From A Déjà Vu to Muscle Pains

An unexpected déjà vu moment stirs memories of a grey day in Norway and intense muscle aches sometimes make it quite spicy to keep going enthusiastically during boat jobs.

After Henk and Yvonne say goodbye, we walk back to the boat and pick up the anchor. The wind is blowing strong between 25-36 knots as we hoist the sails and set our course for the Grande Anse. Within minutes a torrential downpour erupts, and we are surrounded by a thick fog of rain, obscuring our view. We navigate using our maps towards the bay of Grande Anse.

With the sails retracted we continue on the engine. Jeroen stands at the bow of the boat, alert to keep an eye on the fish pots, plastic bottles with long ropes attached to fish cages on the bottom. With his directions, I steer the boat through the potential dangers. It is important to avoid getting a rope in our propeller, which could cause us to lose control and/or damage our propeller.

Slowly but steadily we navigate further into the bay, as the rain gradually recedes and the sun pokes through the clouds. What a welcome surprise! We lower the anchor and Jeroen swims down to check whether the anchor is firmly anchored in the sand. With his trusty thumbs up, he swims back to the boat. The rain begins to fall again, and I experience a déjà vu. It’s like traveling back in time to that one day in Norway, where we climbed the famous Preikestolen through thick clouds and drizzle. Despite the gray weather and drizzling rain, we were determined to walk the 2.5 hours to the top.

Once we arrived at the viewing platform of the Preikestolen, the weather suddenly changed. The rain stopped, and the clouds parted, revealing the sun to reveal the fjords and mountains before us. The view was beautiful and it felt really special that the moment we arrived at the viewing platform everything opened up. We enjoyed nature there for two hours before we started our descent. We got up to start the descent and to our surprise the clouds appeared again and it started to drizzle again.

Back in the present, on the boat in Grande Anse, it feels like déjà vu, that the rain gives way to the sun for a while so that we can anchor properly. I smile at the twist of “fate” because this parable reminds me that the beauty of nature is often unpredictable and fleeting.

We spend four days in Grande Anse, before sailing on to Sainte Anne, where the boat will be taken out of the water for maintenance on the hull and C-drive. Rajesh’s diving course lasts six days. Once the jobs are done and we are about to welcome Hanneke, Teunis, Tessa and Jasper on board, we will sail back to Grande Anse for two days, allowing Rajesh to complete the last days of his course while we introduce the family to the snorkeling rocks at Anse D’Arlet.

The moment follows on July 10: our boat is lifted out of the water. It’s always an exciting and slightly frightening moment. In that one moment we entrust all our possessions to strangers, those who are responsible for our precious possessions, our home, our life on the water. As soon as the boat is stable and the ladder is installed, we get on board and immediately start with the jobs that await us.

• We start cleaning the underwater hull, removing all algae and barnacles.
• The paint on the stern and the red line require attention. The bubbles in the paint are caused by the boat being deeper in the water than the waterline. We carefully inspect this and repair any “spots” that have arisen.
• An important task is setting out the new waterline. We decide to raise the waterline, which means we will sand off the old paint and raise the antifouling line.
• Jeroen drains the oil from the c-drive. We had found water in the oil and want to find out if this came in from the outside or if something else is going on. Together with an Amel technician, Jeroen works on disconnecting the propeller and replacing the propeller shaft seal to find out the problem.
• the waterline gets 3 new layers of antifouling and the entire boat 1 extra layer. Antifouling is an anti-fouling paint. The antifouling ensures that (micro)-organisms cannot or only poorly adhere to the hull, so that the underwater hull remains smooth and free of fouling.
• At the dinghy lift at the back of the boat, we discovered a broken weld seam, this will be provided with a new weld seam and if possible we will try to add some extra reinforcement.
• Cleaned the anchor chain and anchor chain box
• And last but not least, we will clean and polish the entire boat above the waterline.

Time is running out as we only have one week to complete all these jobs. Despite the challenges we face, we are full of energy and determination to accomplish this task. We do many of these jobs for the first time and it will be a new experience, because boat jobs are part of this lifestyle. While we know, this won’t be the last time, we are determined to make the best of it.

It’s not just about getting the jobs done, it’s also about sharing the whole experience. Together we will experience intense muscle pain, brave the heat on land and sweat in places we didn’t even know we had pores there. We will face setbacks, mosquitoes and itching, dry cooking and camping style toilet and shower facilities. But despite everything, we will share the fatigue and joy. It is precisely those memories that we will look back on with pleasure. While doing odd jobs, we already long for the moment when we can launch our boat and enjoy the fine life on the water, surrounded by the beauty of nature and the freedom of sailing. The adventure does not stop, even if the boat is temporarily out of the water.

Then finally comes the day when all the jobs are completed. We are totally exhausted and our bodies ache everywhere, but a smile appears on our faces as we watch our beautiful boat glide back into the water. We start the engine and slowly sail out of the harbour. We made it happen!

Back on the way to Sainte Anne, we leave the windows wide open so that the fresh breeze can blow through the boat. But there’s no time to sit back and relax. The washing machine is running at full speed and we start with the deep cleaning of the boat. We also rent a car to drive to Decathlon and the large Carrefour for the last groceries. The boat is clean again and the stock has been replenished. Tomorrow morning, we sail to Fort de France, because then Hanneke, Teunis, Tessa and Jasper arrive. We have looked forward to their arrival for so long and can’t wait to see them again. Three weeks of adventures we will have together.