S/Y EFAKI is a Mirage 28 built in 1977 by Thames Marine (UK) 

S/Y EFAKI is a member of the SNAPDRAGON & MIRAGE ASSOCIATION

S/Y EFAKI is a member of the Piraeus Sailing Club (I.O.P.)

During the return trip from our August 05 vacations we have had some incidents that lead to the damage of Efaki. Of the three incidents of that day, one had as a result the (almost complete) destruction of the pushpit, the pullpit, the starboard guardrails and a stanchion as long as the recently installed pole that held the GPS and NAVTEX antennas and the little solar panel that I use to trickle charge the batteries during winter.

The incident which involved a collision hit between Efaki and the bow of my friend Kostas Pamakarios' Jeanneau 37 occurred due to the failure of the old Autohelm autopilot I have on Efaki and a moments late reaction on my side while the two boats were real close with both Kostas and me... chatting as it was dead calm and we had both our sails stowed using the engines. I remember hearing a bang just before the collision. This might have been the sound of Efaki hitting something on the water (although I didn't see it) and probably had as a result the failure of the autopilot. It is quite amazing what destruction can be created in just a few seconds and the problem is not the damage itself rather the fact that Kostas' girlfriend who was with him aboard his boat, got scared. 

Blue: Efaki, Red: Angeliki

How it happened: 1. I realize that the pilot is not functioning any more and that we are very close. At this point I take the tiller and I turn to port. 2. As I turn to port the stern of Efaki comes close to the bow of Angeliki and his bow anchor messes with the guardrails. I can't get it free immediately and as both boats move the destruction begins. 3. Although Kostas immediately cuts speed the inertia and the weight of the bigger boat forces Efaki to turn to starboard when the destruction of the pushpit is completed. 4. The two boats finally separate and stop. We then begun to check for damages. Angeliki had nothing at all except a small scratch in the bow anchor. Efaki had totally destroyed the pushpit. As the guardrails had not snapped, one stanchion base was badly bent and needs replacing. Because of the weight forced to the guardrails, the pulpit was bent in the starboard side. The pole attached to the pushpit for the antennas and the solar panel was bent to destruction although the antennas are ok. The outboard of the dinghy that was on her base attached to the pushpit was hit possibly by the pulpit of Angeliki and has the propeller bent and the plastic hood broken in one at least point. The upper starboard guardrail has some wires broken and needs replacing although it has not snapped.

The pulpit had each side two "legs" that connect by an upper tube. I was aware that this shape did not provide much strength and the same moment was not easy to enter the boat by the stern. I was planning to change it in the future.

This is one of the bents of the pushpit (with the base of the dinghy's outboard showing) while in the right picture is the set of holes of the forward starboard leg of the pushpit that had two screws keeping it in it's place. The screws broke under the weight applied.

The upper guardrail didn't snap but some wires were broken. The base of the stanchion on the right picture was badly bent and probably needs replacing.

This is the pulpit that is bent heavily turning to starboard because of the weight applied to the guardrails. The portside leg of the pulpit has a crack in the joint point as shown in the picture. Possibly this will be welded.

Because of the weight applied to the guardrail the pulpit was bent as shown in the left picture and the portside leg was snapped and forced out of its place. The damage shown in the right picture is the biggest occurred during the incident and will require some work as the exterior layer of the gelcoat and some fiberglass cloth was removed by the screws and this point needs to be reinforced.

What follows: I have made a claim to my insurance company (Pantaenius) and I wait for an inspector to come and see the damage before I get to uninstall both the pushpit and pulpit. This is the first ever time I made a claim or had an incident that requires repairs and I'll report here the procedure.   

This page was last updated on August 24th 2005.

Update: The insurance company accepted the claim without problems and agreed to the payment of the restoration which was completed in the spring of 2006 and provided the opportunity to take care of a few more details on Efaki. The total cost for the restoration of the damage was paid by Pantaenius (except a small percentage as written on my contract) and I can only praise their services.