For Thies Matzen and Kicki Ericsson, this is an unusual piece of shipping news. "For seven years in total, 'Wanderer' was not out of the water, thanks to the copper skin," writes Thies in an email to YACHT yesterday. Now, however, she has been lying on land for four months. And the heat of the South American summer is taking its toll on her and her owners.
"After years in the fridge in the far south, she's here at 35 degrees, like in an oven. We wanted to repair the minor damage caused by the ice and are now facing excessive drying out," says Thies Matzen, who has called the 31-foot sloop, built in 1952, "my home" for more than 30 years. The skilful boat builder's words are full of concern.
"It's wood, and wood is alive. I've said it before: no boat made of other materials is as connected to the water as one made of wood. It needs it, it feels best there."
In September, when the temperatures were much more moderate in Argentina, there was a sense of anticipation at the thought of the work that was due. "For now, we're getting 'Wanderer' ready, starting next week, probably for two months. And I'm looking forward to taking her apart and examining her, repainting her, engine, mast ..." Although everything was substantially in order, the project still took longer than originally planned.
The reason: it's a "ten-year refit", as Thies writes. "The last really thorough, and above all structural, refit took place ten years ago in New Zealand, followed by ten winters spent on board, all of them warmed with either peat, coal or wood, with consequences for the interior paintwork, of course. But these last ten years we haven't had any structural problems, and now, here with a good friend in the Paraná Delta, for the first time we don't need to do anything other than paint the underwater hull, so no copper plates to get to the planks. But there's still plenty to do."
In order to access the hull from the inside and inspect everything in detail, Thies and Kicki have removed most of the fittings - right down to the tanks. Instead of the cosy flair of a classic, "Wanderer" currently exudes sober, naked practicality. But soon she will - finally - be afloat again. And be ready for further adventures, many new long voyages. She has already logged around 300,000 nautical miles in the world's most extreme waters. An incredible achievement for a wooden boat measuring just 9.30 metres.
Thies Matzen tells the story of an unforgettable sea voyage "Wanderers" in the new YACHT classic. It is the story of a 5000-mile search for a deserted island in the South Pacific: Podesta. Issue 1-2013 will be published on 12 December. Online pre-order here!
Jochen Rieker
Herausgeber YACHT
