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Passion fired up for classic yachts
By Lou James
ST TROPEZ, France (CNN) -- While the latest technology is used to perfect modern racing yachts, the skill of restoring classic vessels is still flourishing. Many of the yachts in Les Voiles de St Tropez are over 100 years old. They gather at the end of the Mediterranean summer, turning the buzzing French resort into an elegant sailing destination from a bygone era. Although many of the yachts from this era are disintegrating, an English boatyard is keeping the tradition of restoring them alive. Fairlie Restorations began in 1989, inspired by the love of Fife Yachts built by William Fife earlier in the century at his family business in the Scottish city of Glasgow. "Fife had an artist's eye, as well as the engineering and technical experience to produce a fast yacht. His yachts are known as the most beautiful classic yachts that there are," said Duncan Walker, from Fairlie Restorations. Fairlie Restorations bought the Fife design archive and have been able to restore the craft faithfully following the detailed plans. "They are priceless, and working documents for us. We are all fanatical here. We care too much about the boats and not about the money, they are living things to us and we want to see the boats restored as beautiful as possible," Walker enthuses. But the original techniques and highly skilled craftsmen make this an expensive business. Restoring a classic yacht can cost more than buying the latest high-tech model. Swiss-German businessman Ernst Klaus bought his boat, Kentra, in 1993. It was designed and built in 1923. "It's not the most practical to sail but I was impressed by the beauty of the boats and these boats produce good feelings all over," Klaus said. "I brought her in an auction. I had never seen her before and I was rather shocked. She was an empty hull and two piles of wood." In 1923 the boat cost about ten thousand pounds, which Klaus considered "an awful lot of money in those days." "It would be silly to pretend it's a cheap hobby, you spend a lot of money of course." But plenty of people do part with their money to buy one of these boats, such as the head of Prada and sailing enthusiast, Patrizio Bertelli. His fashion company sponsors a series of four regattas, held at Imperia in Italy, Cannes, Monaco and St Tropez, to foster the growing interest in restoring classic yachts. General Director of the Monaco Yacht Club Bernard D'Alessandri said the passion of yachting in the region has a long history. "Yachting mainly started in this part of the world, in Cannes at the beginning of the century, in Nice, in Monaco and St Tropez just the war. Here the level is high on passion and each owner has a wonderful boat."
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