Nov. 17 - The Work Begins

Indiantown Marina

“They say a person needs just three things to be truly happy in this world: someone to love, something to do, and something to hope for.” ― Tom Bodett

There is a knot in my stomach as the lifting straps groan with the strain of The Pearl’s 20,000 pounds of bulk as she is hoisted into the air and moved. This time she isn’t being hoisted out of the water, but moved from the storage yard to the work yard. Our eyes are fixed on the boat as she is lifted high in the air and moved down the road, she looks like a toy boat and the travel lift operator is a little boy getting ready to play with his toys. Although we have had our boats hauled out many times, it’s still nerve wracking each time we have it done. The boat swings just a little from side to side as the lift moves down the road and I pray that nothing will happen…just in case there’s a mishap; I keep the video camera running.

Indaintown Marina is very busy this time of year. The travel lift is busy all day moving boats from the storage yard to the work yard and other boats from the work yard to the water. Everyone is preparing their boats for a winter of cruising in the Keys and Bahamas or places further south. We’ll spend the next week and a half painting the bottom, waxing the hull and doing a few miscellaneous projects that are easier to do when we're out of the water. As I said the yard is very busy, so you have to be on the schedule to get moved. We're scheduled to be splashed on Friday November 27…if the weather stays decent we should have plenty of time to get our work done.

On her way to the work yard

Getting set up in her new home

Lots of water, soap and scrubbing and The Pearl was looking more like her old self.

Leaves and seeds from the trees blew on faster than we could wash them off. Between that and the ash from the sugar cane fields they are burning are going to make it a challenge to keep the boat clean.

Our view for the next 10 days