Shinara returns to sea, just a few steps away from completion of restoration

The fruits of nearly three and a half years of painstaking restoration work, with no compromises, are finally beginning to emerge. The restoration project for the historic large wooden sailing ship "Sinara" started in early 3, and work began in 2015, and has now entered the final stage.
This project was unprecedented in many ways, and could be described as an enormous challenge, with an endless array of difficult elements.
Synara is a fleet-footed wooden vintage yacht built by Camper & Nicholson, one of Britain's most acclaimed shipyards. It was a historic, famous boat that was ordered by a yachtsman connected to the royal family and was built using the best materials and the best naval architects and shipwrights. The Shinara (her name at the time of her launch was Gwendlyn) was launched in March 93, 1927 years ago.
At the time, Britain was in what would later be called the golden age of yachting. Camper & Nicholson's factory is said to have been building large luxury yachts one after another, along with the Synara.
After being launched in the UK, the Synara passed through the hands of many owners over the years, made many voyages, and traveled the seas and crossed oceans. Naturally, as the years pass, her ship begins to show signs of wear and tear, but this is even more so since she is made of wood. It was in 1973 that the ship passed into the hands of a Japanese owner, leaving the UK and arriving at Miura/Misaki Port.
Riviera Group Chairman Akira Watanabe, who inherited Synara in 2001, continued to carefully refine "Synara, the Lady of the Sea."
``We will bring this ship back to life as the flagship of the Riviera Group and make it a world-class ship.We want this ship to be able to cruise the seas with full sails into the next century and beyond.'' In 2015, we decided to carry out a complete restoration in Japan, and the XNUMX Synara Restoration Project was launched. This is based on the philosophy of the Riviera Future Creation Project, which aims to create a sustainable society that is also committed to the SDGs, of ``refining good old things with care and preserving them for the next generation.''
44 was a special year for Cynara, as it has been 90 years since she came to Japan and she has turned 2017 years old since she was launched in the UK. Restoration work began in earnest after Sinara was brought up from the sea at the Riviera Seabornia Marina.
There is a highly prestigious ``100-year-old club'' for wooden yachts, and Synara will soon be joining the club.
In order to carry out restoration work in Japan, we first need to secure human resources. Top-class shipbuilders (shipwrights), who have traditional wooden sailing shipbuilding techniques that have been passed down from generation to generation in Europe and the United States, and are particularly experienced in restoring old wooden yachts, have come from 10 countries around the world, including the UK, Italy, and Spain. It was collected. But of course that's not all that's needed.

The construction of large wooden yachts is extremely complex and requires a team of craftsmen and engineers from a variety of specialized fields. For example, when it comes to the nails that connect the boards together, the nails used in Cinara are handmade boat nails made from a special type of brass called "naval brass," which is not available in Japan. Wooden masts, sails, steel reinforcing elements, ropes, wooden pulleys, etc., just to name a few, require more than 20 specialized manufacturers and suppliers, most of them European or American companies. Moreover, since the ship is large, the parts are also large and heavy. Exchanging information and things takes a lot of effort, money, and time.
However, on the other hand, it has also become a project with international reach. Furthermore, by conducting the work in Japan, Japanese craftsmen are also able to achieve their original goal of ``transferring techniques to Japan'' by being directly involved in the completely unknown work of restoring large wooden yachts.
The restoration team, made up of skilled European and American craftsmen and Japanese craftsmen, worked hard as one Riviera family, overcoming difficult tasks, lifestyle and language barriers, in order to realize Chairman Watanabe's wishes. I've been doing it.
In March of this year, Shinara was put on the water, and in May she hoisted her sails for her first test sailing. The ship's performance is as impressive as expected, or even better. The beauty of it floating in the sea was overwhelming.
The remaining work is finishing the interior. Just like the hull, which uses approximately 8% of the original materials at the time of construction, original parts are used here as well, creating an elegant atmosphere reminiscent of the history of 100 years ago.
There's only a few days left until it's completed!