We're On the Move

The survey on the boat happened on the 19th. We've been crazy busy since then. The good news is the boat surveyed for $15,000.00 more than we offered. At least we know we aren't overpaying. She is in above average shape and there are zero problems with the hulls.

There were a few soft spots in need of repair. These are places where winches were added and not bedded properly, so some water got under the fiberglass. It's common and an easy repair. There is a soft spot near the windlass and under the mast. These are extremely common in an Island Spirit, and not nearly as bad as most her age. These repairs are a bit more complicated (since the mast has to be removed and re-stepped), but not excessive. She has crash bulkheads up front that are sealed. These are meant to protect the boat from getting water inside should you hit something. They are designed to take the hit and protect the rest of the boat. However, Island Spirits are commonly known to have that area get water inside from another source. Since it is sealed, the water can't get out and just sits there, eventually effecting performance. While she has no damage to those areas, one of the bulkheads does have a little water in it. So we will have to cut access ports into the bulkheads and drain the water. This is extremely common on this model, and everyone ends up having to put in the access ports eventually. It's an easy fix, but one that must be done. The good part is you'll have the access ports for future monitoring, so it's a one time fix.

She is running with original rigging and sails. While they are in great shape, fifteen year old sails and rigging will be prone to failure. She is a UK boat, and the rules are different over there than here. So she only has one holding tank for one head (toilet for those not used to boat terms). The other head simply flows overboard. This is a must fix in the United States. So we will have to add a holding tank to the second head (the spot for it is there, we just have to add the tank). She has 220V AC running through the boat when she's on shore power (again, because she a UK boat), and 12V DC on batteries (standard). There are three different receptacles in the boat as well (South African, UK, and American 110V). There is also no dedicated panel for the AC versus the DC, it's just all run on one panel. It all works just fine, but we might want to make some improvements.

We would like to add some stuff to her. We want to change the heads for electric flush instead of the current manual flush. We will need to have 12V DC electrical run to the heads. So while the electrician is doing that, we are going to have the electrical upgraded so that all of the AC plugs are UK (we'll use adapters as needed). We will also have him put in a dedicated panel for the AC. Keeping everything 220 versus changing it to 110 will be cheaper, and we know we'll be able to plug into shore power everywhere (including other countries). So, we have some fiberglass, plumbing, and electrical work to be done before we move onto her. We are also considering going ahead and updating the rigging for sure, and possibly the sails depending on cost. She's also due for a polish and wax. Her bottom paint is good for another six months, but we are considering just having that done now so as not to have to deal with it later.

We close this Friday the 29th. We got them to come down a little on our original offer because of the repairs. The acceptance letter has been received and signed. So now we are scrambling to find boat yards to do repair work, and accommodations nearby. We could technically move onto her right away, and do the repairs while living aboard, but repairs will move faster if she's empty (and we don't want to live in a boat yard for a week).

So now, it's time to pack again. We've been in this vacation home for six weeks, and are more than ready to move on. By this weekend we'll be sitting in a hotel in Ft. Lauderdale, making trips to watch our new boat get her work done. With any luck we can spend Valentine's day sitting on the deck, sipping some wine, and watching the sun go down while surrounded by the ocean.

A Change in Plans...

For those of you that have been following this blog, you know that our plans are to obtain a boat by March and then head to the Bahamas. From there we island hop until we get to Grenada, before July 1st (the start of hurricane season - where we have to be outside the hurricane box for insurance purposes). We were up till 2:00am the other night going over our plans.

We've been pouring over charts to figure out the best route to get to Grenada from Florida. After much researching, we've come to the conclusion that there are two ways to get from the Bahamas (a one day sail from Florida) to the Virgin Islands (the starting point to head down to Grenada). The first way involves going through the Dominican Republic and Haiti. These areas are places we were planning to avoid, since they are said to be very corrupt. You tend to have to bribe your way through, and sometimes the weather patterns fall to where you could get stuck there for weeks. This option is very unpalatable. The other option is to head out east into the ocean for a few days, turn right, and spend a few more days in the middle of the ocean till you arrive in the Virgin Islands. Sometimes this is an easy sail with calm waters, and sometimes it's very rough with eight to twelve foot waves. You would have to plan a week out in the middle of the ocean, alone, sailing 24/7, hoping you brought enough sea sickness medication for the lot of you. Needless to say, we are incredibly nervous about this option. We are new to sailing, will be on a boat we've only had for four to six weeks, and none of us are used to full time living aboard yet.

We contemplated options of hiring a captain to go with us. We could all go this way and learn from the experience. However, even with a captain, the wife and kids are unlikely to be ready for this kind of adventure just yet. We contemplated flying the wife and kids to the Virgin Islands, where they would sit awaiting the return of dad and a hired captain from sea.  However, we don't really want to separate like that (and we're pretty sure the wife doesn't have enough anxiety meds for that kind of waiting). So we came to the conclusion that we might be trying to bite off more than we can chew so soon. We aren't even sure if we have enough time to get to Grenada by July 1st. All the other cruisers left and headed that way last November. We would be pushing it, unable to stop for any length of time, to get there in time. So, all the wonderful places we want to enjoy, we would have to "pass" on our way to Grenada with plans of coming back up to see those places November 1st (the end of hurricane season). So, after a long discussion into the early hours of the morning, we have decided to change our plans.

We've always had a backup plan to go north on the chance we were unable to procure a boat in time to get south. So we've decided to switch to our backup plan. We will sail around in Florida, maybe go to the Bahamas and back in March, and make our way up the east coast to get north of the hurricane box instead (North Carolina). We could spend the summer up in Chesapeake Bay, and see some of the various sites along the east coast (like Washington D.C. for example). This allows us to "take our time," since we will be in no rush to go that direction, as it is much shorter. It will give us time to get used to living aboard full time in a familiar country, and gain some experience sailing. We have more time to get our Coast Guard paperwork for international travel (another one of those things that might not arrive in time to go south). We can even keep our cell phones, and have more consistent internet to finish the school year.

In October, we could then make our way south again to Florida, and on to the Bahamas. We'll have lots of time, to take as much time as we want, to stop and see things along the way. We will have over six months of experience sailing and living aboard before we "head out into the ocean" for a week to get to the Virgin Islands. Once we get there (planning on mid-December), we can take our time island hopping and cruising the Caribbean till we need to be in Grenada next July 1st.

One of the many goals of this lifestyle switch was to live without schedules or being rushed. Pushing ourselves to make the trip to Grenada would be the opposite of that. The last thing we want to do is push ourselves into a situation where we are anxious and over stressed. So while we are desperate to get to that pretty blue water in the Caribbean, we're going to take our time and head north first, giving us more enjoyment in the long run. So the adventure is still on, you'll just be getting posts from inside the country for a few months longer before we head offshore to the blue yonder ;)

We found our boat!

It's official, we made an offer on a boat. Technically we made the offer before Christmas. But with the whirlwind that was the holidays, I'm just now able to post about it. She's a 2001 37' Fortuna Island Spirit Catamaran (the second boat we saw, that we all fell in love with). She has been well maintained and never chartered. The current owners are only the second owners she has had. The first owners sailed her from Capetown to Trinidad in 2004, and she was purchased in Trinidad by the current owners in 2005. The current owners have sailed her extensively in the Caribbean and the Bahamas for the last 8 years. She is designed to be sailed single-handed with all lines leading to an electric winch to haul the mainsail as well as the dinghy on the davits. She is self sufficient with regard to power and water. She boasts tilting solar panels, a wind generator, and a water maker. She is probably the most spacious catamaran for her size with excellent turn of speed. She has been found to have very comfortable live aboard space comparable to anything in the 40' range and larger without compromising sailing ability. She is completely outfitted for a circumnavigation. She comes equipped with everything we had on our bucket list for a boat (that we assumed we would have to buy and add ourselves), plus a lot of extras. She even comes with two folding bicycles, a pasta maker, and a sewing machine (not sure what I'll do with that)! This boat is in impeccable shape. We thought we were on a boat that was less than five years old, that's how nice her owners have kept her. The current owners countered our offer, and we accepted. Our inspection is January 19th. Provided she inspects well (and we all are very confident she will), we close on January 29th. Her current name is "Cloud Nine." While we love the name, there are over 80 boats already registered with that name (in different ports). So we will be going with our original naming plan. For details on the name and how we came up with it, see my previous blog "The Name." Apparently we have to pick a home port to list with her name. We are thinking of going with Palm Beach. So she will be "Liliana out of Palm Beach." Below are a few pics of her (which don't do her justice at all) along with a floor plan. A lot of people have trouble picturing what she looks like inside, so I thought showing a floor plan would help. I will try to get better pics of her at the inspection, especially inside pics.





For anyone interested, here is her listing (it will be gone by the end of the month):
http://www.multihullcompany.com/Catamaran_for_Sale/FORTUNA_ISLAND_SPIRIT/CLOUD_NINE