Sealand Renovation - Update 1

As you are probably aware there was a serious fire in Sealand on Friday 23rd June 2006.  The fire destroyed the main power generation facility and caused much smoke damage to The Row.  The water that was used to extinguish the fire has also caused water damage in The Row and to some of the facilities held in North Deep.

Clean up work started as soon as the residents returned to Sealand on Sunday June 25th with the priorities being sleeping and basic living accommodation.  By nightfall on the 25th the Sealanders were able to enjoy a beverage and meal in the kitchen, whilst listening to the radio by candle light and looked forward to retiring to a nice warm and dry bed.  The hardest part was over, the fort island had been reclaimed by Prince Royal James, nominal power had been restored and the kitchen and sleeping quarters had been drained, dried, cleaned and tidied and were ready for use.

Over the next few weeks the laborious task of preparing Sealand to be able to accommodate a work crew began.  Rooms in The Row had to drained, and all salvageable furniture put out to dry.  Bedroom facilities in the North Deep had to be drained, dried, tidied and power and drinking water facilities bought back on line.

On Saturday 1st July Church and East Ltd sent out their damage assessment officer to evaluate the structure of the island fort and to put together a schedule of works to completely refit Sealand.  Fortunately his report shows that although the infrastructure of Sealand had been seriously damaged by the loss of its main power generation facility and significant damage to the capacity of its desalination plant, the structure of Sealand was still as sound as it has ever been.  Initial estimates to return the Island to its former glory are in the region of a quarter million pounds.

Armed with this report, initial orders for equipment were placed and the first work party was scheduled to travel to Sealand on the 29th of July.

Also travelling with the work party was a BBC film crew, documenting the renovations, and one of Church and East’s investors (who also turned out to be a dab hand with a paint brush: thank you for your help that day) and Church and East’s Commercial Director of Offshore Operations to oversee the commencement of works.  All but the Sealanders and the works party returned to the UK on the 29th.

Prior to the 29th the Sealanders had cleared the wreckage from the communications room, dried out enough sleeping quarters in the North Deep, returned nominal power to the throughout the living area and cleaned the smoke damage from the lounge.

The work party's priorities were to rewire the affected part of the island and to begin rubbing down and protecting the island fort's external structure from the elements.

During this visit a three phase distribution board was fitted, all old wiring was removed from The Row, and new wiring was installed and the first fit of all switches and sockets was carried out.  Lighting circuits were restored and all lighting pendants in The Row and its rooms and offices were replaced. Circuits affected were temporarily patched into the main board and all circuits were fully tested and passed with flying colours!

The windows, which had been blown out by the fire, were sealed and the west side of the island was completely rubbed down and the first coat of primer was applied.

All in all, a very successful week’s work: congratulations to Church and East’s works crew and to the residents of Sealand.

Please watch this space for further updates as work continues.

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Fancy volunteering to work on Sealand's renovations?  If so please email: sealandvolunteers@churchandeast.co.uk