Pictures for words
The project is taking a big toll on us, we are working hard and we are totally absorbed by the project.
The result is very little writing.
This time I will use images to describe what’s going on, I hope you like them.
Slow progress
“It does not matter how slowly you go as long as you do not stop.”
Confucius
Today I feel like the boat beat us. After an entire day spent working we have been able to complete the installation of only 1 porthole. We have 7 more to go. It is so frustrating. We should do better tomorrow, as we learned the process. This achievement was not painless tough, as we had to fight a lot to find the right way to do the job and to work as a team. Sometimes things are not as easy as you imagined.
We won great battles so far, like having the deck painted, the steering wheel removed and the enormous battery bank (500lbs in total) out of the boat. We removed and cleaned the head that was sitting on a rotten floor, we got rid of three frozen seacocks. Any of these projects obviously come with a plethora of collateral small jobs, tools to buy and parts to find or restore.
Everyday looks different, we have good days where we complete our tasks, and we have bad ones and we are behind our schedule. I guess it’s not different from any other life. There are good and bad days, but you have to keep the pace and go ahead.
To keep track of our work and not feel lost in the general execution of the projects Kate created a special binder that summarizes our plan. It’s divided into weeks and so far we planned eight weeks that should take us from the yard to the water. It already looks like they re going to be 16 probably… and that we are about to spend the whole summer on the boat.
Tomorrow we will try to speed up and be more effective to complete the job on the portholes and have the deck finally sealed. Same script, we wake up and we do the same journey to the boat, one more day of work and one step more toward the sea.
End of the season
End of the season means change of location, migration, farewells and new encounters. I feel lucky I have some time for me. Working as temporary crew allows me not to get trapped in yachts’ schedule. In the Superyacht industry there is little down time. Once something got accomplished there is already something new to come, a passage, guests’ or owners’ trip, yard period. I am glad I have no schedule, it’s enough to have a direction.
My risk as temporary crew it’s excess of down time an uncertainty. For example now I just finished a job but I still don’t know what’s next. I know that there is an opportunity for me to deliver a Southern Wind sail yacht, my favorite on the market today. I have to wait two weeks unemployed and I am evaluating the pros and cons of this decision. It could be time for me to relax and enjoy myself. If it was a “normal yacht” I would have no doubts in looking for something more profitable. But Dharma it’s not exactly a “normal yacht” to my eyes.
There is something that I love about Southern Wind Shipyard. Even if they build 30+ mts amazing sailing machines the impression you have onboard is of simplicity and sobriety. The philosophy of the shipyard is summed up in this sentence.
“We pursue a policy of consistency in building ever better yachts, avoiding technological embellishments that contribute little to the final result but very much affect the final price”
In other words, just what you need, nothing more nothing less.
I will have a taste of Dharma with the delivery to Puerto Rico, then 12days to explore the island. I realized that taking a holiday was something completely out of my mind, always worried about finding jobs and saving money. I found myself back in trip planning modality something that I haven t been doing for long time and something that I love. In Puerto Rico I am looking for beach relax, surfing, and absorbing local culture.
This is also what “end of the season” means.
My Job!
This is a montage of pictures and videos of my job in San Blas Islands aboard Andiamo.
San Blas pictures
Transatlantic crossing: first leg Curaçao – Republica Dominicana 400nm
After two false starts (never ever use a Max Prop or similar foldable propeller for very long sailing) we finally left Willemstad for a three days sailing up to Boca Chica, Dominican Republic and we moored in a lovely marina just before some more squalls hit the area.
We had good winds for the first part of the trip and then we had to use the engine for almost half of the time. That was another good test that the old Perkins 4.236 passed with some questions. Is the injection in order? Why is overheating some times and some others not? A good mechanic here in Dominican Republic could be a precious help for these doubts.
We’re still in doubt about our future steps. Everything depends on the boat overall conditions and of course on the meteo. It is possible that we need three more days in Dominicam Republic to get everything we need for the next leg, the strongest one. From here if the weather will let us we would like to go up to Bermudas and then Azores.
I’ll try to keep a record of the next steps, in the meanwhile I start publishing some pictures of the trip.
Christoffel National Park Curaçao
To escape from the uncessant work of a boat refitting I decided to visit the National Park of Curaçao. In a cloudy saturday morning I took the road that leaves the city of Willemstad and the pollution of oil refineries heading Westpunkt, the extreme west of the island. By the way I stopped to buy some fruit in a common house of locals guided by the signal “Fruta Barata” (cheap fruit). Just before reaching the point where the island disappear into the sea you meet the sharp pyramidal edge of Christoffel Mountain. It is 375m high and completely covered by vegetations up to the rocky top.
I entered the Park reception with the tiny Suzuky Samurai I rented from Pedro, the carpenter of the Marina and I paid 19,5 guilders (about 12 $) for the entrance plus the car ticket. The park is divided in two sides. The one that goes up to north is the marine side, a wide area with the rocky cliffs of Boka Grandi, a big lagoon where you can see Flamingos and Eagles, a small cave with some indian paintings and some other routes in the nature. Going south you approach the mountain and the area of disused plantations and mines. I went directly to the mountain as I was a little late. You can visit the entire park with the car through a small stripe of tarmoil that infiltrate the cactus and the small trees.
The first stop was not exciting, an ancient plantation not used anymore. I saw fully coloured birds and a huge iguana that ran away immediately. After this stop I decided to go directly to the hiking route that takes you to the top. From the parking they say it’s one hour to go up and the same to get back. I did it in 40 mins, close to noon but protected by the shade of the cloudy sky. It was really hard even if short and the heat is not a help. I’m not in a good physical condition due to the continuos work on the boat that is definetely not an aerobic activity and I suffered the climb that starts sweet but becomes very steep close to the peak, with some easy climbing passages on the rock. From the top you have a complete view of the island, from Westpunkt to Willemstad but the sky was not so clear and so the visibility. But at least I was not getting burned by the violent sun of noon and I enjoyed the bunch of grape I bought in the morning. Once I got back to the car I decided to visit the marine side, I didn’t know why but I was in a hurry.
The vegetation of the marine side changes with the influence of the wind that blows NE and bring salty air. The trees almost disappear and cactuses predonimate the landscape. Compared to the busy Willemstad this corner of the island is really savage and quite, perfect for meditation and relax.
The marine side has also few caves once inhabited by indians. The caves have paintings on their walls and when I entered I felt like it was a home and I have to escape from fierce animals (I’m not sure if here in Curaçao they even had one in the whole history, probably not).
I enjoyed the journey, it’s defintely not a unique and impressive natural environment, but I always like natural sites with few people where breath fresh air and the noises all come from the wind, small birds singing or waterfalls. I love the western part of Curacao!