Boadicea

19.11.2021 - 25.01.2022
28.08.2021 - 18.10.2021
Captain
m/y Boadicea

Boadicea in Nice

Was once again on the lookout and through the grapevine I was approached to join m/y Boadicea for a rotational position. Had a nice interview with the outgoing Captain and the only thing sort of prepared me of things to come was the comment that the client is "difficult". I thought that all clients are a bit difficult more or less but with some positive thinking everything could be solved.

Anyway, long story short I joined her in Nice where she had just dropped off guests and I was expected to join for a short familiarization trip. Said and done I was onboard and chatting away and we departed from Nice to the Bay of Beaulieau-sur-Mer. The maneuvering was bog standard with twin variable pitch propellers and double rudders with a bowthruster forward. The propulsion response was a bit sluggish as the engineer preferred to keep the main engines on combinator, i.e. variable rpm's (as opposed to fixed rpm) so a maneuver took time to take effect as well as the lower rpm wasn't giving a fast response.

France

France

France

France

Anyway, all was good during the handover and papers were signed and the other Captain went on leave. I was to pick up Owner's soon enough in Nice and continue from there to Italy, Amalfi coast and the Aeolian Islands, then Greece. It all went well and then we headed for Albania to fuel, whilst the guests went ashore we took diesel onboard, we were on our way the same day. 

Italy

Italy

Italy

Italy

Italy

Greece

Greece

Greece

Greece

Greece

In Greece we checked in first at the natural harbor of Pilos, in Peloponnese, lovely place. From there we cruise more east and ended up in Mykonos. There unfortunately I got covid so had to inform the owner's of the risk and they reluctantly decided to disembark in Pilos and from there we headed to Valletta in Malta as planned for some maintenance.

Greece

Greece

Greece

Greece

Greece

Greece

Malta

Malta

As I was contagious I self isolated in my cabin for days and when we arrived Valletta the chief mate called me out to maneuver. I was a bit feverish but otherwise compos mentis but after tied up we did pcr tests on everyone, I still came out positive after having the bug for 4-5days. We were slapped 14days of quarantine, effective immediately. As the 2 weeks ran out, I got an unceremonious email from the health authorities that my penance had been served and we were free to roam the streets again. Incidentally none of the other crew got ill so the isolation at least worked. The next day I was on a plane home for my leave and the other Captain was continuing the refit works as planned.

Malta

Then few weeks later I got a phone all from the owner to join the ship as the other captain had resigned. As I had nothing else going on I agreed to it and came back as fast as I could after renewing my medical. The owner wanted to get going towards Maldives in search of charters over Christmas and New year. Said and done, departed almost straight away for Suez canal with new engineers too as the old ones had resigned. Made it well past the canal and with security onboard we passed all the way to Maldives. There we had some technical issues on arrival that needed sorting out and the holidays were spent repairing stuff, then the charters were not important and got orders to proceed to Phuket via Penang for cheap fuel.

Maldives

Thailand

Thailand

Thailand

Arrived in good order to Penang for fuel and soon enough we were on our merry way towards the land of smiles. Again on arrival we needed to do pcr tests, surprisingly one of our stewardesses came out positive so they added some extra days of quarantine at the quarantine anchorage. I had good time to prepare repair lists etc for arrival alongside. When the quarantine expiration came closer, the owner advised what he wanted to do and I recommended that perhaps better to repair mechanical items before going for play.

Thailand

It didn't go down well but at that time I was past caring. Eventually minds were changed and I was asked to dock in Yacht Haven marina for engine exhaust repairs. The engineer was confident enough to put the engines on constant rpm for the maneuver and it was a totally different ballgame bringing her alongside, worked like a charm.

Thailand

Some days later I disembarked for leave having handed over to a new captain and eventually some weeks later I got an email saying it was not necessary to return. It was a relief.

Thailand

Boadicea herself was not a bad yacht, she was built by Amels as a one off project to an Australian client and upon completion she sailed to many places. Then she was sold to a French client who renamed her "Reborn". There seems to have been the intention to create a small luxury cruise ship which as a venture perhaps was not successful because she was sold again. This time to an Italian businessman with interests in Nigeria so he had used a lot of workforce from there to "maintain" the yacht in various ways. He also took back the original name Boadicea. Eventually she was laid up with very little use until she was bought by current owner. In 2021 when I was there, she was quite run down. 

The name itself is pretty awesome and by checking Wikipedia she is considered a British national heroine and a symbol of the struggle for justice and independence. 

Her particulars and specifications are as follows:
Guest capacity 12 persons in 9 cabins
Crew capacity 22 persons
Length 76.6m / 251'4
Beam 14m / 45'11
Draught 4.2m / 13'9
GT 2,191 
Cruise speed 13 Knots
Built 1999 
Builder  Amels
Designed by Terence Disdale
Range 5,300 nm

Main Engines 2 x Caterpillar 

Generators 2 x Caterpillar (480kW) & 1 x Caterpillar (360kW)

Class LR

Flag Cayman Island