Farewell until next time
16 June 2016 | Antigua
Ros Brice
The process of getting Trilogy hauled out of the water and installed in a hurricane proof cradle went extremely well. As this is not a first time experience, we roughly knew what was to happen, but every experience will offer its own challenges. The wind was quite strong, around 15 knots even at 07:30 but the skipper brought all his skill to the fore and Trilogy slipped into the narrow pen, with barely enough room for fenders to fit as she was nudged further into the position. There were two shipyard hands ready to give us a hand and things went nicely according to plan.
Once the hoist had lifted Trilogy clear of the water, the very dirty hull was given a thorough high pressure hose down. By doing this immediately after the lift, the barnacles do not have time to tighten their grip! The latest coat of anti fouling had not been very successful and poor Trilogy had a veritable beard of sea life coating the hull. We definitely would have not won a race with the thick growth smothering the surface. Most of the inlet and outlets were part blocked which was quite concerning. Once the washing of the hull was completed, the hoist slowly transported Trilogy to her steel cradle, which will be home for the hurricane prone months, ending in mid November. There are four steel struts that are positioned along the length of the hull on both sides, that are bolted to a steel frame, which in turn is pinned deeply into the ground. It was a very impressive bit of kit!
The final stage was stepping the mast down, a new procedure for us to be involved with. A crane was positioned next to Trilogy's hull and the rigger was hauled up the mast in the bosun's chair to attach a strong strap firmly to the mast about two thirds of the way up the mast. The agile rigger then moved almost to the top of the mast to attach the other end of the strap to the hook on the crane. Once the rigger was safely back on deck, the crane took up the vertical support of the mast, while the crew worked on systematically releasing the base of the mast and the myriad of cables that pass through it, and the stays that stabilise the mast on the deck. It was very impressive to see this team of men systematically work carefully through the tasks, using hand signals between each other rather than words. Everything was double checked before the next step was taken. Slowly but surely, the mast was lifted clear of the deck, guided to ground level and tipped forward onto a mobile cradle, which was then used to walk the mast by the team to a suitable resting spot in the yard.
And so we have come to the end of another very successful sailing season, the first in the waters of the Caribbean Sea. We have wandered our way through the Leeward, Windward and most of the Virgin Islands, leaving Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico islands yet to be explored. There is no better way of experiencing these beautiful and alluring islands than by sailing vessel. Each island has its own unique history and cultural preferences and it is these subtle differences that become apparent when there is the opportunity to move from island to island. There are inter-island ferries and some light plane services, but it is simply not possible to achieve what we have done by public transport. We feel blessed and fortunate to have had this opportunity. Thank you to all who have sailed with us throughout the season, the three skippers who have kept us safe but most of all thank you to Trilogy who sailed magnificently and provided us with great comfort and pleasure.
Until next season, keep safe!
I wish to acknowledge that much of the historical material I have written in the blog this season is sourced from the various pilotage books for the different island groups.