MAINTENANCE IN CAIRNS

27 August 2023

I arrived back from Bali on the 15^th August and it was good to be back on Truce again.  The trip to Bali was a great opportunity to rest up, relax and catch up with Ngozi.  Truce has not suffered any hardship whilst I have been away but needs a good clean and I have some outstanding maintenance and repairs to complete before moving on.

After the injury to my left arm I have been sailing with just the headsail.  Most of the time I have poled out the sail as its been mostly downwind sailing to the SE trades.  The trades at times can be strong, gusting to 30+ knots occasionally.  It looks like I have stressed the spinnaker pole and opened up an old break in the carbon fibre.  This needs repairing before setting off again.    

>>>Photo

For the repair I used an epoxy bandage, comprising seven layers of glass fibre cloth tapered either side of the break.  I also found another potential weak spot and bandaged that at the same time.  The repair looks good and hardly noticeable now that it is faired, sanded and recoated with white paint.  For the topcoat I used the new International ‘one topcoat’  I find this to be an excellent product, giving a far superior finish than their old Toplac.

Photos above, top right first four wraps of cloth applied. Bottom right 7 wraps plus one extra ready for fairing. Left, all finished and ready to go again.

The other big job I completed on the mooring was giving the deck a coat of KiwiGrip non skid.  Its quite a quick process, applying a thick coating of paint and the rolling with a textured roller to produce the non skid finish.  I finish I wanted was not too aggressive, this tends to trap and is harder to clean. The finish I ended up with is non skid, easy on bare feet and if needed I can always top up the texture with a bit more KiwiGrip. Its very forgiving stuff. The weather was hot and the decks warm with the heat from the sun.  I had to work quickly before the paint dried.  Then I had to whip off the masking tape as soon as I had finished a section to get a clean edge.  Quite frantic work but after two days all was complete, looking good, and will provide a good non skid surface for months to come.

The other maintenance was general run of the mill day to day stuff that has to be done to ensure happy stress free sailing.  The maintenance list is a bit shorter but of course doesn’t actually disappear, it shrinks and expands as jobs are ticked off and new ones added. 

During the maintenance time the trade winds had been mild and perfect for sailing north.  As soon as I was ready to depart the stronger winds set in again.  As I don’t want to sail in the stronger winds and more importantly, I don’t want to be at anchor rolling around in the swell, I delayed sailing.  It has been a long stop in Cairns but I have enjoyed it immensely.  Cairns is a good place and easy to get around, it has everything needed to sustain boat life.  I took the opportunity to stock up on provisions as there are no more provision stops before Cape York that I am aware of.     

One of the delights of Cairns was Bob’s Apartment.  Bob and I had worked together many years ago In Nigeria and elsewhere.  We had always kept in contact loosely as men do.  On my way up the coast from Gladstone I was surprised to learn that Bob and his wife Phillis had taken up residence in Cairns.  Bob offered me use of his apartment and I gladly accepted.  I had a few restful nights there and made full use of the shower.  Many thanks Bob and Phyliss.

The time in Cairns also provided some rest and recouperation of my arm.  I think its getting better slowly, I can certainly have a greater range of movement now.  The pain at night is still there but that is expected according to Google.  I was booked for an ultrasound scan but cancelled it, time to move on.