Oh, the humiliation!

My name is Guiding Light and I want to tell you what Captain Shane did to me.  Can you believe back in mid August he took me out of the water?  Did you hear me, out of the water!  Whoever heard of a boat that was not in the water?  But the worst part was I was then set on the ground in a field.  I repeat on the GROUND!!!!  I could not even see the water that I crave so much.  He then spent the afternoon with his family pulling stuff inside, latching hatches, draining the water tanks, and other thinks to make me comfy for a long deserved nap.

Of course once he left I looked around and noticed there were lots of boats in the field with me and some of them I already knew.  The rest felt good and when a tropical storm came by I was glad I was here, because of the protection.

Then all of a sudden three weeks ago Captain Shane returned!  YEA!!!!  He even brought his parents back.  I was so excited, cause I thought for sure I was getting back in the water that day.  Instead he did something even better.  He brought boxes and bags of new stuff for me, but would not open them up yet and made me wait like a kid at Christmas.  Instead he started pulling out the old mattresses, solon cushions, toilets, hoses, and so much other stuff that was worn out.  He threw them in a pile next to me to stare at and wonder what he was doing to me.  I was nervous, but I have learned to trust him over the last 4 and half years, so I waited.  While he was doing this his mom was busy cleaning every nook and cranny of my interior and his dad was busy with a huge list of small tasks that I needed to have done.  He even got to go up my mast.  I don’t think Captain Shane would have gotten everything done with out them.

During this time he also hired three different companies to work on me.  The first was Carol at Atlantic Canvas & Sail (787-860-1433) who made to most amazing solon cushions to replace the old thin ones I had before.  I am still waiting for my new curtains, which will be here on Tuesday and I think I will sport a totally different look inside.

The second company was Island Marine (787-885-2760), which is partly owned by Carol’s husband Rick but the other partner Ken is the one who look out for me.  They came in and did an unbelievable job on my fiberglass.  You see right before I was hauled out of the water I did a naughty thing.  I drug my anchor for only the second time, of course both times I waited until Captain Shane was not aboard.  The first time was no big deal, but this time I slid into a concrete pier scratching, denting, and banging my port side.  Ken had his crew fix all the damage plus buffed my hull to boot.  I have not felt this shiny since I left the factory.  They also took out all my seacocks and moved them above the water line for safety reasons and I had a work done in my heads, but did not know why yet.

The final guy aboard was Jorge Hernandez (787-313-9344) who checked out all my rigging.  He was a really great guy to have aboard and he said the rigging was fine, but he recommended fixing a few small items.  This will make my joints feel so much better when I am sailing guest to a new destination each day.

Finally it was time for Captain Shane to unload the stuff he brought.  I now have new mattress and sheets for the cabins, new toilets and faucets for the heads, pirate stuff for guest to wear, some new pans in the galley, and so many other great little present to make me feel better and guest to have an even better time aboard.

I get to go back into the water on Tuesday and am so excited, but it turns out I will miss Puerto Del Rey Marina and Shipyard.  This was a great shipyard because of the location to the Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico is a fantastic place to visit, it is safe place to store a boat for storms, the marina and yard are one of the most professionally run yards I have been to, and the price is one of the best in the Caribbean.

I hope you get a chance to come aboard as I sail you around the Virgin Islands and you can see all my new stuff.  I am so proud of it all.