sasa – Page 9 – Voilier 'HIR 3'

With a little help from my friends…

Last weekend I drove down to Vrsar with my friends to see the boat. She looked in even worse condition than I remember from last time, so it was time to get to work!

24/03/201407/04/2014 sasa4 Comments

Last weekend I drove down to Vrsar with my friends to see the boat. We went there on Friday afternoon after work and stayed with my friends (Andrej & Jelena) who live in Poreč. We had a great dinner, spent the night and on Saturday morning Andrej, Tomislav, Maja and me drove to Vrsar.

She looked in even worse condition than I remember from last time, so it was time to get to work! First, we took down the genoa that was in really bad shape, we removed all sheets, halyards and lines from the deck and started cleaning with a high-pressure cleaner which worked great. Andrej volunteered to do it. As soon as he started, he fell in love with the machine and he didn’t let anyone near it. Tomislav and Maja were fighting to try it. They got their turn after only two hours when Andrej got tired.

We took one short coffee break in the bar nearby and one for lunch. We went to the supermarket, bought bread, cheese, mortadella, mayonnaise and beer (of course). We made sandwiches and drank geek on the waterfront and had a great time:)… but soon it was time to get back to work.

I was the only one who dared to start working inside the boat. I had to put the mask and rubber gloves for protection and only then I could enter inside the ‘boat of horror’. First I used a professional vacuum cleaner to take the water out (probably 300+ liters), then we took out everything we could from the interior and the guys started to clean them, while I was removing the mold inside. Working inside was really hard, so every so often, I had to get out of there and take a break.

We worked all day long and wanted to continue on Sunday, but the weather forecast was really bad – gale force southerly wind and lots of rain, so we knew we had to do as much as we possibly could. On the outside she looks much better now, it’s still a mess inside (maybe a little bit better than it was before, though) and we took parts of the wooden interior back to Zagreb, so I can work also at home now.

In the evening we went for a pizza and beer and then back to Andrej and Jelena where we talked, had a few grappas and went to bed. It rained during the night and the wind increased, so we treated ourselves with a long sleep, coffee and breakfast. Jelena’s mom invited us all for a big Sunday family lunch which was great. We had a great meal and really enjoyed the company.

That was unfortunately all the time we had this time, so we headed back to Zagreb to start planning the next steps…

‘As is’ condition…

A term used to describe a sales transaction in which the seller offers goods in their present, existing condition to prospective buyers.

22/03/201425/03/2014 sasaLeave a comment

I have agreed to buy ‘HIR 3’ in ‘as is’ condition…

‘AS IS’ – A term used to describe a sales transaction in which the seller offers goods in their present, existing condition to prospective buyers…

Decision time…

I have seen the boat, I took a few pictures, talked a lot with the owner and now I had to seriously start thinking about what to do next…

20/03/201425/03/2014 sasa1 Comment

I have seen the boat, I took a few pictures, talked a lot with the owner and now I had to seriously start thinking about what to do next. I really had only two options. The first and probably much more logical would be to erase the photos and forget what I saw. second option was to let the emotions take over and start negotiating about taking over the boat.

I always wanted my own boat and despite the fact that I never had the money for one, I was always looking for one that would be right for me. For years I have ben searching ads on the internet, I even went to see a few, but I never really got even close to actually buying a boat.

Recently, one of my friends found a boat he liked and asked me for advice. I gave him my honest opinion about that particular boat and equipment, but I concluded with one sentence I will never forget. I said that nothing really matters, except that you should ‘fall in love’… If I was to listen to my own advice, the decision would be obvious. This was a legendary boat, I learned to sail on that boat, I liked the way she looked and I didn’t want to see her go, so I decided to go for it…

Unfortunately, when it comes to negotiating about prices, I am really bad at it. I always agree to what people say. I never mastered that skill and negotiating about the price is always embarrassing to me. The owner gave me an offer, we discussed it a bit and I said that I would have to think about it. So I kept thinking about it… and finally decided to buy the boat! I had to agree that contract details and price would remain confidential, but I can honestly say that (not for the first time) I paid too much…

Getting closer…

I looked inside and entered in the cabin. I was shocked. I expected she was neglected, but I never could have imagined the horror inside… I decided to go back and have a second look. This time I was alone and this time I actually saw some potential and started thinking that there might be a chance for a restoration…

19/03/201419/03/2014 sasa1 Comment

Everywhere I go I like to look at boats, so when I came to Vrsar in November 2013, I went to see if ‘HIR 3’ was still there. When I saw her it was a bit disappointing because she looked in really bad shape. We stood in front of the boat for probably half an hour and commented on how she looked, where she has been and everything we knew about her. We discussed about how it was a disgrace that a boat of such a pedigree is abandoned, I took a few pictures and posted them on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter later.

Next few months I would occasionally remember what we saw in Vrsar, but that was it. Until one day I spend more time thinking and I decided to try to find the owner. I have quite a few friends and colleagues that might be able to find out who he was, but first I tried google, of course:).. and I found an old ad from 2007 on morsko-prase.hr. Back then she was in top condition, but very expensive. After a while, I wrote an e-mail and sent it, but it came bel because it was an old address which was not used anymore, so I googled the name in the address and eventually found another e-mail and sent it again. This time it seemed that it went through. The next day I got a reply from a guy who said he was still the owner and that he was very sad that the boat was in bad shape and that he wanted to sell her.

We met next week in Zagreb and a weekend after that we went to Vrsar to have a look at the boat once again. We were there early in the mooring. It was a cloudy day with strong ‘Jugo’ (southerly wind), low pressure and everything looked very depressing. When we finally made it to the boat, he opened the hatch, I looked inside and entered in the cabin. I was shocked. I expected she was neglected, but I never could have imagined the horror inside. There was water all over the remains of the floorboards, everything was taken out (which was actually a good thing), all wood in the interior was wet and full of mould. Everything looked like from a horror movie. I lost the will to take pictures and my first instinct was just to get out of there and never look back.

We didn’t stay for long on the boat. I left the port and kept thinking if there is any way to save her. I decided to go back and have a second look. This time I was alone and this time I actually saw some potential and started thinking that there might be a chance for a restoration…

How I met her…

I have first met ‘HIR 3’ quite a long time ago, it was in 1992 when I was only 14 years old.

19/03/201425/03/2014 sasaLeave a comment

I have first met ‘HIR 3’ quite a long time ago, it was in 1992 when I was only 14 years old. I sailed only once before in my life one year earlier thanks to my sister and her good friend Miro Muhek who knew Mladen Šutej and has been sailing with him. They asked me if I would go sailing for ten days on board ‘HIR 3’… and my answer was of course – YES!

We covered 328 miles in ten days and I even got a sailing school diploma for it later. I actually saved it and I still have it:)

The most memorable part of the trip was sailing from Rovinj to Venice. I remember we had perfect weather and all we had to do is set the sails and let the autopilot do the rest. When we entered the marked passages in front of Venice and we didn’t use the engine, but we did hunderds of tacks between thousands of boats until the wind died in the evening near the marina.

Next time I saw her was in 2006 (I think?) in port of Vrsar after she was sold to a new owner. I haven’t been there for a log time after that and I forgot all about it, but when I came to Vrsar in November 2013, I remembered her and went to see if she was still there. She was… but she looked miserable. It looked like she was abandoned. Completely covered in seaweed and seashells under the waterline, dirty hull and deck and rotten lines.

We were standing in front of the boat and commenting for quite a while, took some pictures and left… but I continued to think about her… about one month later I decided to try to find the owner to find out what is going on…

History

16/03/201425/03/2014 sasa1 Comment

Famous Croatian skipper, Mladen Šutej bought the boat in 1979 from an Italian shipyard…

The boat was named ‘HIR 3’ (Caprice). The history of the name dates back to his grandfather who started to build his first boat at the age of 65 and when people asked him why, he simply replied… it is my caprice. The first Mladen’s boat was ‘Hir 2’, and logically, this one was named ‘HIR 3’.

Based on his experience, he wanted to buy a 10-meter sailing yacht to cross the Atlantic, so she had to be quality build, have a full skeg, wide hull, lead keel and solid mast and rigging. Mladen bought a CAT 34 from a small Italian shipyard named after the owners (Carlo Alberto Tibreio) as a bare hull with mast and deck equipment. One interesting fact. Interior is made of expensive teak, but the wood came from an old stand on which one boat from Italy was delivered to the port of Rijeka. The boat was finished in marina Punat in 1980 after spent 2000 working hours.

The boat then went across the Atlantic to the Caribbean, then to Florida and back across the Atlantic to Craoatia.

Next voyage of HIR 3 was around the World via Cape Horn which makes this a truly legendary boat…

35 episodes of a documentary film ‘Sails around the World’ were filmed and shown on Croatian national television.

Mladen Šutej published two books about ocean sailing on board ‘HIR 3’ – ‘Atlantic Challenge’ and ‘Sailing around Cape Horn’.

She was badly damaged with holes on the hull near the waterline during occupation of marina Dubrovnik, but Mladen Šutej managed to save and restore her.

The boat was then sold and moved to Vrsar in Istria, but later she was forgotten and neglected…

Technical Specifications:

LOA: 10.34 m

Beam: 3.30 m

Draft: 1.80 m

Displacement: 5.300 kg

Ballast: 2.500 kg

Mast: 15 m

Engine: Lombardini 25 HP