September 12, 2014
We enjoyed Friday Burger Day (again) with Diana and Gilbert, it has become part of the routine when we are in St. George. That afternoon we went to GYC as one of the bar ladies said her daughter was stopping by after school in her new uniform (just starting secondary school here which is Grade 7). Ann is soooo proud of her daughter. We snapped a few pictures, did some internet stuff and tried to stay cool. We had happy hour aboard Serenada with Diana and Gilbert and celebrated Gilbert's birthday.
Kim, Alana and Jorge at GYC.
Palm tree with fruit outside GYC.
We listen daily to the cruisers' net on the VHF radio at 0730. Saturday the temp was forecast to be 30C with the humidity making it feel like 40C. Jorge and I looked at each other and our eyes both agreed that it was going to be a "no boat job day". We laid as low as possible until mid afternoon and then went to GYC for some socializing. I have named these days as "sloth days" because you do not want to move any faster than a sloth for fear of working up a sweat!
September 14, 2014
Jorge took the dinghy to shore to clean it. When he got back to CS'ta Time I was sure he had bought a new dinghy. It sparkled from bow to stern, inside and out and even upside down! One needed sunglasses to look at it. The rest of the day was spent trying to keep cool.
September 15, 2014
Monday was busy. Jorge was on the hunt for "stuff" for the boat. The plan is to sail to Tyrrel Bay, Carriacou tomorrow, haul out for 5 days and do maintenance on the boat. Laundry was my priority. After lunch we both went to Budget Marine where we bought some haul cleaner and antifouling paint. Back to St. George for groceries and then happy hour aboard CS'ta Time with Diana and G1ilbert. When we turn our deck light on at night, we attract many things including this bat . . . nightly, flying low over the water looking for food.
Our evening companion.
September 16, 2014
We weighed anchor at 0800. There was no wind for about the first 3 hours, then it started picking up, reaching some 20 kts at times but mainly staying around 15 kts. The current was working against us, pushing us further and further away from Carriacou and we finally had to motor the last hour or so into Tyrrel Bay as the winds were from the NE and Tyrrel Bay is well, of course, NE of Grenada! It was a long day, 9-1/2 hours, but not stressful. We set anchor just before 1730 close to the beach. Tyrrel Bay is very well protected, there was barely a ripple of wave and little wind. We slept like babies!
September 17, 2014
I had a bit of a relapse of last week's not feeling so good. I was very lethargic in the morning and needed a siesta in the afternoon, after that I felt much better. Jorge went ashore to see about a date and time for hauling out, what kind of equipment was available for the work he needed to do and marina hours. Mid afternoon we both went ashore, sat in a shady restaurant, had a drink and watched some soccer on t.v. Haul out was scheduled for 0800 tomorrow.
September 18, 2014
We were at the dock by 0800. There was a boat scheduled to go in the water at that time so in reality it was closer to 0900 before we were lifted out. The guys were quite good, almost as good as the Mawdsley's boys but not quite!
Ready at Tyrrel Bay for a haul out.
Boat launching before CS'ta Time's haul out, note the goats cleaning the "runway".
CS'ta Time in the travel lift.
CS'ta Time had grown a beard over the past year! Okay, we are ON the water type of people, not IN the water type of people, so the only hull cleaning that got done was as far down as we could reach into the water from the dinghy. Fortunately Jorge had bought a wide trowel for drywall mud and "shaved" most of the hairy stuff off the boat before the guys power washed it. I must say I was expecting the bottom to be worse than it was. We had some barnacles but the antifouling seemed to have done a good job. Right at the water level seemed to be the worse and of course the prop, which really didn't resemble a prop at all!
CS'ta Time's beard!
The prop, shaft and part of the bottom. Boy, what ocean water can do! Teeming with life.
Power washing after "shaving".
Looking better already! On the way to the cradle.
It was almost lunchtime when we were settled on our cradle so we decided to call it a morning. The sun was blazing, we were hot and hungry. I made sandwiches and we found a breezy, shady spot along the beach where we had lunch. We sat there for a while afterwards and cooled off, then went back to the boat to have a siesta and wait until 1500 before starting work again. The boat was like an oven (33.8C) and sleep did not come easily but at least we rested. Then, down to the serious cleaning. Jorge set up to work on the prop with an electric drill fitted with a steel brush and I tackled the waterline with a barnacle busting compound. By the end of the day, Jorge had the prop looking like new again and I had the barnacles busted off the starboard side of the boat. We were pleased with what we had accomplished.
The showers in the DIY boatyard were not the best but the water was fresh and refreshing and it felt good to be clean and cooled off a bit.
September 19, 2014
It rained like cats and dogs during the night. We slept with the companionway and hatches open (when it wasn't raining) and were joined by a few pesky mosquitoes, LOL, Canada all over again! The day was overcast with sprinkles of rain but high humidity. However basically it was an okay day to be working, thanks to the clouds! As the cutlass bearing had been an issue for Jorge since before the Bahamas, that was a priority to check. He felt, yes, it needed replacing. Of course the prop had to come off first, a Max prop, that comes off in 15 pieces! So after reading the manual on Max props, off it came. Next the old cutlass bearing had to be removed. With the help of one of the marine hands and their equipment, out came the bearing and not easily I must say. CS used more than the usual number of screws making the job more tedious. But it came out and the new one went in. Then came putting the Max prop back together. Jorge feels confident that he reassembled it properly but we won't really know until the boat is in the water. He was joking (at least I hope he was joking) and said when we put the boat in forward we might end up going backwards and vice versa! LOL. I busted the barnacles on the port side and started cleaning the hull. Boy there are some stains there that just do not want to come off.
A young French couple on the boat next to us rented the one small apartment the marina has for boaters. They offered us the use of the shower as it was definitely cleaner than the DIY boatyard showers. We took them up on it, again no hot water but it was fresh and refreshing.
We slept with the screens in so weren't bothered by bugs.
September 20, 2014
Too bad, no clouds today, it was a scorcher! Jorge completed working on the prop including greasing it. He then tackled the anchor chain. He reversed the chain and added new markers for distance. He installed new annodes at the end of the prop and shaft, inspected the through hulls, and put Sikaflex on some hairline cracks between the hull and the keel.Doesn't sound like a lot, but it took the whole day! Got to love island time. I started the blog in the morning but then added today's work in the evening. We bought rotis from a local lady and went to the beach for lunch. In the afternoon I continued with cleaning the hull. It is looking good but I'm afraid the finish is rather dull. CS'ta Time definitely needs some wax and a good polishing! She is almost a picture of her former self.
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