Changing winds, adjusting sails…
April 9th, 2021
Over the last year, we have learned a good lesson: things may change last minute at any moment, and even if it seems it is not for good, it is always for better.
When we got the sailboat by the end of February last year, we had a very specific, detailed and well designed plan, but we never imagined what came next. I guess it was the same for the whole world at that moment and of course, we couldn’t be the exception. So, according to our original plans, we would start March at the dry dock working on the refitting of the sailboat to convert it in our research vessel. Work would last until May and the sailboat was going to be back at the marina in June, when we were going to start the process to get all the licences and certifications we needed to sail. Of course, during this time, we were considering a refresher of our marine safety and sailing courses and the renewal of our seaman’s book (expiring date of mine was in September). Everything should be ready in July, but as it is the high sailing season here and a lot of people is hanging out at sea, we thought it would be a nice opportunity to invite them to know our project, so we planned a lot of activities for people to come and visit the S/V Veiviseren and know more about her program. The Maiden Voyage was planned for early September and from there, we were going to keep sailing until the third week of December.
Well, of course, those were our plans before having a pandemic whipping the entire planet and imposing social distancing and mobility restrictions! The first hard decision was to take the vessel out of the water and risk getting her trapped at the dry dock with an extended lockdown keeping us from working on her, but the alternative was even worst: keeping her in the water with no possibility to work on her either, and nobody to take care of her, and still having to take her to the dry dock after that.
We then took the sailboat out of the water to the dry dock. I made my mind to take the possibility of leaving her there for an unknown amount of time in case of a lockdown, as some kind of «wintering». What I never expected was to find myself alone once the vessel was out of the water and waiting for a renovation, as my whole team decided to stay home much before the confinement was imposed.
So, I started to work by myself, no help from anyone and for the amusement of the workers at the dry dock, who found entertaining to see a woman coming every single day with the sun and working for hours inside the vessel, getting damped in sweat and carrying tools here and there. That was not an everyday view, and at some point, they started making sure I was drinking enough water during the day and helping me with small stuff that I was not paying attention to, but was as important as the big stuff that was keeping me busy.
At some point, lockdown started and I wasn’t allowed to go back to the dry dock anymore. As the state of Yucatan depends on the sea (it was the main provider of the country for some of the most important commercial fish species a few years ago), shipyards were declared an essential activity, so their workers were still allowed to continue to work. I found myself with a large group of unknown people who was working on the hull and making her ready to go back to the marina asap, while I was confined 40km away. Ten days later, we were all launching the sailboat back into the water, only to lock her down at the marina for the next months to follow.
With so many changes in the wind, we couldn’t do anything better than adjusting the sails at every time, and so far, I think we have done well, as the boat is still afloat. And as it happens with every sailboat, wind will keep changing and we should keep adjusting the sails over and over so we can tack the upcoming wind.
Yesterday, we did another sea trial after fixing some issues with the engine (my «graduation» as mechanic apprentice, as I did it myself!). It was a lovely day, sunny and the wind from the SE pushing us nicely along the coast. We got to see some dolphins and sea turtles (the nesting season will start soon!), but I realized there are some other issues we should take care of before the Maiden Voyage.
Back at the marina, I went below deck to clean everything up and then sat to have a cold drink. It was extremely hot that day, and being able to enjoy some ice cubes in my tea felt like heaven to me. I looked around, paying attention to every single detail. Gosh! This sailboat is almost considered old but I am impressed on how beautiful she could be with only some more drops of love! Her soul has been neglected for so long that is almost forgotten, but little by little, it has been waking up.
I thought about the Maiden Trip programmed for the end of this month and the list of work still to be done and how beautiful this old lady was starting to look. I finished sipping my iced tea, washed my glass and then I went outside and took the sails down below deck. I felt my heart broken when doing it, but I had a single thought in my mind for the S/V Veiviseren:
«You are the pathfinder, you will be the guide and you deserve to shine»
Maybe we feel ready to set sails right now, but our vessel is not yet. She has a mission and she will be the first vessel in Mexico to do what she is going to do, and I want her to succeed. The Maiden Trip can’t take place this month if we want to do things right. She deserves that, we all do. So… let’s do it!
– Diana
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