LA CIOTAT for the RICH and FAMOUS

Boat strip out to solve an electrical problem and we discover a story of this major shipyard rescued by 105 determined workers. Dangerous launch across the harbour swamps the Town Hall. From Fishing boats to Super Tankers to Super Yachts this city adapted and survived into the modern age.

Acknowledgments and links:
Old Harbour Marina La Ciotat: https://www.laciotat-shipyards.com/en/equipment-and-services/old-harbor-marina/
City Museum: https://www.laciotat.com/services-municipaux/joomlannuaire/fiche/327-musee-ciotaden/3-services-municipaux
Maison de la Construction Navale: https://www.laciotat.com/etablissements-culturels/joomlannuaire/fiche/820-maison-de-la-construction-navale/35-etablissements-culturels
La Ciotat Shipyards: https://www.laciotat-shipyards.com/en/
Calanque Figuerolles: https://www.calanques13.com/en/calanque-figuerolles.html
Carry-le-Rouet: https://www.otcarrylerouet.fr/en/local-attractions-and-lifestyle/boating-sailing-and-water-sports/170-ports
Cassis: https://www.ot-cassis.com/en/
Calanque Mejean: https://www.calanques13.com/en/calanque-mejean.html
Sailing Calanques: https://www.calanques-parcnational.fr/en/boating
Cosquer Cave: https://archeologie.culture.gouv.fr/archeo-sous-marine/en/cosquer-cave
MrAlex Tech: www.youtube.com/@MrAlexTech

Always a problem that you never expect Windless what is that in your hand the time award Shipyard for the rich lat this major ship building town relied on a frightening way of launching large vessels from the slipway but more of that later sailing Southeast from Cara Ru at last with a working iPhone took us along

A stunning Rocky Coastline to have lunch at anchor we passed the location of the ancient stone age Costa cave to spend time in casis this beautiful town is overlooked by towering Red Cliffs and an exclusive Castle Hotel Kell lanks are rocky Coes known for their natural beauty and secluded

Anchoring if you can get in and drop the hook before anyone else Does sailing through the channel between Eagle Rock and Green Island the harbor finally came into view in Mediterranean history terms this port town is relatively young it was officially recognized as a community in 14 29 today this town mostly relies on tourism and Leisure seaf farers by providing Safe Harbor for small pleasure

Craft and services to Super Yachts it is a vibrant colorful and at times noisy mix of 19th and 21st century life preparations for a festival or something going on according to that clock tower it’s 3:00 in the afternoon it is and it’s a mum so we’ll go and see what’s inside shall

We oh yeah it just say hotel theil as well yeah I thought I read in the tourist office and it said it was the original Town Hall in July 1898 you can get yourself a brand new petrol driven tricycle single cylinder what year was that

1898 I don’t think I’d like to try they look so engame don’t you have to have a big mustache to write he’s like a character from Star Wars penitent three brotherhoods but yeah could easily be George Lucas’s creation couldn’t It ma attack was created as an independent Community by Charter of March 1429 just like the very first bike I learned to ride on 50 CC Mobile little anyway bike repairs and where pank was invented it was yeah very much an industrial idea we know now that these two brothers the Lumi a brothers were the ones who invented the zat graphic was it called

Anyway they vented the um the moving picture with um being able to show a train arriving at the station here the see Attat looking a little bit threatening that cloud oh well we made it back in just in time didn’t we we did Flash of light in there yeah it just it just broke right above us and here’s the hailstones we were on the road yes this is a project to try and improve

The anchoring situation currently the windless is um taking juice from from the house batches through the um the switch in there going straight through this terminal box here goes forward behind this panel from there behind that panel all the way into the four cabin behind that panel all the way

To the remote switch there what I’d like to do is to take the juice from the battery down here which is for the Bell Thruster from the battery through the switch up through uh conduit up here to behind the port panel to come back to the

Switch now that means that I’m going to have to pull the cables back through the alternative is to leave that cabling in place and to buy new cabling and new cabling isn’t cheap we’d never be using B Thruster windless at the same time my thought is

That if we can use the battery that’s uh already powering the B threr and instead of using the house battery then the problem that we’ve been having with it kicking out the the uh multifunctional display at the cockpit because it’s drawing too much juice at that point will be eliminated so it’s problem

Solved nice right stopping for a late breakfast cuz look at a state of this never easy when you’re trying to work out ways of being able to get cables run and so on um you want to hide everything but also you need them accessible for maintenance and repairs

And so on so it’s a double- Ed sword sometimes okay that panel can I get behind that’s the cable in there you Capt behind the bicycle screwdriver set I think that’s the only thing that’s going to fit into that Gap nope that doesn’t work either just

Can’t get in so that is is the only thing that’s going to work really one down but I can’t actually get it yeah here we have the control box for the windless she is doing some sewing I think hello he your flip flops give me the flip flops more

Improvements what flap much W have to have that piece of string yeah that is the plan domestic Switched Off zero volts across from the negative bus bar there through to the switch so that’s now safe so I’ve just switched it back on again because the the fridge is running off that circuit

Because it’s the the Leisure domestic currently got 28 1 12° in the cabin what I’ll do is I just need to get this cord ready so I’ve got some uh pretty strong cord here in order to run through attached to attach to the eye of of that which is

Uh sorry that one um which runs all the way back and then I’ve got a a cable that I can use at the other end but also if I have a problem I can draw it back through using the cord theory is all well and good just got to put it into

Practice practice now I don’t want to switch off the fridge for too long um so I’m going to switch it off and then disconnect um make sure it’s it’s safe disconnected from the batteries it’s really difficult to see just at the wrong angle domestic battery coming in just there and this

One is the feed that goes to the switch so that’s tight so now that lid can go back on now to disconnect from the negative bus bar this might be a bit stiff really is stiff always a problem that you never expect in that negative bus bar down

There where the black cable goes in just here there was a screw holding it there but also at some point there was a screw holding there but it sheared off in the threads so I can’t actually remove that from the buzz bar anyway that’s boats for you and I can’t hang around because

The fridge is Switched Off not the best way of doing it at all by any stretch but let’s got it clear now going to have to snip the tire UPS I think to get into that could all that lot there two hands required all right so we got that bit

Off that come off I can switch the domestic back on again now get the fridge going switch the fridge back on and attach the cord through there I don’t think that hole is big enough so um can you pull the black they’ve made those holes a bit

Tight and they push it through a bit okay and then give it a good yank now yep that’s it now you can pull the red through P it wait wait wait wait let me just turn it push it back through okay now just gently o stop there hey we’re through oh

Yeah I’m not I’m I’m I’m in proper clothes and things apart from the top the next bit to do is to uh get the cables run all the way across down down into the battery box it’s now half 5 in the afternoon and um having been out on the bicycle to go to

The Chandlers and also go to um a DIY store called bricolage which is like a bit of a b andq in France I bought some conduit it I only needed a meter but they only sold it in 2 meter lengths so um that was interesting cycling back

With that on the bicycle in the traffic but you know we manag that without any accidents getting there slowly but getting there it’s a bit like sailing Really the wa is amazing she’s so pretty So we now have the cables being run down here through there through there and a new trip which I’ve installed there and the original switch basically is now operating as the um isolator for the battery to both the Bell Thruster and the windless now you’re going to put some

Milk on you it in and then hide the cables behind the paneling Sheena is on her way out on a bicycle she’s gone to do some shopping I’m still continuing to uh get the battery cables hidden away we’re still in lat we only intending staying here two nights and it’ll be four nights

This is almost almost done just need to put the covers on that’s back again now so that’s all done just Tiding up hoovering Etc then I can get the curtains back and then start thinking about getting all this and sorted out whose idea was it to change the B threr

Battery into the supply for the windless yeah Okay it’s Noy over There what did you get you a Chicken He you say we have to uh vacate before the wedding starts all right it looks like a wedding I thought it was ony International but was definitely set up for a wedding pretty though isn’t it it’s not over decorated no what you thinking yeah don’t look [Laughter] up original Naval architecture

Equipment handdrawn slide rules drafting board skill and an art during our stay we pass pass the shipyard Museum daily and had to know more about boat building history in the city before we moved on the natural Bay of latat provides good shelter and in the 15th century families built fishing

Boats these skills transferred into building small cargo sailing boats called Tartan in 1835 entrepreneur Louis beray enticed English Engineers to bring steam propulsion systems to the yard in latat and the Modern Age of ship building brought prosperity to the city as demand grew for larger vessels the yard responded with invention and

Ingenuity to compete and survive ship design improved and demand for longer vessels increased so success in building good ships fell to space restrictions and safety concerns which in turn prevented lat from winning Orders So dangerous on the 19th of December 1987 the Mexican cargo vessel Monteray was the last commercial ship to be launched into the harbor and the harbor was forced to close in 1988 people lost jobs and families suffered but 105 determined workers put up a valiant fight against the odds for

6 years they succeeded in convincing investors to transform the yard into a service and refurbish Center for an increasing number of pleasure Yachts because 105 people contined to believe in a future for the families today lass atat shipyards is a world leader in providing super yacht refits and repairs time to move on

Say goodbye to latat well that was uh a great place we’ve just been to the exhibition this morning and it’s the shantier exhibition the um Shipyard showing the history 300 years of uh ship building we’re just about to go across the space which used to be the launch area

For the big vessels that they built and they we launch the big vessels from the slipway over there right across the harbor right towards the old uh that’s the old town hall and it just got swamped with the wave of the lodge but thank you L see you Town what

An interesting place was yeah although yeah although you you look at it you think it’s too commercial actually it’s not it’s not once you get into the harbor the old Harbor it’s not commercial really at all you don’t really notice it until you see the Big Crane re they’re going to the uh the kalank that we’re going to first meet at the helm yeah and Captain nearly lost the uh the winch winch handle I still had hold of it no I didn’t made that noise is that me and bother again well you don’t you don’t

Understand I don’t understand the crewing ah okay think I need to let the head sail out a little bit still There very far Away