Sailor spotlight: Conversations with Mallorca's maritime mavericks

Today I’m speaking with Russell Brown and Mark Timmins, both professional sailors and riggers originally from the UK who’ve recently launched their own company, RM Rigging. Russ (RB) has been based in Mallorca for over 18 years, and Mark (MT), 14.

What attracted you to the island? What do you like about living here?

MT: I moved here predominantly because of the yachting industry. I was previously based in Falmouth Cornwall and found myself commuting here so frequently the move made sense. RB: Two big reasons: 1: This is the sailing capital of the mediterranean so it’s a perfect base. It’s centrally located in Europe so easy for boats to get here and for us to fly to boats around the Med. 2: I’m a keen sailor, windsurfer, wing foiler etc and love watersports. Mallorca is a great all year round venue for that.

What’s the hardest thing about living in Mallorca?

RB: At first it was the language, but immersing yourself and working with Spanish speakers you soon pick it up. MT: Plus, the heat in summer is tough as we work outside.

What were your backgrounds before you moved ashore?

MT: 10 years of crewing superyachts around the world after growing up around smaller yachts in the Med. RB: My parents are keen sailors so I sailed my first dinghy around aged four. I have continued sailing since then, both for fun and professionally. I left school after A levels and took a gap year (I was accepted in Southampton University to study Naval Architecture), but kept deferring as I was having the time of my life travelling the world by sail. Eventually I realised that going back to the UK for 3 years to study would not be something I could do .. at that point I had met my now wife and we’d got a captain and chef job on a 50ft SY chartering in the Caribbean. We worked 5 very busy years together on yachts up to 23m with just the two of us. We made it through that and married here on Mallorca then started a family and are very very happy with our lives here.

What does your business do?

RB: RMRigging offer a bespoke rigging and sailing service to yachts in Mallorca and around the Mediterranean. Rigging is basically any sailing gear on deck or above, so mast, boom, winches, ropes and all the hardware that goes with it. Both of us have raced for many years and between us have 30 years of rigging experience, which means we can usually see the problem with the mast from the dock and can solve it fairly quickly.

What’s your USP (unique selling point), what makes you better than your competitors?

MT: We both have about 25 years of superyacht experience each, 10 crewing and 15 in the rigging industry, many years of racing across the Med and Caribbean circuits. RB: Rigging companies and staff come and go, therefore the quality you get can vary day to day depending who you get. Being just the two of us we can give a guaranteed service and a way more personal service with an old school Northern European work ethic. We are happy to advise on all aspects of the sailing system and assist with crew training so equipment is used correctly. MT: Our business is geared around high experience and expertise actually doing the work, making it time and cost efficient. All other companies have a very small number of knowledgeable personnel and generally they don’t do the actual work, making QC and onsite efficiency low, plus boats are paying top notch prices for inexperienced personnel.

Any achievements or special things stick out?

RB: Both of us are very well known and trusted in the rigging industry. We carry out works and have great relationships with all of the main mast manufacturers, rigging manufacturers and hardware suppliers. We are often contracted to work for the factories helping with complex issues and supporting their own riggers. We both sail on race boats competing at regattas worldwide in Maxi class and Superyacht. I have been fortunate enough to race in some world class teams, winning the Maxi world championships in Porto Cervo twice. Being part of a race team is an incredible experience, the more you put in the more you get out, and when everyone is on that same page, well that’s when the results come.

What’s the best thing about your job?

RB: I like meeting new people and being able to solve problems. I love sailing lots of different boats and working to improve their performance be it a 60m Perini Navi, a 100 ft Maxi race boat, or an Oyster 45 foot family cruiser. MT: Apart from the opportunity to sail on some of the world´s most amazing yachts and the travel to fantastic places and work with great people… I think I get the biggest buzz from the day we put the rig back in a yacht at the end of a refit and turn it into a sailing boat again. It seems to be one of the biggest milestones in a crew and owner´s sailing yacht refit and it´s fun to help deliver that.

What’s the most challenging part of your job?

MT: Solving new problems that you haven´t seen before. 25 years of experience gives you a lot to work with, but you never know it all and every day can present a new challenge. RB: Scheduling, 100%. Owners are often indecisive and delay work start dates, compress the project timeline and plead not to miss the deadlines. The problem is so many boats leave it too late to book works so it’s always a squeeze in the busy autumn and spring periods. Also, the weather, Mallorca can have some awesome storms in autumn which is one of our busiest times. Trying to lift a 50m mast out of a boat which is worth 35 million euros when the wind starts to blow is a very scary and dangerous manoeuvre best avoided.

What would you like to do next?

MT: Consolidate on a great start and map out how the next year is going to look. RB: I agree, I’d like to continue growing the business as we are and review in a year. Most important is to maintain the ethos of completing the work to the highest standard without huge cost.

If you could have any yacht in the world for a day, which one would you pick? Where? Why?

RB: This is a really tough question! I have a short list of about 10 boats, trying to get it down to one is very tricky. For sure it would be a very fast racing boat, probably foiling so ¨flying over¨, instead of ¨sailing through¨ the water. The Americas cup will be in Barcelona this Autumn and those AC 75 flying machines are expected to see 50-60kn so that would be fun, but the foiling IMOCA 60´s would probably be my choice, they are incredible machines, and the fact that they are sailed (flying) around the planet solo makes them even more amazing.

And who would you take onboard?

RB: It would have to be one of the skippers probably one of the French as they are the only people who know how to sail those machines and without them it would be a complete shocker… (Would love to take the family with me but this would probably scare the **** out of them and they would never set foot on a boat again… )

And you Mark?

MT: Um, probably not as exciting an answer, but I think it would be a family-based sailing day somewhere tropical? Russ is a nerd isn’t he? MT: absolutely.

What do you like to do when you’re not working?

MT: Walking with my wife and dogs, exploring Mallorca, playing golf with family and friends. Hanging out at home and socialising with friends. RB: Family time first, we have a very little Llaut which is a great family weekend boat, we motor out and anchor up, rig the windsurf or wingfoil kit, play around for the day and then glass of wine at sunset and dinner onboard. We take turns cooking/chores so the kids get a good experience of boat life. They are old enough to drive the outboard dinghy now, this comes in handy when we are on anchor; they can take the dinghy to town for daily provisions or run rescue service when we are wingfoiling. Me time: OK Dinghy racing, this is a 4m open boat first designed in 1956 but has had many versions and attracts the world’s best dinghy sailors. (I decided to build one myself). The Europeans Championships are coming to Palma in October and we expect over 100 boats from around 12 nations, so I have to get in training!

What advice would you give to anyone looking to establish a yacht related business in Mallorca?

RB: Make sure you are good at what you do, mistakes in this industry are expensive. Do plenty of research, there is a lot of paperwork, permissions to enter yards and work in the Ports. After you get through all this it’s great fun starting out on your own, I should have made the leap years ago. MT: Find a niche, the market is saturated with good businesses, so find something you can deliver better than the rest.

Where do you see yourself in 5 years? Still in Mallorca? Still running your business?

MT: Absolutely. RB: Still based here, doing the same thing but with grey hair.