Cleaning the hull

What to do when you have a really shaggy, dirty bottom with lice and crabs?
Suit up, and get in the water with a scraper and a scourer!
The hulls really need a new coat of antifoul, which means hauling out - tricky without cranes. As a result it quickly develops its own ecosystem - think mobile reef!

Dale had to suspend safety ropes due to the strength of the current here. One hand got hanging on, the other for scraping.
The current has an upside though - it washes away the sea lice and other micro critters! Despite this current, thousands of sea lice were clinging to his stinger suit. Little crabs also hitch a ride and end up in the boat until we catch them and toss them back into the sea.

Until we are able to be hauled out and new anti-foul applied, this cleaning needs to be done every few weeks. The good thing is the water is cool, so it’s a break from the heat!

So now we’ll be sleeker and faster in the water for the next leg of this journey. Oh and I didn’t get in and help this time. I have a really sore right elbow and shoulder still, and especially with the current, it’d just be too painful.

After dinner we were tempted by how inviting the shore looked, so jumped in the Dingy and headed over. When it came to anchor, as the tide was really high, the anchor wasn’t grabbing. Two young fishermen who were kitted out in snorkel gear grabbed the anchor and swam out and secured it for us. The spontaneous helpfulness of the local people never fails to surprise and delight us.

We wandered back to the Star Bar (where the barman made the cute embellishments for Margaritas). There was one other guest aside from ourselves. Egy, the barman served our drinks and sat and chatted for ages. He is a delightful 25 year old and has a great grasp on English. He also speaks a little Spanish. He was telling about different places he has worked, working conditions and his home village. These interactions are what make travel wonderful!Read more