The work goes on

We are knocking things off the list bit by bit. All lines have been attended to, the hour meter and fuel gauge have been added. Now the wind is blowing hard and the main sail still isn't on and the chance of that happening today is slim. We are staying at the dock for a couple more days. We have new foot peddles to install for the anchor windless. The first picture is Brian in the v-berth doing the wiring on the windless. Don't you love how I use the ....we ..... for all these projects I have next to no input. We took the wind speed indicator down off the mast and took it to see who could fix it. We were almost laughed at. It is over 20 years old and can't be fixed. So probably no wind instruments this year.
We had a friend John Fallon over for dinner last night and had a great time. I have a new one pot chicken dish that I've made twice. That will be my new company dinner recipe. Spence's and Marshall's be prepared.
The day's go quickly I can hardly believe a month is nearly gone. We have news it is snowing in London and we sure don't miss that. Just now as I am writing a big cloud burst went by and I have run and shut hatches. The joy here never ends.

More busy days

The past few days have been so busy with getting the boat ready to sail. We have replaced a lot of lines cleaned a lot of lines turned old lines into new ... cutting away the bad ends washing and scrubbing and reusing. We have two anchors and the secondary was really bad so the primary chain and rode is now the secondary and a new chain and rode has been bought and installed. Looking at the third picture of the rusty fitting we think we replaced it just in time. Hopefully the big ticket items are bought and in a few days we might even leave the dock and go sailing. What a concept I know!!!! We had a local fellow (Vision) go up the mast clean and polish and bring down yet another broken piece. The wind speed indicator will have to be repaired or replaced and he will go up again to install it.
We have also started our first loads of laundry .... In 3 buckets in the cockpit. Trying to adjust to the cruising life.

Views

This is our view of the front yard and the back. The marina is lovely and we have not left the dock yet but have the dinghy pumped up and ready to take out for a test spin. The battery charger has been installed and the new batteries as well as the old are charging away. We have solar and wind power so we hope to be able to keep everything up without running the engine too much. We have wifi here at the dock too. I better not get too used to it. We have ice cubes too!!!!
Dawn and Laurie (my sister and brother in law) have arrived in Trinidad and preparing their boat for the trek north to meet us here in St Lucia. My sister Valerie and her husband Rick will be joining us for Christmas so we are expecting a lot of fun. They will be here for a week. So as you can see it will be busy for awhile. It seems odd to be in the stores and hear the Christmas tunes blaring while you are sweating . Still not quite have my head around that.
Lorna

We Splashed!!!

Finally we are in the water. They started the procedure at 8:30 am and we were in by about 10 am. We motored over to the marina and tied up to the dock and have booked in for a week. A couple small leaks have been addressed. The view and the scenery is far superior as well as the breeze. We will move out into the bay in a week or so after the bugs are worked out. We still need to inspect lines and put on the sails. The dinghy needs to be inflated and put into service. We have decided to call the dinghy Whipper after an old faithful dog of Brian's.

Monday is Splash Day

Or at least that's what they are telling us. All work by outsiders is done, Brian has a list that just goes on and on but even that is getting a bit shorter.
The hull washed and waxed
Two coats of bottom paint
The engine fully checked and tested
All through hulls checked and closed
Dock lines and fenders poised
The new fresh Canadian flag hung
Diesel fuel on board
Laurie Corbett's check list gone over
We think we are ready but I'm sure we will find something we missed. We'll know that tomorrow.

Still on the Hard

Well work went on Thursday and Friday but when the yard boss Ricky came around with paperwork and said you are going in this afternoon we still had a hole in the back of the boat. Brian had the exhaust hose rerouted out the back instead of below. They didn't finish until 10:30 this am. So here we sit until Monday now. But there are still so many things to do Monday will be fine. The ladder is killing my knees. I have never had a knee problem but two weeks going up and down a 20 ft ladder often with a loaded back pack has done me in. But I'm sure when the ladder is gone I'll be fine.
The grassy area by the marina stores and restaurants is set up for a market today and we will check it out and add pictures. It should be fruits and veggies as well as local cuisine we are told. We have the refrigeration working powered by solar and wind power. But just barely we need the battery charger Brian bought hooked up and plugged in but that isn't until we are at a dock.
We got laundry done yesterday ... I paid 25EC for wash and brought it back and hung it out on the lifelines. That is about 8US or Canadian. Good deal in my books. I also bought beer off the delivery truck to the restaurant and they brought it to us. Beats having to carry it home in your backpack. Day to day living is just a little harder but far more interesting.
We met some people from Canada also waiting to go in the water. They said they were set up on the lido deck serving drinks... So of course we joined them.
We are at a wifi spot having lunch and will post this. The market was nice but more expensive than the grocery store. The stall with the orchids was beautiful.

Rainy Day in Paradise

What do you know it actually rains here. That may not sound to profound but its the all-day dull type of rain. I feel like I'm on vacation in New Brunswick! That is not a disparaging remark directed at NB, it's just my luck. It seemed that every summer when we came to visit the in-laws it would rain steady and cold for one of two weeks. Of course we would hear "you should have been her last week" or we would drive home in stifling heat and sunshine. Here at least it is worm. Lorna put her bathing suit on and scrubbed the hull while I was turning myself upside down and side ways pulling apart the stove.

Well it's raining again and today we prepare to leave the hotel and move aboard tomorrow. We've got the water tanks cleaned out, the hull ready to paint and the batteries charged up. We are waiting on some work to be done by the yard crew and expect to be launched on Monday.

Boat yard views

Today we took some pictures of the views on the walk from the hotel to the boat. It was a very quiet place today being Sunday but tomorrow it will be a bustling with work men,power tools, the travel lift and the chickens. Yes we have a chicken and a lazy old dog under our boat from time to time. Today was a typically hot day but a beautiful breeze was constant all day. That was a good thing since we had a very busy physical labour day. We finished preparing the bottom for painting tomorrow. The grounding plate was encrusted with barnacles and a real pain to chisel off. That was one of my jobs a short girls job for sure. Then I laid on the deck and scraped off the Aku Tiki 11 decals on both sides. It would seem nothing is easy. All the while Brian was on his hands and knees scraping and reprinting the bottom of the keel.

Another Day in Paradise

Woke up to heavy rain this morning but no worries a rainbow was soon coming. We are progressing slowly but steadily. Today we stopped into the sail loft and found him working busily on them. So far he replaced the sacrificial strip on the jib and was rebuilding the luff on the main. They will be ready for us tomorrow. We know they are old and expect to replace them soon. On the other hand we have a never been used storm sail and slightly used 135 genoa.

Work goes on with the boat. We changed the transmission and motor oil. Both presented their own challenges. See the picture for the transmission. Awkward does not do it justice. The oil was a struggle too! More like tar! It took about three hours. All along we are saying "it shouldn't be this hard". Fortunately the Admiral went on a mercy run and returned with cold beer! Tomorrow we attack the hull in preparation for anti fouling. We think we'll farm out the polish and buffing. Hope to launch next Wednesday.

Boat Yard Blues

We have been working on the boat cleaning and sorting. Finding treasures and other things not so treasurable. A few bags have made it to dumpster already. We took the sails in for inspection and any necessary repairs. Everything is so heavy in the heat. Yesterday we finally got hooked to the water meter and the top sides got washed down. As I was washing it started to rain .... the first time since we got here. A little free water never hurts and the washer enjoyed it too. Brian was under the boat scraping off barnacles preparing for bottom paint. We have found some things in better condition than expected and some in worse condition. Batteries being deemed next to useless is a bad thing.

First Morning in St Lucia

Well here we are it's 10:30 and we are at the Bread Basket, Rodney Bay Marina for breakfast. It's feeling like 39 degrees already so we are in for a slow day while we acclimatize.

Just a quick update: the flight from Calgary to London into the teeth of Sandy was uneventful until the landing approach which was a bit like being in the back seat of a long school bus. So we had two days to make final preparations which included a run to the airport to weigh bags (5 in total 49.5 lbs avg) and dinner engagements with Lorna's sister Valerie and my mother, both were great. Not that we weren't busy enough but my mother got her call to move to Kingston on Wednesday at 3:00 PM meaning she has to be there by Tuesday! Go Go brother Dave and Sister in-law Katherine! It is a relief to us that we will know that she is
being well looked after and that this all happened before the winter. Now Kendra, our daughter, only has one set of seniors to look out for.

Breakfast is here will post again soon.