Hey there,
Wishing you all a fantastic 2024! I trust you’ve kicked off the year with enthusiasm. I’ve been deep in soul-searching and reflecting on the past year, and it’s taken me on quite an emotional journey. The text I’m writing has become a bit more extensive than I initially planned. Amidst all this, I’ve been immersed in boatwork, and I’ll be giving you an update on that while saving my psychological musings for the next post.
I recently spent a week in the “carrenage,” the boatyard in Bandol. Originally, I had my sights set on sailing to Nice in early January, but the weather had other ideas. Anticipating strong winds and having already canceled my port contract, I seized the opportunity to work on Santana’s antifouling. The last time she touched dry land was in 2021 when Bo, the previous owner, and I collaborated on the hull and antifouling.
Time for a wardrobe change. The previous “eco-friendly” antifouling, designed to curb growth through its surface structure, didn’t quite live up to expectations. Weekly scrub-downs were the norm in the summer. I opted to return to a traditional self-polishing antifouling. This entailed stripping off the remaining antifouling, scraping, cleaning, and sanding the entire hull down to the epoxy paint. Two protective layers of epoxy color later, and Santana was ready for her new antifouling. The “self-polishing” feature means the paint slowly disintegrates in motion, taking any connected growth with it.
As per the manufacturer, the layers I’ve applied should hold up for a solid 24 months. This translates to no hauling out before my Caribbean journey at the end of the year, and no worries about hauling out once I’m there.
Today marks my final day on solid ground; tomorrow, I’ll be back afloat. The plan is to set sail on Friday, pending the weather playing nice – fingers crossed!
Talk to you then, Floh
