12^th February 2009 - Auckland.

And so it is we charge headlong into February 09 uncertain as to how it was that 08 disappeared so fast!

After a passage to Fiji on Woody’s 56ft  Cat “Twin Image” in May, (itself an interesting experience for a non-cat sailor with winds a for couple of days up to 50 kts.), we got into a winter that reminded me why it is requisite to be out of this country at least between June and September. This year it wasn’t to be however because this was Splash Tango’s “birthday” year!

She finally went into a shed at Westpark Marine Services in late June to have the old teak decks removed and new 12mm teak decks fitted. She was supposed to be back in the water late September.

Splash Tango in her pyjamas.

I could write a tome of the dramas that unfolded but suffice to say that anyone who has done a refit of any description knows that it will never go according to plan or budget. With staff leaving en mass due to new management and inexperience in the work being done, (half of the new decks had to be ripped off because the king plank had been laid incorrectly), we were in fact very lucky to be in the water before Christmas. You have to be there every day otherwise things will turn pear shaped faster than one can imagine. We made it though, a week before Christmas, on the 18^th Dec. Although we had intended to set of on our summer cruise that weekend we still then had to commission the new Genset – a Northern Lights 5 kw and the new AC watermaker pump motor, fit the new dodgers and fit the 70 headlining panels that I had re-vinyled, install the new bench top, re-gas the refrigeration system, do some remedial plumbing work and some other repairs like the anchor winch and autopilot.

When one electrician asked me what was the time frame and I said “Before New Year.” He just laughed and said “You’ll kill yourself. Do yourself a favour and put it (the cruise) off ‘til February”.  I said “Not an option”.

Anyway we did make it and cast off on new years eve and headed for Kawau. Man did that first beer taste good!

Below are a few photos of the transition.

Old decks ready to come off June ’08 – at this stage I had stent 3 weeks below decks removing all the head lining panels and cabinetry where necessary and removing nuts (most fibre-glassed in – see photo below) from genoa tracks etc.

Note the state of the genoa tracks and deck below them – no wonder I was getting a few niggling leaks over the nav station.

12^th Oct and at last a small burst of progress. At this stage there had been no work done for a month due to most of the staff having left. Also the side decks, most of which had been laid have been removed again due to an error in the laying of the king plank forward.

15^th November and after another burst of inactivity for a few weeks we are away again with the side decks finally being laid.

 15^th November again looking aft (obviously).

30^th November and we’re getting there – rubber, steering pedestal, tracks etc to go…

10^th Dec. tracks are on hatches and fittings being replaced and remedial rubber work carried out.

15^th Dec. 08 – nearly ready for a splash!

The end result!!