We’re into day two of maintenance here in Las Palmas and our army of maintainers have been very busy and very productive. The wheel has been removed, the old varnish has been stripped off and it is currently being sanded and two new flip-down seats have been affixed on the bridge.  The mid-ship port water-trap has 4 people chipping and needle-gunning away the old paint and rust.  The ‘gun turret’ (the bit of deckhouse behind the anchor windlass) has been stripped and is being attacked by 8 people with chipping hammers, needle-guns, grinders and sanders and some of the bulwarks are similarly being attacked.

The starboard side of the hull has been washed and scrubbed in preparation for a new coat of blue and the fore royal sail is being repaired by Captain Chris on the quayside. The engineers are beavering away doing engineer-type things, Cookie Dave and his team are busy feeding the 41 people aboard, whilst Betty and Pat are in charge of laundry and all things below deck.

The weather has been kind to us so far; sun and cloud with a temperature of around 22 degrees and of course, the local restaurants and bars are a very popular retreats in the evenings.  In a few days, the cacophony of chipping and hammering will hopefully have turned into the gentle application of paint and varnish, so let’s hope the weather remains favourable.

Lesley, Second Mate.