A difficult start (En 🇬🇧)

It all started in February of 2016, when we finally bought
the Contessa 32 “Samourai” from her previous and first owner.

A first look inside “SAMOURAI” ….

the galley…

the navberth…

the front cabin…

the heads…

the deck…

and the stern…

The boat was lying in northern Greece. Our first plan was to do
a basic preparation and sail “Samourai” to the Ionian sea and to our home island, for a total refit.

That included cleaning and emptying everything inside…

…and on deck.

A quick sanding before applying a coat of antifouling.

This first project took a few weeks of preparation and in July of 2016
we were finally ready (or so we thought) for sailing away.

But while launching her we discovered a major leak on the stern gland and several  water leaks around seacocks…  some serious reasons for cancelling our 600 miles trip.

It was now mid July, the sun was burning,
the boatyard was an impossible place to work
and the nights were humid and mosquito crowded.
Our hopes for sailing that summer had vanished, so
after serious consideration we “abandoned” the boat for the summer
and decided to come back in mid autumn,
rent a house in the area and start the major refit there…