Cyprus

Cyprus is an island in the eastern Mediterranean, south of Turkey. While undoubtably a lovely place with some great sailing, we're not planning on going there. So why is this post entitled "Cyprus"? Because something happened there in early 2013 which resulted in our deciding to buy a boat.

I've often thought about buying a boat in the past. I've debated small boats, big boats, France, Ireland, Med, etc? But in the end it always seemed to make more sense to charter. Chartering gives you a virtually unlimited choice of different boats in different exotic locations, with no upkeep, no repairs, no maintenance, no mooring fees, no worries. Just step on at the beginning of your holiday, sail, then step off at the end.

Also, when visiting coastal towns I've often reflected on the boat parking lots, sorry - marinas, filled with hundreds and hundreds of white plastic blobs that never seem to go anywhere. Even on weekends with perfect weather you hardly see any empty berths. Statistics show that something like 5% of boats will be out at any one time, the other 95% sitting there bobbing up and down waiting for their owners. So I decided long ago that ownership wasn't for us, unless we moved nearer to the coast.

The Ilen River

Having said all that, the one exception is when we go to Ireland. Apart from a Drascombe Lugger, there just aren't any small boats available for charter. And while the Lugger is a fine boat and we've had some great fun sailing her, she's an open boat which offers no shelter or accommodation or basic facilities. Okay for a day trip to picnic on one of the nearby islands, but you have to be either hard core or young to do anything more adventurous in one. So that got me thinking about keeping a small boat in Ireland.

But nothing ever became of the idea. I've always been more of a saver than a spender, and it still didn't seem to make financial sense. Until the day they started talking about the banking crisis in Cyprus. The country's two biggest banks were insolvent. Accounts were frozen, people couldn't get access to their savings. Way too big to be bailed out by their government, the ECB and IMF were called in to help. Except this time nobody had the stomach for a bail out. Shareholders were going to take serious "haircuts", and depositors were going to lose money. At first they spoke of everyone having to contribute, in spite of the European bank deposit guarantee that is supposed to cover savings up to €100,000.

Eventually they backed down on that and respected the guarantee, but it really got me thinking. If they can suddenly refuse you access to your hard earned, and even knock a zero off your bank balance if they feel like it then what's the point? And besides, you really can't take it with you. Better to spend some of it on a boat!!!

So the decision was made, only what kind of boat? It had to be small enough to fit on a trailer, so we could keep it on the farm when not in use. It had to be big enough to be stable and safe and provide a minimum of comfort. I also wanted room for us to sleep on board for the odd weekend away. That's a very tall order. It also had to be easy on the eye, and I was leaning towards "plastic gaffers" like the very popular Cornish Shrimpers and Crabbers. These boats are mostly styled after the traditional nineteenth century pilot cutters and work boats of the British Isles, but are built with modern materials. A lot of thought and research led me to the Cape Cutter 19. It seemed to fit the bill perfectly, but was perhaps just a bit too small...

Cape Cutter 19

A bit more research led me to Dudley Dix, the designer of the Cape Cutter. He had also drawn plans for a slightly larger version, the Cape Henry 21. While only two feet longer, she is heavier and has 30% more volume, which means more stability, more interior headroom, more legroom, and more room for a cooker and sink.

But while the Cape Cutter is available in GRP from a commercial boatyard in the UK, the Cape Henry is not. The plans are for plywood-epoxy construction. Either home-build or find a builder to build you one. At that moment a lightbulb clicked on in my head, and I remembered a blog I had followed a year or two previously by a boat builder in West Cork who was building a 21 foot motorboat in plywood-epoxy. It was a lovely traditional looking boat. What was his name again? Didn't I save a bookmark somewhere? Got it, Tiernan Roe of Roeboats in Ballydehob.

I sent off an email to Tiernan to see if he would be interested in building a Cape Henry, if it would fit into his schedule, if it could be completed by next summer, and how much it might cost. I have to say I really like the idea of having a boat built locally to where she would be kept and sailed. Fingers crossed...