Sir Ben Ainslie selling his honeymoon yacht

The Hoek Truly Classic 65 is being listed at £950,000.

The Hoek Truly Classic 65 is being listed at £950,000.

Champion yachtsman Sir Ben Ainslie has put the boat up for sale that he and his wife, Georgie Thompson, had to be rescued from whilst on their honeymoon.

Yacht broker Ancasta is handling the sale of the 66ft wooden yacht Rita, which is currently moored at the Lymington Yacht Haven.

Rita is a three-cabin sloop with eight berths designed by Hoek, and has a unique provenance.

After Ainslie and Thompson bought the yacht, they took it on a honeymoon sail to the Caribbean. The pair was near Sir Richard Branson’s privately owned Necker Island in January 2015 when the boat developed a problem with the furling system on its main sail, and they had to call for help.

Branson recounted the event on his blog, saying, “Seeing as Ben is one of the greatest sailors of all time, what we didn’t expect was his boat getting into trouble.”

The sail was so twisted that it became impossible to manoeuvre, and Ainslie needed the help of Branson’s staff to prevent it from hitting a nearby reef.

Branson and his staff helped with the rescue, and Branson hosted the couple on Necker Island for a few days.

Georgie Thompson later Tweeted her thanks, saying: “Worse things have happened on honeymoon… Thank you @richardbranson for rescuing @ainslieben and I..! LOVED Necker.”

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