Little did we know when we arrived at Indiantown Marina that this would be the last few days of the Rol & C's.
Our arrival was routine. We removed the shrinkwrap from the boat and started our cleanup duties. The boat had fared well over the summer, there wasn't much mildew from the Florida heat and humidity. Our use of charcoal and formaldehyde throughout the boat when storing it helped a great deal.
We did have some major projects to deal with. Our inverter/charger which keeps our batteries charged and provides us with 110 volt power when at anchor needed to be removed from the boat and taken to Fort Lauderdale for repair. Our generator which blew a rod through the engine case last season, needed to be removed and replaced with a new one that I had purchased back home and brought with us.
These jobs as well as other routine maintenance were progressing well until I decided to do some cleanup and fibreglass work in the area where the generator had been. This area hadn't seen daylight since the boat was built and it was dirty. I cleaned it all up with solvents and then sanded the area to be fiberglassed, applied the resin and glass mat and then proceeded to climb out of the engine room. As I did this I must have accidentally hit the cord of the extension light that I was using. I heard a crash behind me but didn't make much of it, just thought...there goes another light bulb and headed for the galley to make some lunch. Within a short time, the salon area filled with smoke and the fire alarm went off. Totally surprised by this, I tried to put it out with a small extinguisher we kept in the galley but it was all but useless. The entire interior of the boat was engulfed with smoke so quickly that all I could do is grab our laptops and get the hell out of there. I called 911 and watched as our beloved boat burned.
All this time, Carole was doing the laundry about a minute walk away, totally oblivious that any of this was happening. People walked in and out of the laundry room of the marina and no one mentioned the fact that there were seven firetrucks and several police cars just outside, not to mention a burning boat! When Carole walked out and saw this unbelievable sight, her first thought was "what the hell is happening?" When she realized that it was the Rol & C's that was on fire, she panicked! "Where's Roly?"
The boat was declared a total loss.
Luckily no one was hurt. A couple of the firemen had inhaled some smoke and were being treated for it. Our scars aren't visible but the pain we felt at the loss of our most prized possession, our winter home and our way of life, is indescribable. Over the nine years that we owned our Hyatt 40, we put a great deal of time, work and money into it to make it our own. The one thing that the fire could not take away was the cherished memories. They will live on in us and the many of you who had the chance to spend time on her.
A big thank you to the Firemen and Policemen who came to our aid. We shudder to think how much worse this ordeal could have been if it wasn't for them.
Thank you as well to the staff of Indiantown Marina who always gave us great service but really shined when we needed them the most. We thank our readers and hope that you enjoyed our adventures as much as we enjoyed living them.
Roly and Carole Paré
With the following pictures, we remember the Rol & C's.
Now onward, to Another Adventure!!
