19 Dec 2006, Tuesday Puerto Lucia,La Libertad, Ecuador
Headline: Encanto to be decked out for the holidays in a new skirt. Deck the halls with balls of holly, fal-la, fal-la, la, la, la, la…..
Entry:
0900, sharp, s/v Encanto engulfed in a cloud of dust, the sound deafening, as she falls prey to the force and power of sand as it blasts the old off, on with the new.As I watch from a distance, my stomach is full of that relief from all the anticipation. I can’t imagine what John is feeling but I expect it is a mix of excitement, wonder and relief. Last night when the large hopper arrived with a five-foot high pile of sand, and the rest of the machinery, we knew there was no turning back. Although the project is nothing new to boat owners of steel boats, there is always a sense of anxiety when you turn your home over to others.
After five days of preparing s/v Encanto, 12/24, we were ready. The boat was boarded up and fully enclosed in a six-foot plywood wall, like stage sets for a major production. There is no access to Encanto during the blasting. All through-hulls, exhaust holes, vents, windows and hatches were closed and sealed with duct tape, wooden plugs, plywood or port lights. A six-foot wall of plywood and many tarps protect the boats surrounding s/v Encanto. Inside, just for safekeeping, all that could be protected from the potential residue that might creep into a crack was wrapped in plastic; a ‘Christo’ wrap in white plastic garbage bags.
The girls and I have moved to the cruiser’s lounge where we can see the boat and progress without being in the thick of the effort. Schoolbooks, computers, pleasure books, Gameboy, bento box lunches, 8 liters of cold water, and our MP3 players have been brought with us for the eight hours of blasting. This could take two days. Several cruisers have offered their boats if we need to spend the night off of s/v Encanto; unlikely, but very generous of our friends. And, we are fortunate to have the El Paseo Mall within walking distance, as we will be eating out at the Food Court tonight.
Thanks to Royce (s/v Rdreamz), John has a pocket full of earplugs and he will stay nearby to assist Nicholas head of George Stewart’s crew and the sandblasting crew. He has handed out earplugs to all the crew.
1000: John reports that the work is going smoothly and they are already a third through the sandblasting. Maybe, they’ll complete the project in one day?
1130: Time-out due to a clogged filter. The four- man sandblaster crew is fussing with the equipment. Twenty minutes later, a 20’ high plume is heading off our bow and out to sea.
1300: Lunch time for the crew.
1400: Half the boat is undressed to the bare hull. We can no longer see our boat name on the stern, evidence of the past lost to a memory.
1530: Feels like I’m walking in a sandbox as I tour the site. The cats must love this change of environment. The late afternoon cloud cover provides some respite from the heat and glare of the sun. Luckily, the crew works with long sleeves, head covering, long pants and shoes.
1730: Day is done. Most of the boat hull is now a medium cool grey (nicer than battle ship grey), like shedding a skin, the original blue bottom, red boot strip, white topsides and the perennial rust spots are nearly, 75% off.