Author(s): John Julian

NZ biography

Lone Ranger worked as a salvage tug (then named Simson) and towed some of the largest oil installations ever built during twenty of the most challenging years in the history of the business. During the mid-1990s she embarked on a second career and has become the world's pre-eminent exploration yacht. As befits her name she goes to the cold extremes of latitude where few other ships are found, but is also seen in the warm seas of the Caribbean and Mediterranean.Here, her proud and purposeful lines stand out among pleasure craft that have never battled through a storm to take a distressed ship in tow or stood by bulk carrier threatened with destruction on a lee shore. She begins her fourth decade as supremely seaworthy as ever with more long voyages in prospect, thanks to the vision and commitment of her owner and crew.