West of Scotland classic cruising
On board with The Royal Scottish Shipping Line
Scotland has a history of great entrepreneurs, it is the foundation that the country has been built on Keith Punler and Denice Purdie fit this description perfectly. Husband and wife, they are both winners of Scotland’s Entrepreneur of the Year, each separately for their own business achievements. Now they work together in multiple businesses covering a variety of sectors, the common link being that the aim of the business is to be the best at what it does.
Both highly driven individuals, Denice, when asked her vocation for the description to be included on their Wedding Certificate didn’t hesitate, “Entrepreneur”, the registrar looked bemused as she realised that this would be a brand new category in Scotland’s wedding certificates.
Both are firm believers that a successful business is driven by passion, and they now head several businesses. Sharing a love for history and architecture, the couple are developing an award winning extension to Scotland’s first Garden City at Rosyth where the first brick was laid one hundred years ago. It is perhaps no coincidence that Keith was first raised in the town, for the couple live by the mantra of “putting something back”. The same can be said of their latest venture, which draws on their shared interest in sailing. Keen to spend time afloat, but driven by their passion for value for money, they scoured Europe looking for the best acquisition for their new boat. Then after months of looking, they found a motor yacht languishing in a commercial dock in Athens, Greece that fulfilled all their requirements, except that, at one hundred and thirty feet long, she was much bigger than they had originally intended. Nevertheless they were both drawn to her. Big enough to have many guests aboard in five star comfort, yet small enough to fit their niche and be suitable for family vacations, they realised that for the yacht to flourish, she had to be used regularly, and they were realistic enough to realise that with their many business interests, the time they could spend aboard would be limited. Research on the potential market place of bringing her back to Scotland to operate commercially confirmed that there was a gap in the market for five star luxury cruising aboard a boutique charter yacht. The Royal Scottish Shipping Line was born, a deal was struck to buy the vessel and an ambitious refurbishment programme commenced in Athens. Then the Greek economy imploded, and contractors down tools until they were paid upfront. Works ground to a halt. On one of their many frustrating visits to the shipyard, their eye was drawn to another motor yacht, she was called Madiz, she was two hundred feet long and the oldest steel yacht in the world. She was benefitting from a refit after an unfortunate sinking after a collision. A little research revealed that she was originally called Triton, and had been designed and built in Scotland, at Troon, and that she had been commissioned and owned by the Coats family of Paisley threadmaking fame. Having just acquired the Coats family estate of Castle Toward in Argyll, where Triton had regularly graced the harbour, Keith and