Kyalami's Yearly Spa Treatment

It’s almost that time of the year again, Kyalami will be pulled out of the water and she’ll have her yearly spa treatment. We all love the Kyalami and even though she might not be the youngest, she’s still strong and looks absolutely amazing for her age. That’s mainly because of all the love she gets from her captains and crew.

We all care about this boat. Day after day she takes us out of the Jupiter inlet to our dive sites and back in after we’re done diving. And of course, we want her to be able to do this safely and comfortably so we’ll make sure to take good care of her by cleaning her daily and the captains performing engine maintenance. Without Kyalami we wouldn’t have a job so yes, we want her to be in good shape on a daily basis. But once a year it’s time for the big overhaul. She gets pulled out of the water and we all get to work in the yard together as a team to make her all pretty and shiny again. She’ll get cleaned and painted inside and out, parts that have broken during the last season get fixed, other improvements get made wherever needed and possible, and we’ll make sure she’s gonna be 100% ready before she gets put back in the water for the upcoming season.

Working in a boatyard is tough. The days seem to last forever and the physical work isn’t easy. We’re all used to doing physical work because of us dealing with scuba gear and tanks all day during our normal work week, but that’s a different kind of work. We get to be out on the water and dive what makes up for the hard work, but when you’re in a boatyard, it seems like everything takes forever and ever and I normally have several moments that a though like is this really worth it will cross my mind. Long days, being covered in paint and dust while sweating your butt off, we are of course in Florida so no choice there, and not being out on the water is not my idea of a fun week I guess. I have a lot of respect for the guys that work in boatyards year round, it’s a tough job, don’t think I could do it. Now for us, it’s luckily just a week or so, and when the Kyalami is finally ready to go back in the water, we all stand there together as a team and are proud of how good she looks. And THAT’S the moment that made it all worth it!

-Anne