12:01.26N   61:40.76W

 

Distance Run  8nm

 

Tuesday 2 and Wednesday 3 July 2013

 

On Tuesday we motored eastwards along the south Grenada coast to St David’s Bay where Grenada Marine is based.  This will be the base for the boat during the hurricane season (1 June to 30 November).  The trip was very slow because we have a lot of growth on the boat, which obviously causes drag, and on the propeller, which reduces the engine’s efficiency.  The anti-fouling was put on in April last year in Portugal and we normally only expect a life of 12 months before it is fully expired.  The longer period has been exacerbated by the fact we have travelled an unusually long distance since which has contributed to it’s erosion.

 

 

The view of the yard from the sea.  In many ways it is a little more picturesque than the norm:-

 

 

 

 

The lift was scheduled for 9am on Wednesday and the guys were waiting in the lift dock area before time.  This was unexpected but we took advantage and came in early. 

 

The boat in the slings of a ‘travel lift’ – a far more stable proposition than the crane used at Clarkes Court.  It is always a tricky time because the slings have to be positioned carefully under the boat so that they avoid the prop shaft on lifting:-

 

 

 

 

Some of the fouling on the rudder:-

 

 

 

 

 

...... and on the hull.  We were starting our own private coral reef:-

 

 

 

 

 

‘and what are we doing about the propeller?’ :-

 

 

 

 

 

Just finishing the high pressure ‘scrub’ before moving the boat to rest in a cradle:-

 

 

 

 

 

In the cradle – all barnacles and weed removed.  The boats are also strapped down to strong points in the ground.  This is a change made to storage facilities since hurricane Ivan hit Grenada in 2004.  It was found that the strong winds lifted many boats off their supports and they then fell over.  A domino effect caused hundreds of boats to be severely damaged or destroyed.

 

You might just be able to see one of the straps at the back towards the left of the picture.:-

 

 

 

The staff took a more care than we have ever seen before with the alignment of the boat both fore and aft and side to side in order to avoid a build up of water on the decks or in the cockpit.