OUR BLOG
"There's always a plan, but unexpected things happen and we just go with the flow. Though I do believe that fate and destiny often play their part"
sailing blog
On Monday morning at 9.00am precisely we were craned out of the water and rested on dry land for the first time in over twelve months. It was a bit of a shock to see Comino's bottom looking like the Hanging Gardens of Babylon. What with all the plant life, plus an assortment of sea creatures all treating our hull as if it were a marine sanctuary, it was clear that the antifoul type I was using was not good enough for the warmer waters down here. However, when the man with the pressure hose rocked up, it was only a matter of minutes before all the debris was blasted off revealing a smooth and tidy bottom again. In rather warm conditions, we both set about the pre-painting prep work which involved a lot of vigorous scrubbing, sanding and polishing. The star prize has to go to Nicki for the work she did on the prop. In a couple of hours it was transformed from what looked like a lump of the Great Barrier Reef into the most shiny piece of bronze wizardry you've ever seen. For those in the know, this is a Brunton Autoprop, which alternates it's pitch as you accelerate and decelerate by rotating the blades to create maximum drive with optimum fuel efficiency. For those not in the know, it's an arm and a leg job but it performs like no other - thus justifying the eye watering price tag !!! As I write, we're about to set off to the boat again for another day of hard graft in the sunshine. We'll polish the topsides till Comino shines like a mirror. Yesterday I completed the two coats of antifoul using an altogether better product, but the cost means we'll now be eating beans on toast for a while. Talking of which, we did actually have beans for breakfast for the last two days. Why.......because we're staying in a rather luxurious four star hotel opposite the marina and the breakfast buffet includes a full english if you like......which of course we both do!!! This is our little bit of self indulgence to soften the pain of working on the boat for ten hours a day. When we get back in the evening the long hot bath makes it all seem worthwhile.
Comino goes back in the water tomorrow so I'll take some pics showing her looking like brand new again. It will also mark the beginning of our onward journey to the Med. The charts are ready......we're rearing to go......the weather is glorious.......Costa del Sol here we come.
1 Comment
Jackie Harvey
9/5/2013 05:14:57 pm
Wow you have both been working hard. Well done Nikki you have done an excellent job and I bet it was hard going in the heat! Glad all is well with Comino and all sounds very exciting as you prepare for the next part of your journey. Thinking of you, especially today as it was the Y11 Dinner Dance, how the time has flown. Glad you are having fab weather, rain and gale force winds here today! Looking forward to further photos. Lots of Love XX
Reply
Leave a Reply. |
A FEW PICS OF COMINO Click a photo to enlarge and use side arrows to scroll through. COMINO IS CURRENTLY HEREDID SOMEONE SAY SEAFOODOn our journey from Portugal to Greece we enjoyed amazing seafood almost everywhere we stopped. Finding the local fish market was always a priority because seafood was so plentiful and so reasonably priced. And, the displays were a feast for your eyes.
Locating a market sometimes meant pounding the pavements in searing heat, but if you kept your eyes peeled, you often came across a little clue. The pic below was a rather less than subtle advert for a fish market - it was eight feet tall.
Freshly cooked onboard, a plateful of giant prawns, baked in wine and garlic, washed down with a few glasses of local vino, was like heaven. Watching the sunset on the boat eating a meal like that was the epitome of "living the dream".
Now we're in Greece we've another favourite to savour. I'm talking about fried Calamari. It's usually good, but every now and then it's off-the-scale fantastic. At Natalie's Taverna on Kontokali Beach in Corfu, it was nothing short of epic.
We're based in Lefkas now and It's been a bit of a mission to find somewhere just as good. And we have. Rakias is a mere ten minute walk from the marina and this little fish market, with its very own taverna attached, is quite sensational.
Oh...and it's also worth mentioning that, on occasions, a bit of barbequed Octopus is on the menu at some of the tavernas we frequent. Can I resist....no. SUNSETS AND DRAMATIC SKIESNo filters, or any other monkey business, have been used to enhance these images.
OUR ADVENTURES FROM THE BEGINNING CATEGORIES
|