Sanding, sanding, and.....more sanding
30 May 2009 | Hog Island, Grenada
Graham
I had not really appreciated exactly how much teak there actually was on QUASAR IV until this week when I started sanding down the hand rails, all eight of them. This task completed, the wood no longer looks like it had been subjected to the harsh ocean elements for the past twenty years, but is now a light teak colour and looking almost new. The problem now is, the toe rails around the boat, and the rubbing strakes (the wooden strips along the top sides of the boat to protect the hull in case of the odd bump), look like a hundred years old and awful compared to the 'new bits'! So, the next few days, it's back with the sanding block to create a matching set of teak all round. Damn, I knew I should never have started this job....The daily weather report is beginning to get more interesting now as the hurricane season approaches. This week, we have had underwater seismic activity in the form of an earthquake, 4.5 on the Richter Scale, to the north of us, and two tropical waves passing over us through the week. These have not changed the weather all that much, but brought a couple of heavy rain showers and some strong gusts of wind. Tropical waves can deliver some very 'exciting' weather situations, some of which we hope may arrive after we have returned to the UK! Hurricane IVAN created an extensive amount of damage in 2004 when it hit Grenada and devastated the country. This was a very unusual situation as Grenada is generally a hurricane-free area. There are a large number of yachts descending on Grenada as we speak/write and our anchorage at Hog Island is beginning to fill up with boats that are tied down with three anchors off the back of the boat and about ten mooring lines into the mangrove swamp. These are owners leaving boats unattended for a while. We are just using the one anchor at the moment....Tomorrow, we are going to Roger's Ramshackle Bar for the weekly BBQ and live band, then on Monday, we are moving the boat around to Clarkes Court Bay, the next bay along to the east, for a change of scenery, and easier access to a washing machine, fresh water, and t'internet to sort out some banking, airline information, etc. We usually wash clothes on board in a bucket, but after a few months, all of your clothes begin to look the same colour, generally grey, and need a really good wash in a machine with hot water. So, that's about it for now. Today's weather is: sunny, no clouds, 29 Deg C....again! Can't wait to get back to England....