Putting Wheels on a Sailing Yacht

We have been trying for some time to get CoCo up on dry land to redo the bottom paint. The flora and fauna of the Caribbean Sea is a bit different from what CoCo and her crew is used to back home in Europe. Consequently all kinds of crazy things has been growing on the hull beneath the waterline. A good antifouling paint, or bottom paint, should keep such uninvited guests away, but the language of our European paint is obviously different from the one that the Caribbean sea dwellers speak.

We first checked with IGY Shipyard in Rodney Bay in St. Lucia, but found the estimate for the job a bit on the outrageously expensive side. Additionally, we didn’t have much time before we needed to be at the ABC Islands.

The next option for hauling CoCo proved to be Varadero just outside Oranjestad on Aruba. We had scheduled an appointment with the marina manager, but as we were in approach we ran ashore! CoCo’s draught of 2.8m (9 ft) was too much for this place. The seabed consisted of mud and sand – no permanent harm to our keel.

Finally, we made it to a place where all conditions seemed perfect. CoCo is now on shore in Casa de Campo, IBC Shipyard, and the crew is spending a few days sightseeing in Santo Domingo.