In der Karibik ticken die Uhren anders und auf Kuba erst recht 🙂

Schon nach Dietmars Rückkehr in die Marina war klar, dass unser ursprünglicher Zeitplan wohl nicht eingehalten werden würde. Und als ich eine Woche später in der Marina ankam, waren nur 60% der alten Farbe komplett vom Rumpf entfernt worden. Am dem Montag, an wir eigentlich zurück ins Wasser wollten, griffen wir auch zum Spachtel und unterstützen die Jungs von der Werft beim-abkratzen der alten Farbschichten. Amazing, was man an einem Tag alles schaffen kann, wenn man tatsächlich arbeitet und nicht nur mit dem Werkzeug in der Sonne steht :-(. Auf der schon fertigen Seite gingen die Schleifarbeiten zum Glätten der Oberflächen aber gut voran. By Tuesday afternoon, miraculously, all of the paint had been removed and one side had already been completely sanded. So every day we got closer to our goal step by step and at some point it was clear, that our CESARINA on Tuesday, the 3. She should get back into her element in May. We were initially excited.

Now if everything worked out, we would only be a week late compared to our original plans. By now we were fed up with the expensive and boring marina life up here on the remote northern tip of Cuba. And we were actually already hanging in the travel lift at one o'clock. The areas, which were previously covered by the supports, were painted and then we finally went back into the water.

Finally she was swimming again and we were looking forward to a more pleasant life on board. We would spend another night in the marina, before we sail on to the Bahamas tomorrow morning – At last :-). Dietmar started the machine and put it in reverse, to slowly maneuver out of the box. Unfortunately, something completely unexpected happened: Our CESARINA drove forward???? You too, what was that????? We gave it a second try, which unfortunately produced the same result. And when the forward gear was engaged, she drove ……backward. She also hardly developed any thrust. Something had gone terribly wrong.

We also had the shaft bearing replaced at the shipyard, which unfortunately had more play than it should have. During this campaign the mechanics also had ours “Max-Prop”, the rotary wing propeller, have to dismantle. Although Dietmar had insured himself several times, whether one knows how to handle such a propeller, Something probably went wrong during reinstallation or rather when reassembling it. The shaft itself turned in the right direction, So our problem could only be the propeller. Now the big discussion began. A mechanic was called to help. His recommendation, simply turn the shift cables around, But Dietmar didn't get any enthusiasm at all. After some back and forth we went back into the lift and the CESARINA out of the water again. Of course, that didn't do our fresh anti-fouling paint any good. So now the “experts” started working on the propeller again and, surprisingly, something had really gone wrong. So everything was taken apart again and then put back together the other way around. Dietmar asked several times, whether all the settings are correct now. With a folding propeller you can adjust different angles of the blades (gradient), which are then fundamentally crucial for the thrust, that the propeller generates. Now that would all be wonderful, was the answer.

Back in the water we were able to report our first successes. We drove forward again in forward gear and backwards again in reverse gear. Otherwise we were still a long way from “wonderful”.. Unfortunately, the incline was set incorrectly and that meant another, short stay in the shipyard for the CESARINA . But not today, because it was already after six o'clock and nobody wanted to do it anymore. Least of all Dietmar, whose mood and lack of understanding of so much inability had reached its absolute lowest point. He would have been better off doing it himself!

So we maneuvered ourselves over to the jetty. Unfortunately, even this simple maneuver was without wind because the propeller was set completely wrong, which made revving the engine impossible, a real challenge and it took a while, until the CESARINA was finally properly moored. We had had enough for today. Our planned onward journey to the Bahamas was therefore cancelled, as we would now miss our weather window. Dietmar reinstalled the shift lever for the gas and gearbox, den der Mechaniker der Werft ausgebaut hatte. At least there was order on board again and we could prepare for tomorrow. Dietmar intensively studied the Max-Prop installation instructions, so that you can do the work yourself tomorrow. We preferred not to trust the shipyard employees anymore. I took another look at the weather forecast. The wind would turn to the north from Thursday and was unfortunately coming from the front. So we would probably stay with Cuba for a bit longer. You could also call it port days against your will. But the real disaster was yet to follow and would overshadow everything that had come before.