A classic Hylas design H63, SV Shaima, has recently returned to Taiwan on its own bottom. The owner of SV Shaima decided to stop in as part of their global exploration.
As is so often the case the weather gods would have a role to play. During the final approaches to Kaohsiung harbor and about 20 miles out the wind died to a whisper. The current was moving Shaima away from the island and the forecast looked very light for a couple of days.
There had been some communication between the yacht and the factory and there was every expectation that Shaima would be arriving that evening.
Having started the engine it soon became apparent there was no water in the exhaust. The raw water impeller had been compromised. This was the second time in the past few days and although all the standard checks had been made there was clearly something that would require deeper investigation. The challenging part was that the spare impeller had already been used.
Fortunately, Shaima has Starlink on board, and they were able to call Andy Huang (Hylas CEO) to advise the situation.
Being late at night it wasn’t possible to pick up a new impeller at a supply store. Andy immediately found a solution by heading to the warehouse where we had an identical engine that would have the correct size impeller.
This was half the solution. The second part of the problem was how to deliver the impeller if we didn’t want Shaima drifting for a day or so.
As you would expect the Hylas family are well connected in the yachting world of Taiwan. Andy has a good friend that owns a 44' Monte Fino power catamaran which would be perfect for the drop. Sadly that boat was out of commission but they did have a 76' powerboat that could be used. Keep in mind it is now after midnight and all of this is happening due to the kindness of the extended Hylas network.
At 1 AM the 76' powerboat was heading out to the GPS location Shaima had shared some hours ago. With some appreciation of the set and drift in that area Andy was able to estimate Shaima's most likely position. Shaima's 90ft mast had been illuminated and within a couple of hours Andy was able to make the delivery to an extremely grateful owner.
On this occasion I think it’s fair to say that Hylas really did go the extra mile or 20.
