Mast repairs in beautiful Bluffton, SC

We had a couple of great stops along the way, at Oriental where we tied up at a public dock and could have stayed because everyone was so friendly, and then Beaufort NC where we caught up with Dave and Helen on Grace of Longstone, an English couple we have met before and hope to hang out with a bit on the journey back to NZ.

Together we sailed to Bluffton, South Carolina, a trip of 290 miles, arriving at the entrance at dawn and then wandering for hours up to George and Lillian's dock. We had met them in Nova Scotia and were keen to re-connect.

 

 It's been a non-stop social whirl here. Potlucks and sitting around a fire late into the evenings, lots of shopping to stock our boats for the next few months, good walks and visits to other towns. Once again we are blown away by the friendly locals.

PHIL TURNED 60 ON THE FIRST OF DECEMBER and kiwi friends Warren and Deb were there to help celebrate the big day.

Bluffton's Christmas parade was a 2 hour event with the streets lined with spectators. We lasted an hour or so before we headed for home.
                                                                                                
 Amongst the playing there was a lot of work done while we were here. The mast was rotten at the base and had dropped an inch over the last year or so and finally we had found a good place to repair it. Roger introduced Phil to a local fisherman who was okay with him putting Windora alongside and using the outrigger to lift the mast out. Unfortunately the engine wasn't going on the fishing boat but our windlass was strong enough to do the lifting. Dave climbed up the outrigger and attached a strop and 2 blocks, so one line came down to the windlass and one to the fishing boat.

 

After some line adjustments and much advice being voiced by all the willing helpers, the mast made it's way down and was loaded onto a skiff to be taken to shore where it was put on two trolleys and pushed half a mile or so back to George's place without disrupting too much traffic.

                           Great work team!

Phil ended up cutting 18" off the bottom of the mast and a further 10" up the sides to remove all of the soft timber. This acted as a key for the new piece of timber. Here's Roger routing out the sides.

We bought a 12 foot long piece of 8" by 1.5" Douglas Fir and had it dressed, then machined the rebates to repair the butt of the mast.

The base was painted with red lead paint and it was ready to go back in. Bad weather was coming so the pressure was on to get it done quickly.

Putting the mast back in place was a lot easier as everyone knew what to do this time. We used 2 skiffs to move the mast and with Windora back alongside again, the mast was lifted with the butt resting on planks in the second skiff and then left dangling while Phil turned Windora around to position the boat under the mast.

Time for a beer and chocolate cake once the mast was in place. Thanks Roger, George, Dave, Helen, Warren, Deb, Adam, Steve, Andy, Doran, Larry. Then followed hours getting the rigging back on and the sails on. Feels good to know that job is done and that Windora is in fine shape for the Pacific crossing in a few months time.
Tomrrow we take another leap south to Titusville to meet up with more friends and wait for fair weather to cross the Gulf Stream to the Bahamas. This is the longest we have stayed anywhere for a while now and it's been great. Feels time to move on though.....NZ is calling...