The History of Serengeti

Compiled by David Hendry Yacht Broker and Yacht Capt in Fort Lauderdale in September 05

Built at Bute Slipdock Ardmaleish, on the Isle of Bute, traditional home of the Marquis of Bute heir to the dukedom of Argyll, in Western Scotland, believed to be the last wooden vessel built there.Formerly the yard built many wooden fishing vessels and sailing ships She was commissioned by Ronald Bonar and Capt Richard Weinman.

Her designer, Alfred Mylne, a highly regarded Naval Architect of that era, was also at that time manager of the yard and thus was able to supervise her construction. Richard designed her interior layout incorporating many ideas born of his earlier chartering experience. She was launched in 1970 as Naraina a Hindu name associated with the Bonars Indian obstretician who had just delivered them of a daughter to whom they gave the same name. The name, quite by chance obeys the traditional rules for naming vessels dating from the early days of radio, Which is “6 or 7 letters, with as many A’s as possible.

Bonar was a wealthy industrialist from Dundee whose family company Bonar Long manufactured Electrical Transformers, he and his family had chartered Richards previous boat the Schooner Maktoub in the Caribbean and Mediterranean.
Richard , born in Belgium had been captain of several sailing yachts in the charter business before and had attended Naval Academy in Italy his parents moved the family to New York in 1941. He and his wife Barbara ran Naraina for 15 years as a charter vessel in the style started by the late Commander Vernon Nicholson who sailed from England with his family originally bound for Australia in the Schooner Mollyhawk. When they arrived in Antigua and found the overgrown but largely intact British Naval Dockyard they decided to stay and reclaim it from the jungle and started a charter business to support themselves, and turn the derelict Dockyard into the thriving spot it is today now known as Nelsons Dockyard, at English Harbour.

Richard and Barbara had a number of celebrity clients among them members of the Tate family of Tate and Lyle fame, Lloyd Bridges, and particularly Alan Alda of MASH fame. Naraina was painted Maroon originally and sported a gilded Lion figurehead and a huge Lion Rampant, the emblem of Scotland, was emblazoned on her masthead spinnaker. She really was the Queen of the charter fleet in her day.
In about 1984 Richard and Barbara now living on 14th St in Fort Lauderdale, sold her to a couple from California who cruised her extensively in the Pacific for several years.
The next owner was Ingo Farmont, a wealthy German residing in Miami, who spent some $400,000 refitting her including a new Cummins engine, she lay at Fishers Island with a full time Captain who looked after her very well, Richard sailed aboard her with this owner at least once to try to suggest a remedy for some working in the salon roof possibly related to the removal of one of the original bulkheads. Ingo Farmont went on to commission a line of trawlers designed by Kevin Kerwin called Peer Gynt, of which several were built in Turkey.

The next owner was David Glenn, who when this writer first met him brokering a MY owned by Glenn and his Canadian partner Devine, he was the Liberian Consul in Fort Lauderdale. He took Naraina, now named Serengeti, to Cuba, where he married a beautiful local girl Lucia, whose father was a purchasing agent for the Cuban Govt. They lived aboard at Hemingway marina until their two little boys became too big and bouncy, whereupon they bought the house originally belonging to Batistas jeweler, adjacent to the Batista estate, about 10 miles south of Havana near where Castro and his brother Raoul have their heavily guarded compounds.

David Glenns English father had a yacht charter business in Zanzibar, his mother is a Zanzibari.He was educated in England and has built himself quite a business in Cuba. His half brother also David Glenn, is one of the editors of Yachting World. Now that they lived ashore the decision was taken to charter her and Glenn hired an American Capt Greg Lafoon who was living in Cuba to run her as a charter yacht, which lasted for about a year, when he decided to offer her for sale and he contacted the writer who had been involved in one previous sale of her.

In 2000 with a contract for sale in hand from a restauranteur from Colorado, Antonio Laudisio, the writer flew down to Cuba, with the buyers party to sail her back to Fort Lauderdale for survey, haulout and completion of the sale.

As frequently happens in the yacht business the deal fell apart at this point, though at least we had the boat here where it was far easier to promote another sale which happened shortly thereafter to Ian Norris and his partner Louis De Mello. After a series of upgrades the vessel was sold on to Mr Geremy Thomas, the current owner.