The s/v Midsummer One member’s dream in the spotlight
Based in Canada, Drew Korek is a long standing IIMS member. He has embarked on a challenging project to restore a 120’ LOA topsail schooner called s/v Midsummer. She can carry a total of 12 crew and pax and is 94 mt GRT, with her displacement of 174 mt. She was designed as a sailing fishing vessel, built by the Van der Windt shipyard and launched in the midsummer of 1910, at Vlaardingen, Holland. Her hull is made of riveted wrought iron plates, and it is a testament to the remarkable craftsmanship of the Dutch shipwrights from a bygone era who made her.
She was originally christened Johanna Jacoba and was renamed a number of times before assuming her present name, the Midsummer. Currently, the vessel is lying in Kenya in need of tender loving care. Sadly, this beautiful little schooner has been at the mercy of elements of equatorial Africa since 2016 and these years have taken a toll on her. The merciless monsoons, scorching heat, no maintenance whatsoever and petty theft have all left their mark.
Once seaworthy, Drew plans to sail her to the UK or to Nova Scotia, Canada for additional restorative work. IIMS plans to follow Drew’s progress over the coming months, and we wish him good luck and fair winds in his endeavours.
As soon as she is fully renovated, Drew plans for the Midsummer to be put to good educational uses. She will become a training vessel, a refuge and retreat for the Royal Marines and other service branches members and veterans suffering from PTSD.
There is no substitute for, and nothing better than, real sea time under sail on deck of a classic schooner like the Midsummer. It offers a unique experience and
36 | The Report • June 2022 • Issue 100
opportunity to learn the critical skills of seafarers - skills forgotten over time, such as wire work and sail making. Rarely does the opportunity come around to be part of working to rig a ship from the keel up, or to learn how sails are repaired.
Furthermore, to earn some income towards her upkeep, she may carry boutique cargo, such as coffee, tea and wine from Avon Valley, Nova Scotia, to the UK and Europe.
As Drew says, “I’ve been looking for such a suitable vessel for the last few years. Five months ago, a mate from the Marine Corp gave me a lead towards this one, currently abandoned in east Africa by the British owners after she was run aground by her skipper. They had her salvaged, dry docked and fixed but there was a problem with the payment of the final bill and the vessel was arrested by court order.”
Drew continues, “In 2016 she was a beautiful lady with a large price tag. But I negotiated her purchase for a fraction of the original asking price. She deserves saving from an inevitable, bitter end. She needs lots of tender loving care, but I know it can be done. The plan is to get her
on the dry dock in mid-June. Once seaworthy we will bring her either to the south of England of or to Lunenburg, Nova Scotia for the re-fit by the end of September. Call me a crazy, romantic fool but I will see this project through.”
Drew reports that he has a busy time ahead to get the key components organized for the Midsummer’s drydocking in June. There is not much of the required materials readily available in Kenya. Midsummer requires new masts, sails and running rigging. The biggest challenge is to get the kit over there.
Revealing more of his plans, Drew said, “There is the option of sailing north, through Suez, to the Mediterranean, stopping there for final preparation for the Atlantic crossing. The alternative plan is to sail out of Mombasa in July down to Cape Town or Saldanha Bay, then cross the Atlantic with landfall at Recife or Natal. From there we can head up to the Caribbean. And then onwards to Lunenburg where she will have her deck sorted out. And in the spring, she will sail finally to the south of England.”
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