Halcyon Damaged on Reef

Mike and Shannon Scott of Florida report that their Formosa 51 ketch Halcyon, which had been left on a mooring in Zihua Bay for hurricane season, went up on a reef last week and has been badly damaged. The couple purchased the boat in La Paz about 18 months ago, and had spent a lot of time preparing her for the trip through the Panama Canal and to the East Coast.

According a Facebook page report by Shannon, the couple arrived in Zihua in May, with their money and visas running out, but with the boat needing to be hauled and have the motor mounts and shaft replaced before they could continue on. Knowing it would be risky, but feeling they had no choice, the couple decided to leave Halcyon on a mooring while they returned to the States to work until January. They purchased a mooring from an individual known to have made a lot of moorings, but unfortunately didn’t get to see it before it was put into use. They also hired somebody to watch over their boat.

For reasons unknown, Halcyon broke loose of her mooring last week, drifted onto a reef, and took a pounding. A hole in the hull the size of fist was the least of the damage, as there was also a length-wise crack in the integral keel, and so much water had gotten into the boat that it covered the engine.

When Michael arrived in Zihua on Friday, he was inundated by a number of people who demanded $2,000 to $3,000 for the work they had done to save the boat. Michael was also told it would cost $6,000 to have the boat, which had already been pulled off the reef, towed to the yard at Ixtapa.

Shannon says that they were unsure if Michael might be held in Mexico until claims against the boat were satisfied, so they consulted a lawyer in La Paz. The lawyer’s recommendation was for Michael to leave Mexico immediately — which he has — and to deal with the situation from a distance.