To Sailors Everywhere

[BMiklos]

I have joined the Cruisers Forum nearly six months ago without a proper introduction or greeting to all of you, but nearly immediately I received a nice welcome message from Tao Jones. Thank you very much.
My real name is Nicholas Barwig and I live in Toronto Canada. I have started sailing on Lake Balaton in Hungary at age 16 on a 50 sq.m. boat, named "Marco Polo" After quite a brake I continued on Lake Ontario with a Canadian build GRP Folkboat. After my retirement, the Folkboat "Aniko" was shipped in a container to the Philippines and during the Winter months I am sailing this boat from Maya Maya Yacht Club South of Manila. In the meantime I made a quick decision and this April I purchased a Mariner 40 Ketch in Rhode Island. This boat is now Flying the Canadian Flag and registered under the name of "BALATON" with hailing port of Toronto.She is on the dry now going through a refit in Rhode Island. The plan is to launch the boat in July 2012 and after sea trials and provisioning, casting off to the Philippines via the Panama Canal, Hilo and Guam with an ETA April 2013. I am very glad to belong to this Forum and looking forward to be an active member. Greetings to Sailors Everywhere

[swagman]

Hi,
Good to be the second person to welcome you to the site and wish you fair winds for your delivery passage. Trust you enjoy the site, we do!
Cheers
JOHN

[GordMay]

Greetings and welcome aboard the CF, Nicholas.

[Unicorn Dreams]

Welcome Aboard Cruisers Forum Nicholas

[James S]

Hey Nicholas....welcome to the forum.
Sounds like you've got a great plan ahead....fun...fun!
Any pictures of your boats

[SPCarroll]

Welcome aboard! I found plenty of helpful advice and warm welcomes as well.

[Bash]

Originally Posted by James S

Any pictures of your boats

Welcome to the forum! I second the request for pics.

[brutb]

Nicholas, welcome to CF. Great plans you have and a great time you are going to have. Keep us updated on your progress..

[SkiprJohn]

Aloha and welcome aboard!
You have great taste in boats.
kind regards,

[Jesse]

Welcome to the forum.

[moxieskipper]

Hi Nick,

It's Maurice (from Bluffers, now Trident Yacht Club). Long time no chat. Glad to hear you are taking off on your trip. Hoping you have a safe voyage and good luck with the new boat.

Looking forward to reading your stories!

Cheers,

Maurice
Moxie - Mirage 29

[capn_billl]

How much did the container shipping cost? I plan on working in the Phillipines, and it would be nice to have my boat there.

[BMiklos]

Originally Posted by capn_billl

How much did the container shipping cost? I plan on working in the Phillipines, and it would be nice to have my boat there.

Capn Bill,

It is heard to give you an exact figure because our business is shipping equipment to the Philippines and I got some kind of a deal. But even with the deal, it was not an inexpensive idea because of two factors. I needed a special container with removable top and full end opening to hoist my Folkboat into the container by a crane. To remove the boat was a 10 minutes job. My boat, even being small had 1" clearance at the sides and the top. The second factor is Philippines Customs. There are no fixed rules and regulations, so you are at the merci of the Customs Officers. That cost money. Even if the boat was officially cleared customs, I do not have a single piece of paper about it. The total cost is exceeding ten thousand dollars. What kind of a boat you would bring to the Philippines and were are you going to work there?

[BMiklos]

Maurice,
It is nice to hear from you. Where is Trident Yacht Club? I am not shure if I can recall the time you left BPYC. Thanks for your good wishes for the new boat. Before I start the big voyage, I will still sail my old boat in the Philippines this Winter.

Regards

Nicholas

[capn_billl]

Originally Posted by BMiklos

Capn Bill,

It is heard to give you an exact figure because our business is shipping equipment to the Philippines and I got some kind of a deal. But even with the deal, it was not an inexpensive idea because of two factors. I needed a special container with removable top and full end opening to hoist my Folkboat into the container by a crane. To remove the boat was a 10 minutes job. My boat, even being small had 1" clearance at the sides and the top. The second factor is Philippines Customs. There are no fixed rules and regulations, so you are at the merci of the Customs Officers. That cost money. Even if the boat was officially cleared customs, I do not have a single piece of paper about it. The total cost is exceeding ten thousand dollars. What kind of a boat you would bring to the Philippines and were are you going to work there?

$10,000.00 is not so bad. It is about the break even point between selling boat in US at a loss, and buying one in Phillipines, or shipping.

It is possible to get company to fund some of the price, (they paid $2000.00), to ship my boat the last time I transferred.