La Sirena - Part 1 - Before

It all began when Brett showed up at my house with a list of materials needed and an approximate number of days it would take - and his proposal to work on La Sirena.  He had heard from Flaco that just a few days prior I had been talking to Dieter about how to go about repairing the deteriorating foundation for La Sirena.  He carefully explained how it would be done, the materials necessary and the approximate cost.

Gotta say.....I was skeptical - but I agreed to allow him take on the project.  That afternoon we went to the bank for funds to buy supplies and 2 days later the work began.

I am sending this up-date in 2 different e-mail.  Each contain a number of photos as there is no way I could fully explain how crazy this was to pull off.....but - they did it!!  Remember - La Sirena is not on land :)  All work has to be done in-between high tide and this happens twice a day - every 12 hours.

The first day was spent preparing to pour a new foundation and creating the frames that would be attached to hold the fresh concrete.  Most of the old concrete and loose rocks were aggressively removed.  The following morning - about 2 hours after high tide, the guys were literally floating the frames out to the site.  When I saw them swimming back my only thought was.....OMG!!! As the morning progressed and the tide went down, bucket after bucket of concrete was mixed and carried out to the frame.  Now remember - after high tide reaches it peak it then begins to recede, low tide peak will be almost exactly 6 hours later and then in 6 more hours - it is high tide again - day in/day out - every single day.  The guys had to work fast to get all the concrete placed so it would have enough time to set before the tide came back in.  

With the frame up and all the concrete in place - we all stood on the beach...watching as the tide was rising - wondering just what the next morning would bring.  The attached photos bring you to that moment.

Pura Vida