Update St. Martin

Dear followers, we're still alive!
Although we've been struggling a little bit in the last weeks; Without work and living on a good friend's boat without any facilities. Even the super rich seem to keep their money together nowadays...
But for the last few days we're working again, doing small jobs for people on the boat-yards. So hopefully work keeps on coming now and we'll be able to save some money for our trip top to the Pacific!
Laszlo

With Henrik and Kiki at the Yacht Club

Who wouldn't want to empoy these people?

Vamos

Some photos taken aboard our recent home 'Vamos'.

SXM

Back in St Martin and jumped on work.
Yes, Soggy's is still here!

Nearly there

The deck is painted, I'm busy prepating the boat for the 5 months we'll leave it here.
And on monday I leave lovely Colombia by plane with Birka, heading for St. Martin, money wants to be earned.

Welding the deck

Here's a little insight in what we are doing. Please don't show this to your local professional welder, he might get upset. Still we do what we can and it will be good enough.
As you see it turned out there wasn't only small holes where the rivets were, but also more serious problems. This is a series of photographs I took while putting a new piece of steel in the deck.

Under a railingpole I found this hole. I cut the weak part out.
Pretty rusty.

I cut out a new piece from a steel plate.

And it fits! Now it' only a matter of welding.

I attach the plate at two points to fixiate it in the right position.

And here we go.

Turns out I should have cut out a little more, it's still a little thin there. Well, it's learning by doing...

...and it was 40 degrees hot.

On the hard

On friday we hauled out Barracuda and put her on the dry at Marina Manzanillo, Cartagena.
We started on the teak-deck which is very rotten and therefore leaking. The wood is all off now and we're derusting, as soon as I can get a cable I'll start welding the holes.
We made some good progress so far, unfortunately it started to rain a lot which makes working impossible and turns the boat (with all the holes in the deck still open) into a dripping cave.

New plans

It's settled now: Olly and I are going to cross the Panama-canal next spring and sail through the Pacific until Australia. In order to fond this trip we'll return to Saint Martin and work as much as we can during the winter season to save up some money. We're also trying our hand at finding sponsors; if anyone out there has tips and tricks or ideas for us, don't hesitate, tell us!

I will fly up there begin of October and Olly is going to join in November after a visit home. Barracuda is going to stay here in Cartagena on the dry while we're gone.

In March we'll come back and go to and through Panama as quickly as possible, heading for Galapagos.

The adventure goes on!