, Southampton GOOSE 55: Gerry Dijkstra, Amsterdam GOOSE 56: Paul Spooner, Romsey GOOSE 57: Christina Giussani, Venedig GOOSE 58: Tim Hartnoll, Singapur GOOSE 59: Jim Thom, Ringwood BISHER IN »MY TOWN« // PREVIOUSLY IN »MY TOWN« Am Ufer von Limekilns // Limekilns shoreline 126 read more
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