Splash Down

Serenity of Swanwick
Phil and Sarah Tadd
Tue 8 Nov 2016 10:00

 

We’ve been back on Antigua exactly 4 weeks, and today ‘Serenity’ was relaunched.  She is looking better than she has done since we bought her.  The yard did a fantastic job of cleaning and polishing the hull and applying the antifouling (though it took a bit of chivvying from us to keep the job moving as they kept getting distracted on to work on charter catamarans, which had to be back in action for the next charter crew).  In the end the antifouling was finished off over the weekend by Fire, who entertains himself by singing along to the Seventh Day Adventist radio station!

 

Having the work on the hull done for us has meant that we have been able to get on with other jobs, such as varnish work down below, fitting a new engine control lever and a smart new wheel cover, and lots more.  We still have a bit of varnishing to finish off, and anything else can be done once we are sailing.

 

The process of launching was as interesting as the haul out.  We have been watching Fire and Junior launch various boats while we have been here and their skill in manoeuvring boats of all sizes around the yard is amazing.  They use a tractor unit attached to a launching trailer with adjustable supports.  The final stage involves lining the trailer up with the slipway, which is done by Fire hauling hard sideways on a length of rope attached to the tow bar!

 

Since we have been afloat Phil has been up the mast to replace the wind indicator and lazy jacks and to check the rigging, and we are putting the sails back on.

 

As we were finishing our lunch, Phil noticed a yacht manoeuvring in the harbour.  It turned out to be El Mundo, with Alex, Tom and their little boy on board.  Sarah met Alex on her yacht maintenance course before we left the UK, and we saw them in the British Virgin Islands earlier in the year.  It will be good to catch up with them over the next couple of days and find out their plans for the coming season.