Oriental has a bit of a reputation as being a place that sort of sucks people in. All sorts of folks show up here planning to only stay a day or a week, but for one reason or another they end up staying longer… sometimes much longer. This lovely little town is full of stories of folks who came to visit, and later ended up buying property and settling down.
Bas and Selena probably knew that they would be here for more than a few days when they pulled in. Their sailboat, Selena, had lost her mast hundreds of miles from the coast while sailing up from the BVI’s, and then suffered major engine damage when two engine mounts broke from the cast block of their forty-three-year-old British Motor Company engine.
To watch the following video interview with better quality, please see it on YouTube here.
Bas and Monique are enjoying the friendly atmosphere of Oriental, but also wondering how they will be able to sail their boat back home. Selena is a lovely yacht, and it would be heartbreaking for them to have to give her up due to their recent misfortune. When visiting aboard, it is immediately obvious that much time and attention has been given to Selena throughout the 43 years since she was first launched. Bas was friends with the original owners and has been sailing on Selena ever since 1970. Now I am trying to spread the word to help them find a new rig to bring Selena home.
To read more about Selena‘s “adventure”, please see my previous post here.
Just found your site here a few weeks ago when I was doing some reading on full keel boats! I was curious how things turned out with Has, Selena and the missing mast? Did he ever figure out why the mast failed? Was it wood or aluminum, did it break or shear etc? I’m hoping he found a used set of gear and they were able to somehow repair the motor mounts!
Glad you stopped by! Selena got a new used mast in Oriental, sailed up to the Chesapeake the next season, and wintered this year in Maine. The failure of the old rig was due to a broken swage terminal. Once one cap shroud let go, the rig went over the side. It was an aluminum mast, and the new rig is aluminum as well. Fortunately, he was able to find a replacement casting for the piece of his engine that had the broken mount. Things are going well and they plan to take the boat back to Europe this year…