On the Hard in Trinidad Part III

We’ve reviewed the journal entries from our spring/summer stint in the boat yard at Fort Pierce, looking for clues as to how we might make our current stay in a boat yard more enjoyable. Of course, we found nothing, but the nature of our work here in Trinidad is far cleaner, thus far. Eventually, we will probably make a diagram comparing the two places, but for now it’s sufficient to say that Trinidad will likely come out ahead.

One of the most pleasant aspects on the Trinidad experience is the number of people we meet. We had a nice visit with fellow Valiant owners James and Ellen, and their dog Cruiser, aboard their boat, Moonshadow. They were gracious enough to indulge us as we plied them with questions about their rigging setup, sailing in the Virgin Islands, and the scene around Trinidad.

Watching the American football playoffs in downtown Port of Spain, we met Canadian teachers from an international school, as well as a large and somewhat frightening “Trini” who grew up in Dorchester, one of the more frightening districts of Boston. Needless to say, we were glad he was rooting for our team, particularly as the sports bar was strangely packed with fans from Philadelphia and Pittsburgh. To top the list of WATFOs, however, is the story of Topaz. We first saw this boat as we were being hauled out of the water a week ago, and we surprised to see that it was from Storrs, Connecticut, home of the University of Connecticut and my alma mater. We met the owners, who turned out to be former employees of UConn, one a professor and the other an administrator. Even more bizarrely, their boat was the same model as ours, a Valiant 40. Still more unlikely, they had just been “on the hard” in the exact same spot in the boat yard as where we are now. It was an interesting string of coincidences, to say the least.

Work has proceeded well, although it’s taken its toll on the sailing fund. Expensive but necessary work on the dinghy outboard, the mast, and the bottom have sapped our strength, time, and resources, but the boat is looking better every day. Among our greatest victories were the successful pulling of the mast; successfully running the jib halyard inside the mast; successfully removing, disassembling, cleaning, greasing, and reassembling the cockpit winches; and successfully putting the first full coat of anti-fouling paint on the bottom.

There have been plenty of other accomplishments, and the list of things to do is slowly getting shorter. Current projects include revamping the system of lines running back to the cockpit and painting the bottom whenever we can get a few hours of consecutive dryness. It’s not all work, though, and we’ve enjoyed our lunchtime rotis and the roti shack in the boat yard, as well as occasional dinners at Joe’s. We’ve also been renting DVDs and have managed to see Zoolander, The Bourne Identity, The Bourne Supremacy, and Troy this week. We plan on screening another movie tonight.

All things considered, life’s not bad, even if it is hot enough to cook eggs on the deck and a little buggy in the evenings. Nevertheless, we’re looking forward to getting back in the water.

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