Final Days at the Yard

We've come to the end of the 2021 season here in French Polynesia.  We had challenges, to be sure, but many peaceful and fun times, too.  Neither of us regrets our decision to travel to Wings.  We had a great visitor, Ian, and the boat is in better condition than when we arrived. We snapped these photos as we were completing the decommissioning process, but had no opportunity to post them. 

Our rented Fiat Panda is parked in front of Wings in her cradle.  We had power but had just been pulled from the water and had hardly begun our task of decommissioning.

This is a view from Wings' bow, looking toward the wounded motor yacht we had described in prior blogs and photos.  The old ferry, Aremiti, was the predecessor of the ferries that we've shown you through the years 

These are the bananas that Conni rescued from the local chickens. 

This is a still life with fruit, taken in our little bungalow kitchen.  It's primitive in the extreme so it's a wonder that Conni has whipped up so many great meals here. 

Another still life, this one of a typical afternoon cocktail hour, this one with the Wine of the Summer, a Natura Rosé. 

This is a great shot of Lovely Conni ascending the mast to remove instruments and check everything for the season layover. 

With clouds over head, Conni works on masthead chores.  The enlargement of our back stay is our SSB radio antenna.

Meanwhile, below decks, gear from outside is being stored, making living aboard very difficult. Those are our solar panels on the right, padded by seat cushions.

A possible holiday card photo here.  We're standing just off the belt roadway at Apoiti Bay, with the rental catamarans at anchor behind us.

This is the huge new hydraulic lift towering over this tiny vehicle.  Of course no one was injured, but it was a funny sight to us.  Wings is behind the lift since the vessel, Mana Iti, was being splashed.

 

Mana Iti in the slings awaiting her splash.  The crew is splashing paint on areas that were covered by the cradle pads.  She's a Choey Lee ketch, about 75-feet long.  LOTS of space!  The owner bought her and has worked hard for several years to get her into this condition.

Look at this space!  The companionway stairs are at left and the bar (a bar?) at right.

SV Botrytis, the name of the Noble Rot, a prize for making concentrated wines.  We thought that they should have changed her name to "Boatrytis"...get it?

Wings with all three of her new cover sections on.  The aft piece was made this season. She's well protected from sun and rain.

Lovely Conni peaks from the cabin on our last day's work. 

Conni completes the varnishing job.  I began it by sanding and cleaning the entire cap rail, and she followed with the varnish. 

This rotten steel boat has been taking up space since we began here, and they're finally disassembling it for hauling away.  She's steel, so will be shipped to New Zealand and recycled.

A day later, she's half the boat that she was. 

Dominique had moved another boat close to us, so it was difficult to descend the ladder.  As is traditional with us, Conni is the last one off the boat.  Until 2022, Wings, sleep well.

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