10:40.76N 061:37.89E

Once the boys had left we were ready to make the overnight passage south to Trinidad where we had a couple of days in the marina washing the sails, taking them down and wrestling them into a manageable bundle to store inside for the summer.  To do this the sails need to be completely unfurled so this operation can only be done when there is very little wind, otherwise they either flap so hard as to cause an injury or build up enough power to put more strain than you want on the mooring lines.  The wind only really properly drops early morning and late at night so we were completing this operation at some odd times. 

We were hauled out into Powerboats Boatyard who have been efficient and charming throughout.  Because we are technically a couple of degrees inside the hurricane belt the insurance company wanted the boat to be tied down to concrete blocks and for the stands to be soldered together…….

It is not just the wind that wants to get you though the fierce heat and humidity can wreak havoc as well.  There are several additional tasks involved in the layup that we had not encountered before.  They include hiring a dehumidifier to run from now until we return.  The water pipe runs out through the hole in the bottom of the hull where the log (mileage recorder) normally sits.  This then requires hiring someone from the boatyard to keep an eye on it but for about £20 a month this seems money well spent. 

Next task is plugging every possible hole that critters could crawl in through and shoving an old shoe in the back of the boom to stop birds nesting there.  That done we put boric acid powder in plastic bottle tops in all the bilges and cupboards in addition to our usual cockroach traps and spray.

Final and most tedious of all is wiping every surface, both sides, with vinegar to deter mildew.  Oh, nearly forgot, and wiping all the surfaces in the heads (bathrooms) with bleach for the same reason. 

Meanwhile the engine has had a major service, the bottom been scraped of barnacles, the autopilot drive arm taken out and given to the Raymarine workshop for reconditioning and the propeller removed and taken away to check it is still balanced.   Pretty much everything that was on the outside of the boat (sails, ropes, canvas, life raft and more) is now on the inside and we haven’t as yet thought of anything we have forgotten.  That’s why lists are so great.

We flew home on the 29^th April and had 2 days at home before leaving for five weeks in India and Nepal.  Washing done, sailing stuff taken up to loft, trekking stuff brought down and fingers crossed we had got everything.