Lots of fun in the boat yard

 Like it or not, every two years, it's time to haul the boat out of the water and 'do' the bottom. For you land lubbers that's all about pressure washing the accumulation of muscles, green slime and other such varmints clinging to the boat bottom below the water line. Then we wait for it to dry, after which someone; us for the past many years but now we choose to support the local economy and pay some young, agile person to do the dirty work. This includes preparing the hull bottom and stirring and applying the very heavy and extremely expensive marine bottom paint . A trick we learned in Mexico is to alternate the paint colour each time we apply it. That way we can keep an eye on how well the paint is holding up. If we start to see the previous paint colour showing through, we know it's time to refresh the paint . This is particularly helpful if you're penny pinching like I am and only haul out for new bottom paint every other year. There is also the propeller and drive shaft, adorned with gifts from the sea. I still do this job myself although I must say, this years growth seemed harder to remove even using my trusty power drill and spinning disc of diamond bits (well, ok, not diamonds but pretty hard bits). That task seemed to go on forever but I finally quit and sprayed the works with zinc spray and walked away. Speaking of walking away, it seems my favourite (and only) 6' step-ladder wandered off when I wasn't watching. I searched everywhere but it must have run for the hills once it abandoned our boat site…. 😕
All and all, it was a good days work and we returned the next morning to watch the boat return to the water; after which we motor-sailed home to Maple Bay. I must admit though, each year the ladders seem to get longer and steeper, the paint cans heavier (and certainly more expensive), and the whole experience just a 'titch' less enjoyable. BUT; job done for this year 😀 👍 Now it's time to start preparing for our next salt water adventure; "the summer cruise". Stay tuned…

Wishing you a barnacle free spring with lots of gorgeous flowers. CJ

Ready to rock and roll with a nice clean hull.

…Spring Flowers

Caught on her way to a Calipso chorus event, Kathy and Maddie team up with our early blooming Rhody ( the one and the same that was flattened by snow a couple years ago) for a photo op. 

Hope you’re having fun with your wardrobe and your Rhodys are starting to ‘pop’

CJ

Spring has sprung..

And so begins the Rhody parade. This beauty is the first to bloom. The rest will follow.

Catching up and Moving on...

So many wonderful choices to make... but not just yet!  

Yes it's been a while since I've posted; but not because I haven't wanted to. To be fair, some of our time-consuming chores are self-imposed.  We have toys... and they demand attention from time to time. Even wee TT Lucy sits quietly on her parking pad and thrives on whatever attention we can give her. BUT, this time of year is mostly dedicated to the needs of 'not so wee' SV Shannon's Spirit.  She, unlike Lucy, tends not to sit so silently and stay the same.  Things like her engine, her plumbing, her interior upholstery (fairly allergic to the damp and cold marine atmosphere), her decks that just love to turn a horrible shade of green over the winter, and the exterior canvas, are all demanding their fair share of  attention.  We've been planning a long, three month cruise, for quite a while.  Unlike other years we're keeping this cruising plan generally loose with very few actual commitments to dates and places.  As you can imagine, we are  now busy doing all the spring chores we can and setting up services for the months we will be away.  

 

So, between bouts of weeding and tending to the gardens, chipping away at SSpirits' needs, and tending to our own aging processes, we have been busy. My writing time, I'm sorry to say 😔 has, consequently, been gobbled up by all the 'needs' living life has piled up.  But.... and it's a big BUT, we are very much looking forward to a date in late April when we intend to cast off the lines, push away from the dock and head off to an almost totally unconstructed three months aboard.  We know which direction we will travel during each of the three months and we do have a few  stops we look forward to along the way; but mostly we intend to free-wheel. We want to stay as free as possible and follow our noses (and the wind). Time will tell where we drop anchor and what adventures we will have. I plan to be blogging during our journey. The posts will go out when we have connectivity.

Wishing you all a beautiful spring, complete with flowers and baby birds. And let us all keep our fingers crossed that the good people in the USA (there are many) manage to successfully pull their wayward ship back onto a dignified course.   TTFN (tata for now)  CJ