the ship from a cruise ship targeting the general public to a luxurious floating retreat for members of the Church of Scientology, according to Alpers. "In 1986, the Freewinds fit the target size for the vessel's planned operations, to serve as a religious retreat for the parishioners of the Church of Scientology," said Alpers. "Vessels were surveyed all over the world but the Boheme was the perfect combination of size and condition for our needs."
M/V Freewinds Today
ship arrived to Colombia, where the interior refit took place" Thus embarked the plan to not simply `spruce up' the ship, but to extensively and completely renovate each and every space on the ship, with the intention of making it better than the original when installed nearly 40 years previously.
Making the scope of the renovation all the more amazing: while the organization brought on a bevy of contractors to fulfill much of the heavy duty fabrication and construction, it was the crew who was responsible for the intricate and laborious renewal and renovation, including a meticulous cleaning and
rejuvenation of the engine room, the engine control room and the bridge (including the machining of the new stainless steel parts, overhauling the equipment, painting and polishing), all while the ship stayed in operation. "The restoration (which physically started in August 2008 and was com-
"One of the most significant achievements on the project was to join the talents of a large number of professionals and artisans and drive their efforts to a common goal with the up-most quality in the final product," said Carlos H. Reyes, president of The Reyes Group and Design Support Team, lead Architect on the project. When the decision was made to remake the ship, the owner consulted with several leading organizations that could take its overall vision for the ship and deliver form, function, a budget and a plan. Enter Ocean Development Corp. and Tillberg Design U.S., a pair of firms intimately familiar to the growth of the U.S. cruise shipping industry, as well as a host of contractors in different ports of call. "I got involved in the 2nd stage when they really wanted to make something special," said Jon Rusten of Ocean Development Group. "I helped them define the scope of work, strategize about how far this would be taken, and provided timeline, budgets and vision, to help them facilitate, define the objectives and bring it to reality." The Freewinds hull, engines and equipment were all in excellent operational condition, and in researching replacement equipment it became obvious that it would be difficult to find equipment compatible to its existing systems, and that the lead-times, customization and suitability for the ship were all prohibitive. "Very early in the planning, we recognized the unique fact that the biggest problem we were facing was not that the equipment was in bad shape or needed to be replaced, rather it looked old and worn and needed a face lift. That really became the mission," said Captain Mike Napier, Master Freewinds. "We came to the project by kind recommendation of Tomas Tillberg to the owner," said Reyes. "Our main objective was to achieve a level of products according to the overall vision of the project and produce the necessary components and elements within the budget assigned to it. We had to conform a great group of artisans and overcome difficult issues of all kinds as soon as the
October 2009
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