Boatwork
You might have been wondering, what in the world has happened to SV Daggers Down and crew as there have been no updates since the spring. Rest assured we are back in Grenada getting the boat ready to splash after SV Daggers Down spent the summer at Grenada Marine getting her crumbling mast step rebuilt and her rigging replaced. In addition, she had an insurance survey, the bottom, props and sail drives repainted, and a few other issues taken care of like windows recalk and new batteries.
My Own Rebuild
While SV Daggers Down was getting much needed attention, her crew was away in Texas so that I (Kitra) could have a rebuilt of my own. I braved or suffered through (however you want to look at it), a knee replacement. I have had more than my share of surgeries, but except for the hip osteotomy surgery, this one took the cake. It was beast, that required me to work through a lot of pain to get my knee moving again! It was a necessary evil, but to be honest, I don’t recommend it unless you must!
I am now 3.5 months into recovery and finally the pain is reducing to more of an annoyance, especially when trying to sleep or walk for any distance. They say at 6 months, you start forgetting all the pain and suffering. I hope that is so. My hats off to those who have had one knee replaced, and a medal goes to those who have had two replaced, especially if in one year!
Ben, The Saint
So what did Ben do during this ordeal? He suffered along with me by taking me to a plethora of doctor and therapy appointments in the Texas heat. He was my uber driver and errand runner for months! We were fortunate enough that Irene and Bill welcomed us into their home throughout the surgery and most of the recovery period. So luckily Ben had assistance from two other saints as Irene cooked, and Bill tried to keep Ben out of the house as they laid a concrete slab and built a shed. In Ben’s free time (ha!), he went and worked out at the gym where he could escape and have time for himself.
It Wasn’t All Pain and Suffering
Prior to surgery and later during recovery, we enjoyed visiting with family and friends. We made a fast trip to Corpus Christi to catch up with our niece and nephews, I got to see the new house Skye and her husband are building north of Houston, and we loved seeing the rest of the family including little Emma, our new great-niece who has learned to walk!
Special thanks go to Wendy and Paul who allowed us to house-sit in their lovely home while they were away seeking cooler weather. The house-sitting gig gave Irene and Bill some relief from caretaking for a few weeks. Also, we give thanks for Deb and Ron who we stayed with several times! They are our Amazon drop site, sifters of mail and so much more! All these folks are who make our cruising life so much easier. We are blessed beyond measure for them!
Back to Grenada and Home
After being in Texas for five and half months, we finally made our way back to lovely Grenada. Currently we are staying in an Airbnb while SV Daggers Down’s mast/rig are installed. The apartment, Golden Pear Villa, is lovely and even has a pool where I can work out every day.
It has been fun getting back into the swing of island life. We have already gotten BBQ chicken from one of our favorite vendor, and homemade pasta from our friend at Nirvana Pasta Paradise. In addition, we have been catching up with our cruiser buddies.
If all goes well, we hope to splash this week and, once all systems are checked, head around to the Port Louie Marina for the rest of hurricane season. We are hoping and praying that things work better than last time we were on the hard for an extended time. You can check out that story at Grenada Boat Gremlins.
The 2026-2027 sailing season will begin in about 4-6 weeks!! I can’t believe it’s just around the corner. In the meantime, we need to get the boat provisioned and ready to sail away again!
So stay tuned for new adventures aboard SV Daggers Down!
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