BOAT BUILDING

 

INTRODUCTION

BACKGROUND

Saldanha Bay is situated about 125 kilometers from Cape Town. Saldanha forms the backbone of the

fishing industry on the West Coast of South Africa. Saldanha is also regarded as one of the more

important holiday locations along the West Coast due to its safe beaches, fresh seafood, yachting,

flowers and various other tourist attractions. The older local people of Saldanha, are mainly born

and bred fisherman.

It is more realistic to look at the whole West Coast area including the towns of Saldanha, Vredenburg,

St Helena and Paternoster for socio-economic and economic indicators. The average maximum

temperature is 20.9 C and the minimum is 11.400 C. Thus the general average through the year

is 16.1 C. The average rainfall is 255mm per year with the heaviest rainfall in the winter months

from May to August.

The fishing industry employs about 4600 people and is predominantly based in Saldanha and St HelenaBay.

Sea Harvest is the single most employed with 3000 employees. Recent large scale developments of

significance are Namakwa Sands Smelter with 850 employees and the Saldanha Steel Project that

created 600 job opportunities. These developments, amongst others, and the result of tourism in the

area on the West Coast becoming a blooming tourist industrial center on its own. Other large employers

are Portnet and Spoornet with +- 1150 permanent workers

The infrastructure on the West Coast is excellent with tar roads linking all main centers, and a national

road from Saldanha linking the west Coast to Cape Town. Saldanha has the largest and deepest natural

harbor in the Southern Hemisphere, mainly used for bulk export like iron ore. Saldanha Bay with its

strategic geographic location, sufficient infrastructure and available labour, provides an ideal opportunity

for the planned boat building business. Fishing under sail has been around for hundreds of years and is

still being used in many parts of Africa and the rest of the world

 

 

 

Mr T S Schaafsma Senior, a boat designer and builder immigrated to South Africa before World War 2

and settled in Cape Town. He was the Production Manager of Misplons & Company (PTY) Ltd.

Boat builders and shipwrights, Marine Drive, Woodstock Beach, Cape Town.

During the war he was called back to Holland to liberate the Netherlands. When he returned to Cape Town and his wife and daughters after the war, he found that his post had been filled. The owner of the business Mr Misplon was very keen to have Mr T S Schaafsma back (as per attached letter of recommendation) as a leading Production Manager, but Mr T S Schaafsma decided to go into contracting on his own and he eventually became a member of the “Master Builders Association” in Cape Town and built mainly for the Public Works Department on Government contracts.

His son Robert Schaafsma, after leaving school studied for 3 years at Technical Collage for Construction Supervisor. Robert Schaafsma’s Dutch Boat Designing and Building skills he emerged from his Dutch genes moved to Saldanha Bay on the West Coast to start his own Boat Building business. Rob has a tremendous love for the sea and in his youth did a lot of fishing, surfing and diving. When he and his family lived in Saldanha Bay his passion changed to sailing and he built himself a couple of deep-sea Sailing - Fishing Boats.

In 1980 he built the Sailtrader (13, 6 metre) yacht which he used in 1984 to circum-navigate Africa with his wife and 3 children for a period of 3 years. When he came back to Saldanha Bay in 1987 he built the specially designed Sailfisher (15 metre) Sailing – Fishing yacht which he used for commercial Deep – Sea Fishing at Sea Mount Vema (550 nautical miles off the coast of Saldanha Bay)

On these trips he proved that without a shadow of doubt the Sailing – Fishing Boat is the only way forward for Africa and the world. In 1975 Rob Schaafsma started a Sail Training school for the fishermen in small 4 metre rowing boats. In 1988 when Sailfisher was complete as a Sail Training Long Liner, Rob established the Schaafsma Sail Training close co-operation with previously disadvantaged directors and partners and applied for Long Line permits from the new Government of Sea Fisheries, but all the close co-operations applications were turned down and he even lost all of his existing fishing permits.

Rob then stopped his fishing projects but still has a passion and compelled knowledge prestige and experience in the Sailing – Fishing, boat design and the boat building industry. He has now shifted his attention to the rest of Africa to share his knowledge and expertise. He is now working on a self reliant and sustainable fishing industry for other Governments in Africa. He has designed and will build the right boats for the right job. His project will be called the “ Sail – Fishing Project for Africa”.

SCHAAFSMA’S SAIL – FISHING FOR AFRICA

Fishing (land based)

Fishing (sea based)

Commercial Deep Sea Fishing

Sea based and mobile back up vessels

For the land based and sea based Fishing we produce a “Super5” sailing, rowing

and diesel driven unsinkable 5 meter long beach landing vessel.

For the Commercial Deep Sea Fishing and the Sea based mobile back up vessels we supply a 25 meter long sailing, 2x diesel engine deep sea cargo carrying fishing vessel – the “Super25 Sailtrader”

PROPOSAL: 1. To use the ‘Super5” vessels in conjunction with the “Super25” vessels like a

mother duck and her ducklings.

For up to 8 “Supr5” vessels can be carried and serviced by one “Super25” vessel

that has freezing abilities and is totally mobile to go up and down the coast for

long periods.

We can utilize the fishermen in the village along the coast, train them and even leave a boat behind for them as we move on and they will start the land based operation.

NEEDED: A owner or investor for the first “Super25” mother duck freezer boat. Schaafsma Marine: will design and build the vessel and it will be the property of the investor.

For more information contact Schaafsma’s at:

Tel: 022-7131437

Fax: 022-7131447

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