miss conduct yacht helicopter

American superyacht used by Donald Trump docks at Bristol harbour

Its secret owners say they want to give "a little glamour" back to the city

• 13:29, 13 DEC 2021

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A private superyacht that was once a floating restaurant where celebrities dined has docked in Bristol.

The 40 metre-long ‘Miss Conduct’ vessel was originally built in Florida and is now owned by two unnamed Bristol businessmen, who converted it from a dinner cruise ship into their home and charity headquarters.

The yacht arrived at Wapping Wharf over the weekend after being transported from Avonmouth.

READ MORE: Bristol restaurants and bars gearing up for more Covid restrictions

Built in 1987, it was based in New York for 20 years and became a popular dinner cruise venue, with billionaire George Soros and Donald Trump said to be among regular guests.

The yacht was once hired by a film company for the 1989 hit film Arthur II starring Dudley Moore and Liza Minnelli.

In 2000 it ranked as the 195th largest private yacht in the world, having slipped down the list as larger vessels were built.

Capable of transporting 175 passengers and crew, Miss Conduct has six engines and costs £53,000 to fill up with fuel. It also has a helicopter pad for guests who arrive by air.

After an eight-month refit, the owners and crew sailed Miss Conduct across the Atlantic Ocean to Europe.

The voyage took 28 days at sea but the whole journey took much longer as she stopped off at Bermuda, the Azores and Barry Island.

She then underwent another very long refit and paint job in Sharpness where she was converted from an energy guzzling 1990s vessel to one of the most eco-friendly superyachts in Europe, according to a spokesperson for the owners.

The bilge pump outs go through special pollution filters to prevent any water contamination.

The Miss Conduct also runs on standard red diesel (not polluting heavy oil) and can even run on biodiesel/green diesel made from domestic vegetable oils, animal fats and recycled restaurant grease, removing overall emissions by up to 75 per cent.

Around 25 per cent of the yacht (the back end) has been partitioned off to make a large two-level meeting space and venue for the owners’ philanthropic projects, particularly fundraising, plus accommodation for their extended families and wide circle of business friends who they want to introduce to the city.

The owners, who want to keep their identities secret, said in a statement: “Bristol has been good for us and our businesses, we have been lucky enough to have had great success in Bristol and we want to give something back to the city in the form of what we are good at - a little glamour, fun, connecting people and lots of charity work for good causes.”

'We're not posh people'

Speaking of the yacht's name, they added: " In this particular harbour full of historic vessels our boat is by comparison quite a young girl, so she couldn't named Lady this or Lady that - she had to be a 'Miss" to show some respect to the other boats.

"We didn't want a posh name, we've done well but we're not posh people.

"Miss Conduct stuck because after our somewhat whirlwind personal life which presented some rather unusual setbacks, opportunities and surprises, the cheeky Miss Conduct just seemed to fit. Our motto is 'if you can't set a good example to others then you must serve as a terrible reminder!'"

They were described by their spokesperson as " two ordinary (possibly eccentric) people from ordinary backgrounds, who having lived and operated a number of successful businesses in Bristol since 1990, decided that after travelling the world that Bristol was the best city on the planet".

"The owners are proud to present her as, albeit a little glitzy, another new Bristol landmark in this great city they call home," they added.

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Rogue landlord yacht owner turns to Airbnb after fleecing tenants’ of their deposits

Thomas Flight, whose Miss Conduct yacht sits in Bristol Harbour, has been convicted of a series of offences against his previous tenants but his properties are now on the short-term let market.

When Sarah* wanted to know if her rental deposit was protected and why her energy costs were so high, she was shut down with accusations she was paranoid. The property agent managing her flat in St Paul’s started sending her abusive and intimidating emails. 

“May I ask if you’re taking any medication or drugs that may have [a] side effect of paranoia,” read one email. “[She] is a very unstable and dangerous little girl or she has mental health issues,” read another sent to Sarah’s boyfriend, who she shared the flat with.

“The whole thing was just so horrible and confusing,” says Sarah, who rented one of seven flats in her landlord’s Portland Square property between 2016 and 2017. “In the end I did actually end up being paranoid… they were gaslighting us every step of the way.”

In the end I did actually end up being paranoid… they were gaslighting us every step of the way Former tenant

Her landlord’s name was Thomas Flight. She didn’t know his name at the time, because he was hiding behind aliases and fake addresses, deploying ‘agents’ who would intimidate his tenants into paying maintenance fees, before withholding their deposits.

The 56-year-old businessman, who owns and lives on the Miss Conduct pleasure yacht docked in Bristol Harbour, was convicted in January of four consumer protection offences against his tenants between 2019 and 2020.

Flight was ordered to pay £37,000 in fees and costs, but was not banned from letting properties in future. Seven of his nine flats in Portland Square are now on the short-term lets market, rented out on Airbnb. 

A Cable investigation has found that his reckless and misleading practices may have been deployed against more than those tenants whose cases were heard in court. Some of them, including Sarah, are still out of pocket.

We also found that some guests who book Flight’s Airbnb properties have experienced issues having security deposits returned to them.

‘Endless amount of fines’

Olly says he was one of the “lucky ones”.

He and a group of friends rented Flight’s penthouse apartment in Portland Square between 2016 and 2017. They encountered “aggressive” agents who sent “bizarre” and “sometimes threatening” emails. 

Under their tenancy agreement, Olly and his housemates were liable to pay as much as £25 for a single phone call to the property maintenance line, and £15 to send one email. By the time they moved out they had been charged £5,370 worth of damages and fines, which they refused to pay.

“We had an issue with the gas hob – the knob broke and the gas was permanently on – and I thought fuck I need an actual number to deal with this quickly,” he says. “This is what led on to the endless amount of fines for using that number.”

He says the £25 fine for the phone call was doubled every day it wasn’t paid.

After Olly enquired about the return of their deposit, the agent demanded he provide an onward address to post a cheque, threatening to contact their employers if they didn’t do so. 

Olly’s housemate informed the agent they did not have an onward address as they were yet to secure a new tenancy. The agent accused them of lying and taunted them: “Let the games begin… You are out of the flat now and play by my rules and not yours.”

Olly says that unlike other tenants, their deposit was eventually returned, but the ordeal “hugely affected” his mental health at the time.

The agents who handled Olly’s tenancy were from a company named Landlord Support Alliance Bristol (LSA). Its website no longer exists online, and the Cable were unable to trace an official representative of the firm. 

Olly and his housemates were unable to connect the LSA, who said they acted as an intermediary between tenant and landlord, to Flight. Like Flight’s other tenants, they were unaware that he was their landlord.

The LSA’s controversial tenancy agreements were the subject of a BBC investigation in 2019. In a statement at the time, LSA insisted the charges for phone calls and emails were “legal, upfront and clear”. 

But most of these charges were soon made unlawful by the Tenants Fee Act (2019). The Act banned landlords and letting agents from charging unreasonable fees for things like requesting references, administration or credit checks.

The offences Flight was convicted of in January, however, did not relate to fees. He was prosecuted for misleading and reckless commercial practices that are unlawful under Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations (2008), which protect consumers against misleading trading practices and aggressive sales tactics. 

Luxury Airbnbs

One of Flight’s seven luxury Airbnb apartments in Portland Square is a penthouse suite which can set guests back up to nearly £600 per night. 

There have been calls for regulation of the short-term and holiday lets market in Bristol. Past reporting by the Cable shows that landlords in the city are cashing in on Airbnb lets at inflated prices, while renters have limited access to affordable homes.

An analysis of the reviews left on Airbnb for Flight’s properties in Portland Square showed that while his company is raking it in from holiday lets, some guests are also being subjected to fees and charges that appear unreasonable. 

“The host also made a claim for money from us for things that were already damaged… and claiming £70 just to move some mirrors that we’d needed to move into the bedrooms as they didn’t have adequate mirrors in those rooms,” one review from August last year reads.

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And it’s not just Flight’s Portland Square apartments that are on the short-term lets market.

In May 2021, Louisa booked an Airbnb lodge in Frome for herself and a group of friends. They were unable to go on the trip – coronavirus lockdown restrictions tightened – so she requested to change the date of their booking but the agent refused.

The agent also denied her the return of her £700 deposit. When she tried to escalate her claim, Louisa says the owners of the lodge denied knowledge of her booking and that the email she received from them was “unprofessional, dishonest and aggressive”.

In a Tripadvisor review, she writes: “I would be very suspicious booking this place when they hide behind different names, companies and avoid reviews through other social media.”

Louisa says the company she dealt with when trying to reclaim her deposit was Maxin Limited, which is owned and managed by Flight, and is the same business in which some of his longer-term tenants paid their deposits into.

‘It was so exhausting, I just wanted it to be over’

The address for the lodge in Frome was the same given to Sarah when she enquired about her landlord’s contact details.

Her property agent had demanded she stop making complaints about her flat because her £1,200 deposit had already been “gobbled up” by administration fees for her maintenance enquiries.

After ending her tenancy, she contacted the deposit protection service (DPS) and was told that as her landlord refused to use its services she would need to pursue her deposit in court.

Sarah said she sent a court order to an address given to her, but never got a reply and she gave up.

“Thinking back, by the end of it I was so exhausted and just wanted it to be over,” says Sarah, who, five years later, still hasn’t had her deposit back.

Councils lack the power to take action

In a statement following his court case, Bristol City Council said that Flight had not been banned from letting properties as the offences he pleaded guilty to were not Banning Order offences under the Housing and Planning Act 2016. 

Tom Renhard, the local authority’s cabinet member for housing, said: “Mr Flight took advantage of tenants and that is simply not acceptable. We will continue to do all we can to pursue unscrupulous landlords where evidence of criminal exploitation is found.”

In January, Bristol councillors committed to introducing a public database of enforcement notices given to landlords who break rules, if the government doesn’t bring in a national landlord register

Polly Neate, chief executive of Shelter, tells the Cable: “The massive demand for rentals coupled with the lack of proper regulation means private renting can seem like the Wild West.”

She adds: “Sadly, as we see through our services, it’s not uncommon for would-be renters to be asked to cough up unreasonable fees, or for rogue landlords to try and unfairly pocket people’s deposits.”

Flight refused several requests for comment on the issues raised in this article.

*Names changed to protect identity.

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Owner of 'Miss Conduct' yacht guilty of being 'rogue landlord'

Thomas Flight ripped off tenants while he lives on board the yacht with the helicopter on the roof

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American superyacht with own helicopter docks in Bristol

• West Country
• Donald Trump
• Monday 13 December 2021 at 9:40am

A multi-million pound superyacht has arrived in Bristol after being bought by two mystery businessmen.

The 40 metre vessel docked near Wapping Wharf on December 12 after being transported from Avonmouth.

It has been bought by two unnamed businessmen who are based in Bristol.

They said they plan to make the boat their charity headquarters and support local causes.

"Bristol has been good for us and our businesses,” they said in a statement.

“We have been lucky enough to have had great success in Bristol and we want to give something back to the city in the form of what we are good at - a little glamour, fun, connecting people and lots of charity work for good causes.”

Dozens of people watched on as the Harbour Master helped coordinate the ship’s arrival.

It was originally built in Florida in 1987 and later based in New York, where it served as the city’s premier dinner cruise yacht.

Noted guests on board from the time include former US President Donald Trump and billionaire George Soros.

The yacht can sleep up to sixteen people and costs £53,000 to fill up with fuel.

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Luxury Yacht Miss Conduct

Luxury yacht miss conduct complete with replica helicopter on her new mooring alongside brunel's buttery   it’s been bought by two mystery businessmen based in the city.   built in 1987, it was based in new york for 20 years and became a popular dinner cruise venue, with billionaire george soros and donald trump said to be among regular guests.   the yacht was once hired by a film company for the 1989 hit film arthur ii starring dudley moore and liza minnelli.   in 2000 it ranked as the 195th largest private yacht in the world, having slipped down the list as larger vessels were built.   capable of transporting 175 passengers and crew, miss conduct has six engines and costs £53,000 to fill up with fuel. it also has a helicopter pad for guests who arrive by air.   after an eight-month refit, the owners and crew sailed miss conduct across the atlantic ocean to europe.   the voyage took 28 days at sea but the whole journey took much longer as she stopped off at bermuda, the azores and barry island.   she then underwent another very long refit and paint job in sharpness where she was converted from an energy guzzling 1990s vessel to one of the most eco-friendly superyachts in europe, according to a spokesperson for the owners.   the bilge pump outs go through special pollution filters to prevent any water contamination.   the miss conduct also runs on standard red diesel (not polluting heavy oil) and can even run on biodiesel/green diesel made from domestic vegetable oils, animal fats and recycled restaurant grease, removing overall emissions by up to 75 per cent.   around 25 per cent of the yacht (the back end) has been partitioned off to make a large two-level meeting space and venue for the owners’ philanthropic projects, particularly fundraising, plus accommodation for their extended families and wide circle of business friends who they want to introduce to the city.   taken with a nikon d90.

Postcards from Gulag

Photographs from the remnants of the gulag archipelago, watchtower, perm-36, perm krai.

Perm-36 is allegedly the only Gulag camp that has been turned into a museum. While this is not strictly true (there are other former camps that have been partly preserved) and Perm-36 is heavily reconstructed, the museum has conserved an important part of the Soviet camp system, especially from its latter era after the death of Stalin. Perm-36 camp operated from the 1940s until the last days of the Soviet Union, and it was meant mainly for the political prisoners and dissidents. Among the dense forests of Russia near the Ural mountains stands a solitary watchtower of the former camp. Behind it, inside the zona , one finds relics of the barracks, but somehow the tower itself, a symbol as poignant as barbed wire, communicates the utter isolation of Gulag victims.

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Miss Conduct

January 2022

New Years Eve Party

Bristol Sea Cadets Fundraiser 

February 2022

BC Club Children's Charity

Weekend Stay Over

Bingham Centre

for People with Special Needs

Afternoon Tea

An unusual bond formed between Miss Conduct and Bingham Day Services (special needs care centre for people with learning difficulties). They regularly take their clients for a little walk along the harbourside and they wave at the owners and crew as they walk by. They recently sent us a charming thank you letter and drew some colourful pictures of the yacht and helicopter. This of course gave excuse for a special trip out to post them into the yacht's quayside letterbox. In return and to their surprise we arranged a special tour onboard culminating in some tea and cake. Care user Matt made a special bond with our Marta (Yacht's Steward). Likewise, Jess the rather apparent "life and soul" of the group, seemed delighted when the owners presented her with a flowery Captains hat and also took a particular shining to the actual Captain himself. It was obvious that the Bingham carers work very hard and are always looking for new experiences and stimulus for their users so it was lovely to see a smile on their faces too. We are organising another visit with more of their residents and care users in March and hope to slot this in as a regular event as everyone got something out of it.

SPB Suicide Prevention Bristol

Afternoon Tea Awareness Reception

SPB (Bristol Suicide Prevention)

5th March Soiree Funraiser Event

“HUHU” - HELP US HELP UKRAINE - EVACUATION DRIVERS

Miss Conduct donated £2000 towards to the courageous mission

During April a close friend from Bristol volunteered to go to Ukraine to help in the evacuation of Refugees.She was let down by the organisation that got here there and so she remained and self funded her missionto rescue, shelter and feed many refudees by going into Ukraine with a mini bus and taking them to a safe haven in Poland. Miss conduct donated £2000 towards her courageous mission.

Queen's Jubilee Party 

3rd June -  Fundraiser for Suicide Prevention UK

Amount Raised £2414.85

Harbour Festival Fundraiser 

16th July -  Fundraiser for Suicide Prevention UK

Amount Raised £2100.00

September 2022

Queen Elizabeth II Fundraiser

Afternoon Tea + Evening Reception

18th September -  Fundraiser for Leading Lights

Amount Raised £1011.00

Evening Reception