Capt. Tork Buckley, Renowned Yachting Journalist and Consultant

Capt. Tork Buckley, a longstanding yachting journalist with a rock ‘n’ roll heart, has died, following a battle with cancer.

Buckley had two decades of experience in the megayacht business. Born in Glasgow, Scotland in 1956, he grew up sailing and loved the sport. But he also loved music, and he first pursued a career in that industry. Buckley played drums, transitioning into set design for other rock bands and later corporate presentations. But, the sea still remained a deep passion, and Buckley went to work aboard a variety of yachts. He earned his captain’s license in 1989 and ran a variety of megayachts, both power and sail. Among the yachts he’s been associated with are Mosaique, built by Proteksan Turquoise. Buckley served as the build and refit representative on behalf of the owner.

Buckley was perhaps best known for his time on the masthead of The Yacht Report (now The Superyacht Report), where he served as a technical editor, then editor from 2005 to 2010. Besides writing regularly and overseeing the editorial process, Buckley served on the panels of many seminars hosted by the magazine.

Buckley relocated from the South of France to Thailand a few years ago to grow a business which he founded in 2009, Big Blue Consulting. Via Big Blue Consulting, Buckley advised shipyards and others on ways to increase quality in new construction and overall yard standards, plus incorporate more environmentally friendly methods of operation. Big Blue Consulting specialized in the Asian and Australasian markets, with Green Voyager at Kingship being one such project. Buckley became involved during the research and development stage, consulting on the low-environmental-impact systems the megayacht incorporates. Buckley had also been advising Kingship on a marketing strategy for the project.

All the while, Buckley remained a contributing editor and then the Asia editor for The Superyacht Report through this year. He became a contributing writer for us at Megayacht News as well, though only able to contribute one article before his untimely death. Buckley was also simultaneously active with the Professional Yachting Association (formerly Professional Yachtsman’s Association), having served as vice president and remaining a council member. He further played a key role with the MCA in regards to LY2 and MLC 2006.

Those who knew Tork—and I count myself blessed to be among them—will fondly recall someone who can only be described as a character. (Witness the ensemble he’s wearing in the photo at top, taken at a party in 2007, and his costume in the photo above, taken in 2008 during the annual party hosted by Lürssen at the Fort Lauderdale show.) Larger than life, with a generous smile and an infectious laugh, he loved what he did, and he loved imparting knowledge.

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