In 2021, Jean-François, whose sailing experience is limited to dinghy and catamaran sailing around the Ile de Ré, embarks on an incredible love affair. He fell in love with the Fram IX, a Southern Ocean 60, a 60-foot (18.29 m) schooner built in 1980 by the Southern Ocean shipyard in Poole, UK!
2 years of carefree cruising
For this former airplane pilot, who has practiced several trades in his life and is now a member of the Golf-Juan SNSM station, this is the start of a new life. The yacht finds its home in the port of Imperia, in the Gulf of Genoa, Italy. For the next two years, Jean-François would sail out of this port on short 2 to 3 day trips. All went well until that day in June 2023 when Murphy's Law kicked in: "Anything that can go wrong, will."
A genoa that doesn't listen
Leaving that day with her friend to reach Portofino in calm weather (10 knots of easterly wind), damage to the genoa clew occurred. It jammed at the clew. Left to its own devices, the genoa flapped violently, and even when furled, a triangle of canvas remained, difficult to control and reach from the deck. Finally, Jean-François manages to block it. But with this easterly wind, the route requires upwind sailing. Not easy when you have no headsail. Jean-François, cautious, decides to turn back.
Same ills on the mainsail
Some time later, the clew of the mainsail, which is also on a furler, slackens. Just like the genoa! Clearly, the overhaul of the sails, entrusted to an Italian sailmaker, had not been carried out properly. Jean-François decided to move closer to the coast to anchor. He found himself in front of the San Lorenzo marina. The engine starts well, but the propeller doesn't turn. A genoa sheet got caught in it...
Just in front of the port
In 7 m of water, Jean-François decides to drop anchor. He drops 40 m of chain, but it's not enough to hold back the 20-ton yacht. Inexorably, the wind pushed them towards the coast. Jean-François quickly telephones the harbour master's office, which is almost within earshot, just behind the breakwater, to request assistance. But they replied that they were not allowed to leave the harbor. In the end, the Imperia emergency services were contacted, but after more than an hour, a boat came close to the Fram before leaving without intervening!
Grounded!
At 11:30 am, the yacht runs aground on the rocks. Jean-François and his girlfriend are able to disembark to see the agony of the boat. Jean-François then struggled to find a tugboat, which replied in the late afternoon: " it's too late, we're closing! ". The next morning, he refused to pay the ?2,500 deposit and never showed up. The solution of installing a crane on the dike is even considered, but the solidity of the embankment is not sufficient to support the 20 tons of sailboat.
All the while, the Guarda Civil, the local police, is putting pressure on Jean-François about the risks of pollution. Every day, they come to take photos to see what's going on, instead of helping to find a salvage solution. Out of fear, Jean-François goes so far as to buy floating anti-pollution booms to surround the boat.
Saved by a barge
Finally, after 5 days' waiting, a barge with a crane arrived from Savona. The yacht lay on the bottom with the entire bow of the deck submerged. Fortunately, there was no pollution. But the condition of the hull made the owner and the crane operator fear that the yacht would break in two when lifted. But the Ocean 60 is a solid construction. And it is suspended under the crane that it will be deposited on the handling trailer of the shipyard present in the marina.
With third-party insurance, the refloating of the yacht is covered by the insurance. But what now for the Fram IX, which has been underwater for 5 days? Jean-François wonders, but not for long. He wants to save his boat!
The hull pierced in 3 places
It's a sad state of affairs. The hull is destroyed in several places on the starboard side. The rudder and propeller shaft are torn off. The whole interior had been in seawater for 5 days. Jean-François began by emptying the boat, rinsing everything, including the engine, which could be saved. Then came 6 months of drying. A naval engineer commissioned by the shipyard comes to assess the hull to see if it can be repaired. Ultrasonic measurements are taken everywhere, especially around the breaches, to see how far they have delaminated.
A titanic construction site
For the past year, the yacht has been undergoing work at the shipyard. He will rebuild the molds from the outside and laminate from the inside to restore the hull's shape. Jean-François is being asked to pay ?200,000 for this work, which includes hull renovation and painting, as well as rudder rebuilding and a visit from the expert. It's a lot, but it's not a lot, at least not as much as the estimates requested in France. What's more, the boat is already in the yard. Above all, the workers have all seen Jean-François' misfortune, when his boat ran aground on the breakwater at the foot of the yard. As far as they're concerned, given the lack of motivation on everyone's part, the sailboat was "sacrificed" by the authorities. Today, everyone is working with passion and empathy on this incredible refit.
Interior refit
Although the hull is going to be "new", Jean-François, for lack of additional means, has to carry out the refit of the fittings himself. At the same time as renovating the hull, he began dismantling the fittings to replace everything that was rotten. All on-board equipment (pumps, water heaters, etc.) is renewed. All bulkheads are sanded. Destroyed furniture is replaced...
In this new reconstruction, Jean-François is committed to preserving the traditional soul of this wooden interior. He will nevertheless take the opportunity to modify the galley, which was originally too small, by encroaching slightly on the saloon bench seat. He also takes the opportunity to redo the helm console and modify the position of the throttle. It will also be an opportunity to install 2 black water tanks, previously absent.
2 days a week, 8 hours a day
Still working, Jean-François has 2 days a week to visit the site. He has access to the joinery and its machinery to work. His goal is to finish at the same time as the hull renovation, i.e. at the end of summer 2025. He still has to redo all the electrical and plumbing work. New electronic instruments have also been procured. Fram IX will be as good as new again, 2 years after her sinking.
France's really efficient SNSM
If Jean-François were to learn anything from this misadventure, it would be to avoid getting too close to the coast in the event of a problem, but rather to head out to sea. He recognizes the error of the propeller tip that led to the rest of the disaster. With a good engine, he would have been able to get back to port and reset his sails.
As a member of the SNSM in France, he also notes that the service available in France is truly exceptional compared to what he found in Italy. He recalls a grounding of a sailboat on the Lérins islands, where he intervened with the Golfe-Juan launch, having to pull on a halyard with a semi-rigid to free the sailboat before towing it to Cannes. This operation cost the yachtsman ?450... A far cry from the service he experienced in Italy.
