Pulau Indah Marina, Malaysia. In preparation for leaving we have cleaned Shonandra's hull. We are expecting at least another knot from her sail ability with this.
When John first announced that he was going to careen Shonandra I admit to being a tad surprised. We were watching a very small boat drive on to the mud at the boat ramp and wait for low tide. Then with gusto, about three men got into the draining water and mud and scrubbed the hull of that boat. A small boat, yes, ok, no problem, but Shonandra? Over the next couple of days we watched the tides carefully and John went as far as marking the wall at the boat ramp with permanent marker with date and time. He even marked the post next to the berth. So, decision made, we will careen Shonandra at 0630 this Wed 16th, Oct, 2019. At 0630 it is still dark but get up and move Shonandra we did. We nudged her into the space at high tide, carefully lining up her mast with marks John had chosen on the shore. We tied her there with our strongest lines, no less than ten of them, to cleats, posts, marina bridge, a rock and even a tree. Shonandra was captive. We then waited for the tide to go down, and at about 1030 the water was low enough for us to at least start scrubbing and scraping the bow sections. As we worked the water went lower until eventually we were wading through thick mud, barefooted. The mud was so thick and sticky that no shoe or boot could have stayed on. So working quickly was essential so as to finish before the water rose again. A new friend sent one of his employees around to assist, which was greatly appreciated. He had done this before, so we were were grateful he appeared and worked as hard as he did. The hot afternoon passed quickly as the last of the scrubbing continued. John even had enough time to remove old anodes and replace them with new ones. I admit to flagging first, and went and had a shower to remove mud before the job was completed. The tide rose according to schedule and by about 1820 Shonandra was floating again and ready to move. There was about a 10 minute window in which to move her safely back to the berth. The careening went without a hitch, but it took some preparation and planning. In history this was one of the only methods used to clean a ship's hull. We were completely exhausted by the end of it all, the hard work and stress took it's toll. A very kind person then arrived and took us out for a Thai meal. How spoiled! Enough of careening. We would do it again if we found the right place. Shonandra's wide and sturdy long keel made careening a convenient alternative to other means of lifting, and a good deal less expensive. She sat safely and evenly on her wide keel base, albeit sunk into about 18 inches of sticky mud. We are still tired today, so goodnight from us both. John and Ginni