The good news is that our beloved Proximity is going to be healthier and more seaworthy than ever for her future voyages. The bad news is that it is going to require months to get her there. She is a fiberglass boat. One of the best ever built. Swans are legendary. But as wood boats must deal with rot, steel must deal with rust, fiberglass boats must deal with blisters. This is a chemical reaction where minute amounts of moisture react with the polyester resin binding the fiberglass together. This results in an acidic byproduct causing osmosis and hydrolysis - a fiberglass cancer, if you will. Proximity had mild blisters when we bought her, so this is no surprise. Her moisture readings are off the scale on the test instrument. It is time.

The proper solution to the problem requires that the outside 3 to 4 millimeters of fiberglass be removed from the hull. The structural glass in the hull is then given a drying-out period of several months depending on the severity of the problem. Once dry, the hull is re-glassed, finished and a new surface and paint is applied. It is a process that is obscenely expensive in the States. Here in New Zealand, it is merely really, really expensive, so we are opting to do it. Swans are built with very thick hulls, so we are not in danger, but we want the boat to be right. She is 35 years old now, and we really do owe our lives to her already.

What this means for us is that we will not sail back to Fiji in May. Rather, we will fly to the States and to our home in Mexico where we will stay until about November while Proximity stays here, out of the water drying. Then we will return to NZ, complete the work in NZ's summer, cruise NZ and in May 2012, set sail for Fiji.

The down side is obvious, but the up side is that we will get to see people we miss, see our land homes, and Proximity will have a virtually new hull with which to complete our circumnavigation. We still plan to be in Germany by 2015 and remain on schedule.

This work should start this week. It is an intense operation, but this yard is a specialist in this work. They know what they are doing. We have seen their work and have talked to happy people who have done it.

We met a nice couple here in the yard. They are from Düsseldorf, and will be doing the same treatment to their boat. Here is a photo of Rod and Klaus thinking about the upcoming "operation"!