CATAMARAN MARINA TO RAM MARINA,
HAUL OUT AND HOME!!! JUNE 2020
Thanks for hanging in with us folks, this is the final blog for this season.
We can hardly believe it! Sisu is booked to haul out on the 6th June, we strip all her tarps off, fold and pack her sails, wash halyards and sheets, cover winches, remove and wash her sprayhood, bimini and shades. Now we’re a flurry of activity and focus.
The dinghy is cleaned and stowed away, we’re landlubbers once again. Sisu looks very naked. We motor her off the pontoon to waves and goodbyes from our cruising friends, our numbers have diminished over the last fortnight or so, it’s emotional, but we know we shall see many of them again. There is talk of next years sailing season not happening, who knows, time will out.
Terry steers Sisu into Ram’s hauling out area and slings are carefully secured around her hull. Each time a boat is hauled out, this Guatemalan dives in and checks the slings are in place!
Terry and I have seen our girl being hauled out many times now, but it’s always a heart in mouth moment. Ram Marina’s team are first class, she’s in good hands. She’s carried on to her resting place in the yard, where we’ll finish off laying up. We shall be staying in accommodation on the yard. The saloon will be full of sails and outboard motor. We have been using up our perishable provisions and move what’s left into the accommodation.
It’s my delightful job is to wipe down every surface and inside each cupboard with white vinegar. I do this to prevent mould. I also lay out roach powder and ant pellets in potential bug walkways, an infestation of cockroaches is the last thing we need whilst we’re away! Our interior our resembles a wild cocaine party….. Our clothing will be spread around the saloon
. The rainy season is coming, conditions will be very humid and wet. We also set up a dehumidifier to extract moisture from within Sisu. We cover her over once again with tarps to protect her from the elements. We’ve no idea when we shall return.
Terry checks over her hull. He finds a crack in the keel base by the propellor. Fortunately on closer inspection he can see it’s not serious, possibly an air pocket when the two halves of the hull were joined together. After grinding the air pocket out, he mixes and applies epoxy. Terry has an allergy to epoxy, so I do most epoxy jobs, however this is a tricky one. He pays for his care to the job, his eyes puff up and antihistamines are required.
The big news around the Marinas is of the change in isolation rules for incoming boats. 15 a day are now coming in. They are checked and processed at Livingston, on a first come, first served basis. The rules have changed from 14 days isolation in the river, now they can come straight into the Marinas, even haul out. The Mayor of Fronteras was not advised of these new rules, it’s causing massive consternation amongst Marina Managers and cruisers. Quarantine areas are quickly cordoned off in Marinas, new arrivals will quarantine for two weeks, no contact with anyone or leaving the boat. Our friends Tom and Sabrina s/v Honey Ryder have now arrived and safely in a quarantine area in Ram Marina, it’s so good to see them just before we leave.
Bags packed, fees paid, we’re ready. Sisu is now hibernating, waiting for us to return and awaken her at some, at present, unknown date in the future. It’s very moving for us, we hug each other hard.
One last Rio Dulce sunset.
We leave by taxi driven by Cesar, the husband of Karen the Marina Manager. He will take us on the 6 hour drive to Guatemala City. We then fly to Houston, then Washington, then Frankfurt, finally onto Manchester. The airports are deserted. Shops wrapped up in cling film, literally. Security is quick and easy, there’s hardly anyone flying!
In Manchester we isolate for two days, we’ve jet lag, unsurprisingly…..
It’s a two day sleep, lounge, watch tv, walk around the car park, and eat. Then onto the ferry from Liverpool and at last home! We shall be isolating for two weeks here. That’s fine, we’re knackered and have six months of garden to deal with. How long will it be till we return? No idea. But that’ll be another series of blogs and adventures!
sisu journey 