Then, after 2 unsuccessful launches from St Tropez to cross the Mediterrannean to Corsica (first due to clogged cooling which gave me some fun in the hole juggling buckets of acid - second due to a burst oil line (since replaced with bulldozer high pressure lines) it was a great 16 knot cruise with no land in sight on the full horizon and a very steady boat ride.
One night spent in Calvi, and off with the wife and kids around the island, a full day's cruise at planing speed. Berthed along the port's breakway dock next to some fifty boats all lined up and then a scramble to get the boat ready for storage with departure the following day. So you can say that it was a very short visit, eagerly awaiting another time to go back and finally enjoy our project boat.
Then last September, for the first time in the history of Corsica, a Tornado entered a port. It tore a number of boats from the dock but only hit one boat directly: OURS
She lost her roof, got the landing plank twisted, split some wooden rails and destroyed the new (to us) 4 foot radar I had just only installed. It was news made worse when we made our insurance claim and the "friendly French insurance lady" told us we weren't covered for weather related damage! We vowed to soon find a proper insurance agency and I went with my son by plane to assess the damage and plan for the repairs.
Only a couple of weeks later, before we had a chance to get a new insurer, record storms hit Corsica, sinking many boats with a full night of 7 meter (20') waves. All the boats in the port were torn from their lines, and spent the night smashing together in conditions which made rescuing them tough for the few folks there. Quite a few sank, fortunately ours didn't although the port's captain warned us that those which sank might sue us due to ours possibly sinking theirs. Luckily that didn't happen either.
Honestly, we didn't have the heart to head out to see the damage, and waited until this summer when our trip was already scheduled to face the music. It wasn't so much due to the costs, which will be felt, but due to the turn of events in what had become our great family boating adventure, turned into something of a misadventure to say the least. Meanwhile, somebody hadn't failed to visit the boat, using a crow bar on the locks to make it a perfect picture.
So this is why you haven't seen me of late. I still love Hatts, but couldn't even bring myself to attend to the 34 footer in Vermont with the kids to not open any wounds. Now I'm back at the helm and ready to tackle the "New" project, determined to make it nicer than I ever would have had our luck not turned. It seems the healthiest way of conjuring fate to turn a bad situation around 180 degrees.
To our good fortune, some of the damage was useful. I wanted to disassemble the windscreen to refinish its aluminum, and the roof would have needed to come off anyways. So that Tornado was actually doing me a favor!
Also, we started venturing into Hatteras territory very conservatively, with a smaller unit in excellent mechanical condition. So it isn't as if we'd seen our life savings swept away and a mint cream puff yacht smashed to bits. Some stuff is now missing, such as one of the aft tender hoists and some railings and the side panels above deck as well as the plastic side windows. But much of the rest is still there. Some big holes need to be patched in the deck and aft angles where the boat spent hours pounding against concrete docks and other boats. But there's no damage below the waterline and the props are intact. Here's some
AFTER pictures.
Honey, we always wanted a convertible:
A better view without the roof
Seems like something is missing?
I hope you and your family find it in yourselves and your bank account to bring her back to Hatteras condition.
