Yes, the boat was recently repainted by the previous owner (an Olymipic campaigner here in the US) and the sand is in the paint layer, not the underlying gelcoat. I've sailed many tornado's and this one is the only one with such highly abrasive decks. The stuff is way way more than necessary stay on the boat. Most other boats I've sailed have a matte or semi-gloss type finish on the decks with a strip of non-skid along the outer gunwales for trapping. Always been fine for traction (butt on deck wise). Ive been on keelboat where you're standing on the decks...they don't have such aggressive non-skid as this boat has, and they need it!

Will try some scrapers and try a paint stripper in a small area as a test.

Mike.