Anne, her £500k yacht... and how she was rescued by a £20 Vauxhall Astra fan belt
PRINCESS Anne has told how her £500,000 yacht broke down off the West coast of Scotland – and was fixed with a £20 fan belt from a Vauxhall Astra.
Anne and her husband Vice Admiral Sir Tim Laurence were taking their cruiser Ballochbuie around the Inner Hebrides when the pumps failed, causing the engine to stop.
With only a light breeze behind them, the Royal couple managed to tack to the remote Isle of Eigg, home to just 100 people. One of them sourced a fan belt from a garage 80 miles away in Tobermory on the Isle of Mull.
From Tobermory it was taken by road and two ferries to Eigg, taking five hours.
Celia Bull, who lives on Eigg, said: ‘The Princess was quite amused the fan belt came off an Astra and was impressed by the resourcefulness of the local people finding a way of getting the pumps to work.
‘You cannot cool the engine without the pumps working. It doesn’t matter if it is a £500 boat or a £500,000 boat – you need a fan belt.’
Anne, who is president of the Royal Yachting Association, revealed her experience to Ms Bull at last month’s London Boat Show. Ms Bull said: ‘The fan belt got them back to where they were going.
‘Tacking as they did showed that they are skilful sailors.’ The fan belt came from Mackay’s Garage, the only garage in Tobermory. Owner John Mackay, 65, said: ‘We often get yachtsmen wanting fan belts for their engines. The Astra belt must match the pulley size on the boat’s engine.’
Anne and Sir Tim keep their 43ft twin-cabin yacht at Ardfern, a remote hamlet in Argyll. Bought in 2012, it is named after a forest on the Balmoral Estate.