Back to the Blue!

Once the blue bottom paint made it to the island, I slapped on one coat all over and finished up the final touches to make her ready to launch again. Friend Jesse Horton, who I hadn’t seen since the submarine ride at Cocos Island, happened through the area on business the day Swell was ready to be dropped in back into the blue. Oh, the glee I felt at the thought of returning to my life aboard a floating Swell…the tractors rumbled and Wil, Taputu, and August lowered her back into the sea.

“C’est bonne?” Taputu called, referring to the leak while I was still floating just within the cradle. I removed the stairs and shined a light on the source of the water and saw no evidence of moisture.

“Oui!! C’est bonne!!” And we used ropes to guide Swell over to the dock…meanwhile, Jesse had pried out the winch handle that had been stuck in the roller furling winch for over a year and a half and was now getting ready to splice together the anchor rode! All of a sudden it seemed like things were really tumbling into place.