Ambition is back in the water again.

Ambition is back in the water again. 

All polished up and ready to get back in salt water

We arrived back in Antigua December 30^thwelcomed by warm air and sunshine. Bringing our 5 hockey bags of boat parts and stuff through Customs was a breeze. It is obvious that Antigua does everything to make it simple to keep and maintain a boat here. 

We checked into our AIRBNB villa where we will stay while the boat is still in the boatyard. Launch day is Jan 2^ndand there remains the final touches on the work that was done over the summer. The biggest job was the removal of all 18 through hull fitting valves. More than a few had reached a point where I could no longer close them. This is not good in that if a hose fails I would have no way to stop the water flow into the boat. With all my experience, I have learned that keeping the salt water OUTSIDE the boat is a rule that must NOT be broken! I tip my hat to David who had to disassemble the valves in locations where there is barely room for a hand to fit and this after pulling off the hoses that had been in place for 16 years!!  Once removed, he cleaned, polished and reassembled them all and reinstalled in the boat. I feel MUCH better now knowing that all the valves operate properly. 

Fairing the through hull fittings - 18 all done!

The only surprise we had was with the bow thruster. After launching, while backing down the dock and into the slip discovered that when turned on, it would fire up pushing the bow to port …. very practical if you wanted to go around in circles but less so, as we manoeuvred between two boats and pilings! Turned out to be just a dirty microswitch in the joystick. 

We have now spent about 8 days putting the boat back into top shape. Sails reinstalled, a trip up the mast to reinstall the wind instruments, interior all cleaned and freshened up, and a bunch of little projects checked off the to do list. 

Maryse has completed all the provisioning for the boat as the grocery store here in Jolly Harbour is one of the largest and most convenient. Refilling the wine cellar will have to wait for a few more days when we arrive in Guadeloupe – selection and price is by far better in the French islands.