The delivery of an old fishing boat...

Halcyon Yachts

Halcyon Yachts

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www.halcyonyachts.com
I have already posted this video on Scuttlebutt, and I had a pm suggesting that it might also be appreciated on here...

It is a video that was taken during the extremely challenging delivery of a 1948 MFV from Menorca to Brighton.

The boat had been in the Med for at least 10 years, not going further than short coastal trips around Menorca. With very basic equipment on board it was always going to be an interesting delivery; we just didn't know quite how interesting!

Please watch the video to see the full extent of the difficulties encountered along the way:


I hope you enjoy it...

Pete
 
Wow, what an amazing story and one for the grandchildren ;)

Good work Halcyon Yachts for getting her there and super video.

Thank you for posting as definitely appreciated ;)
 
Loved it, absolutely loved it! And the "post credits reprieve" was a masterstroke.

But if you don't mind a smidge of constructive criticism, your excellent short might have been even better if, at the very beginning, we'd have had a more complete visual introduction to the movie's hero, "Seafield" herself!
 
Congrats, that was quite an achievement.
Am I right in guessing that, among other things, the boat has no (or not working) autopilot?
Can't think of other reasons for staying attached at the wheel while falling asleep! :D
 
Geez..... All those miles (at what, 8 knots or so?), with only 2 souls onboard and no a/p.....
Not exactly my idea of pleasure boating. And that's without even considering all other troubles.
My previous statement re. being "quite an achievement" doesn't actually do justice to such trip! :)
 
MarieK said:
Great video

So what caused the fire? Also what was the reason for the first pit stop at Nazare?
Click to expand...

The fire was caused by the exhaust getting too hot... It had a modern, thin, dry stainless system which proved unsuitable. It was mounted too close to the deck beams; so the heat from the exhaust melted the original pitch in the deck.

The boat was a little bit leaky from the start. She had only been out in very calm conditions and infrequently for at least 10 years. It was to be expected that she would have some water ingress. The stop in Nazare was due to the fact that once pushing into bigger waves along the Portuguese coast, the rate of water coming in got quite a lot worse and became a serious issue. They were close to Nazare when the decision was made to inspect the hull and make repairs. They initially dried out on the harbour wall, hoping that a repair could be made between tides. Unfortunately it became apparent that she would need to be hauled out. They were in Nazare for 5 days, the locals there were excellent (despite a huge language barrier!), the shipwrights (Father and Son team from Peniche) grafted for three days and were extremely good value!

Pete
 
Very interesting, although I do wonder why anyone would want to pay to bring a boat like that back to the UK. There must be dozens of similar vessels for sale for not much money here already. And it does have a few similarities to the tale of JellyEllie (I think that's what she's called) who brought an old trawler back from Preston to Brighton and also had to call out the lifeboat for an exhaust fire.

Having said all that, your crew did well to make it back and still be smiling.
 
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