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The history of the Obi-Wan
History
The Obi-Wan was built in 1973, with hull
number 816. She was constructed by Mistral shipyards, in Rubi,
Spain. She was then imported in France by commandant Plichard,
where she was bought by Mr J. Mattei. She was originally named
EOS II
On November, 28 1977 she was sold to Jean
de Locht from Uccle, Belgium, for the price of 65.000 FFR. During
the ownership by Mr. de Locht, the EOS II received a new log, the
stove was changed from gas to alcohol, and more importantly, she
was re-engined with a Volvo Penta 2001 in 1993.
 |
I encountered the EOS II for the
first time in July 1999 in Bruinisse (NL) on one of my
voyages with the seascouts. At that time I was looking
for a decent boat to acquire. I noticed the for-sale
message, posted on the window of the harbour master's
office. When I found her in her cradle on the lot, I
couldn't believe it. Here was everything I wanted in a
boat: a fairly long keel, not too many accessories, a
good sail wardrobe, and best of all, at a decent price. I called the owner, and asked him to fax a
report. When I arrived home, a week later, the fax was
there, and I contacted the owner immediately. A week
later I was back in Bruinisse, going over the boat with
the owner. I didn't bother with a survey, because after
ten years of seascouting, and sailing with everything
possible afloat, you have a pretty good knowledge of what
is a decently maintained boat, and what's a neglected
ship.
During a conversation over a cool
beer, I told Mr. De Locht that I would think about making
an offer.
The next few days were filled with
contacting the bank, making calculations, calling
insurance companies and marinas. Tuesday afternoon, I
decided on an offer, a bit lower than the asking price,
but one I was sure that Mr de Locht would accept. When I
powered up my mobile, I noticed that I had a message in
the voice mail. I called the voice mail, and it was Mr.
de Locht. He had received an offer, but it was valid
until 12:00h. I couldn't believe my misfortune. As it was
already 16:00h, I immediately called de Locht and gave
him my offer. Unfortunately de Locht had already accepted
the other offer.
|
| A month later, I'm walking in
Terneuzen marina, which the seascouts use as home port,
and suddenly I stop: a Sirocco 31. Even worse, on closer
inspection: it's the EOS II. Here's a missed opportunity
looking right in my face. I mention this to a friend, and
walk away. Two days later, I
get a call from my friend: the current owner isn't very
happy with his new ship. Seems it's not exactly what he
wanted, and he might consider selling it to me.
|
 |
After a rather ridiculous round of
negotiations (I called de Locht to ask him how much he
sold the boat for, and the current owner called de Locht
as well, to know my offer), I bought the EOS II from Piet
Dumez. I have never looked back since.
Post Scriptum:
I've never believed in calling your boat
"[name] II" or XXVI. It always want make you ask
"What happened to number one ?". It either means you
lack inspiration, the previous boat sank underneath you, or you
own a fleet of ships. Since neither of these applied to me, I
rebaptised the boat to Obi-Wan. But beware, it does require some
ceremonial effort to re-name a ship: to avoid bad luck you have
to remove any item which might refer to the previous name: ship's
papers, items marked have to be sanded down or removed, and the
ships name has to be removed completely, not just painted over.
Then you have to make an offering to Aeolus
and Neptune, the gods of wind and sea, thanking them for the care
of the previous boat, and asking them to accept the new ship in
their realm.
In April 2000 my mother poured the
champagne over the deck of the Obi-Wan, and a new ship was born.