Back in early 2022 a Royal Marine by the name of Drew Korek found our advert on social media and took on the gargantuan challenge of buying the dilapidated gaff schooner Midsummer with the intention of giving her a new lease of life. Midsummer had been lying in Mombasa, Kenya for the previous 6 years having run aground off Zanzibar. Repairs had been carried out but she was then chained to the dock due to unpaid bills.
Fast forward to May 2024 and Midsummer has had a complete makeover. Everything from engineering, rewiring and interior carpentry work to painting, rebuilding the rig and replacing the deck. With the restoration being carried out on a very tight budget, much of it benefitting from donations, local volunteers from Mombasa have played a huge part in where she is today. This has benefitted both sides with work getting completed on board and new skills being acquired alongside new opportunities for the local workers.
Midsummer Trials
In early June 2024, just as the new teak deck was going down and preparations were being made for further sea trials, disaster struck. Midsummer broke her moorings at Mombasa Yacht Club after a chain parted under the mooring buoy. She was then tied to a ferry where a rough swell came in and the starboard rail became trapped under the pronounced overhang of the ferry’s main deck. Midsummer’s starboard rail buckled under the pressure, the bulwark set inboard, the capping rail destroyed and a couple of chainplates ‘sheered off as if they were cut by a butter knife’!
Drew and his team dug deep and by mid July have almost repaired the damage. Hats off to you!
The plans for Midsummer are to head North into the Mediterranean as soon as possible and of course any contributions are more than welcome. You can find their Patreon page here.
Replacing the deck
As can be easily seen in the photos below the deck needed to be replaced. It was so far gone that it was better suited as a mulch for growing vegetables, or in this case, a grassy knoll. The old deck gets chiselled off and then important preparation is done to the sub-deck ready for the new wood. The teak was sourced in Tanzania and was laid 2″ thick by 6″ wide. This is considerably thicker and wider than what you would expect to see on a Mediterranean yacht but in proportion with this style of schooner.
