Hobart. Today is March 5th, 2020 and we have been back here for just over one month. The time has rushed by because a couple of days after arriving Shonandra went up on the hard standing.
Being back on terra firma seemed a bit surreal at first and it took a couple of weeks for our balance to adjust. It was great to catch up with friends again. We felt as if we hadn't been away, but friends and family noticed that we were missing for a while.
Shonandra wasn't due to be lifted until mid February but a vacancy became available so we didn't argue with the shipyard bosun. To be honest, John and I felt as if we needed to sleep for a month. Shonandra was looking a bit shabby after all her miles but she was wearing the marks with a bit of pride. Never the less we had decided she needed sprucing up. IE a new coat of paint, and anti-fouling.
John started with sanding. I felt very guilty as my back was playing up so I didn't help at all with that bit. John stuck at it and a few days later had the topsides completely sanded off. Next, a couple of coats of undercoat paint were applied with John again doing all the work. Finally, top coat time arrived after Shonandra had been sanded and washed off and sanded and washed off. By this time I my back was ok and I had no more excuses, so I had to start climbing the scaffolding and get to work. What a job. The epoxy paint was pretty sticky and fast work was required to stop it forming a skin and going on in blobs. It did get a bit blobby here and there but we sanded lightly between first and second coats. The end result was a very smart looking Shonandra. A professional painter came and reapplied the top blue stripe and her name. We didn't trust ourselves with that bit, since half the time John and I sounded like an old Laurel and Hardy comedy giving each other uninvited suggestions on what method of paint application was best.
So....what about the future? We have decided to keep cruising but....(Shh..please don't tell Shonandra yet) we are thinking of selling her and buying a boat more suited to the future cruising we have in mind. We really need a true 'off road' vehicle for the sea, preferably with a steel hull. Shonandra handled conditions well, but with more frequent and sometimes more severe storms around, and so much serious and potentially dangerous garbage in the ocean we need to be prepared as best we can. Since I sailed around the world just over ten years ago now, things have become much worse. It was heart rending at times to see the ocean trash, most of it plastic. A number of times I just cried at the sight of it. There is such a huge amount of it you feel tempted to just quit. We all must change our habits. The trash in Asia is unfathomable. Mostly people have nowhere to dump their trash, and their towns don't seem to have much public service in the way of garbage collection, so for the landlubbers it's out of sight and out of mind; the ocean will do! Trouble is, besides over-fishing, the trash is killing our own food source as it washes around the globe on the ocean currents. Besides that, manufactures of plastic trash want money for it! We've all got to stop buying it, so then it wont need to be manufactured. Think, before you buy. In the west we are party to the destruction by our thoughtless buying habits. Sorry for the high horse, but here lies the truth.
Not a great note to end on. Overall the journey was extremely interesting and at times quite challenging, especially for a catamaran sailor! We will keep you posted as you wait for Phase II of the North and South journey. Until next time....keep checking for news.