Well, it’s finally here. My departure from Trinidad is in a few days and as I prepare for departure, Pandora is crawling with workers. Just today, a welder, canvas guy, electricians and Amos of Perfect Finish who’s group has done a wonderful job of painting Pandora’s hull.
Yes, there was lot of work done last summer on Pandora but after spending the season aboard, it seemed like a good idea to head back to Trinidad and have some last minute work done to get her in as perfect shape as possible before departing on my run to Horta.
The work that Amos and his gang did aboard Pandora last summer was first rate but with any job that big (check out older posts for a blow by blow as they replaced much of the side decks) I had a few items that needed work and decided to bring her back. After all that, it somehow seemed like a good idea to get the hull painted. I do like a shiny hull.
So now, Pandora is in spectacular shape having been worked over from very bottom of the keel, the hull and up to the top of the hard dodger and that really doesn’t begin to cover all that was done.
And now, she’s really shiny and with brand new graphics. I know that soon someone will come up to visit and their dink will chip the name. It happens every year. I guess that’s the risk of having friends. I’ll take it.
And to keep from getting scratches on her new shiny hull, I sewed soft covers on my new huge fenders. Figuring out how to do the pleats was not all that hard but I did have to do a bit of head scratching to be sure that I had it right before cutting the fabric. All’s well that ends well in spite of the fact that it took 3 yards of fabric that was 72″ wide to get the job done.
If you saw my last post, you know that these fenders are a lot BIGGER than they look.
After more than a decade of use, our anchor was looking a bit worse for wear so I had it tended to as well. The shank was a little bent and it was not even a tiny bit shiny. Now it is, thanks to the welder/metal worker, Mitchell. He does great work.
My crew Ken, who I have been sailing with off and on for decades, will be arriving in two days and will help me move Pandora up the islands to St Maarten where I will join the Homeward Bound Salty Dawg Rally.
Once Ken and I depart Trinidad, our first landfall will be Bequia, an overnight, where we will connect with Bill and Maureen aboard Kalunamoo, our oldest cruising buddies. We plan to stop a number of places as we make our run north to St Maarten where I will connect with the Homeward Bound Salty Dawg Rally, heading to Bermuda to prepare for my departure with the Azores rally, departing on or about June 1st.
Well, it’s 6:30pm and the electrician is still aboard. I have had great luck with all of the vendors except this one. He’s a very nice guy and gets a lot done when he is here but it seems that he’s always running out for something and stays away for hours at a time.All and all, I have had terrific value and great work here in Trinidad and of the “army” that has worked on Pandora, I have been overwhelmingly happy with the outcome.
I just can’t wait till everyone goes home and I can begin to put the boat back together again.
Perhaps a good place to wind up this post is a link to a number of webcams for the Azores. There are a LOT of them but you might find something worth looking at. The general site for all the webcams for the Azores check out this link. For a real time look at the harbor in Horta, check out this link.
Soon, out to dinner with a fellow Salty Dawg cruising couple.
Pandora splashes at 10:00 tomorrow morning and it will be good to have her ready to go. In particular, having a fridge and freezer working will be awesome.
It’s been six weeks since I left Pandora to fly home and now I’m back. Sadly, it will be another six weeks till I see Brenda again when we meet up in Horta.
Lots still to do but that’s about it for now. Time for dinner.
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