St Marteen

Fiu in Adriatic

FIU’s Outhaul in Bobby’s Marina, Phillipsburg, St Maarten - April 16 – April 19, 2004

Having arrived in St Maarten in Marigot Bay earlier that week and enjoyed a couple of days of French life style (coffee and croissants in open air cafés), we face the fact that there is work to be done – "The Outhaul". Sailed round to the Dutch side of the island, to Bobby’s Marina in Phillipsburg where we have booked the travel lift for the outhaul for Friday morning.


Cruise ships in Phillipsburg bay - 4 to 5 of these huge ships can be seen at once in this dock!	Fiu on the travel lift	Fiu being outhauled by the travel lift

Bobby’s Marina in Phillipsburg is a good place to outhaul – plenty of space with shower and toilet facilities, a chandlery and a supermarket run by Chinese just across the road - and best of all, all tax free and reasonably priced!! It is an easy 5 min walk into the small town of Phillipsburg, with a nice bar on the way.


The first operation as soon as the boat is out of water is to use the high pressure waterjet to clean off as much algae and growth as possible.	Ivo hard at work

After 4 days of sanding, polishing, cleaning and painting Fiu got a layer of primer and 4 layers of anti-fouling paint - this time a French paint, Horizon 44 - hopefully it will work better than Internationa Micron Extra!?. Various other jobs needed doing, such as installing the new folding propeller, measuring and labeling the anchor chain, etc.

Life onboard a boat in a boatyard was also an interesting experience, but not particularly pleasant. One cannot use any of the onboard facilities such as cooking, washing, shower which makes a life a bit more complicated. Due to lack of breeze, it was unbearable hot during the day - although the new awning that covers most of the boat did keep us safe from being baked under the tropical sun.


A well trained skipper	Ivo measuring up the chain	25kg anchor is enough!


In the boatyard we found the big brother of our small, 25 kg anchor! Imagine having to haul this one up without a windlass!!!

Ivo’s greatest pleasure was the installation of new toys. What a treat!


What fun I’m having - there is always something to do on the boat!	Ivo gazing lovingly at the winch	Fiu as new again


Installation of a folding propeller is easy and it’s easy to mess up too! So Ivo finally decides to read the prop manual after installation, just to make sure we do not have to outhaul Fiu the next day!	Crab racing in one of the cafés in Phillipsburg - entertainment for tourists and good relaxation for those who worked hard the whole day in the boatyard


Miniature America’s Cup sailing boat for tourists in Phillipsburg bay.

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