Oyster News 52 - Oyster Yachts

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ROLLS the ROYCE of yachts BY BRIAN LONG OYSTER 56 CHINOOK 44 www.oystermarine.com “ TODAY, WE ARE ANCHORED SNUGLY IN THE INNER BAY OF PORTOFERRAIO, THE MAIN AND BEAUTIFUL PORT OF ELBA, JUST OFF THE WEST COAST OF ITALY” There is a Mumm 30 World Championship Regatta this week and the marina has been taken over by a fleet of 40 or so 30 foot one-of-a-kind racing yachts. Paul McCartney’s US Tour CD is playing on the stereo and a warm sun is shining through the cockpit windows. However, the barometer is sitting at 1001-1002 mb’s and the anemometer is measuring gusts well over 30 knots. Yesterday we sailed from Capraia, in the Italian Tuscan islands. We had started out for Calvi, on the east side of Corsica, where Doreen and I expected to pick up a vital part for our onboard computer, we had arranged to be shipped there. On route, seas started building and the wind gradually increased to sustained mid thirties, with gusts into the mid 40 knots. We were in a tough beat and, as I adjusted the sail trim and course to accommodate the 5 to 6 metre waves, Doreen looked a little tense. I sought to relax her by remarking how smooth Chinook was riding and apart from the odd thump, here and there, we were dry and quite comfortable. I recalled a conversation, which took place the day before in the Village of Porto Capraia. We had located the only Internet point on the Island, in a Pizzeria/Bar, high on the hill overlooking the bay and were checking our emails, when a very big guy, with a pigtail, approached me as he was leaving with a group of friends, after a good lunch. "Is that your Oyster in the marina" he said with a strong accent. It sounded almost like a challenge and I wondered if I had inadvertently transgressed his sea room at some time or perhaps splashed him with water as I washed the salt off Chinook’s decks the day before. "Yes" I quietly admitted somewhat reluctantly, trying to squeeze a smile. "I told them!!" He chortled! "I told them it was an Oyster!!". I relaxed a little. "My friends, they don’t know too much about boats" He gestured to them "but I told them it was an Oyster". "I told them Oyster’s are the ‘Rolls-Royce’ of yachts" he bellowed. "They’re the best sailing boats in the World ". "They’re Fantastico" He continued to sing the praises of Oysters in the loudest of voices, until Doreen and I became slightly embarrassed by him telling the Bar patrons, now focused entirely on us, how lucky we were to own such a fine yacht. We were relieved when they finally left but now I wore a different kind of smile! Back on board and checking our position on the chart plotter, I could see our tacking point was well over an hour ahead and, as the wind and waves continued to rise, the reality of making Calvi in daylight continued to fall. In fact, the chances of making even the East Coast of Corsica were correspondingly disappearing. Our Raytheon Chart plotter showed our reverse course was a direct line to Portoferraio, on the island of Elba, about 32 nautical miles to the south and downwind. We had managed without our computer for about three weeks and another few more days couldn’t hurt. Anyway we were planning on spending a few days exploring Elba, where the little General had been exiled by the British. A reverse course also afforded some lee shelter from Capraia and Corsica. So we turned around and enjoyed a great sail in diminishing winds and waves until the wind quit altogether about nine miles from Portoferraio. The inner bay here is amazingly well protected and Chinook, fresh from an overnight shower, is dancing gracefully on a long anchor chain in only five metres depth, where there are hundreds of tiny whitecaps, but little chop despite massive howling gusts. The 40 or so racing boats never left the dock today and although the centre of town is only a very short distance away and looks agonizingly attractive in the sunlight, I think I’ll leave the tender on the davits today, sit back and enjoy our ‘Rolls-Royce’ of Yachts.
FOX’S PROVIDE GREAT SERVICE FOR OYSTERS (and other yachts too) “ I acquired 'Arabella', a 1988 built Oyster 53, through Oyster Brokerage in 1997. She immediately went through a major refit at Fox's, including re-caulking the decks, refitting the deck saloon windows, new running and standing rigging and repainting all spars. After 20,000 miles sailing I returned to Fox's from the Caribbean for her second major refit including the fitting of a custom high performance keel, modified rudder, stretched stern (to make her a '55') and a new generator. The keel was a particularly demanding exercise. Three years later after a 600-ton dredger tore into 'Arabella' on her mooring I returned to Fox's to repair a large hole in her starboard topsides, at the same time I replaced the engine and the complete rig after a spreader was torn off half way across the Atlantic. I chose Fox's because they have the expertise and experience to deal with difficult jobs and they were cost competitive. I have always found the management and staff good to deal with. Practical and fair with a boat building heritage stretching back generations... ” Jonathan Baker - Oyster 55 Arabella 6 February 2004 TWO TRAVELIFTS TO 70 TONS AND 85FT LOA OSMOSIS TREATMENT 6000 SQ FT CHANDLERY SPRAY PAINTING NEED WE SAY MORE? FULLY EQUIPPED WORKSHOPS REPAIRS • NEW DECKS • REFITS ENGINEERING FULL RIGGING SERVICE STAINLESS FABRICATIONS FOX’S MARINA IPSWICH LTD IPSWICH SUFFOLK IP2 8SA ENGLAND TEL: +44 (0)1473 689111 FAX: +44 (0)1473 601737 foxs@oystermarine.com AN OYSTER GROUP COMPANY ELECTRONICS SALES SERVICE AND INSTALLATION ASHORE STORAGE ALL SERVICES UNDERTAKEN BY OWN STAFF
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Oyster News 52 - Oyster Yachts

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