We’ve been on this circumnavigation mission for nearly three years. We departed New Zealand in May 2023, and we’ve had a life-changing adventure on our voyage to the Mediterranean via the Red Sea and Suez Canal. Innocenti has been baked in the Asian sun, rained on in the Malaysian wet season, sand-blasted in Sudan and Djibouti, and had the odd altercation with Egyptian fishermen near the Suez Canal. It’s time that our poor battered Innocenti had another birthday spruce-up.
We undertook a substantial refit at Marsden Cove before our departure (which featured in Boating NZ – ‘Innocenti’s 40th birthday refit’). We removed the teak decks and remodelled the lazarette and anchor locker, installed a new anchor winch, replaced the upholstery, and the list goes on. The funds ran out, and time marched on, so we didn’t paint the hull. We felt it was more important to be out there doing it than to be in the yard making the boat look perfect.
We’re calling this refit ‘The Italian Job’. We wintered over in San Remo on the Italian Riviera near the border of France. Spring has now sprung, and we found a shipyard in the city of Imperia, where we’ve been able to haul the boat and have the work done without crippling ourselves financially. The bonus is that the guy who owns the yard is Australian, which means that communication is not so complicato. We’re still a bit bemused and sometimes frustrated about how the Italians work. They generally start work at about 8.30-9.00am, then around midday they stop… for two-and-a-half hours. They then start again around 2.30-3.00pm, before knocking off at 6.00pm.
So, here’s the job list, starting with the easy stuff:
New VHF radio (which was destroyed in a lightning strike in Greece).
Remove HF radio – Angus loved his HF radio. He would chat for hours with anyone else who had a radio. High-frequency radio is a completely outdated mode of communication, not to mention the fact that our radio and tuner were fried during the lightning strike. I’m actually starting to drag Angus into the 21st century with our purchase of Starlink, which was worth its weight in gold as we sailed across the Indian Ocean and through the Red Sea.
Batteries and charging system – We’ve offloaded the lead-acid batteries and had a lithium-iron system installed. It’s a Victron system with integrated charging and inverter and two plug points (which I’m very excited about) and a shore power connection. Marco, the Italian electrician, did a beautiful installation. He’s a meticulous planner and a registered installer. That means that we have a five-year guarantee on the work and equipment. We look a bit like the Starship Innocenti now. We had not appreciated how complicated the installation would be and how long it would take. We’ve shopped around and done some price comparisons, and it works out to be about the same cost as we could’ve expected in New Zealand. Marco threw in some Italian swearing lessons free of charge.
Replacement hot water cylinder – We’ve been unable to have a hot shower since The Maldives (not that it was a problem during the hot weather, but during the cooler months, I wasn’t happy). Josh, the enormous Welsh engineer, who is actually more flexible than he looks, spent an uncomfortable day folded in half like a yoga expert, to install the new system into the locker under the galley sink, including replumbing the engine cooling system and the galley. Angus had spent the previous day with his head and torso in the locker, removing the old tank.
| Health and safety rules in Italy mean that we’re not allowed to do the work ourselves. |
Repainting the hull – Innocenti has always been ‘Ceramco Blue’ with a gold stripe. We love the elegance of the blue and gold, but I wondered if it was time for a change. The dark-blue colour makes for a very hot environment inside the boat during the Mediterranean summer and in the tropics. My suggestion was to change the colour to ‘Pigeon Blue’. After all, a change is as good as a holiday, so they say. I liked the modern look. I thought it was still elegant, but it would be cooler in the summer sun. However, after a long debate, we’re sticking with the blue and gold. The colour is called ‘Flag Blue’. The product that the painters are using is called ‘Perfection Pro’ – it’s an International product. It has been rolled on, not sprayed, and I think it looks amazing.
For a bit of fun, I thought that I would organise an opinion poll on the proposed colour change on social media. I certainly wasn’t prepared for the depth of feeling from sailors and non-sailors, and from people who have known the boat for years. I got hundreds of replies, and some interesting suggestions thrown into the mix. Then there were the personal messages listing all the reasons why we shouldn’t change, some verging on death threats if we changed the colour. “Innocenti has always been that colour, it’s her identity…”; “Everyone in the New Zealand yachting community knows her as ‘the blue and gold boat…'”; and so on.
A new desalination unit – Twenty years ago, we made a huge financial commitment by installing a 60-litre-per-hour HRO (Horizon Reverse Osmosis) Seafari watermaker. It has always been my favourite piece of equipment. It has worked hard desalinating countless litres of water over the years. Sadly, it died at the most inopportune moment, just as we got to Sudan! Rest in peace, faithful old friend.
We’ve now invested in a Schenker unit. It’s Italian-made – a bit like a Ferrari – and is a compact, modular unit producing 30 litres per hour. I’m confident that it will be more than enough for just the two of us; we’ll simply keep the tanks topped up. Cruising is a little different these days, not like when we had three kids aboard.
Replacing the dripless seal on the propeller shaft – We bought the unit in New Zealand when we were there in January.
Then there are the smaller jobs.
- Replacing the anchor chain – after hundreds of nights on anchor, the old chain was looking rusty and flaky. We didn’t want the rust flaking off and making stains and dust on our new paint job. We tried to get the existing chain re-galvanised, but for almost the same price, we were able to buy new Italian-made chain locally and have it delivered to the boat for no extra cost.
- Servicing of the liferaft – six weeks ago, we delivered it to the chandlery, since then it has been on a little holiday to Sicily, and we haven’t seen it since.
- Varnishing – we revarnished the cabin sole, the chart table and the quarter berth, and had a locker door repaired.
- Antifouling – International Micron 350 is the product that will be applied.
Health and safety rules in Italy mean that we’re not allowed to do the work ourselves. Technically, only approved contractors can work on the boat, so we can’t sand the antifoul or help with the painting or masking. The owner of the yard and each person in breach of these laws can be fined 5,000 Euros. We’ve kept ourselves busy with inside jobs away from the scrutiny of the Polizia.
After more than six weeks, we’re almost ready to start the cruising season in the Med. The Italian Job is complete. Tutto bene!
