Mr Asia drugs yacht to sail for charity?

Press, 7 May 1983, Page 1

Mr Asia drugs yacht to sail for charity?

Brigadoon, the yacht used by the notorious Mr Asia gang to smuggle drugs, may soon raise money for charity from a round-the-world voyage. This extraordinary change of image is the idea of the present owner of the 16m steel-hulled yacht, Mr Jeremy Hall, a farmer, of Tai Tapu. Mr Hall, who served 18 years with the Navy and rose to the rank of lieuten-ant-commander, plans, to leave soon on the trip of a lifetime — a three-year voyage round the world. The Red Cross may benefit from his voyage of 42,000 nautical miles. Mr Hall was inspired by Mark Schrader, a lone yachtsman from Seattle whose voyage is raising money for handicapped people. After speaking with Mr Schrader before he sailed from Lyttelton, Mr Hall decided to float the idea of a sponsored voyage with the Red Cross. “It would be nice to think that I had achieved something a little more than self-satisfaction,” he said. His idea was possibly to have individuals and businesses sponsor the voyage. However, it was up to the

Red Cross to organise this, he said. Mr John Mahoney, the secretary-manager of the North Canterbury Red Cross Centre, said Mr Hall’s offer was being investigated. He was “very enthusiastic” and a member of the national executive would look at the offer next week. Mr Hall has also offered to send to New Zealand monthly bulletins on the progress of his voyage, which could be distributed to schools. Mr Hall plans to sail

from Lyttelton on May 24. He will have a crew of three to four, comprising family and friends, throughout the voyage. His wife, Mrs Jo Hall, will sail most of the voyage. A son, Peter, aged 23, will sail to Australia on the first part of the voyage, and a daughter at Nelson hopes to join them at some stage. The route will take the yacht to Australia and then on to Africa. From there it will sail to Brazil, up to the Mediterranean, and later cruise round the British Isles and Scandinavia. The long-term plan is to return through the West Indies and Panama, which Mr Hall hopes they will reach in 1986. Mr Hall said he was not an experienced yachtsman, even though he “loved the sea,” until he bought the Brigadoon from a private owner three years ago. Since then he had sailed the New Zealand coast and cruised the Pacific. “I like her, she handles well,” he said of the sleek, green-painted vessel. In spite of the yacht’s criminal past, Mr Hall does not want to change her name.

“I am superstitious about names,” he said. It came from a reference in a poem by Robert Burns. Mr Hall, who is 54, will, return to his farm after thevoyage. In the meantime, a manager has been appointed. Mr Hall was equerry to the Queen when she visited New Zealand in 1953. She knew of the voyage, he said. He hopes to see the Queen if she invites him to visit. , The Brigadoon is now berthed at Lyttelton where’ her crew is making her' ship-shape for the voyage. She was built in 1971 to a; Dutch design. Her top speed is about nine knots.