Seven years of hard work, transforming an old fishing boat into a floating home to fulfil a lifetime's ambition to sail the seas, went up in flames last Wednesday, when the "Aris-Tima" caught fire in the port of Maó.
Fortunately the boat's owners were not on board at the time, having set off with their two dogs to spend the day in Ciutadella. They received a telephone call around 1100 hrs. telling them that their boat was on fire and returned to Maó to find a combined force of Port Police, National Police, Guardia Civil and Firemen working to extinguish the fierce blaze in the interior of the vessel, a task made the more difficult by a strong wind, and the high temperatures and smoke resulting from the fire. The entire Maó fire brigade plus crews from Alaior and Ciutadella were involved in the 16-hour fight to extinguish the blaze before it could reach the 40,000 litres of fuel stored in the boat's tanks.
Investigations are now being carried out by the Guardia Civil into the cause of the blaze which, according to the head of the fire brigade, Joan Gorrías, did not start in the engine room or boiler room. The living area (bedrooms, lounge and laundry) in the centre of the boat suffered the most damage.
The Dutch owners of the "Aris-Tima", Andries and Marga Dijkstra, arrived in Maó at the beginning of October, since when they have been waiting for their insurance company to settle a claim for a breakdown on an auxiliary boat which had been damaged in a storm. Once this had been repaired their plan was to leave Menorca and set sail for Malta and Sicily.