From Brittany to the West Indies
Pory is an amateur construction on plans of a Chatam 33. Measuring 10m for a displacement of 6 tons, its robust steel hull is designed for an offshore cruising programme. Built in the Dordogne by Yves Lavisse, she was bought by her current owners, Marie and Grigory in January 2014.
Marie and Grig's only experience is a few cruises in the Mediterranean, but the purchase of Pory, which will become their home, will allow them to realize a travel project across the Atlantic. After being taken in hand in Audierne, Pory is taken to the Canal du Midi in order to refine her preparation.
Once Pory is ready, they reach the Mediterranean, pass Gibraltar, then transat without any problems, taking advantage of numerous stopovers. Marie and Grig are adapting very well to their new Caribbean lifestyle. The encounters are numerous. They get involved with several humanitarian associations in order to help the populations hard hit by hurricane Maria.
Pory disappears from her anchorage
On May 5, 2018, Pory is at anchor in Basse Terre. Exceptionally, Marie and Grig went ashore for 24 hours, leaving their sailboat alone. The wind is rising, and despite her 100 m of chains and her two 20 kg anchors, Pory slips and sets off alone towards the open sea.
Cruel sensation of not finding your sailboat where it's supposed to be. But they are not the only ones to suffer this disappointment. Three boats disappeared from this anchorage during the same night. The first was spotted with her thieves in St Lucia, and the second was spotted drifting off Curacao.
With Marie having to go to work to refill the dashboard, Grig finds himself alone to manage this confusing situation. Pory is their home and their whole life has gone adrift.
Research is beginning, but Grig and CROSS disagree on the estimate of Pory's drift. Expensive aerial research funded by the couple is carried out, but comes to nothing. A call for help is sent to the browser community via social networks.
Time passes. Marie and Grig begin to lose hope of finding their travelling companion.
Pory is back!
On August 15, a tanker spotted Pory in the southwest of Cuba, and managed to get alongside. The crew noticed that the yacht was empty, and did not have the means to crane it, so Pory was left adrift at 19°57'N 84°38'W.
On September 5, 4 months to the day after Pory's escape from her Guadeloupe anchorage, Marie and Grigory received a message from South Florida: "... I'm going to be back in Florida We just finished securing it to a mooring. All is well. Key West Harbor services. »
Unbelievable! The yacht was spotted 11 miles south of Key West, Florida, and was recovered by a towboat chartered by Marie and Grig. Except for the rigging that has disappeared, Pory is in pretty good shape for a sailboat that has sailed about 1500 miles on her own. The mast fell as a result of being paired with the tanker and the shrouds were sheared off to allow the tow to take place.
Apart from that, Pory is almost complete. Switching the GPS back on will reveal that it was switched off shortly after Pory left his Guadeloupe anchorage. The thesis of an ill-intentioned act is reinforced when Grig notes that the rigid kayak, which was nevertheless firmly moored, has disappeared, whilst equipment simply placed in the cockpit is still present.
A long convoy without rigging
No American shipyard being ready to welcome Pory, Marie and Grig decide to go to Guatemala, which has many very well equipped marinas. The 600 mile convoy will be motorized, and despite a cylinder head rupture between Cuba and Mexico, Pory finally arrives at the Nanajuana marina, where he will be able to recover from his solo escapade.
No one will ever really know what happened during those four months of drifting. Pory, whose emblem is a pirate's briefs with two bones, will keep her little secrets..
