Water starts rising. Now it is already touching the keel, now at the propeller level. Then the shafts are underwater, the seawater inlets too. We are floating. That’s what is heard on the vhf radio while the crew is below decks checking all the areas for a safe return to the water, as the dry dock where the Europa has been on the dry for the last week now is flooded.
A pilot on board, around the ship many hands manning mooring lines and tug boats pulling us. As soon as they let go their ropes, we are on our own at sea… well, for about 5 minutes until getting to our anchorage for the next couple of weeks. The rest of the repairs and maintenance jobs can be done here under the curious looks of Pelicans, Cormorants, Seagulls, and Sea Lions, sitting in the middle of Talcahuano Bay.

The work advances, some jobs are done, and others are on the go. But there’s always more to come. A day here brings us to the usual rust-busting; grinding; welding pipes to properly fit them, changing some of the old ones; wire seizings; painting; troubleshooting equipment; cable-stays going up and down, being tensioned, re-tensioned, loosened, and then again. Everyone is occupied with some of those or other projects.

A walk around deck with our busy Captain or the Mate probably will end up with something new to get our hands on. Bosuns walk around with full lists of tasks and, like if that wouldn’t be enough, they keep a sharp eye to spot anything that could be done during this period of maintenance and while sailing the next trip too, when weather and seas allow.