Why Refurbish Atalanta?
We think Atalanta is a very special boat. It was built in 1983 by the Little Harbor Company, a boat building operation owned and operated by Ted Hood. Atalanta remained Ted’s family yacht for three years under the name of “Robin Too” (get it? Robin --- Hood). All yachts personally owned by Ted were painted “stars and stripes blue”, a color resembling robin’s egg blue.
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| Just about ready to 'splash" |
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| Returning the rudder to her proper location |
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| The men at RAM Marina doing their magic |
When one takes temporary possession of one
of Ted Hood’s boats, it is expected that certain traditions be respected. She must be maintained to traditional
standards while embracing new technologies. Not an easy line to walk. When it
became necessary to improve our battery system we considered both solar and wind. Solar would have required an arch on the aft
deck; one that we felt would ruin the lines of the boat. While wind generation was not around in 1983,
its installation on Atalanta doesn’t change her lines. We opted for wind.
Living aboard on a full- time basis as we
have been for the past four years, puts considerable wear and tear on a
boat. Atalanta was last painted in 1989
with Awlgrip. This material is like
paint but more durable and with a higher gloss.
The time for Atalanta to be repainted had come. Doing the job correctly required all the
paint and filler to be removed and the hull taken back to bare fiberglass. Then it needed to be sanded, re-faired,
sanded again, and then painted with 3 coats of Stars and Stripes. The preparation was extensive and took about
2 months to complete. We opted to have
the work done at RAM Marina in Rio Dulce, Guatemala where the cost of labor is
low and the quality of workmanship high.
Henry, the head of the paint crew did a magnificent job and we are
thrilled with the results. The RAM Marina is one that we would recommend to
anyone looking to have serious painting or refitting done. They are probably the best yard we have found
in all our years of sailing. Now we have to dock very carefully with lots of
fenders over the side so we can try to avoid getting that first scratch!
Where To Now?
With our nephew Noah on board, we left the Rio Dulce for Mexico. On February 17th, we ended our seven-month stay in this wonderful part of the world. We made many new friends on the Rio Dulce and hope to cross paths with them again. We wandered down the river toward the Gulf of Honduras and checked out of Guatemala at Livingston.
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| On the way down river: Cayo Quemodo Bay |
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| Leaving the Rio Dulce |
After safely crossing the shallow sand bar we headed north in open water. After an overnight sail we anchored at Long Cay in the Lighthouse Atoll, Belize for the night. In the morning, we sailed 75 miles offshore in search of the Gulf Stream. We sailed at 6 - 9 knots due north which is a reasonable speed for us. As the day progressed the winds and seas increased as we found ourselves in 25+ knot winds and 15+ foot seas.
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| Noah passage making |
Atalanta competently handled
these conditions but the autopilot stopped working so someone had to be at the
helm the entire time. We took shorter
than usual watches and arrived in Isla Mujeras, Mexico two and a half days
after leaving Lighthouse.
We are docked at El Milagro Marina. Isla Mujeres is beautiful, the food is great,
and we are reconnecting with old friends that we have not seen for some time. Murray
actually made friends here last year and he was pretty happy to see them. We’ll
relax, eat, drink and socialize (and do boat chores) here for about 3 weeks and
then sail to the Dry Tortugas and be at City Marina in Charleston, SC by April
15.
It feels so good to be moving again and
many more adventures lie ahead…..thanks for following our journey.
Richard and Kay
More Pics
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| Los Tres Ricardos |
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| Casa Mate John on board |
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| Noah and Kay in the Rio |
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| Livingston, Guatemala for Check Out |
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| 25 kts of wind 15 footers |
