“Hi, I’ve just bought a Mariah, I’m bringing it back to Poole from Southampton and want an Instructor to spend some time with me when I reach Poole,” was the way I first got to know of Shani.

 Boating is still dominated by men with women usually relegated to ‘No 1 crew’ at best and ‘Galley Maid’ at worst, females helming are unusual, those owning their own boat rarer still.  Shani is an Advertising Sales Manager based in Bournemouth and had first got into boating the way that most of us do  - through friends. It has to be said this was in some style as it was onboard a 35ft Sunseeker so weekend trips to the Isle of Wight and Weymouth became the norm. Rarely though did she get to helm but it gave her the taste – the bug had bitten!  Not being the shy retiring type Shani decided she rather liked this boating thing so started to look around at possible boats for herself.  Being unimpressed with most of the second-hand boats she looked at and settled on a new Mariah 218 with a 4.3 Mercruiser inboard driving through an Alpha One sterndrive.

 As I came to learn Shani was well prepared and had bought all the items for the boat that she could possibly need, she had booked onto a Dayskipper evening class for the winter and now just wanted someone to be alongside her as she learnt the finer points of coming alongside and man-overboard recovery in her own boat.

 To get back from Southampton she arranged for two relatives (one of which was an experienced boater) to accompany her.  The conditions weren’t too bad (force 3-4) and about two hours later Shani arrived at Cobbs Quay Marina in Poole Harbour, shattered, windswept, but with a huge beaming smile.

 We spent the afternoon practising coming alongside, tying up to mooring buoys and simulating situations she may go onto experience in her new boat. Anchoring was not easy due to the sharply sloping bow area and the need to have someone on deck – a cause for concern as Shani’s crew was always likely to be inexperienced. Because of this Shani has also devised her own version of coming alongside and simply uses one line tied to the mid-ships cleat that can easily be hooked around an available cleat, this makes relying on her girlfriends unnecessary as watching them leap onto the pontoons rope in hand had become too stressful! Hopefully Shani will never lose anyone overboard but practising how to come alongside and recover them safely was useful. That said it also highlighted the impossibility of recovering an unconscious person into such a craft, a plan though was developed to secure them and await assistance – easy during a relaxed afternoon but in an emergency such a plan could save the casualty’s life.

“Shani’s name for her boat – La Cantante – ‘The singer’ in Spanish refers to the five years she spent as a professional singer on the world’s cruise liners. Not easy to pronounce but hardly likely to be confused with other craft”

 Shani had bought a Mariah 218 with a Mercruiser 4.3 which gives it a fair turn of speed (40-45 knots).  Mariah’s are recognised for being highly ‘specced’ at a reasonable price, with a good but not exceptional level of finish.  The 218 is a cuddy cabin model with a small galley, basic accommodation for two and a ‘porta-potti’.  Shani has stayed on the boat overnight a few times but tends to use it for day trips with friends around Brownsea Island, to Studland and to the Isle of Wight.

 Despite the fact it is a new boat one of Shani’s best acquisitions proved to be membership to Sea Start.  After just a few weeks the key broke off in the ignition while moored up off the beach in Studland Bay.  A call to Sea Start, a ‘hotwire’ later and she was back at Cobbs, Southwater Marine (the Mariah distributor in the Hamble) initially ‘insisted’ that Shani had been over enthusiastic with the key but relented under duress and changed the ignition lock under warranty.  Overall Shani is delighted with her Mariah, her only real gripe is the canvas system which has a tendency to leak and is not as good as the Sunbrella Systems you find on Maxums, Searays and many other makes of boats.

 Running costs have proved reasonable, through shopping around Shani has got insurance at £185 from Mardon, annual servicing costs about £200, her berth costs around £1800 and a typical days petrol tends to set her back £30 – 40 but then friends tend to contribute anyway.

 Not wanting the hassle of launching the boat, Shani opted for the Rack System at Cobbs Quay.  She gets unlimited free launching (at an hours notice) and as a product of being off the ground almost perfect security.  She can return to the Marina at any time, and the boat will be lifted out either immediately or the next morning, couple this with the camaraderie she finds with the fellow boat owners and she certainly feels the  £1800 for a year is money well spent.

 So has Shani been pleased with her acquisition? An undoubted yes emanates from a grinning face, it’s given her a new passion, a new group of friends and what better way to spend lazy sunny afternoons than moored up with a few friends and a chilled bottle of white wine.