Dudùdue at mooring

Dudùdue at mooring
Before ext. renovation
This Blog is dedicated to my boat and to her renovation

She is moored in San Nicola L'Arena, Sicily (IT)

Introduction


Since I was a teenager, I loved to sail. I attended my first sail course when I was 14. During the High School and University, I have sailed by classic laser, 470 and IOR Yacht class.
As I started to work, my spare time began ridiculous. But at that time I didn't know what will happen as I got married and then with kids!
Someone says that it should be necessary born twice . . . and it is dramatically true!

My desire to own a sailboat to spend a week end with family, coming up. So, in 2002 I started to search for a boat.
My research was very long because of the variables of the problem were - as very often happens - in contradiction themselves (good LWA, but to much expensive, good price but . . . it looks like a dinghy, and so on).
The Net was an extraordinary tool for my research, much better than magazines as you can see.
In a short time I realized that the Italian Used Market was ridiculous, both for the conditions of the boats on sale and their prices (i.e. quality, price ratio). It could appears strange, but that's situation it is worse in Sicily (where I live), in spite of it's - as you know - an island.
I visited a great deal of websites, and I discovered a multitude of models not diffused in Italy. One of these was Westerly.
Finally, at the end of 2003, I found the boat that I always dreamed, and - in my opinion - matched well to my family needs, and, above all, to my budget . . . .
A night of december 2003, I was surfing on the Net, around the websites of brokers that I had extract during the research (as www.boatshop24.com, www.boatmall.com, www.udkik.dk , etc.), when I found an ads on www.bolina.it ( an Italian famous nautical website). I clicked on, and as I saw both description and pics I realized that was "my boat".
A Westerly Tiger was on sale at Anzio Port, nearby Rome, but she came from Antwerpen.
Immediately I sent a mail for details and to arranged a visit on board as soon as possible. The visit was for 4/Jan/2004. On 31/Jan/2004 "Dudùdue" (Mahal Kita was her name, indeed, but too exotic for Italians . . .) arrived by ship from Civitavecchia to Palermo and then, by a truck, to San Nicola - her new port - about 30 km far away, on the East coast.
I was so excited! It was a happening for all my family.
So my "love story" began.

giovedì 28 giugno 2007

First season

Waiting the summer, I subscribed the Westerly Owner Association Forum UK (http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Westerly-Owners ); it was very useful and I obtained a great deal of information about Westerly's.
By this forum I knew the presumed age of my boat; in fact, they said me where find a label. So I discovered that she saw the sun most likely in 1974! The ID is C194.

Further, I had few day trip and the boat went ok, the engine as well, so I began to dream some short trip for my summer vacations.

The first purchases were a roller jib and a lazy bag. They are, in my opinion, absolutely necessary for "single-handed sailor" as I am.
In fact, when I sailed with my family, my wife was absolutely concentrated to our little child Ettore (and in that time we had only one . . . ).

Finally, my summer vacations arrived.

I had managed a short trip to San Vito Lo Capo, about 3 days far away along the west coast. The day before the scheduled trip, I went to clean the boat and, just before to go home, I tried to start the engine, but with no result
It was 13 august and it wasn't a battery problem . . . and she fitted the original Volvo Penta MD1B.
That day my nightmare began. The first problem - as you can see - was to find a skilled person available to check and repair it.

My vacation passed to call mechanical repairers and seeing the others boats sail away . . .
My report is posted to WOA Forum.

Only at the end of September the engine was ok again.

Pubblicato da Salvo alle 16:10

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