Mark Coles - Boatshed Essex

Mark works with Chris and Jayne at Boatshed Essex. Having initially referred a few boats to Boatshed-Essex during 2020 he started working alongside Chris and Jayne 'officially' at the beginning of 2021.

He has spent the last 30 years working with clients as a broker in various industries, fundamentally the role is the same irrespective of the service, "you just need to know ALOT about boats and deliver the best customer service possible!"

Making the move to yacht broking has always been on his radar and so he was delighted to be working with Chris and Jayne in Essex and developing the business to make Boatshed the NUMBER ONE "go to" broker in the region.

Mark has many happy boating memories having been on and around boats all of his life, however a few years ago he decided to charter a yacht over in Greece, the experience was amazing!. It's now something he and his partner do every year and thoroughly look forward to their week away in the sun, away from the tourist hot spots, enjoying the leisurely pace of sailing on the Ionian. It's a fantastic way to holiday, make new friends and of course enjoy Greek food!

Having been around boats for longer than he cam remember, he also remembers it sometimes is not all "plain sailing" , Mark explains here: "Following a sunset trip along the Essex coast my partner and I arrived back at the marina to find our boat literally sinking, the bilge pump could not keep up with the flow of water coming on board. Panic ensued and with a desperate plea for help the marina staff hauled us out otherwise we would have most certainly lost her. The problem was a badly corroded bellhousing and just highlighted how dangerous salt water corrosion can be. The boat was fixed and after much research I discovered the magical qualities of 'galvanic isolators' and the benefit of having one.....we live and learn!"

When Mark is not working or sailing, he enjoys travelling and has been lucky enough to visit really interesting places including Vietnam and Cambodia, but closer to home he enjoys sea fishing, shooting and aerial photography.

Mark loves to be anywhere on a boat as long as the crew are fun, the weather is fine and there is no rush to be anywhere else !

Fun Facts about Mark....

  • A good old fashioned fish finger is his favourite sandwich filling
  • He likes to drink a cider if he is relaxing, a whisky if it's late and Amaretto if he's in the mood for something sweet!
  • His favourite colour could be anything and everything, as being colour blind he cannot put his finger on his actual favourite.
  • His first pet was a hamster called "Mr Chips", named because of his love of chips !

To arrive at a Desert Island on a beautiful Oyster yacht would be amazing and although Mark would rather stay onboard than step on to the island, a picnic on the beach could be fun!. Mark's choice of music would include Rolling Stones, Guns'n'Roses along with some classic Motown.

Finally we have all been restricted with our travel movements over the last year, however once we are able, Mark will be happy to simply enjoy the 'freedoms' we had always taken for granted, prior to lockdown.