Boat Without a Tail

You may be interested in a great blog about another sailor working toward the escape plan.

I finally removed the Voyager windvane that was heavily damaged last year when a 12 m sailboat crashed into it at the marina.

Jakatar looks kind of funny without its tail. All that's left are four holes on the canoe stern. Yup, the boat is slowly getting more naked; pretty soon I'll be eligible to join the minimalist club.

The stripe paint job (first coat) looks good from a distance. The edges look sloppy because I haven't removed the tape yet. From this perspective Jakatar looks like an elongated egg. Can you believe it? I went home and left the windvane carcass lying on the ground - The removable parts are on the boat.

I also slopped on the first coat of enamel paint on the hull stripe. I think 2 more coats will make it presentable, at least looking better then the lifeless deteriorating dark blue that absorbed sunlight and got really hot in the sun, which caused the gelcoat to craze (fissure).

A friend, Paulo, also working on his boat at the yard invited me for lunch at his home on this gorgeous street.

This is the real Nazaré. I took this picture about 50 m from the beach.

José, an anthropology professor, also joined us for some delicious fried sole fish and "açorda," a concoction of mashed bread, garlic, pepper, olive oil, parsley - and whatever you might feel inclined to throw in - that was really good, accompanied with perhaps too much red wine.

During the meal we found ourselves in an animated conversation about the difference between "having, doing and being" and Paulo even sang a Fado song that was somehow relevant to all this. Lunch ended at 4 pm, and I went back to the boat yard feeling that socializing with the right people is what it's all about.