Ship Despair? Not really, it is Ship Repair and a large working yard that it is close to Circa and is OK as a staging point – but hardly a resort marina. Hence our nickname.
Anyway, across the way is a tired hulk. Some folks from Sri Lanka bought it for the price of scrap (USD 20000). The former owner paid a lot more and was going to take it to sea to fish but NZ officials determined that it needed to be re-plated at a cost of $1,500,000. So it has sat as a rusted hulk since we first launched Iron Lady.
Enter the Sri Lankans who bought the boat and are planning to take it back to Sri Lanka and fish it.
Their plan is to take it home after their “refit” – I would never dare to do such a thing. The only thing holding it together is the paint. They work all day diligently – I suspect that unless they pay $1.00 per hour none of this will work. Still, you have to respect them and their diligence.
This is apparently the third time they have done this. God Bless them – they need all the help they can get.