On the Hard

Where Next?
Bob Williams
Sat 23 Apr 2016 22:08
Position: On the hard at Vuda Point Marina
Wind: calm
Weather: sunny and warm

It has been almost two weeks since I have updated my blog so it is perhaps high time I added a short post to let anyone who might be wondering know that Sylph and crew are safe and sound. Here is a quick update.

Shortly after arriving in Fiji I was privileged to have my friend Kate join me for a few days. It was a short but very welcome visit. We explored the sights, sounds and smells of nearby Lautoka for a day, the next sailed over the resort at Musket Cove for one night, sailed back to Vuda Point the next day, Sunday 17th, then on the Monday we had Sylph hauled out ready for her regular maintenance period. On Tuesday Kate flew back to Australia while I got stuck into stripping back old anti-fouling and preparing Sylph’s topsides for a repaint. I am also replacing the two V-berth windows, one of which has long been on my list of things-to-do due to an ever burgeoning colony of rust that was blooming beneath it. The windows have now been removed, the rusty frame repaired, and I have just finished putting on the first coat of primer. I have also had to attend to a small spot of corrosion in the hull just aft of the cable locker, which has also been cut out and patched.

Sylph is now 56 years old and I have worked her pretty hard while I have owned her for the last 18 years, so she obviously needs a regular dose of TLC. It is a lot of work to maintain her in seaworthy condition but this slipping I have been fortunate to have been able to take advantage of the cheap casual labour here in Fiji and have employed the assistance of an elderly gentlemen by the name of Burrows (not sure of spelling). He has needed close supervision but is a willing worker who has saved me a lot of time and not a few extra aches and pains. While my means are limited, it is good to be able to provide some paid employment to one of Fiji's needier citizens. We have now been at it for a week, but we are making progress and I have the goal of being ready to go back in the water on Monday 2 May.

All is well.