No Work Today My Calm Has Gone Away

23 03 2012
Tranquility Base, Sea of Tranquility, Espagna

Meredith (on the left fool) without her stanchions and lifelines
ready to be painted

It is official.  We shall never get out of Almerimar alive.


All that we needed to do to lelave was paint the toerail.  Just three or four coats of Cetol and away we would go.  All the sanding was finished, the seams caulked and the forecast for a continuation of the last fortnight's "light and variable".


Today we woke to the sound of the marineros frantically tying lines on unoccupied boats and rousing the crews of those which were to inform the owners.  Bad weather coming they said.  Winds 140 to 160 km per hour.  


For sure the 0700 winds were a sprightly 15 knots.


No one paints in 15 knot winds.  Now we have no idea if anyone paints in 70 knot winds.  That is a mistake we have not yet made.  


Here we sat with the biggest blow of our stay at Almerimar inbound and we with no stanchions up and no lifelines from which to hang fenders.  You have seen how close the boats are moored here (about six inches apart at the beam) so fenders are essential. 

Paula and Hanno at Quiz Night

As we did not appear in response to the light tapping on our decks by the somewhat timid (read polite) marinero we were not properly informed of coming conditions.  Enter our good friends Hanno and Paula.  No one ignores Hanno.  He is the guy smart captains always pick first for their team.  Stupid captains never understand why.


Ex British forces, ex SAS, former marksman, former sniper, one time British Army marksman of the year, ex carpenter, ex fishing boat captain and current shipwright, Hanno is one cool dude.  Offered a big money job as a mercenary in Africa Hanno bowed to one of the two things on this planet that are important to him: his daughter, Carrie.


Equally important to Hanno is Paula, about whom you need know only two things:  One is that she tamed Hanno.  The other is that she sold her house in Britain packed up a suitcase of clothes and another suitcase with the cash from the sale of the house (literally) and drove with an overloaded trailer to Almerimar with Hanno.  Here she will begin a new life as cruising sailor. 


Not too exceptional you think until you learn that Paula has never been to sea on a sailboat.  Not ever.  Yet here she is readying her boat for a lifetime afloat.  


To hell with the wind.  When things have calmed down we're gonna go have tea aboard Calypso, Hanno and Paula's boat.  Beats painting by a damn site.