Meet the Boatshed yacht broker who sailed the 2023 Fastnet

Nic Parton runs the Boatshed Hamble and Southampton offices. He has been working with Boatshed since 2019.Having a lifelong passion for anything boaty he has found himself lucky to have worked in the marine industry for 25 years.

More recently Nic ticked one off from his bucket list when he was competing in the 50th anniversary of the Fastnet (2023). Wanting to do the race onboard a fast yacht, he decided to crew on Green Dragon, the Volvo70 that came fifth in the 2008-09 Volvo Ocean Race.

In mid-July Nic started his adventure by meeting the rest of the crew onboard Green Dragon in Vigo, Spain for a 640-mile qualifying passage to Portsmouth.

On Saturday 22nd July at 13:00the boat joined a record 430 other competitors for the start of the race outside Cowes, Isle of Wight. Due to severe weather conditions in the first 24hours, although many crews showed excellent seamanship choosing to seek shelter until conditions abated, other competitors decided to retire. 24 hours into the race more than 100 yachts had retired and in the final tally 166 retired from this year’s race.

Nic commented “Yes, I was very disappointed, but unfortunately, we had to retire. We got down to Weymouth, but the sea state was horrendous and two of our crew members got thrown across the cabin, we blew out the head sail and were then still doing 18 knots with a fully reefed main and storm jib and slamming hard across every wave. We then had a fire when a lithium battery got wet. It was the right decision to retire. Roll on 2025!"

When asked about what he likes about running a Boatshed office, Nic said he loves the flexibility and the support gained from being part of one of the largest yacht brokerages in the world.

Every day is a school day learning about all types of boats we are asked to market. He has even bought a RIB from a Boatshed customer and so experienced the process from his very own personal point of view and knows how to keep a sale smooth for his clients.

Nic has successfully sold 35boats over the last few years at a value of nearly £1 million.

Great to have you on the team Nic!

If you are interested, here's a few facts about the Volvo70 Green Dragon

Builder: McConaghy Boats
Hull Designer: Reichel Puch
Model: Volvo 70
Year Built: 2007

LOA: 21.5m / 70.5ft
Beam: 5.70m / 18.70ft
Draft: 4.50m / 14.76ft
Displacement: 14500kg /31967lbs

Hull: Carbon composite
Superstructure: Carbon composite
Deck: Carbon composite
Keel: canting keel with hydraulicrams
Dagger boards: 2 (+ 2spares)

Engine: 1 Volvo D2 (75hp) Diesel
Top speed: +30 knots
Sail area: up to 770m2consistingof a 3Di main and J2

In 2016 the underwater ship was completely stripped down to the original hull filler and was built up with a new system of Veneziani’s Speedy Carbonium. In 2018 she was repainted and had new hydro turf in the cockpit and a new mast. In 2019 she had a new vinyl wrap.