Stanford Marina Crabbs Peninsula Antigua
Well, just when we nearly have a plan and must have driven poor Dave Andrew at Admiral Insurance mad asking for quotes at different locations, we have come up with another – late into the equation, but looking good so far. Admiral are happy, the yard have a much larger Travel Hoist at 150 tonnes, but more importantly it can accommodate the 22ft air draft with our deep keel and aerial mast AND we won’t have to remove the back stays – Deep Joy !! We had driven past the yard after a previous recommendation, but I was unsure of its financial status as it was built by Allen Stanford and didn’t want Suzie Too to be chained up by the Administrators. Anyway all that mess seems to be settled and the new guy is building a good reputation for handling super yachts and their prices are not bad, although they don’t use cradles, but will weld the props together and tie her down to the 18in thick concrete base. From what I hear most of the reason yachts fall over in hurricanes isn’t just because of the wind, but the torrential rain, flooding and water cascading off the land, and of course the storm surge, which washes out the ground from under the props and the boat falls over. In a cradle the props are all connected by the ground frame so the whole thing may slip but it stays together and supports the boat. The welded prop option is fine, not as good, but OK as long as the ground it is standing on is solid or better still concrete. The yard also has a Hurricane Category 4 shed which, if we unstepped our mast we could go in, not sure of the price but it’s a nice option as it keeps the sun off the decks and the hull which would keep Suzie Too looking good. At least we can use this option to store the RIB and they also offer air conditioned storage for the sails – a very professional set up. We are planning to visit with them and have the full tour and discuss the options, but this is now becoming the favourite and beats having 20 days at sea and 3,000M to Chesapeake and back. The only draw back is that we won’t get as many jobs done on the boat as we could have done in the States – but then we are in good shape, so much easier to maintain than our previous yacht and Yes, we really do love our Suzie Too. From Web
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