We're Back for Our Fourth Season
06 February 2016 | Man O War Cay, Bahamas
Gary
We're back! Although we've been back aboard SC for a month now, the workload has been a bit daunting and so we haven't posted to the blog. So, just to catch up ......
February weather lived up to our expectations for unpredictability. The weather has been cool and the winds have been relentless. The strong cold fronts that brought cold temperatures to the east coast and tornados to Florida arrived here every 5 to 7 days. Each front also brought heavy rains (We had to pump water out of the dinghy several times). We are thankful that March promises much milder conditions.
We took advantage of the downtime due to the weather to finish a number of projects in preparation for the coming cruising season. And so.......
We stored the inflatable dinghy and outboard motor indoors at the boatyard for the summer so that they could be serviced and made ready for the coming season. The motor ran long enough to deliver it back to our slip but I was unable to start it using every ounce of strength and really inappropriate language I had at my disposal. After several trips to the slip by the yard mechanic over several days, all seems to almost be working correctly.
We took the Jib over to the sailmaker's loft on an adjacent island to patch the hole that appeared on our last sail of last season. This delivery was of course delayed while we awaited the repair of the outboard so that we could deliver the sail in the dinghy. The sailmaker and his assistant couldn't find the hole and frankly with the sail spread out on his bench, we couldn't either. So he gave us some sail tape and told us to apply a temporary patch on the hole (if it really existed) and bring it back later. I love island time, don't you?
We scheduled a diver to come by to remove the months of grime and sea critters that had attached themselves to the bottom of the boat. We also had him replace the sacrificial zincs that protect the exposed metal parts like the prop and the rudder gudgeon. The good news was that the bottom paint was still in good shape and that the osmotic blisters we repaired back in Rockport had not returned! Good news is always welcome.
Since we stripped off all the exterior canvas items like the sails, sail cover, winch and binnacle covers as well as dodger and bimini canvas to avoid potential damage from storms while we were away, these had to be cleaned, repaired and reinstalled when weather permitted. All of this took almost a week as we dodged high winds and rain.
We also discovered that the top of the Harkin Jib Furler had broken and we will have to order a replacement, have it delivered to Texas and bring it back when we return in May.
In February, we learned that our granddaughter Aubrey and her friend Mariah will be here in March and so we have found new purpose to get serious about cleaning the boat interior in preparation for guests.
I think I'll end this entry for now. We need a nap.