Fueled Up and Hull Ready

Rest Stop On Way To Boat With Fuel

Yesterday morning I filled up 5 empty containers with just over 100 liters of diesel fuel.  I borrowed one of the marina carts and walked the mile or so to the fuel dock.  Before walking onto the fuel jetty I emptied the dregs from the containers onto a rubbish heap and put one tablespoon of anti-algal fuel treatment into each one.  The walk to the fuel dock was difficult enough with dragging the heavy cart, but it was worse with the fuel on board.  However I didn't mind the work too much because I looked at it as my exercise for the day.

Before loading the fuel back on board I spent over an hour washing and scrubbing the topside of the boat.  I also tightened the lifelines and cleaned the boat fenders.  I would tie the containers to the planks along the rails the following day.

In the evening I plugged the 110V inverter into the boat's 12V system and it started to smoke heavily.  The unit was always protected from shock and water, so I attribute the failure to the many months of damp sea air.  I can get by without it but would be much more troubled were I to lose the 240V inverter.

I woke up this morning to a very rainy day.  The rain had started yesterday afternoon as the occasional sprinkle but built up during the night.  I resigned myself to being more or less boat bound with little to show for the day.  I put in an hour wiping every surface in the head of mold.

At about 11 AM I took advantage of a break in the rain to take a bundle of clothes to the laundry.  They were closed even though the official hours covered the entire day.  Fortunately the English speaking proprietor of the little kiosk made a phone call on my behalf then told me to expect someone to arrive in 5 minutes. 

While I was waiting I wandered over to Delta Yacht Charter to see what services they offered.  I was looking for a fallback in case Enrique was tardy in dealing with my boat work needs.  The man inside, Alexandre, came out speaking English, and we started a conversation.  Delta is in the process of retiring their fleet of five 36-ft boats and will replace them with three 42-ft boats.  I asked him how business was going and he said Fine, largely because Angra and another area a day's sail to the north are the best sailing areas along this part of the Brazilian coast.  I told him that the problem with Angra is that the rest of the world does not seem to know what a great cruising ground it is – world class, really.  He agreed.

I told him that I was looking for someone to clean the hull below the waterline and swap the two anodes.  He asked if I had the new anodes and I told him Yes.  He then made a phone call and 10 minutes later young Luis arrived.  With Alexandre acting as the interpreter I explained the job, told him the length of the boat, and in answer to his question told him that the hull had last been cleaned at Mar del Plata about 8 months earlier.  I told Luis that yes, I could provide all of the tools, including the Allen keys.  Then Alexandre startled me by asking if I wanted the job done today, and of course I did.    Luis's quotation was R$100 for the hull clean and R$50 for the anode work.  That represented only about $75 for the lot and I stuck my hand out in acceptance.  As Luis was leaving to get his things I asked Alexandre what sort of breathing gear Luis would be using, and the reply was that he would be free diving with a mask and snorkel.  I expressed concern and Alexandre told me not to worry because recently he had successfully installed a propeller on one of his boats with just a mask and snorkel.

I returned to the boat and assembled the tools that I though that Luis might need including 3 sets of allen keys, 2 screw drivers, a small adjustable wrench, a ball peen hammer, and adjustable pliers.  Soon Luis arrived and started his work with me on the jetty passing tools and materials.  He scraped the hull first then cleaned the propeller and shaft then cleaned the thru-hull openings with the screw driver.  After that he replaced the anodes.  My worry about his being able to do the anode work without breathing gear turned out to be unfounded and after about 90 minutes the entire job was finished, and a fine job it appeared to be from the jetty.  Luis's last task was to wash my tools in fresh water with the suggestion that I spray them with WD40.  I paid him his well earned R$150, shook his hand, and we parted each very satisfied with the transaction. 

The preparation task list now stands as follows: 

Done:
- Refrigerator fan installed
- Autopilot head installed
- Refueling
- Hull below water, propeller and shaft cleaned
- Anodes replaced

To Be Done:
- Clean and possibly polish hull above waterline?
- Install new deck light?
- New netting along rails at the foredeck
- Install new Monitor control lines
- Put up the headsail which has been stored below out of the weather
- Provision the boat

At the current rate of progress I should be able to have the boat ready for sea by 1 December.  The netting will require 2 days.  The control lines and headsail work can be done in a day.  Provisioning of the boat will require 4 or 5 trips to Angra.  I should also be able to also do the first two tasks, particularly if I make my departure date 15 December.

Incidentally, from the 21,800 miles covered in 271 days of sailing that I recently reported, I calculate that we have averaged 80 miles a day and 3.35 knots.