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Introduction & history to Safehaven Marine.

This paper was prepared in order to provide a background to Tom Mc Sweney, RTE reporter,  for the Nationwide TV documentary featuring Safehaven Marine in 2005.

            Safehaven Marine is a small family run business which was founded in 1998 by its current director Frank Kowalski. Frank moved from the UK to Ireland in 1986 at age 24 where he started a Shellfish business in the North Channel of Cobh Harbour harvesting oysters. He ran this successfully for 12 years building most of the company’s marine equipment himself, including 36ft and a 40ft aluminium work boats. His background in engineering helped here. In addition during the mid 90’s he started a sea angling venture, buying an old 28ft boat from the UK , sailing it across to Ireland , renovating it and using it for a few years doing charter angling from East Ferry in Cobh . It being a comparatively small boat, and after a few hairy moments in rough weather he decided he had to either give it up or get a bigger, better able to withstand rough weather conditions. Unfortunally due to the cost, the only way he could afford a bigger boat was to build it himself, so he sold his old boat at a profit and used the money to buy a new bare hull moulding, and built his own design of superstructure completing the vessel during the winter, ready for next year’s season. He used this craft for a season successfully. At the end of the season he again sold her, bought another hull and built a bigger boat again, repeating the process for several years accumulating boat building skills and studying naval architecture until 1997. Eventually, after 4 years at sea commercially skippering, he felt he had accumulated enough real world experience to understand the seakeeping requirements of commercial charter skippers and integrate this experience into his own hull design, which he felt would offer something unique, and not then available in the market place. He designed a vessel that would have good seakeeping, be fast but also have sleek and graceful styling, the kind of style only really seen in the recreational market. He successfully applied his design flair (he had always been  quite artistic) to design the Interceptor 33 (actually named after the motor car featured in the Mel Gibson, Mad Max movies and the classic Jenson Interceptor, an old British GT)

            During 1998 he applied for a small business development grant from ECAD, which he was granted and was instrumental in helping him get off the ground. During this year he worked flat out, often 16hrs a day to built the wooden plug and GRP moulds for the vessel, and by the end of the year launched the first craft. The Irish Skipper and the Marine Times both ran a couple of editorials on the new craft and together with some advertising the craft began to generate interest, with an order for the first craft coming at the beginning of 1999. His small but loyal workforce employed in his shellfish business learned about GRP laminating, and by the completion of the mould tools were experienced laminators, successfully making the transition to a boat building firm. By the end of the year three vessels had been supplied and were operating successfully in commercial service in Galway , Kilrush and Cape Clear Island . During the end of the year he began work on another new design, a bigger craft 38ft long. This craft was the taking off point for the company, the first of which being ordered by one of the UK ’S top skippers operating on the South Coast of England. Delivered in March 2000 it was hailed by many as the best looking commercial craft available with orders for two more vessels immediately following. The second craft was bought by a Guernsey fisherman who, being under pressure to commence work with his craft undertook a sea crossing from Cork to the Channel Islands in gale force conditions, conditions being serious enough for the Falmouth coast guard to be alerted. However, he made an unbelievable passage in heavy seas in only 9 hrs and reported that the vessel handle magnificently whilst being battered by huge waves. As a result the vessel began to get a reputation for great sea keeping. A total of Six Interceptors are now operating in the Channel Islands .

            In February 2001 work began on the expansion of the company with a new building being constructed in Cobh , where an all new design was to be built. Franks new design was for a 42ft long, high performance craft that would combine a hull with the best seakeeping, and a modern, sleek superstructure that would find universal appeal in all market sectors. The new building and mould tools were completed in mid 2001 with the first craft being delivered to her Galway owner in January 2002, the owner being delighted with the seakeeping of her, and of the way her graceful lines turns heads wherever she sails.

In June 2002 the second Interceptor 42 was sailed over from Cork to Southampton , a 350 mile journey by Frank to be exhibited at the Seawork 2002 show, a show in which he has exhibited a craft ever year since 1999. At the show the vessel caused a tremendous stir. She was placed on the end of the show pontoon where her lines could be fully appreciated. Flying an Irish flag she represented this Small Irish boat builder amongst some giants of the European boat building industry, with what was hailed as the finest looking vessel in the show. Frank said after the show “She really did us proud, we all worked really hard to finish her to the best of our abilities and I was proud to be standing on her at the show”

In 2003 an all new 36ft catamaran was designed by Frank and developed during the year, called the Wildcat, it inherited the same stunning looks as the rest of the Interceptor range and has been a fantastic success since its launch, with 9 now having been built, the latest being supplied to the UK Ports of Teesport, the second largest container port in the UK, and the Port of Liverpool, and are used as a dedicated survey boats for the ports dredging operations.

Over the years Safehaven Marines Interceptor and Wildcat range have gained a reputation for great seakeeping, the main reason is likely the designers first hand experience of operating boats in rough conditions “There have been plenty of times when I’ve been out  in marginal conditions, and there’s nothing like experiencing heavy weather yourself, to give you a true appreciation of the word seakeeping. That’s why seakeeping is probably the most important aspect of my designs”

 Since the company began building boats in 1998, over 65 Interceptors have been built and are in operation successfully throughout  Ireland , the UK France, Belgium, Holland, Cyprus and even Beruit in the Lebanon. The Lebanon bound craft was shipped on the Gramaldi line ferry to Limasol and then on to Beruit. Frank was flown out by her owners to commission the craft and give instruction. 

Over the years, Safehaven Marine have built up a specialized and highly skilled workforce employing 20 people. In addition a large number of local firms and sub contractors are used in boat production, bringing wealth and employment to the area.

 A further expansion was completed in 2005 with a new factory built in Little Island where the companies new Interceptor 42 ‘Pilot Boat version’ is built and marked the companies move into the highly specialized pilot boat market, the first pilot boat was launched for the Port of Cork in Ireland with subsequent pilot boats being supplied to Dublin, Portland in the UL and St Malo in France. The Pilot boats have quickly established themselfs a reputation for exceptional seakeeping and strength.  The Interceptor range was further extended in 2007 with a new 16.5m Interceptor, the 55 which is  built at a third  new factory. Over the year Safehaven Marine has grown at a steady rate however it will always be a small family run business, offering an intimate customer relationship far removed from larger yards.