June 11, 2012
Nereus on the hard at Demopolis Yacht Basin
So, I arrived in Birmingham, rented my car, and headed west towards Demopolis. When I hit Tuscaloosa, I decided to stop for lunch.
When judging a locale, you have to have a frame of reference, and I knew absolutely nothing about Tuscaloosa. So, I stopped at the first place I recognized: HOOTERS. Having been in many in different parts of the country, it seems only fair to gauge the chicken wings in Tuscaloosa against the rest country. Good news is, Tuscaloosa is a fine place, and even better than some! But, I was on a mission and got back on the road to make my destination.
Vis-a-vis: So much for taking down my mast
After a long hour and a half drive, I found myself filled with apprehension. I hadn’t seen the ol’ boat in almost three years. I pulled in to the lot and there it was amongst all the others dry docked at Demopolis Yacht Basin. It was looking a little rough.
The first thing I noticed, the boat is set “bow-to-bow” with another boat. Not such a big deal, but I was going to lower the mast on the tabernacle, but can’t do it now as I’d be lowering it forward into the other boat’s rigging.
Topsides are short – we will be beginning again . . . still.
The paint I could see was shot as was all the bright work. As I stood there looking things over, one glaring issue popped into my head. I had no way to climb the 11 feet up to the gunnel and get on deck. How the hell was I suppose to get on board? I looked around and all the other boat owners in the yard were smart enought to lock up their ladders with chain and locks; how inconvenient! I was able to see that the yard crew had left the dock lines on the boat and I was able to climb the rudder enough to grab the stern line and pull the free end down. The heat of the day was setting in and began to have it’s affects on me. I came up with a crazy idea to tie loops in that dock line and make a make-shift rope ladder. After about an hour tying and adjusting, I managed to get on deck with only one good scrape. Gotta have bruises or it’s not a real adventure.
So there I was, back on board my ol’ Nereus! Finally!
Lookin’ mighty rough
“Ugh” is the only word I could think of. All the work we’d put into everything was gone. At least I won’t have to strip anything. All the varnish, while still there, has lifted off the wood. Most will probably blow off when we finally have it trucked out west. I could just reach down and lift it all off in big chunks. Decided to leave it though, as it is still protecting the wood underneath from the sun.
Opening the hatch I found everything inside lay just the way we left it . . . a mess! This time, we have the added aroma of mildew, which has been left to grow freely in the nice, hot & humid Alabama heat. Great.
Damn those barnacles!
One thing for sure, if I thought it was hot in Demopolis, I’ve never felt anything like the sweltering heat of the interior of that cabin. I quickly got to work plugging in to shore power and getting the air condition set up and running. After an hour in my own private sauna, I just knew the little a/c unit was not going to beat the heat until after the sun went down.
Time to take a break. There’s a local joint here at the Yacht Basin call the New Orleans Bar & Grill. Time to see about some COLD refreshments, meet the locals, and wait for the heat to subside.
– Steve