Living at Sopromar

The weekend felt long as we waited to have the mast and rigging removed early Monday morning at high tide. Turned out Sopromar Boatyard needed to lift the boat to land in order to remove the mast. We were unprepared for this - living on the boat on stands in the boatyard and all the fun that comes along with it, such as managing our water supply and living without power, plumbing and heat just as the weather turned cold. Oh yeah, and there’s the climbing adventures associated with a steep step ladder required to get on or off my home. But in the beginning we were too stressed out about the mast and the impending exploratory surgery. By mid day the mast was removed and a team of specialists were making their diagnosis and suggestions for repair. To the Sopromar team’s credit, they were as concerned with why the crack occurred as they were with making the best repair. By Tuesday Eve was in surgery and has already made a fast recovery.

Meanwhile, while the mast was out, we decided to tighten up the keel bolts and since we were so impressed with the talent at the yard, have a centerboard sheave replaced. These were the cause of our boat woes this time last year. Never a dull moment living the boating life no matter how much preventative maintenance you do.

Just a week later we're back in the water and grateful we were next door to Sopromar when we found the crack. Otherwise we were miles from a boatyard who could handle the repair. We were impressed by their professionalism and proficiency, and the costs were very reasonable, even for us despite the current poor exchange rate of the US dollar against the Euro.

Happily afloat, provisioned and stowed again, we're setting sail within minutes. Next stop Madeira.