9.15.2021+ Boat Prep

Following our visit in August, we have officially closed on Windancer IV!!

From now until we can get back to Grenada in November, we'll be starting to prepare for our new ownership:

• Arranged guardianship for her while in the slip at Port Louis

  • Boat guardianship is when you hire a professional to look after and care for your boat while you're away. Our guardian, Winsley, was recommended to us by the previous owners and we hired him to check on our boat twice weekly until our return.

• Scheduled maintenance/repair of the following-

  • Replace steamlight on mast - this is a white light that indicated to other vessels that we are under power (motoring) rather than or in addition to sailing

  • Recertified out life raft - in the event of an emergency when we would need to abandon ship, the life raft is equipped to deploy as a safety measure

  • Repaired A/C units - the previous owners rarely used the A/C and during survey we discovered they were non-operational.

  • Repaired propane tank lines - Winsley's man, Tevin, removed a propane line that was running into the engine bay, which isn't up-to-code. Propane tanks are used for cooking, grilling, and heating.

  • Bulkhead repair - the tabbing on the bulkhead (pieces of wood that spans between the boat to keep strength of the area between hulls) was coming loose; Winsley arranged for this to get fixed.

  • Repaired gel coat - Winsley repaired cracks and chips within the gel coat, which is the white coating around the boat fiberglass (outer layer of the boat).

  • Updated safety measures - recertified/replaced all fire extinguishers, replaced hand and parachute flares.

• Filed our boat registration with the U.S. Coast Guard - the boat registration is required by law, similar to a car registration.

• Got COVID-19 booster vaccine.

• Created our new name, SV (sailing vessel) Saguaro, hailing from Tempe, AZ (where Mike and I met). We also commissioned a logo and registered our boat under her new name with the U.S. Coast Guard.

• Prepared travel requirements for Ollie-

  • Completed an international health certificate, updated rabies vaccination status, and APHIS (Animal & Plant Health Inspection Service) international pet certificate (form 7001)

  • Sent above mentioned 3 documents for USDA (U.S. Department of Agriculture) endorsement

  • Completed the Grenada Pet Import Permit request

  • Sent above mentioned 5 documents to the Grenada Ministry of Agriculture for approval

  • Paid for pet carry-on luggage fee with American Airlines

  • Paid import tax at Grenada customs upon arrival

• Provisioned for our temporary move to Grenada-

  • Put the RV and car in long-term storage in St. Augustine, FL

  • Packed safety equipment, clothes, electronics, Ollie supplies, paddleboards, and gluten-free food supplies for travel (we ended up with 4 duffel bags, 4 checked luggage, 1 carry-on luggage in addition to Ollie, and 2 personal laptop backpacks).