We are still here! 🥴😆 (Patreon)

Happy New Year, guys!

It's been a busy few weeks on CUBA. We managed to finally haul her out and shwooop all of a sudden 2024 is here! 😱
Where did the time go?

It actually feels a little surreal now that we look at the pictures above. After leaving CUBA in the warm Carribean waters with the wrong coating for too long, her hull had become a mess. Even though we cleaned her before leaving to Aruba, the month long stay in a shallow mangrove inlet had turned her into a reef.

Enrique and I regularly crack up, telling each other how many families of crabs were living on her belly. Our count was 511.

After getting CUBA on the dry, she received a good pressure washing, but every inch below the waterline was still covered with barnacle husks...

and apart from a space, the yard couldn't offer any other help. So Enrique and I pulled up our sleeves and woaw, guys, the time flew by.

Those little creatures had built a solid base. Simply sanding them off would have damaged the gel coat, so that wasn't an option.
Once the hull was all scraped and smooth, we, or rather Enrique, sanded off the remaining antifouling and epoxy coat to get her ready for a new epoxy barrier code and chic jetblack new antifouling. 🥰💪💪
Until CUBA looked a little bit like an egg. All beige. 😄
We were happy to see that the hull wasn't damaged from the nasty barnacle husks and the gel-coat looked impeccable. 🥳

With the hull prepared, we thought getting a hang of our living situation would be wise. Our front cabin had been closed off and a mess since we started the repairs. The inside of the hull in the cabin still needed sanding, and we added more layers of fibreglass just to be on the safe side.

The rest of the inside "living space" kept giving me the mental image of a poorly played game of Tetris.
On a plus, just getting up and ready was sort of an exercise 🤣.
But that is a thing of the past now.

Anywho, guys, I am writing you a novel and probably am boring you to death.
Truth to be told, after the collision, we noticed that our laptop had been acting up. When the accident happened, it fell from the table onto the seat. We didn't think anything had broken. But it hasn't been the same ever since and on a steep decline.
I am sure Enrique could give you all the technicalities, but the captain has, for today, left his post and passed out on the couch 😅

Fear not, he is okay - just exhausted, and we also got a new laptop!! Wohoo!!
Well, it's not quite new, but just as good as. So, we will have a new episode for you guys soon! 😊😊


We also just celebrated "Gipfelfest" or at least I'd like to think of it this way. 😋
Roughly translated it means "peak party" and it was a milestone for many families in the area I grew up in.
There, it was custom for families and neighbours to build a new home together. The day the beams of the roof were secured, and therefore, all the groundwork was completed, everyone would come together to celebrate.

I would say we are around this point now, and from here on, work should become quicker and easier. 🙂🙃 wohooo!!!
Most importantly: No more sanding!! 🤣

Guys, if you made it so far, thank you so much for keeping our spirits up. We couldn't have done all this without you.

There is still a lot of work ahead, but now we are halfway there.


Lots of love and big hugs from both of us!

Kiki & Salsa, and the furry crew ⛵️💛🧡💙🐈‍⬛🐈