I know we gripe about boat haul-outs! It is hard to describe how inconvenient it is to have your home lifted up onto jackstands in the middle of a dirty shipyard. Many sailors don’t try to stay aboard during a haul out. Instead, they opt for a nice little palapa on the river. We talked about maybe this would be our very first haul out where we hired the yard to do all the work and we would go stay at a nice Antiqua hotel. In fact, here is a pic of the beer we drank while discussing this option.
But, by last Saturday’s haul out, we had already nixed the Antigua hotel. We wanted to keep it to a week and the yard was super behind from so much recent rain. Even in great weather, you can’t really rush the yard guys. There will be smiles, nodding in agreement and then they will just follow their own “mañana” timeframe.
So as they lead us to the back lot, past 30 or so guys grinding, sanding, painting and fiberglassing, while we prayed for good weather and no unpleasant surprises so we could keep it to a week here.
And success! Thanks to Randall’s planning and constant energy, we were back in the water yesterday. We even got some up-the-mast work done. The pic below is of Randall running new VHF cable down the mast. As usual, we got lots done but still have a few projects that await the inevitable next haul out.
In between all the work, we have tried a couple of small local places with no gringos, no menus and no English-speaking waiters to help you figure out what’s available. Often it is best to just ask about the especial de dia. We’re always happy with any soup!
Today has been a full on cleaning day as we prepare for GUESTS! We are super excited. Stay tuned for pics of less work and more fun!
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