About Gaston Lees-Buckley
Gaston's career in yachting started during his early teen years, working as a crew member on some of the most iconic motor and sailing yachts, which were considered some of the best in the industry at the time including, the 74m Blohm & Voss Eco, the 57m and 43m Feadships Calixe and Kahalani, the 50m Benetti Lionheart, the 36m Abeking & Rasmussen Globana and the 28.4m Green Marine Stealth.
Gaston obtained his Yachtmaster Offshore license at the age of 18 and immediately setting up a summer business on the French Riviera, transporting numerous high-profile individuals and celebrities from yachts and hotels on his Monte-Carlo 300 offshore powerboat between Monaco and Saint-Tropez. Gaston mirrored this business model in the winter months on the island of Saint Barths, operating out of the Eden Roc Hotel.
At the age of 20, whilst schooling for an offshore license, Gaston was offered a place on the 93m Kusch Tattosh - which was at the time one of the largest motor yachts afloat - to immediately set sail around the world on a once-in-a-lifetime journey. He packed his bags and sailed over 30,000nm in just under two years. This involved extensive cruising in the Mediterranean, crossing the Atlantic (Caribbean seas and the east coast of United States) and Pacific oceans (Galapagos, Costa Rica, Cocos, US West Coast, Tonga, Australia and New Zealand). Also transiting through the Panama Canal, passaging up and down the Mississippi River to New Orleans, and attending the 2003 America's Cup in Auckland, as part of the One World Challenge.
With plans to begin a family, Gaston returned to Antibes and began as a trainee broker at Camper & Nicholsons, alongside his father in June 2003.
Gaston considers himself extremely fortunate to have joined the company when he did and to have learned the ropes alongside his father, who has been, and still is, involved with some truly notable and amazing industry professionals and clients and enabled Gaston to follow several superb new build projects at shipyards such as Feadship, Fincantieri, Benetti, Riva, Sanlorenzo and Perini Navi, with boats ranging from a custom 9m Riva yacht tender to a 140m by Fincantieri.
Gaston is most pleased to share experiences, his knowledge and spend quality time with people who also have this passion for yachting.
