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Sapphire Seas II

Previous project:

WMD: Weapon of Mass Disfunction!

Contact Sapphire Seas

The Plan..... And the Progress.

Depending on your connection speed you may need to hit Pause (below) to allow video to buffer.

In a little more detail.

Sapphire Seas II

History: Sapphire Seas originally a fishing boat, operating out of Hull in the early 90's, then became a safety boat for North Sea oil platforms, so it's fair to say she's a sturdy vessel.
    After a career change at the turn of the millennium she served the Leigh Motor Boat Club at Leigh on sea as a training aid, before undergoing an engine rebuild in Hull and cruising to her current location in the Eastern Mediterranean Sea.

The idea thus far....
 
To redesign the working boat Sapphire Seas into a comfortable, practical, cruising, live-aboard boat (build another cabin on the Aft deck, restyle cosmetically, and update the Navigation, electrical and hydraulic systems)

To then put her in the water and set off along the Northern coast of the Med.

As in...........

Cyprus (start) Turkey, Greece, Albania, Croatia, Slovenia, Italy, Sicily, Malta, Sardinia, Corsica, France, Spain, Balearic Isles, Gibraltar, Portugal. (well for starters:) 
Not to mention that Sapphire Seas is also small enough to cruise the inland waterways of Europe.

And to document here via video web log.

The progress to date......

located and viewed Sapphire Seas 2-Nov 2006 (video to follow when i can program this site)

Viewed again in April 2007.

Acquired Sapphire Seas 2-May 2007.

Completed RYA Day skippers Theory & Practical courses August 2007 (including ICC)

Attended Marine VHF operators course Sept 2007.

Estimated start of refit December 2007.

Intended launch date March/April 2008.

Whilst at the same time learning how to do this web site tinternet stuff! Dreamweaver/Adobe Premier/Flash etc!!!

But right now I'm going to make a cup of tea......

11th December: My birthday :)
 
December 12th: 2007: Arrived Larnaca-Cyprus to await arrival of 2 (1m x 1m x 1.2m) crates containing tools and home comforts etc that I sent on the 5th of December by cargo ship from Tilbury docks London, they should take 12 days by sea, plus 2 by lorry from the port of Limassol (expected date of delivery to Sapphire Seas 2- 19th Dec)

That should give me time to familiarize myself with local surroundings and pay outstanding marina fees owed by the previous owner "OUCH!" 
(note: this was deducted from purchase price of Sapphire Seas so it's more a case of "oooo")

Spent first 4 days in various drinkeries, it is after all the best way to meet people and take a crash course in local customs (drinking being a popular one!)

I will in the course of this blog refer to personalities by their [initials] and as a standard operating procedure for this site, I shall not be promoting businesses, companies or other entities unless I personally endorse them (or, in the case of other web sites, that they will not generate for you the reader any form of SPAM!)

Dec 12th: (addition) first port of call, Barcode to say hello to [M & S] who I met in April when viewing Sapphire Seas the second time (big deal this gotta be sure)

Dec 13th: Cleared out crap from the boat assessed (sober) my foreseeable living conditions.... very basic but at least there's a good shower/amenities block on the marina, also a yacht club with restaurant and bar, back to Barcode to re-acquaint myself with some of the regulars there [C, J & B] went to the Irish bar with [B] and got very DRUNK!

Dec 14th: Called [A] who I met in April to see if I could borrow some kit (a heat source, a lamp and a power cable until my stuff arrives) he'll drop that by tomorrow (thanks fella) decided to go to the Yacht club for some decent solid food! met [M, H, D, R & J] and continued into town with R and got..... yes you guessed it DRUNK! 4 AM before I climbed into my sleeping bag! (could've sworn the boat was on dry land but judging by the swaying I'm not so sure?:)

Dec 15th: [A] kindly brought aforementioned electrical items Yippee! I have power onboard to run music,lights,and heater (20 degrees in the day but chilly at night) nursing a hangover now! quiet night ahead I reckon.
Met [P & C] who live on their boat it's a very nice yacht ([P] built it himself) lovely people who are a source of great info, Monday I'll sort wifi on the boat for £1.50cyp a month!!! (hmmmm Rip off Britain)  Saturday eve watched Spurs V Pompey LIVE, come on you Spurs- first away win :)
 
Dec 16th 17th: Pottered about, can't do a lot until tools arrive.
Have (in my drunken state returning each evening to the boat) got chatting to [D] the security guard on the gate of the marina, 
He's a funny guy :D he's started teaching me Greek, Efharisto poli [D]
- PHONETICALLY- "Ehtes piga gia ena isiho poto, ke katalixame se dekapente potol gnorisa, kapion pu ihe plio stin marina, ke den mporuse na kratisi to poto tu, yiati moritera ihe mplexi se ena kavga me enan evsomos irlando" which i think roughly translates to:
 "yesterday i went out for one quiet drink and it became fifteen loud drinks, i met someone who also has a boat in the marina, but he couldn't handle his drink and nearly got into a fight with a very big irishman" (note: {mp} is pronounced "B" and also that this maybe slightly rough due to the subject matter ie. alcohol)
 [D] is by trade a journalist and hasn't been working the security at the marina for very long, he started off on the day shift but was soon transfered to night shift only! why?
because he doesn't let anyone in... LOL, people started getting upset, but as far as us boat owners are concerned IT'S GREAT! nice to know when [D] is on duty that our security is better enforced, reckon we'll keep in touch after i depart.
 
December 18th: Enquired about progress of shipping, Informed that the Boat was delayed out of Tilbury for 4 days, so expected arrival in Limassol 22nd of Dec and that all lines were intended to be cleared before Christmas.... yeah right!
 it'll be the new year before I see my kit.

Have also learned that best chance of receiving a smile from the majority of Cypriots is to be handing over money (they really are a xenophobic bunch! I don't think they like eachother let alone other nationalities)  There are OF COURSE exceptions, and I must say that I've already met many very nice people who are happy to advise and help with information 
(just gotta separate the BS;)

Dec 18th continued... returned from a pub at midnight, had just got aboard when I had a knock on the hull, went outside to see a silhouette of a lady who asked..
"are you Shane? I'm [J] do you fancy a days work tomorrow? I need someone with brains to organise a house move, double the average £
well, it's not so cheap here and with more time to kill than planned it's a good idea to be bringing in more than I'm spending, on top of that flattery will get you everywhere :)  see you tomorrow 9 am [J]

Dec 19th: along with [S], [C] & 3 Pakistani fellas moved house 1 to house 2, S & C are English and nice chaps, 3 other lads pleasant enough but didn't like hard work!

Dec 20th: continued the move with [S], 3 Pakistani lads didn't turn up today! and [C] was busy elsewhere, thought we'd finished by 2pm so [S] left for a prior appointment, hmmmm we weren't finished! continued on my own until teatime, when it became clear that last few items were just too big for me alone, [J] found 3 Palestinian guys to help me..... *#$% me those boys are strong and can work.... wouldn't let me do a thing except direct operations and in no time job done.
[J] asks if I'll come in everyday to do odd jobs while husband away on business, fantastic that'll keep me from the pubs.

Dec 21st: worked all day and received a decent snowboard and boots as well as dinner as pay... fine by me, there's a ski field on Mount Troodos and i'll be teaching [B] and his lady [Y] snowboarding when/if snow arrives up there :)

Dec 22nd: Apparently the freight ship is due into Limassol today but i shan't hold my breath, Today [D] a marine surveyor kindly came to have a look over Sapphire Seas and was very kind about her, as has everyone else in the know been, turns out i can do what i planned re: adding a cabin and it won't affect her seaworthiness/stability at all, good news. 
Went to work, [J] kept me busy and i took a couple of hrs out to watch Spurs V Arse-nal (hmmmm i'd have scored that penalty Robbie) back to do a couple of hours work and then Pizza with a horror movie (13yr old [D] giving commentary while i hide behind a pillow!)

Dec 23rd: work again yes i know it's sunday but i'd rather be busy and earning than in a pub, the plan was to do a car boot sale but no one got up for that, realize i haven't had a decent nights sleep since i got here (advertised by a cold sore!) the sleeping arrangement on Sapphire Seas is just too small, WOW! how cool [J] has said i can stay on her Yacht in the marina, i really am lucky.

Dec 24th: worked all day and installed myself aboard aforementioned Yacht in the eve, went out for a few beers and got hammered with [M] at Barcode.

Dec 25th: OUCH my head hurts! it's funny how large measures seem a good thing at the time and a bad thing the next day? (i remember now working a bar in Gran Canaria giving big measures to people who seemed sound, and bigger ones to the dickheads to see them throwing up and making fools of themselves, think i still stayed in the former group last night:)

Sang happy birthday JC and stayed in bed all day. Best sleep for 2 weeks!

Dec 26th: Popped across to see [M] who is from Syria and living on a boat also, the first Syrian I've met i think, and a lovely fella (very good Muslim- drinks like a fish:) he introduced me to [C] who's on the boat next to him, again a lovely chap, getting on now and losing his sight, it's a shame but it hasn't dimmed his sense of humor, he lived in England (Cambridge) a long time so his English is excellent so is his hospitality, had some good food and Whiskey i don't like the stuff but amazing what you can drink in fine company.... and when there's nothing else.

Dec 27th: Went back to do some chores for [J] but ended up sat in front of my pc all day wrestling with Flash (No... not the Saviour of the universe :) the program i'm using to make the videos, you'll be seeing them soon i hope) have had to change much work to incorporate new domain name (brought about through unfortunate circumstances) just 1 letter difference 14hrs work! 
(this site began as www.sapphire-seas-TOO.com but has now become www.sapphire-seas-TWO.com) oh well, like British snail... we're getting there.

Dec 28th: Did manage to do some work for [J] though to be honest in reality i like hanging out there, i think we are nicely on the same wavelength, and [A] who also works there is lovely.

Dec 29th: started the day wrestling with Flash again, and i think we'll be going live later today :) 
............... Ended the day wrestling with Flash! won't be online today.

Dec 30th: Didn't switch off computer and give up with what i was trying to do until 4am, 
woke up at 12noon, remembered i'd said yes to going to bingo! this afternoon with [B][Y][A]&[L]
[B] picked me up outside the Marina and out of Lanarca for the first time i went, made the most of the free buffet as my breakfast,and the first game I WON..... ok the first line of the first game! and had to share £50 with one other person, many games later and no more winners amongst our group (a good laugh tho) off to a bar and the pub quiz :) which we did win (ok ok [B] won:) 
Then back to [B] & [Y]'s for a roast WOW mmmmmm can that girl cook! in the absence of a Christmas dinner last week i shall call that mine..... Thank you [Y] xxx

31st Dec: NYE and my mate back in lancs [L]'s birthday rang him to say "Happy Birthday" forgetting he was away in Ireland 
(he only told me that 3 days ago..... could've sworn i'd left my short term memory "thing" back in England!!;)

Called shipping company to see if any news on my crates (tools etc) spoke to boss man, i bet he regrets his mobile no. being online hee hee. said call back weds (so i shall)
 
Went to [J]'s to do some work but ended up square eyed trying to put this site online :( grrrr

NYE: Had a couple of vodkas with [M] to warm up and then met [J] few drinks in a few bars and then watch the fireworks on the beach with pink champagne and some traditional cake mmmmmm, i think the locals make more of a thing of NYE than Christmas really.

Realize i had come out with a different jacket on and no keys to get back on the boat later Doh! met [M] the (ahem) teetotal Muslim lol, he had a handful of glasses of wine so relieved him of a couple (vodka,wine,champagne...might regret it tomorrow) 
Found a hatch on the boat not properly closed, managed to get to my bed after all (in a manner that resembled a reverse Caesarean section:)

Jan 1st: Yep.. got a fuzzy head! not as bad as Christmas day tho "phew" went to [J]'s and finally got web site online.

"HELLO EVERYONE, Happy new year" (ah no.... oooops, gotta tell em about it first!)

Greece/Cyprus's answer to Madonna "ANNA VISSE" is playing in the town square tonight that's right outside the marina entrance so if i don't get a good view i'll certainly be able to hear it, forgot about the concert until 11pm (she started at 9) was at [J's] yet again trying to program this site (no wonder IT/Programmers get so much dosh! it's a nightmare!) made it back for the last 1 1/2hrs....... now i know a lot can come down to the engineer and she was after all singing in Greek but...... thought she sounded awful!!! glad i missed most of it.

Jan 2nd: Did some heavy lifting for [J] and went for a beer with [M]  then spent the evening trying to fine tune the look of this site.... Sorry everyone bear with me! 
I Haven't managed to get the functionality i want from it yet (i have quite a lot of video i want you to be able to see when you click on a relevant piece of text) Give me a few days and a lot of help from [J] and hopefully we'll be there.

Jan 3rd: Woke today at 6am my hip's giving me grief again :(  and my back's quite sore too, decided to have a lie in today, [Js] lent me the box set of "24" i missed it completely when it was on TV...... watched 7 episodes !!! it was only the fact that i was hungry that i didn't "do exactly what it says on the tin/box" :)

Jan 4th: YIPPEE my kit arrived today at 1pm, i'm not gonna unpack it tho (it's Poets day after all) will start to do something on the boat from monday,
Back to [Js] and some more general stuff/odd jobbery, was just about to leave when her friend [A] came around, a really nice bloke who happens to be an artist [J] has three of his pieces up in her hallway & office, they're really good i like them a lot, turns out he's also a hairdresser so........... yep i got it cut :) that's better, less to deal with and much tidier.
 
(9pm) i need an Earlier night than all the ones preceding since i got here, went back to the boat, watched 4 episodes of "24", what a good series, I am hooked, so much for the early night! 
i have to be up at 7am to go Wake Boarding with FAT MAN D (myself AKA Slim Shaney... we could be a rap group....hmmmm have to be, i'll never make a singer, but then if Anna Visse can, maybe there's hope lol)
Realize my wetsuit's still packed up in my crates, better get that before wake boarding at 8......

Jan 5th: Up at 7am,  hmmmm didn't bring my wetsuit did I! only got a pair of wetsuit shorts and a neoprene T shirt that'll have to do, I've heard the water's still 18 degrees i hope so.....

WHAT A BUZZ took me about 5 or 6 (OR MAYBE 10) attempts to get up, and then i was Wakebaoarding :) Great fun that is.
Went for fish and chips at Dekelia with [P,C & P] bloody good it was, in fact possibly the best i've ever had considering it's our national dish, Thank you [P]
(still having a nightmare with Dreamweaver (web site software)) giving up now as i have 13 hours of "24" still to watch......

Got to be up again early tomorrow for some more wake boarding :) well...... it's either that or watch some local Bishop on the harbour wall doing some religious ritual where he tries to catch fish with a cross on a piece of string?! Very Strange, he'll never catch anything like that, and anyway i'm gonna be in the sea making waves ;) lol another 3 parts of of "24"

Jan 6th: Ok so I was being optimistic about going Wake boarding again this morning.... arms and shoulders rather sore today after yesterdays first session (still didn't go and watch the fishing Bishop though) called Darren to cry off and he was cool, he said he thought I was being hopeful (if only i hadn't been trying to stop the boat with my first half a dozen attempts to get up! me against a v8 speed boat, only gonna be one winner there:) watched another 4 episodes of "24" ahhhh sunday morns in bed.

Unpacked some of my tools/clothes etc instead (I was curious to see what else I'd sent with my shipping? it seems a long time since I sent them ahead of me, I couldn't remember what I'd packed!) then a Sunday afternoon McD's and another couple of episodes of "24" only 4 left (has anyone got the next series I could borrow?) 
Popped around to [Js] to see if i could remember how to work the IP camera i'd sent over, might be fun to put a live page on the site so you can watch over the net (though only if you find watching coffee drinking, ciggie rolling and head scratching interesting;) 
Mmmmm thank's for dinner [J], Lamb nice, and if [D] and [D] aren't going to eat that veg........

I'm going to start ripping Sapphire Seas apart tomorrow!

7th Jan: Ok so I didn't quite Start the de-construction today! it took all afternoon to unpack/rearrange all my tools & kit etc, I had forgotten how much I'd managed to pack into my crates, but now I have three wooden tool sheds set up behind Sapphire Seas and for ME I'm quite organised! :) picked up a Chinese takeaway and settled down in front of last 3 episodes of "24" BRILLIANT, wish I had second series. Got an early night (before 1 am)

8th Jan: Up reasonably early and went for breakfast at the only place that does what I'd call a decent fry up! i.e. proper bacon/sausages and fried eggs that aren't snotty (negotiated internet/Ebay lessons with owner [G] and was given extra big brekkie:) was heading for the Marina when I got a call that someone in the marina had caught a 200Ib shark and that the boat would be coming into the pier at 2pm (will pop along with my camera to witness this) Went to the boat to START.  Fat Man D the friendly neighbourhood Water ski/Wake boarding instructor popped around to have a look at the boat and got stuck in with me on ripping the cabin out :) apparently after just an hour he was inspired and considering getting a boat to refit and live on......... don't do it you fool! (ah well a month or so from now after watching me he'll come to his senses)  I'm only doing it coz I have nothing else ;)

2PM went to pier to see the "Shark" what bollox! it was a family of 6 gilled Sharks, harmless bottom feeders found between 3-400ft depth, 3 about 5 ft long, the biggest a female with babies trying to escape her :(  and to be honest it REALLY Pisses me off!!! i'd rather see them in the seas than DEAD, twats think they're the great hunters... MY ARSE that's something that's become plainly obvious in my time here, The Cypriots have no concept of animal welfare, already I've been asked if I'll take a lovely (big) dog that [A]'s seen daily for 2 years tied up outside a house near hers (wish i could but i can't) It's like this people.. they keep their dogs chained/caged up for 364 days of the year and take them out once to go "hunting" also according to the papers 200,000 rare migrating birds were either flynetted or glued to trees as they pass Cyprus on their migration late last summer (apparently these poxy little birds are delicacies fetching upto £5 a bird!) Eat a CHICKEN YOU %&$*WITS.  I'm gonna stop now and calm down by ripping the rest of "Sapphs" cabin out.

Went around to [Js] this eve to try and see if i can get my head around this IP (internet protocol) camera i brought over, might be fun to have a live 24hr camera on Sapphire Seas to the net? a sort of "BOAT BROTHER"  lol wha'dya think?  [J] kindly offered me Spag Bol mmmmm better than last nights Chinese takeaway.

9th Jan: Continued dismantling Sapph Seas (getting lazy with the typing now, how long until i refer to her as simply SS?) it's going well i should have her stripped right out by the weekend, the metal work appears to be good behind all the old fittings and fixtures so that's a relief :) have to think about how to create another six inches headroom, do i raise the roof (quite a lot of work) by cutting the old roof off, adding the extra to the walls of the cabin and welding the roof back on, or do i lower the floor inside and lose a little storage space underneath? it gets dark very quick here so i must get up earlier to have the daylight to work in, everything out of cabin now except the driving consul, have to take more time here so i see where all the wiring/hydraulic pipes go, cleared up the debris strewn around the outside, don't want the marina doing it and billing me! determined to get that early night tonight!

10pm Spurs V Arsenal in the cup on TV, went to the Meeting Pub for that coz the owners (Cypriot) are Spurs fans so always a friendly greeting there (and i do like the Bulgarian barmaid/waitress, though i think she's just friendly coz i tip her:)
hmmmm 1-1 we were all over them! they're bound to win the second leg :(

10th Jan: Still taking "Sapph" apart also emptied the 2 yrs of rain water out of her (About 18" in the bottom of the hull so not a lot really) was going to update the website but realise not a lot to say really so went for brandies with [P & C] on their boat and found out that [P] was a draughtsman, Brilliant! he said he'd help with drawings for the boat (which is a good thing coz i can only draw curtains!) he came up with a few good ideas for the saloon i want to put on the aft deck, i might end up with a floating Kebab van hee hee, you'll see what i mean eventually.

11th Jan: The inside of Sapph is basically gone. Fat Boy D popped around today and practically demolished/removed the Flybridge (the driving position on top of the boat) in 15mins on his own!  i had to be quick just to get a few pics as this happened lol. 
Realise that if i want to keep a flybridge (for cruising the inland waterways in the open air) i'll have to gain my inside headroom by dropping the floor otherwise i may have problems with bridges  on the canals with the outside height (The airdraft) that's that decision made then.
Went to the pub to see [B Y A & L] played lots of pool and enjoyed the Vodka :)
Stopped by [Js] on the way back to do some work on the website..... failed!  ended up drinking more and zoning out to Supertramp! never listened to them before and they are my Dads favourite band so i'll give them a go :) ....... will try to catch up with "this" tomorrow.

12th Jan; Saturday morn and went to do some more on the boat, couldn't find my drill (think i left it out lastnight!) hope the marina cleaners picked it up? won't know until monday.
Back to the Meeting pub for Tottenham V Chelsea, 0-2 knew Chelsea would win grrrr! then around to Fat boys to watch Hot Fuzz with him and his Girl [Y] don't think they liked it as much as me (a generation thing i expect, they are "young-uns" after all, good for them:) then out to a club-rubbish music we only stayed an hour and i managed to have a row with the barman over the fact he charged me 5 euros for a (small) bottle of beer when it was only 4 at the other bar in the same club! when we were leaving i ordered another, drank it in one didn't pay him and walked out, hee hee won't be going back there in a hurry but at least i got my change ...sort of!.

13th Jan: Up early to go wakeboarding but it was too choppy so went for breakfast instead with [D & Y] and Caught up with [M] who forced white wine down me (it's becoming a habit:) and as it's the day of rest i avoided going to Sapph Seas too.

14th Jan: asked the cleaners if they'd seen my Drill, apparently not... dagnammit, lesson learned, don't leave anything out at night.

15th Jan: Continued stripping the boat am almost down to the bare hull and engine now. stopped by the friendly Muslims boat [M] when i finished and AGAIN COULDN'T GET AWAY!! He likes his wine, and to be fair it is good from the box..... must be, i totally forgot the mighty Spurs were playing so missed the game :( never mind they won :)

16th Jan: All wiring gone now, only left a few bits connected to the engine as they were good and don't need replacing, was going to go to [J's] and update this rambling but made the mistake of stopping by the Yacht club to say hello to (and put the world to rights with) [R] a good sailor and hmmmmm another one who can drink :) gotta say i'm getting better at it too..... or worse! I didn't even make it to the shower that night, what a minger (a very merry one though:)

17th Jan: Nothing much more to report apart from i had the angle grinder out today, cut the remaining fittings off the roof of the wheelhouse, much sanding soon to follow, oh yeah and heard that "Captain Stav" aka "Chakros" (big knife apparently!) who i bought the boat through is supposed to be out at the weekend, he's such a knob! he has no business in the Marina now and i shall do my best to make sure it stays that way (to enlighten you, he's a serial con artist, i know of several people, not including myself fortunately, who have lost a lot of money to this bloke) i must make sure the boat/tools are well secure.  oh yeah and watched "Die Hard 4" good ol' Brucie :) you know what you're getting with him lol.

18th Jan: More scrapping, chiselling and hitting with a hammer, it turns out [P] was a draughtsman in his working life and has offered to draw the plans for the boat which is cool coz i was just going to do it my normal way i.e. make it up as i go along!! 
Then later in the evening (after obligatory white wine with my Muslim friend) met up with [B,Y,A & L] for a good session on the pool table at Bowlers, i must have played well coz [B] gave me a gold (plastic) medal to hang around my neck :)

19th Jan: Made sure engine hatch on boat was well secure as i think i'll take to keeping my tools locked in there from now on instead of my crates, can't afford to lose any more! watched the mighty Spurs (first half only) then Fish and chips out of town in Dekalia with [P,C & P] bloody good it was too. popped upto [Js] then to try and fathom out how to get video on to this site, think i've got it sussed but it means hours of programming with various pieces of software (video editing first, then conversion to flash, then importing to dream weaver) was 4am before i left!! sunday tomorrow the day of rest and i will lie in.

20th Jan: Pretty much spent all of today in front of the PC, but have the Dayskippers course and Wakeboarding lesson and the Yacht i'm living on (Parang) videos almost ready to upload. (and square eyes!:) i've given up on getting Dreamweaver to insert the links in this text box!!

11th Feb: Ok ok so i was hoping to think that i might try and keep this updated daily! that's not going to happen, not enough hours in the day etc,

5th Sept 2008 I have made it a rule not to go near the computer when drunk.......... so that's where the last 7 months went!!  only joking (or am i??) actually the truth is that once i've done a days work on the boat the last thing i can be bothered to do is sit in front of the PC, have decided to let a picture or few say the proverbial 1000 words (most of those words this summer have either been "bloody hell it's hot!" or "what're you drinking?":) no seriously i've done a lot of work and i shall try and summarise now on a monthly basis and with a single video running to the left of this text.

February: Starting from the top, removed the Flybridge, sanded the roof down and primed it, ripped out entire inside fittings of the boat, realised actually that the sides (both) of the boat are rotten!! it turns out that the half bar/rubbing strakes down both sides while appearing intact from the outside are in fact in a terrible state internally and i think i'm going to have to replace the lot, hmmmm big expense i hadn't counted on :( Went snowboarding with [B & Y] on Mt Troodos to cheer myself up and to teach them the basics, had a great time even though the slopes aren't exactly big like the Alps for example... but hey we're in the Eastern med so whadya expect ;) followed that the week after with some more wakeboarding.

March: started making enquiries about replacing the topsides, have been getting on great with the 3 Egyptian lads who are in the boatyard extending the "Yellow Submarine" that goes out of Aya Napa, s'funny really, in the small print it's called a surface submarine.... what the hell! that's a BOAT!, passengers descend some steps into what amounts to a corridor with big windows, it's busy in the summer by all accounts so can't argue with that though. So their boss offered to rent me [W] to do my welding and quoted me 100Euro/day for him and about 4-6 weeks to do the work, approx 500Euros for materials, i estimated around 3000Euro maybe more, ummmm not sure i like that especially when i spoke to [W] on the side and he informed me the boss was gonna pay him 50E/day! and pocket the other 50, we agreed i wouldn't pay that and he [W] wouldn't work for that, so i continued looking for quotes, The alternative was that when [W] went back to Egypt i could bring him back, pay for his visa and he'd do it for me for 50E/day (nice one bud) On further investigation though, it became apparent that i'd have to re-register the boat in Cyprus to allow that to happen, now the problem there, is that Cypriot bureaucracy is so corrupt and glacial that i'd be heaping no end of hassle upon myself! so the search for options continues.....
Mid march (a wednesday afternoon to be precise) saw the last rain i was going to see until september when i returned to England. Continued with sanding and needle gunning the inside of the hull and cabin where it was still sound.

[M] knowing my predicament re: replacing the sides of the boat, made a call to a mechanic he knows who owes him a favour, about my rather large welding job, he apparently employs Polish welders at his workshop, The guy sent his son and someone else to have a look, and they did, they left saying he'd call with a quote in the next few days. continued sanding the rest of the good metal and waited to hear back from them. In the meantime i surveyed and bought the metal i'd require to do the job and then i'd only be paying for labour and consumables (welding rods,cutting/grinding disks etc)
Was enjoying a beer/lunch with [M] when his phone rang, it was the Cypriot mechanic with the quote....... 3 guys, 4-6 weeks to do the job, Go on guess how much....7000 Euros!!!!!! and that was now considering i had the steel, what can i say (TWAT maybe!) anyway assumed the quote was so high because they either couldn't do the job or didn't want it, the search continues, i'd have attempted it myself, but considering i've never welded before decided against learning/practising on such an important job.

April: The temperature is rising and hitting 30 degrees daily now, It was a sunday evening and i stopped by the Yacht club for a beer after a hard day behind goggles, facemask and a grinder, when a voice from behind me said "Hello Shane, How's the boat going?" now i recognised the face but the name/place i knew him from escaped me, it turns out that when i was here last year viewing the boat before i bought it, the guy [P] and his wife were on holiday and i had had a chat with them in Barcode, the conversation went like this,
Moi "Not bad, but having a nightmare trying to find a welder at the moment, have gotta replace both side of the boat" 
[P] "Really, i'm a welder and we've just moved out here, i'm not working, i'll do it for you"
Me "Your joking? brilliant! what sort of money would you be looking for?"
[P] "Don't worry about that, i'll do it for beers, i'm free from Wednesday if you like"
Me "Fantastic, what kit do you need? i have most of it already"
[P] "would rather Mig weld than stick and a gas axe" (oxy/acetylene cutting torch)
Me "ok see you on Tuesday, what are you drinking?"
Anyway on the Tuesday i got a call and it was [P] it turns out on monday night after a few drinks, he'd gone over on his ankle and was on crutches and likely to be for a couple of weeks (alarm bells should have been sounding) as i hadn't managed to track down a mig welding machine yet (i only had an Arc welder) i just thought no problem it gives me time to prepare some more, could i source a machine to hire anywhere on the island...? no, i could have bought one for 2000Euros but no-one would hire one and buying one was not an option. we'd have to Arc weld it, but as that is a stronger weld i didn't mind it would just take longer. I borrowed a cutting torch from the boat lift owner (price? a bottle of oxygen-12Euro) the 2 weeks passed and [P] although still a bit unsteady on his toes turned up to start the job, i offered to do all the cutting with a grinder as it would have been a neater job (if physically much harder) but [P] was intent on using gas, The steel plates i'd bought were 2m x 1m so we made a start cutting the first portside plate out, with that removed i was quietly concerned that cutting with gas was a messy cut and that welding the new plate on would be the harder for it, but also in my mind he was the welder and i was the labourer i kept my mouth shut and let him get on with it. 
Day 2: we tacked the first sheet in place and to be fair it looked good, the line of the hull was good and my concerns were alleviated slightly, it was short day though and [P] was keen to get to the bar! 
Day 3: [P] arrived and informed me that he wasn't sleeping for fear that as he'd never welded a boat before, and as it was such an important job, he might mess it up! hmmmm Great! hindsight (and the rest of the summer) has since left me with impression that 4-6 weeks hard graft in the heat would seriously hinder his drinking time, and that he didn't fancy.... i shall say no more.

[M] my dear Muslim friend, made another call and this time (within 2hrs) i was interviewing [D] for the job, [D] is a Kurdish refugee from Syria and a very pleasant guy who could start straight away (and i was getting desperate now) his confidence was very reassuring, we'd start on Monday, and he was very happy to Arc weld it all, we agreed 60 euro a day and he'd work 8-6 monday to saturday, sunday being the day he goes to church (originally Muslim now a christian, i'm not a religious man myself, but whatever floats your boat! boom boom:)

What can i say? what a star he turned out to be, worked like a maniac, cut both sides off the boat with an angle grinder and hardly let me do a thing even though i offered and was keen to share the workload, it was heartbreaking to see the scars all over his torso where he'd been tortured in a Syrian prison before fleeing to Cyprus, and considering his tender years (27) his sunny disposition was a credit to him totally (you see him in the video to the left cutting the starboard side off). Long story short, we did the whole job in 3 1/2 weeks and total cost to me was around 2000Euros. I was back on track and we'd finished before the temperature regularly hit 40 degrees. Nice one [D] it's an honour to call you my friend.

May: