MOVING TO MALTA
In a move written in the stars, Clive Hook and partner Anna haul anchor and set sail for sunnier climes
Fairline owner Clive Hook moves his boat to Malta and discovers that it might just be the Med’s best kept secret
Iwas introduced to the boating world 40 years ago when I was 11-years-old. My parents bought a Fletcher Zingaro 28 which they kept at Brighton marina. Not long afterwards they moved up to a Princess 38, which they bought at the Boat Show and named Campbell’s Lady. They soon got frustrated with the UK climate and cruised her down to the South of France. The local gardiennage company, which looked after our boat, was run by an Englishman who offered me a job in the school holidays. I took it, loved it and never looked back. I now run my own boat maintenance business. Perhaps it’s hardly surprising given that my surname is Hook and my first name begins with C.
It took a while before I could afford my own boat but as soon as I could I bought a Buckingham 20 and kept it on the River Medway near where I lived . Since then I have owned a number of boats: a Birchwood 22, a Fairline Weekend 21, a Fairline Carerra 24, a Jaguar 24 sailing boat, a Searay 22, and a Fairline Targa 33 Mk2. I kept the Targa for 14 years, crossing the Channel multiple times to Brittany, Normandy and the Channel Islands.
It was around this time that I met my partner Anna, who was born in the UK but had family and roots in Malta. I also
shared a love of Malta having delivered a couple of big Princesses there for a client, taking the opportunity to thoroughly explore the island.
MOVING ON UP
I sold the Targa 33 and rather unexpectedly bought a Trader 41+2 that needed a bit of TLC. Thanks to my own business and various other marine connections I could do this relatively easily and affordably. The original idea was to do her up then sell her on but we both loved the space and grace the Trader offered, so we hung on to her and revelled in her traditional looks and big boat feel. Cruising at 10 knots was a big change for us but it was so relaxing and we soon realised that there’s little point in speeding to your destination if you don’t need to – far better to sit back and enjoy the views.
The Trader served us well and we cruised most weekends, weather permitting, around the Solent, Weymouth, Dartmouth and Torquay. After three years we sold the Trader to buy a Fairline Targa 43. Again we cruised most weekends, taking her across the Channel to explore the Normandy coast but by now our thoughts started turning towards other cruising destinations in the Med. Malta was the obvious choice to serve as our base, considering our family connections and the fantastic harbours and bays around the island, some of which can only be reached by boat.
We sold the Targa and started looking for a Fairline Phantom 43AC that could act as both a floating holiday home as well as a boat. We looked at various flybridge options but the Phantom 43 AC not only has more accommodation than most, thanks to its aft cabin layout, but also a raised aft deck with a sociable cockpit and outside helm protected from the wind.
The hunt was on! We found one but it wasn’t suitable, then through contacts we sourced another. This one was mechanically sound and the gel coat was in good condition but the interior let it down; the lining was starting to sag, the carpets were tired and the upholstery was dated.
CHASING PHANTOMS
I managed to strike a deal with the owner that would allow us to refurbish the interior and become the owner of a rare Phantom 43AC. Fairline launched the 43AC to replace the popular 36 Turbo but not only was it a much grander craft, the production costs were also much higher, so Fairline dropped it after a short production run. I have never managed to pin down the exact number built but most estimates put the number somewhere between 14 and 20.
Like a lot of aft cabin boats they aren’t as easy to board as conventional flybridge designs but the way I look at it, if you struggle to board it, are you really safe to be on it?
We lifted her out of the water at
Port Solent Marina and set to work.
Our first task was to strip out the interior, always a messy job as the backing foam disintegrates into powder. While the saloon was empty I brought in the Clean Diesel Company to purge the tanks, polish the fuel and get rid of any latent diesel bug or residue. This is well worth doing on any older boat as a fuel blockage can stop your engines dead. I also asked South Coast Marine Engineering to inspect the engines, carry out a full service and replace a few parts that were in need of attention.
While this was going on Mastercovers replaced the interior linings, fitted new carpets and reupholstered the sofas. The cockpit canopy had also seen better days so they replaced that as well, along with a new sunpad for the bow and a sun screen for the front window. I found their workmanship very good considering the tight time scale I gave them.
To ensure the exterior looked as good as the interior I also employed BG Install graphics to vinyl wrap the back of the raised aft cockpit where the original gelcoat had started to fade. I took care of all the other little jobs such as installing new electric heads, redoing the plumbing, replacing the chartplotters, adding
Coppercoat long-term antifouling to the hull and giving the whole boat a good buff and polish. The total cost of the refurb came to about £20,000 but what a transformation!
At last it was time to relaunch our 43AC, now named Utopia. Everything went like clockwork and on her first trip out we wound her up to 29 knots – an impressive speed for her old Volvo Penta 63s. We enjoyed a few sorties around the Solent before deciding it was time to move her to a new home in Malta.
Finding a permanent berth on the island can be tricky as there are more boats than berths, although the recent addition of two new marinas has eased the problem a little. We have always liked Grand Harbour Marina with its stunning backdrop and protected location but knew we would be lucky to find a berth there. We rang more in hope than expectation, only to be told that one berth had just become available for exactly our size of craft. Talk of serendipity! The annual cost of the berth was slightly less than in the UK so we leapt at the chance.
SHIP TO SHORE
Our next job was to work out the best way of getting Utopia to her new home. The first option was to cruise her there ourselves but we soon concluded that the costs of fuel, visitors’ berths and wear and tear combined with the limitations of time and weather constraints were prohibitive. Trucking her there overland was too complex, so the only other option was to ship her down as cargo.
We crunched the numbers and gave the job to Peters & May.
The date for loading was mid June 2019 but as with all charter shipping, the dates remained fluid until the eleventh hour.
The loading finally took place towards the end of June in Southampton docks. My son Jakke and I watched being hoisted out of the water. It was a nerve-racking moment but the deck crew were so professional and put our minds at rest as she was lowered onto the ship and strapped down for the trip.
I downloaded a ship-tracking app on my phone and watched with mounting excitement as I followed its progress down to the Med. We flew to Malta in the first week of July to be there in time for her arrival and watched the large cargo ship manoeuvre into harbour with our boat sitting on deck totally unscathed from its 2,500 mile journey.
We clambered on deck in the hi-vis jackets and hard hats we’d be given while the guys removed all the tie-down straps and ropes. The crane was then positioned overhead and was airborne once again before being carefully lowered halfway down the ship’s side while we clambered down the ladder onto our waiting boat. Once aboard we were lowered down the final few metres into the warm waters of the Med. I turned on the battery master switches, fired up both engines, checked the water was coming out of the exhausts and then we were off, waving goodbye to the crew.
We didn’t have to travel far to our new marina as it’s in another corner of the same Grand Harbour. The marina staff were very helpful, showing us to our berth, taking our lines and sorting out shore power and water. We spent the next day washing off all the Saharan dust and black soot from the ship’s exhaust stacks, and unwrapping the soft furnishings, covers and various other loose objects we’d duck-taped down. Eventually she looked like a new boat again, gleaming in the 35 degree
heat! At last we were ready to explore our new Maltese cruising ground with its numerous beaches, bays and harbours not to mention the two other islands within an hour of Malta, Comino and Gozo.
I’ve explained one of the reasons we chose Malta as our base but there are other reasons why we like the island too. Obviously, the boating season is much longer than the UK’S with guaranteed sunshine much of the time and, unlike some parts of the Med, Malta seems to have something going on all year round such as regional feasts, firework displays, concerts and carnivals. Even the restaurants stay open during the winter months. If you feel you’ve exhausted all those options, Sicily is only 55nm away and for the more adventurous there’s the South of Italy and the Greek Islands beyond that.
MALTA MAGIC
After spending last summer on board in Malta, Anna and I are certain we have made the right decision; those crystal clear waters, the big yellow circle in the sky, the fascinating coastline, the amazing architecture, the friendly people (who all speak English) and the simple way of life suits us down to the ground. We anticipate many more happy years exploring the area at our leisure and have even started up a boat charter company so we can spend more time there and hopefully offset some of our boating costs, so don’t hesitate to contact us if you fancy dipping your toes in Maltese water for a change!
FUEL
Diesel costs around €1.28 per litre. There aren’t any fuel berths as such, you just ask the marina to call up a bowser lorry which pulls up alongside the quay and lowers an extremely long hose to your boat.
INSURANCE
About the same cost as the UK. I’ve used my original UK boat insurance and extended it to cover Malta.
LICENCE
To operate a boat with an engine over 30hp in Maltese waters the skipper needs a local boating licence or an ICC.
BERTHING
Annual berthing costs for a 13m boat are approximately €7,000.
FLIGHTS
Flights from London Gatwick operate all year round. We tend to book for the whole year and each return flight is approximately £60 – about the same as a train ticket from Portsmouth to London!
OTHER COSTS
Having your boat abroad can be a worry when you’re not there to keep an eye on it, so choose a safe, protected marina and consider employing a good guardiennage company to look after it. One other thing that people forget is the damage the sun can do to your boat’s gel coat. I recommend a good coat of premium wax once a month throughout the season. I carry this out on my own boat and have picked up a few clients’ boats in Malta who have asked me to do the same for them. It isn’t expensive and saves a bigger expense in the long run.
CONTACTS
C HOOK MARINE SERVICES Email: info@chookmarineservices.com
SOUTH COAST MARINE ENGINEERING www.southcoastmarineengineering.co.uk
CLEAN DIESEL COMPANY www.cleandieselcompany.com
MASTERCOVERS www.mastercoversltd.co.uk
After spending the summer in Malta, we’re certain we’ve made the right decision