Putting the Boat Back Together

We’re back in Tahiti! We had a wonderful couple of months visiting with friends and family back in the States over the holidays, but it was time to get back to Adagio to start our fourth year of our sailing adventure. We had waited too late in the season last year to find a spot in a marina to leave our boat while we traveled, so we reluctantly left the boat at anchor (something we had never done!).We anchored the boat in Port Phaeton in Tahiti, which is the most protected bay here on the island and paid a local guy to look after our boat. That gave us some comfort, but as December technically was the start of cyclone season in the South Pacific, there was always a remote chance that a huge storm could arrive leaving us helpless to do anything half way around the globe. Luckily, everything went fine.

We arrived back in Tahiti at about midnight, and the anchorage was close to 30 miles away from the airport. So, it was not possible to get back to the boat that night. Our friend Dan was nice enough to pick us up at the airport and let us stay aboard his boat in the downtown marina so that we could get back to Adagio in daylight the next day.

I was a bit concerned about what we would find when we arrived back to the boat. On the day we left, it was pouring rain. We had taken down all the canvas and sails and had to put them and the cockpit cushions inside the boat soaking wet. As it is pretty hot and humid and the boat was going to be closed up for two months, my main concern was mold. It wasn’t that bad, but I did have to wipe down just about every surface and wall inside the boat with vinegar to kill any mildew that was present.

Our first order of business was putting everything back in place when we arrived. Everything on deck had been stored below, so it was impossible to even walk in the boat. The paddle boards and surf boards take up quite a bit of room, so they were the first to be evicted from the cabin to be stored back on deck. Next came cockpit cushions, scuba tanks and canvas for our dodger.

We had to wait to put the sails back up as there is a bit of a funnel effect of the wind in the bay. So, we got up at 5 am the next morning just before sunrise, which was the only time we found it still enough to hoist and furl the jib and staysail. The bottom of the boat didn’t look too bad, but our prop was fouled with tons of barnacles. Mike spent over and hour chipping them off of there. We weren’t going anywhere with a prop full of barnacles. As bad as the prop was, it was nothing compared to the anchor chain. As we pulled up anchor, the first thirty or so feet were just covered in the stinky crustaceans. It took two and a half hours of back breaking scrubbing to get them off as we raised our anchor chain.

Slowly, the boat systems came back online. We got the refrigerator running again after recharging it with a ton of refrigerant, flushed the pickling solution out of the water maker to get it running again, and changed the oil and filters on the engine to be ready to go. So far, its been a solid five days of hard work to get back to normal around here, but we’re feeling pretty good about it.

Next, we have to get ourselves put back together. After two months in the States of overindulging in food and drinks, we’re finding the clothes don’t fit so well. When you’re hanging out with friends and family you haven’t seen in a year, everyday is a bit of a celebration. In addition, we celebrated Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Years, an anniversary, three birthdays and a new baby (my nephew)! Its going to require a bit of discipline on our parts to get back into good shape. We also lost any tan that we had acquired. As it is summer time here, the sun is particularly strong. So, we’ll be wearing long sleeves, hats and lots and lots of sunblock for the near future.

We have some more work to do on the boat, provisioning and other errands, but soon we are going to start looking at weather windows to leave Tahiti. Our plan is to make it to the Gambiers, but we may make some stops in the Tuamotus along the way depending on what the wind and weather do. We’re excited to see what is in store for us this year!

~katie